About Us
In the early 1980’s,
a small group of energetic and visionary people living in Ireland
dreamed of a worldwide O’Dochartaigh reunion. The names of Doherty,
Dougherty, Doerty, and all the other 140 spellings would come to
Ireland and discover their homeland. The dream became reality with the
hard work and drive of the O’Dochartaigh Reunion Committee in 1985.
This committee is the volunteer group that plans, organized and
implements the reunion events. The official O’Dochartaigh reunion
website is
w
Held every five years
since, each succeeding clan gathering builds on the previous ones gone
before. Since 1985, visitors have been treated to amazing events
ranging from a formal evening Medieval Banquet to roving bus tours.
The reunions are attended by over O’Dochartaighs from many countries.
We had the wonderful experience of sharing our common heritage and
forging lasting friendships.
Many of the original
Irish reunion committee members are still engaged in the planning of
each clan gathering. Joe “Paul” Doherty, and the John and Moira
“Saddler” Doherty family still serve the clan in this capacity after
nearly 30 years.
Pat “Inch” Dougherty
and 1985 chairman Paddy “Joe” Doherty were instrumental in setting the
pace for the earlier clann gatherings. For instance, only after the
2000 reunion did Pat “Inch” retire from active participation. After
that O’Dochartaigh gathering, Eva Doherty Gremmert was asked to
succeed her predecessors and assumed the duties of Reunion Coordinator
in 2001. Upon the highly successful completion of her first assignment
in 2005, the Ireland-based committee asked her to continue her tenure.
The seven reunions
have been faithfully held from 1985 to 2010. The committee decided to
break with tradition and hold a very special clan gathering in 2008.
It commemorated the death of the last remaining Irish chieftain, our
own Cahir Rua O’Dogherty. The 400th anniversary of his
untimely death occurs July 5, 2008. After this reunion the committee
decided to return to the every 5 year schedule beginning in 2010.
There are many, many
people who have already indicated that they are coming over to Ireland
this summer. They include individuals, family groups, O’Dochartaigh
Clann Association members, participants in the Y-DNA project, others
who have attended reunions in the past and some who have found us on
the web and are coming on their own. Some of these groups have
organized membership lists and some don’t, but all are welcome. The
Reunion Committee appreciates the publicity generated by all this
interest through the various e-mails, discussion lists, newsletters
and the like.
The dates are 21-30
July 2015, and all names connected to the O’Dochartaigh are welcome
and encouraged to attend. There are a wide variety of events
scheduled, appealing to young and old, singles, married couples, and
families of all types.
The 2015 Reunion Committee is composed of:
John Doherty (Sean Saddler), Chairman, Eva Doherty Gremmert,
Coordinator
Rosie Doherty
Gremmert, Helena (Saddler) Downey, Joe (Paul) Doherty, Mary (Saddler)
Doherty, Jennifer McLaughlin Doherty, Fiona (Oregon) Doherty Fagan,
Michael (Doc) Dougherty, Robert (Earthquake) Doherty, Carleen Doherty,
Kenneth Artice, Emma Downey, Krissy Thornbrugh, |
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