Woulfe Family Reunion held Saturday 19th August 2000 at Cliff House Hotel in Ballybunion Co. Kerry.

Celebrations gathered momentum on Friday with the arrival of more families into Abbeyfeale where we met at O’Rourke’s in the Square to spend a long evening exchanging news and enjoying family banter. Many of us were meeting for the first time.

And so the reunion day itself arrived on Saturday 19 August. This commenced in the morning in a reflective mood with Mass by Father Curtin at Abbeyfeale Convent to commemorate all the families.

The Gods blessed that afternoon as we all met at the Cliff House Hotel, Ballybunion, under clear blue Atlantic skies. Indeed, it was so sunny that the restaurant curtains had to be drawn while we sat down to enjoy our reunion dinner of fine Irish food.

The convivial atmosphere continued after dinner in the dance hall where we were entertained to live music, and traditional dancing performed by the children. Three family prizes were raffled and, by a happy coincidence, went to members in UK, US and Abbeyfeale. To commemorate the occasion the Grand Dames Kathleen, Madge, Peg and Kay were presented in the evening with a red rose bush, "Sunset Boulevard". Kathleen has, by the way, since planted her rose at Patrick and Catherine Woulfe’s grave in Abbeyfeale.

Celebrations came slowly to an end on that long reunion day and we departed quietly in the early hours of Sunday. Families were still busy the following day, however, visiting one another and saying their farewells before leaving. Leaving with memories: we shall remember the ‘agile’ photographer perched precariously on the roof armed with camera on tripod and coaxing about 100 members into position for the family reunion photo. We shall remember looking up into his camera on top of the roof with the sun glaring relentlessly into our eyes. Indeed, it was a physical feat that only a few members were caught squinting in the reunion photo. (SEE PHOTO) We shall also remember the youngsters sitting in their own dining area, the little ones dancing with each other and obviously enjoying themselves.

Families will have stories to tell: lost luggage, missed flights,, technical hitches, to name a few. Some stories might even become legends; after all, we are of Irish stock.

Preparations for our August reunion started some 1 ½ years before the event. Sadly, two senior family members passed away during this period: Mai Mai McEnry last December in Ireland and Eileen Dellaporta in New York State; they are dearly missed by the family.

Those few members who couldn’t come for personal reasons were in our thoughts also. We can look back with a sense of achievement at having made time in this hectic world to come together for a very enjoyable reunion. I thank you all for making that commitment.

Pat Woulfe Hamburg 2000