Soden Family Reunion
16 - 18 June 2000
FINAL Update
This is intended as the final comprehensive update on the Soden Gathering in Sligo, Ireland on 16th/17th/18th June 2000 in the Tower Hotel, Sligo Town.
Arrangements have been made with the Tower Hotel, Sligo. A special deal has been arranged for the Bed and Breakfast with one evening meal (This evening meal would be the banquet) for £70 (*$113 approx..) per person sharing. For those not staying in the hotel, the banquet will cost £25 (*$40 approx..) per person. There will also be a £10 (*$16 approx.) charge per person to cover the exhibition and stationery costs.
The Tower Hotel will provide a babysitting service, if required. All rooms initially reserved have been taken, so it is most advisable to have a reservation made by April 1, 2000 should you wish to stay at the hotel on one or all of these nights.
e-mail: towersl@iol.ie
Webpage: www.towerhotelgroup.ie
*Conversions are as of 02/19/2000 in British Sterling (http://www.currency.co.nz/index.htm) and change on a daily basis.
Exhibition and Talks: There will be a small exhibition on the families all over the world and personalities at particular historical periods. A number of books on the name and some concerned with Soden members will be on display. The short talks will cover hopefully all branches present and related topics. If you would like to talk on your branch of the family or any related topic, please let us know, as this is an important part of the weekend.
Tour: There will be a tour of places in West Sligo associated with the Soden name on Saturday afternoon, 17th June as detailed below. We may hire a bus for this, however this is dependent on how many will have cars and could use them to visit the different locations mentioned below. This would be very much appreciated if you could assist in the tour.
Interdenominational Service: An Interdenominational Service will be held in the Drumcliffe Church on Sunday afternoon, 18th June. This will end the inaugural reunion with a short service in this church, which has so many connections with the Soden name in Sligo.
DRUMCLIFFE: This is an important early Christian monastic site founded by St. Colmcille circa AD 575. It is better known in recent times as the burial place of William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), who is interred here at his own request with a simple limestone memorial slab bearing an epitaph of his own composition.
"Cast a cold eye on life, on death, Horseman pass by."
It is in the porch of the Drumcliffe Church of Ireland church that we find the headstone to Thomas Soden, 1594-1700 that was originally in the church at Moneygold to the north. The Sodens built the rector’s house at Drumcliff and Isabella Letitia Soden played the church organ there for many years.
STREEDAGH: Streedagh is located on the coast to the north of Sligo. The town was land held for a time by Thomas Soden and James Soden as recorded in a number of deeds. It is also famous for its shifting sands and for ‘the rock of the Spaniards' "Carrig na Spainneach" where in 1588 AD three Spanish Armada ships foundered. A contemporary account tells us that eleven hundred Spanish sailors and soldiers perished on the beach.
GRANGE: Grange is the site of Grange Castle, a large house inhabited by Thomas Soden and lands granted to him in the early 1650’s.
MONEYGOLD: The Church and Cemetery at MONEYGOLD, AHAMPLISH Parish was the church of the early Sodens in this area and has a crypt to the Eccles and Soden families with crest. The headstones from this ruined church are today in the porch of Drumcliffe Church.
CREEVYKEEL COURT TOMB: At the crossroads is the finest examples of a classic court tomb in Ireland. This would have been well known to the early Sodens of the area and is passed on the way to Mullaghmore and Classiebawn Castle.
MULLAGHMORE: Mullaghmore is famous for its beaches, harbour and CLASSIEBAWN CASTLE, built by the local landlord and former British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston of the Temple family in Warwickshire, whence the Sodens originate. It was also the residence in Ireland of the late Lord Mountbatten.
Listed below are addresses of those concerned with different aspects of the reunion:
The venue will be:
Tower Hotel, Quay Street, Sligo, Ireland, Telephone: 071 – 44000, fax: 071 – 46888
e-mail: towersl@iol.ie
Webpage: http://www.towerhotelgroup.ie
Should you wish to stay at the Tower Hotel, please contact the Front Desk Manager, Mr. Niall Byrne, as soon as possible. Accommodation information in the Sligo area can be obtained at the following addresses that are listed below. If you would like to stay with a member of the Soden family, we highly recommend the B&B operated by Ms. Ann Soden Pugh.
Ms. Ann Soden Pugh.
