Hi Emer,
Piaras Beaslai is my first cousin twice removed. Or to put it another way, Piaras Beaslai's maternal grand parents, Patrick Joseph Hickie and Ellen Mernin, are great-great-grandparents of mine. So, I guess we are related.
Recently, I have been researching my genealogy, which is something that I intermittently obsess on. I have been aware of the connection between Piaras and Lily Mernin for some time, but its exact nature has always been shrouded in mystery. So, I was thrilled to discover your information on this forum. I can't begin to imagine how much of a profound experience it must have been for both you and your father. My heart goes out to you both.
Given the extent of your research, I imagine you have probably discovered quite a lot about your family. However, for me at least, the actual nature of the familial "cousin" connection between Piaras and Lily is still unknown. I suspect that James Mernin, Lily's grandfather, is closely related to Ellen Mernin, Piaras's grandmother. However, unfortunately, I have so far not been able to trace birth records for either, and the parish records for Waterford/Dungarvan, where they may have both originated, appear to have a large gap in them in the period when both Ellen and James were born. I would be grateful to receive any information about this and I would be happy to share information from my family tree/history.
