October 2015 marked the silver anniversary of the first hosting in 1990. About a hundred people bearing some variation of the Ó Dubhda name came to Enniscrone — including for the first time French-speaking Québec — for four days of lectures, tours, a banquet at Belleek Castle, and the inauguration of Andrew Dowds.

The Silver Anniversary

The 2015 rally was the first to count itself in quarters of a century rather than in years. It was also the first to bring the Mac Firbhisigh memorial back to the table — the chair at Skreen had just been restored — and the first at which the clan brought its own blended whiskey to the banquet.

Lectures That Year

• Dr Nollaig Ó Muraíle — Leabhar Mór na nGenealach, the Great Book of Genealogies of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
• Proinsias Mag Fhionnghaile — Ancient Gaelic dress (and a live demonstration at the banquet)
• Mike Dowd — a new history of St Patrick
• Conor Mac Hale — the heritage of Ó Dubhda, with tours through the territory

Tours & Sites

• Carrowmore megalithic cemetery and Moyne Abbey / Rosserk Friary / Ardnaree Friary
• The newly restored Mac Firbhisigh Chair at Skreen
• The megalithic tomb in the Castle Field, Enniscrone — site of the photographic portrait of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste
• Banquet at Belleek Castle with Tireragh Branch Comhaltas music and dance

The Inauguration

Andrew Dowds, from Cumbernauld, Scotland, was inaugurated as the fifth modern Taoiseach. Andrew is the son of Thomas J Dowds, the first elected Taoiseach of 1997 — making 2015 the first rally at which a son succeeded to the office held by his father four rallies earlier. Kieran O’Dowd, San Francisco-born but settled in Ireland, was elected Tánaiste: the first woman in the role. Her own inauguration was set for 2018.

Voices & Visitors

Among the platforms and speakers, Kieran O’Dowd brought a Californian white wine blended for the occasion; Mike Dowd’s new book on St Patrick set the tone for 2018’s return to Foghill. The banquet, at Belleek, included a presentation from a representative of Clans of Ireland — of which Clann Uí Dubhda had been a founder member.