‘Oyster View’ Bed & Breakfast, Rosses Point, Sligo, Tel. 071 – 77201
There are several useful Websites on Sligo. They are:
The Sligo Web http://homepage.tinet.ie/~afinan/
Best-Hotel http://www.best-hotel.com/ireland/northwest/sligo.html
Irish Sites (Search Engine) http://www.irishsites.com/
Sligo Town http://www.ireland-now.com/around/connacht/sligotown.html
Irish Times http://www.irish-times.com/
Irish Tourist Board http://www.ireland.travel.ie/home/index.asp
One of the best pages I have found so far is www.aj.com. Type in "Sligo, Ireland" and you will get an array of interesting and very detailed answers. On Anne’s page you will see Grange, the site of Grange Castle, the first Soden residence in Sligo, and Drumcliffe, the church with the old Soden plaque. Under the hotel page you will get details of our hotel, The Tower Hotel, Quay Street, also at this website: http://ireland.iol.ie/ihf/hotels/07144000.html. You can go to a search engine (i.e., Microsoft, Yahoo, Excite, etc.) and search for "Sligo, Ireland". Bob Soden found over 400 hits.
Flights:
There are flights between Dublin and Sligo, each weekday, 12:45 and 13:40 at IR£80, no taxes. US bookings with Aer Lingus can be made through the toll-free phone number: 1-800-IRISHAIR or the website: http://www.aerlingus.ie/
Australian bookings can be made with World Aviation Systems.
Trains from Dublin to Sligo:
There are 3 trains daily taking approximately three and one-half hours (0840/1340/1820). There are 4 bus trips to Sligo lasting 4 hours one-way (0900/1330/1545/1745).
Rental Cars:
There are several US car rental agencies (Hertz,
National, Budget, etc.) located at the Dublin Airport and can be booked prior to your
arrival. Also Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Dun Laoire, Pottery House, Pottery Road, Dun Laoire,
County Dublin, Telephone: 01-284 7204 or Fax: 01-284 7211.
Tourist Office:
Sligo Tourist Office, Aras Reddan, Temple Street, Sligo, Tel.: 071 – 61201, Fax: 071 - 60360
It is not possible to arrange a particular package as so many will come from too many distant countries and, indeed, continents. Many will want to make their own accommodation arrangements or take the opportunity to stay with relatives in different parts of the country. Should you wish to stay at the Tower Hotel, please contact the Front Desk Manager, Mr. Niall Byrne, as soon as possible. Accommodation information in the Sligo area can be obtained from the addresses that are listed above. If you would like to stay with a member of the Soden family, we highly recommend the B&B run by Ms. Ann Soden Pugh. Her information is also listed above.
Friday Evening, 16 June (20.00)
Informal get-together and introductions of the different family branches represented.
Saturday Morning, 17 June (10.00 - 11.30)
Introductions of the different family branches and talks on specific themes to be decided.
Saturday Afternoon, 17 June (14.00 - 17.00)
Tour of some important Sligo sites associated with the Soden family.
Saturday Evening, 17 June (20.00)
Banquet
Sunday Afternoon, 18 June (14.30)
Interdenominational Service in the Church of Ireland, Drumcliffe, Sligo Ireland, Drumcliffe, Sligo (As you may well know, it is in this church that the oldest plaque exists for Thomas Soden, 1594 1700, the first Soden to reside in Sligo. The Sodens also built the vicar’s house here. Drumcliffe is also the burial place of the Nobel Poet Laureate, William Butler Yeats.)
(Specific times will be flexible)
We look forward to your comments, advice and of course your information on your family history. Please let one of us (Felix or Bob Soden) know if you plan to attend by APRIL 1ST , 2000. This information would be appreciated. More than anything else, we look forward to visiting with you in Sligo, Ireland in June 2000.
Felix P. Soden, 33,Wyattville Park, Loughlinstown
Dun Laoire, Co. Dublin., Republic of Ireland
Telephone: 01-282 6841
Email: sodenpf@hotmail.com
Bob Soden, 3309 Valley Forge Road, SW
Decatur, Alabama 35603-3115 USA
Telephone: 256-340-0322
Email: sodenb@hiwaay.net
American and European CD: Felix Soden (of Dublin) and Joyce (Soden) Brown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA are currently putting together a computer CD of Soden documents, papers and photographs of different places associated with any branch of the family. Family photos, the earlier the better, of the Irish, British and German families would be appreciated. We hope to have at the reunion. We are very aware of the sentimental nature of many photographs and documents, but if you would like these included in the collections, you can be assured they would be well taken care of and returned forthwith or to you personally at the reunion. The collection on each CD will be arranged geographically and chronologically. We have chosen again April 1, 2000 as the final date for receiving material as this must be processed and duplicated.
Information on any American Soden branch or those immediately related in the form of documents, pictures, photos, certificates, or whatever, should be sent to this address for inclusion on the CD:
Joyce Brown
1901 Falling Sun Circle
Virginia Beach, VA 23454-6505 USA
Email: jt1161@earthlink.net