Rita Davern is a Minnesota woman who searched for the place and people her grandmother left behind. The quest took her to the Burren: a beautiful, windswept region of County Clare, Ireland. There she found a clan - and its medieval legacy - that were scattered and lost during some of the most difficult centuries in Irish history. 

 

A few days prior to the live discussion with Rita, registrants will receive a link to watch Rita's film The Burren Girl. Viewers will follow Rita on her forty-year journey to find the place and people she comes from in County Clare. Through her search, you will learn about a traditional Gaelic clan whose members have lived in the same region for over 1200 years. You will come to understand what everyday farm lives were like, how the people interacted with the landscape and ecosystem in medieval times through today, the impact of Irish historical events on one extended family over generations and ways to do genealogy-through-connection: family history research that reconnects people separated by time, distance and emigration.

 

Over the past 40 years, Rita Davern (originally Davoren) has traveled to the Burren, birthplace of her grandmother's people in County Clare, Ireland. A commuity engagement artist in her work and in her life, Rita believes the greatest find of genealogy is the living relatives. Rita worked as a communication and leadership consultant to corporate America for twenty years. She now teaches Parenting-by-Connection.

 

Check out the Burren Girl website HERE for a preview.