Getting Acquainted with One Family Root – Isle of Man
I’ve never much gotten into searching for my roots but have nearly always been aware of Isle of Man because even as kids we knew that an ancestor came from there, in the 1700s, it’s true, but to me there was still the mystique of “being Manx.” By the time I came along, our Manxness was well-diluted, but the idea remained. So, finding myself with some free time during a stay in Ireland, I decided to take the short flight to Isle of Man and finally connect with the old turf.
BBC Online cited Isle of Man as a place to go in 2025, with gorgeous scenery, self-guided and guided walks, and a density of ancient sites to explore. Committed stewardship is important to maintaining this beauty: the entire island and its surrounding waters have been designated a UNESCO Biosphere, for its natural beauty, stewardship, and rich cultural heritage.
I’d like to do some of that walking and exploring, but in April 2024, I just wanted to see what I could on a weekend, sort of a get-acquainted trip. And although not searching for roots, I did want to learn more about our Manx family.
To Town from the Airport – by Bus.
When I got to Ronaldsway Airport after the half-hour flight from Dublin, I went looking for a taxi. None showed up, and I heard people say that it would be unlikely for a taxi to just appear. So, I piled on the next bus with the other Dublin arrivals, including a group coming for a fun weekend – they had clearly started having “fun” back in Dublin. As to bus stops in town, our driver wasn’t very talkative, but a grizzled regular rider knew where all the hotel stops were, so he announced enthusiastically to us plane passengers when we each got to ours. The bus stopped in front of my hotel, and it was so easy to manage that I bused back to the airport after my weekend.
I stayed at the re-done Halvard Hotel on Douglas Promenade. The promenade is a couple of miles long, with blocks of Victorian facades that look a lot alike. So, if you choose to stay along there, get to know the visual clues that tell which one is home. There are names and numbers, sure, but some of us are very visual.
Douglas from across the bay, Isle of Man.
When I checked in at the Halvard, the upbeat guy at reception booked me into the hotel restaurant which was serving only me and a local couple early on that off season evening. While the man talked volubly on his phone, his wife turned around 180 degrees to talk to me until her dessert arrived. The sea view was pretty. A ferry was leaving the Sea Terminal on a bright, blustery evening. Otherwise, it was quiet in the harbor.
A Diversion for Some History – The Tynwald. This isn’t a civics lesson, but it’s worth taking a moment to talk about the Manx parliament, The Tynwald, which is over a thousand years old. The Tynwald website says it’s the oldest parliament in the world that has been in continuous operation. Iceland’s parliament, the Althing, is slightly older but hasn’t “operated continuously throughout its history,” they say. Every July there’s an open-air meeting of parliament on Tynwald Hill in St. John’s; Manx law requires that each Act of Tynwald must be promulgated on Tynwald Hill within eighteen months of enactment, or it ceases to have effect. So, there’s that to do, then take petitions for redress, and complete other business. It’s a serious and festive affair with much color and pageantry. The rest of the time, Tynwald meets indoors in Douglas.
First task: Getting to Know You, Isle of Man – Driving Around the Island with Guide Jane
I knew that I wanted to see Maughold, from where my best information says our ancestor departed for North America. Then, I wanted to see some towns and historic sights. I got in touch with Jane, a local guide, who said that in half a day, we could drive around the north of the island, visit Maughold and Ramsey, then cross over to Peel, with frequent stops. We’d drive within sight of Snaefell and along part of the TT [motorcycle] Races route, too. Jane’s knowledge of Manx families and history also promised that I would learn a lot.
Laxey – A Big Wheel, a Woolen Mill, and an Old Tomb. The Great Laxey Wheel is Isle of Man’s most iconic landmark and the world’s largest working water wheel. At 72 feet and six inches in diameter (about 22 meters), it represents an extraordinary feat of Victorian engineering – it had to be big to pump flood water from the 2,200-foot deep, 4,000-foot long (about 671 meters deep and 1220 meters long) Great Laxey Mine. There’s a lot to see, including from a viewing platform 95 spiral steps up, and underground tours in season. It started to rain, sparing me the 95 steps. The wheel is a marvel, but to me the real story was the mining on the island, about which I knew nothing. The Great Laxey Mine, sunk in 1780, produced zinc, lead, and copper. At its height, the mine produced half of Britain’s zinc ore output. Accidents and miner deaths were common. The Great Laxey Mine closed in 1929, ending mining on the island.
Laxey Woolen Mills was founded in 1881 to promote and preserve the weaving of traditional Manx tweed and worsted. The mill still operates and is the only mill in the world weaving genuine Manx Loaghtan cloth and tweed in pure undyed Manx wool. This visit was interesting for its social and industrial history, as well as its lovely location by the Laxey River. The store is full of the most gorgeous woolens. I bought a Manx hunting tartan scarf, very packable, and useful when I headed back to Ireland’s West Country.
