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Introduction
GAELIC PROVERB
"I will add a stone to your
cairn"
In the days of the old Scottish
Highland clans, a tradition existed whereby after a battle had been fought, a cairn, or pile of stones, would be raised
in memory of those who had fallen. As the years progressed, locals would add a single stone to the cairn every time they passed
by, as a way of acknowledging their fallen kinsmen, and of preserving their memories.
This project is the modern equivalent
of those ancient cairns, dedicated to the ancestry of Calum Graham Paton and Jamie Christopher Paton, which comes predominantly
from the Celtic countries of Scotland and Ireland. An old saying tells us that the Irish Sea is what links the two countries,
rather than what divides them, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Calum's and Jamie's ancestry. Many of their ancestors
have crossed to and fro over the sea through the centuries. Some were Scots Gaelic speakers, many spoke in broad
Scots, whilst others were fluent in Irish, with recent generations all English speakers. Their political affiliations
have constantly changed, as have their religious beliefs and practices.
This project was designed for Calum
and Jamie. Hopefully they will learn from their past that the way forward is not to listen to the political and religious
rantings of their own ancestors - for their stories are all massively different - but to find their own way.
Turas math dhuibh a bhalaich!
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Calum's and Jamie's Ancestry
Calum's and Jamie's father, Chris Paton, comes from Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. But although from Ulster, his
immediate ancestry spreads from Perthshire, Glasgow and Inverness in Scotland, and Belfast, Donegal and Derry in Ireland.
Calum's and Jamie's mother,
Claire Giles, originates from Piltown (Baile an Phuill) in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland,
with additional ancestry from County Tipperary. For Claire's family history, visit The Giles Family website.
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