Katrina Thornley

For as long as I can remember I have taken great pride in my Irish heritage. I love learning about the history, seeing pictures of those rolling hills…I dream about going there. Why? I’m not really sure. I never have been. I don’t leave my house without my Irish token (it has a Celtic cross on one side and an Irish blessing on the other) and there’s an Irish blessing stuck to the dash of my car. Why? I’m not really sure.

I remember my grandfather telling us stories about his parents. How his father (who was proud to say he was 100% English) swore he would never marry an English woman…(which he did…a woman that claimed to be 100% Irish). Katie Cottrell was my great grandmother, a woman that I never met, but was described to me as superstitious and well educated in the use of nature.

Yesterday when researching Irish authors I stumbled across Bram Stoker. To my surprise, and absolute delight, I found that we shared the same last name. That he died in England, where my great grandfather’s family came from, but was born in Ireland (so maybe he wasn’t completely English like he claimed to be). Bram Stoker: the great author of Dracula and the original Tarzan. He was an author and his brother Sir Thornley Stoker was also published. Writing- a family trait as strong as Irish blood? My cousin enjoys writing poetry, she enjoys nature. My Great Aunt Ella, Katie’s daughter, wrote poetry, and since I was little I loved to write- short stories, plays, and now poetry. My grandfather helped instill in me a love of literature and a love of magic (giving me the first 4 Harry Potter Books for Christmas one year).

Your ancestors give more than blood to your veins. They leave behind traditions and skills, they fill your life more than you realize. I am proud of my Irish heritage. I always will be. When (if) I have children I will tell them stories of fairies and sprites and show them pictures of those green highlands. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll begin to fall in love just as I did.