On May 2nd Catriona Lane was returning to Dublin after a visit to
Connemara when she spotted the sign for Shannonbridge.She diverted off
the Motorway and stopped in Shannonbridge.
Catriona is a daughter of Cormac Lane,a son of the teacher Master Lane
who lived and taught in Shannonbridge for many years.Lanes lived in
the house opposite Nicky Nugent's Butcher shop.
Catriona told us that her father died 25 years ago.Three of her uncles
and aunts died young -
Brendan, Cait and Moira.Two of her uncles became priests Father
Michael and Pat.Father Pat appears in the Clonmacnois film in the
visitor center at Clonmacnois.John Lane employed a woman to help with
the housework and both came from Inisboffin in the Aran
Islands.Catriona remembers her parents taking her and the family for a
holiday in the West of Ireland years ago.They visited Inisboffin and
located the two ladies that had worked for the Lane Family and
revisited them many times.
Catriona has photographs of her grandfather John Lane with the whisker
moustache and has promised to forward one for the Shannonbridge
website.
Catriona is anxious to find out more on her family
and intends to call back to Shannonbridge soon.
Doc Cunney was telling us that our sister Pat had a pin cushion made
by Cait Lane and that she gave it to my sister Doc.She remembers that
Master Lane was fond of crosswords and encouraged his pupils to create
croowords.The Irish Independent newspaper once had a competion for
crossword creation.John Lane got his pupils to enter and the sister
remembers winning a fancy pen for her effort.
John Lane included Shakespeare Plays in his English classes and Bill
Burns told Doc that he had read four Shakespeare plays under Master
Lane.
Alice Egan told us that the other teacher with Master Lane was Miss McDermott.