BOOK TRACES HERITAGE OF LOCAL FAMILY WITH IRISH ROOTS

Tom O'Loughlin insists he never kissed the Blarney Stone when he visited Ireland 10 years ago.

Perhaps its aura traveled on a brisk Irish breeze and kissed him as he slept in Dronmoreland Castle, situated just outside Limerick.

Or could it be that the 78-year-old Jackson resident was just born with a glib tongue and a penchant for tracing his family roots all the way back to the old sod?

"Actually it was raining the day we visited Blarney Castle," said O'Loughlin. "I was afraid of letting someone hold me upside down while on the parapet because I thought I might slip," quipped O'Loughlin, who will spend the better part of St. Patrick's Day in the doctor's office. "Not much of a celebration, is it?" he said. "I've got to take care of this arthritis, though."

Having completed his visit to the doctor, O'Loughlin likely will spend the remainder of the day leafing through a book he compiled on the O'Loughlin family and four others who have had their share of shenanigans, limericks and soft summer evenings along the Shannon River.

"It took me two years to get it done, but it was worth the effort," said the graduate of Southeast Missouri State when asked about his family tome. "I visited the farm where my grandfather grew up and even sipped a beer or two at O'Loughlin's Pub in Galway Bay," he said. "It felt just like home. I guess it should have. My name was on the front door."

Tom and Agnes O'Loughlin were bestowed a trip to Ireland 10 years ago as a present from their children in honor of their 40th wedding anniversary.

They used the gift to compile information that chronicles the family history. Tom O'Loughlin even read about some of the myths and mysteries that define his heritage.

"The Blarney Stone is supposed to make you glib if you can talk someone into holding you upside down by your feet so you can kiss it," explained O'Loughlin.

But he didn't have to be dangled upside down to feel giddy about the luck of being Irish in Ireland on a June evening. "It was just lovely to stand there in the twilight, which lasts sometimes until midnight," he recalled. "I took in all of the beautiful scenery at night and looked up all the kinfolks I could find during the day.

"I got to trace my ancestors all the way to the farm that looks the same as it did in pictures taken in 1906," he said. "Even the sheep dogs look like the same as the ones that roamed the countryside more than 80 years ago."

The O'Loughlins have established strong roots in the Bootheel. Pat and Tom are attorneys in Cape Girardeau. Tim works for an engineering company in Sikeston. Dan works for a title company in Cape. Michael, who earned a doctorate degree, is a high school administrator in Chattanooga, Tenn., Martha works with computers in St. Louis and Mary works for Union Electric in St. Louis.

"I guess we've covered just about every area," quipped Tom, whose grandfather developed the entrepreneurial spirit when he emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s. "My grandfather got a job working his way across the Atlantic," said O'Loughlin. "He stopped in New Orleans, but I'm guessing that the climate was too warm for him so he continued North until he reached St. Louis. I think he made a lot of money with his grocery store during the Civil War."

The grocery store was situated "not too far from where Busch Stadium is right now," he said.

Once Tom O'Loughlin gets started on his family history, it's hard to get him to take a rest. "I'll show you the book and all the pictures any time you want," he said. "Maybe our paths will cross soon."