The McGinn story

My great-great-grandfather namesake, Michael McGinn, was born in Ireland in 1810. His son, Hugh Arthur McGinn, also born in Ireland, immigrated to Kingston, Ontario, Canada in the late 1800s. The youngest of his three sons, William John McGinn, was born in Oswego, NY, as was my father, Hugh James McGinn. I too was born in Oswego while my father was fighting in Korea as an artillery officer in the First Marine Division.
Semper Fi!

There were numerous Irish immigrant families who first went to Canada before coming to Oswego. They still are known as “Two Boaters,” which is a badge of honor in Oswego. Many lived in the 2nd Ward area called “Corky Hollow”.

My dad returned home after the war and initially took a coaching position in a small farming community near Oswego called Wolcott. He then moved into principal roles until he suddenly passed away at the age of 49 in 1978. I am very proud to say he is a Wolcott legend. He was the NY State Coach of the Year, a Hall of Fame member, the Middle School auditorium is named in his honor, and awards are given to this day in his name. Not bad for a “shanty Irish “ kid who lost his mother at 9.

Sadly, my brother, Shawn Patrick Aloysius McGinn and I are the only ones to carry the surname from our family and when we are gone, that is it. We were blessed to have 4 amazing daughters and mine is named Elizabeth Kathleen McGinn DiDomenico.

Liz blessed us with two grandsons. Michael James Daniel and Daniel Charles Michael. While their surname is far from Irish, they are 75% Celtic, beginning with their grandmother, Connolly (also from Monaghan) and an array of others…Clary, Gleason, Hayes, Murphy, McGuire, Mahoney, Ryan, Doyle, Carney, and Harrigan. Pretty good Irish bloodlines indeed, and I am probably missing some.

Now that Michael and Danny are young men, I wanted them to be certain of their Irish heritage, so we hosted a night last year with them to provide a “review”.

Pictured is me with Michael and Danny, holding photographs of the H. (Hugh) McGinn pub in Newbliss, Co. Monaghan, and a portrait of Dean Michael Barry of Oswego, another Irish legend.

If you can make out Michael’s hat, it says, “Two-Boater,” Oswego, NY, with the McGinn family crest. We had a blast that night! One I for sure will always remember.

My wife, Kathleen Elizabeth, and I will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary next year, God willing, and intend to use the H. McGinn pub as our “base camp “ for our special vacation in September. So I am giving all the relations and residents of Monaghan fair “warning” that we will be in the neighborhood and looking for them to partake in the extended celebration.

God bless everything Irish,
Michael James Francis McGinn