A long time ago, a thousand years or more, our Cassidy ancestors lived in a large Rath on a high point of land south west of the present Ervinestown, N.Ireland.

The above sketch gives an idea of the layout of a Rath, but the Cassidy Rath was much larger than this, being more like a small village. One can visit the site today and we did that on Saturday afternoon while attending the 2017 Cassidy Clan Rally. Photos of the Rath as it is today and the Cassidy Wood are inluded in my report of the 2017 Rally on this website, under Saturday. The mound and the ditch are still very prominent, but the area surrounded by the ditch which was the living area, is today covered with trees.  I have noted the coordinates of the Rath on a larger scale map on my report.

This photo is taken from near the edge of the Rath. You can see the drop off from the mound to the left and in the background is the original entrance to the Rath, which is cut through the mound. There would most likely have been a gate in the cutting like in the sketch above. I suspect that on this Rath there would have been a fence or wooden wall around the perimeter on top of the mound.

Link to report on Saturday: http://www.cassidys.ch/sat1st.htm

The map above shows the location of the Ancient Cassidy Rath where Cassidys lived a long time ago.

Later the Cassidys were among the learned at the Monastery on Devenish Island

A sketch of the Monastery on Devenish Island where Cassidys worked as priests, writers and doctors for centuries.

The Monastery exsisted for over a thousand years from the mid sixth century until 1630.

There is a more comprehensive description of Devenish Island on the Clan Website under:  https://cassidyclan.org/devenish-island/

This map shows the location of Devenish Island relative to Enniskillen. It also shows the Ancient Cassidy Rath and Wood as well as Bally Cassidy, which is near the airport.

All Cassidys originate from the Lower Lough (Lake) Erne region of County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. For centuries Cassidys were prominent in the arts and the fields of medicine and religion. They were also private doctors to the Maguire Chieftains of the area. Over time, like other professional families, they moved to other parts of Ulster province and across Ireland. With emigration, Cassidys travelled to, married and raised families in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other nations.

If you would like to read more, here is a link to the history of the Cassidy Family on the Cassidy Clan Website:

https://cassidyclan.org/cassidy-history/