Palatine blessing recalls Rathkeale's historic past
ON the face of it, it was a simple gathering to celebrate the marriage of a young newlywed couple. But beyond the chalky white bouquets, the horse-drawn carriage and the misty sunshine last Saturday afternoon, there was a clear bond to over 300 years of Rathkeale's history.
The blessing of the marriage of Craig and Suzanne Switzer at the family home at Courtmatrix was the first wedding ceremony to take place at the original Palatine-built cottage in over 100 years.
The cottage, which was built in 1709 by German emigrants from the Palatinate region who settled in Rathkeale, was bought and restored by the groom's parents in 2005 after lying idle for almost half a century. Today, it sits alongside the Irish Palatine Museum as one of the most tenable bridges to Rathkeale's Palatine heritage.
Lynn Switzer, the groom's mother, said that she and her husband, Gary, who were living in the Lake District in England, had been attempting to trace the Switzer family heritage in Ireland when they discovered the ancestral link to the cottage in Courtmatrix.
"We knew there was a link in Ireland, and Gary was going through the national archives when he learned that there had been Palatines in Rathkeale. When we found out about the cottage and the family link, we knew right then that we had to buy it. We approached the people who it belonged to, and luckily enough we were able to get it and start work. It was so overgrown, you could barely see there was a cottage underneath, but we were amazed with what we found inside," she said.
The cottage, which was built by Gary's ancestor, Yohann Christopher Switzer, one of the original settlers, had not been lived in for 45 years but contained numerous documents detailing the history of the Switzer family in Rathkeale, including lists of everyone who had been born and lived in the cottage itself. There was also perfectly-preserved linens and an old copy of the family Bible.
Lynn and Gary now live in the renovated cottage, which has retained all the traditional features of the original design and is regularly visited by walking tours from the Irish Palatine Museum.
Lynn said that the cottage was the natural choice for the Methodist blessing of the marriage between their only child Craig, 23, and Suzanne Windle, 24, who is originally from Limerick. The couple had registered their marriage in London a week earlier, and last Saturday's event was for friends, neighbours, family and members of the Irish Palatine Association including Austin Bovenizer, Palatine historian Dudley Levistone Cooney, and Dr Patrick O'Connor from the University of Limerick.
The last marriage of Palatine descendents at the cottage last took place in 1901, when the bride was also named Suzanne Switzer.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South east
