AN Australian man has made his first-ever trip to Fermanagh, retracing the steps of his ancestors in search of the Ireland they left behind.
Geoff Winter, aged 76, travelled alone from Carrona in Australia, in the hope of reconnecting with long-lost relatives.
He described setting foot in Enniskillen as ‘surreal’.
Now living in Carrona in Australia, with his two daughters, Geoff described the experience of setting foot in Enniskillen as magical.
“The Emerald Isle has certainly lived up to its name. The green is everywhere and it’s just beautiful,” he said.
Geoff’s great-grandmother, Margaret Eleanor Crawford, left Florence Court in Enniskillen, in 1870. Her journey took her halfway across the world on a six-month voyage to Australia, where the family’s new chapter began.
Guided by a bundle of old letters from the 1930s, Geoff followed a paper trail left behind by his late mother, Edna Evelyn Johnson.
Her lively correspondence with Irish cousins was filled with family updates, romance, music, dance gossip – and even the odd matchmaking effort.
One cousin, K Clarke, wrote: ‘Dear Edna, what do I look like? I’m neither fat nor skinny. Sometimes I’ve no wit, but I’m mostly sane’.
Another, Jeanie Crawford, penned: ‘Dear Edna, I have to let you know my mother was the best singer in Enniskillen, but all her singing days are done’.
As he wandered through Fermanagh’s country lanes, Geoff encountered a moment that felt more than just coincidence.
“The name of the lake here is Erne,” he said. “That was also the name of my Melbourne school bus stop. Coincidence or Irish magic – maybe both.”
Having visited 35 countries, Geoff says no people have made him feel more welcome than the Irish.
“It’s like I’ve lived here in another lifetime,” he reflected.
Now, Geoff is hoping to reconnect with any long-lost cousins – particularly Crawfords or Clarkes – who may recognise a name from an old letter or photo album.
If you think you might be related, Geoff would love to hear from you: gjw396@hotmail.com.
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