Also near Laxey is King Orry’s Tomb, a large megalithic tomb said to belong to the legendary King Orry, who is probably based on King Godred Crovan, a Viking who created the Kingdom of Mann when he arrived in 1079. (The last Norse King of Man, Magnus Olaffson, died in 1265.) According to the Visit Isle of Man website, King Orry’s Grave, the largest cairn in the site, is estimated to have been built around five thousand years ago. There are two parts to this large site, so don’t be misled by my pictures, because the site stretches across today’s road and more than one property.
A note about the name Laxey: it’s from the old Norse “laxa” (salmon).
Family Business and Much Else at Maughold
Maughold Church was the family parish when my great-great-something grandfather lived there. And Maughold is one of the island’s most important historic sites, its history going back to the sixth century.
The church was founded around the year 447 by Celtic St. Maughold who landed on the coast towards the end of the 5th century, bringing Christianity with him. Irish prince, former pirate converted by St. Patrick, then sent off to the island in a coracle as penance (so goes one legend).
Today’s plain church building is one of the oldest on the island, typical of traditional Manx churches. The churchyard is four acres, with a great many graves and the ruins of three keills, early Christian chapels dating from before the 1200s. At the cross house, you’ll see historically important early Christian Celtic crosses, many of them pre-Norse. Go inside the church to see the Pillar Cross which depicts the island’s oldest stone-carved example of the three Legs of Mann symbol.
The view from the nearby headland across the bay to the Irish Sea is stunning. The bronze sculptures there are Odin’s Ravens, Huginn and Muninn, placed in memory of Sir Charles Kerruish, Manx farmer and one of Isle of Man’s best-known politicians. Standing on the hillside, I watched rain clouds sweep in for a sudden change of weather; nearby, ewes grazed on a green hillside with their lambs.
To Ramsey, Peel, Tynwald Hill, and “Home” to Douglas
From Laxey, we continued to Ramsey, where we had tea and scones at cozy Gopher’s Coffee Shop across from Ramsey Harbor. After the sudden rain at Maughold, it was sunny in Ramsey, so I enjoyed a short walk to look at the harbor and beach, and at Queen’s Pier, Ramsey’s 2,000-plus foot (610 meter) pier completed in 1885, originally for steam packet ships to board and discharge passengers at low tide. Time hasn’t been kind to the pier, and a group has formed with the goal to save this, one of the last remaining iron piers in Britain.
Heading next to Peel on the west coast, we drove over the island’s center, near Snaefell Mountain, the island’s highest point at 2,037 feet (621 meters). In summer, the Snaefell Mountain Railway runs from Laxey to the summit. Or you can climb Snaefell on foot. I’d like to do the climb, which sounds more like a walk, not too high, easy, mostly grassy but can be slippery or marshy after rain. On the April day that we drove across the island, with Snaefell on our right, the weather clouded up and we had snowflakes, not even a flurry, but real snow. I have pictures to prove this, but it’s true that the flakes are rather far apart.
Then descending to Peel, the weather once again clear, I saw the Peel Castle ruins, an 11th century complex that was once a Viking stronghold. The castle is on an outcrop called St. Patrick’s Isle and is among the most important historic and religious sites in the British Isles. Clearly, it had been a huge place, with walls encircling a large area and a complex of structures.
Our destination in Peel was House of Manannan, which, like the Manx Museum in Douglas (more later), is part of the organization Manx National Heritage. I browsed in the shop and learned that the museum presents exhibits about the island’s Celtic, Viking, and maritime past, all guided by the mythical sea god Manannan. But I didn’t go through the museum; after all, this was my get-acquainted trip, not a do-it-all visit. From House of Manannan, it was a short walk along the quay to Fenella Beach, where we watched surf crashing on St. Patrick’s Isle rocks and got another look at Peel Castle.
Then, on the way back to Douglas, we made one of our most important stops, Tynwald Hill at St. John’s. I’ve written about how Tynwald meets annually at this site that goes back more than a millennium. The mound today is terraced, with steps for convenience, but it’s the same mound where the Vikings began assembling long ago.
And not long after Tynwald Hill, my circuit ended back in Douglas, near Marks & Spencer, where I asked to be dropped off. A couple of days later, I was back in Ireland.
Carless in Douglas
Public transport covers most places I might want to go on the Isle of Man, although some transport operates seasonally, like the summertime Snaefell Mountain Railway. But I had no trouble seeing sights in Douglas on foot.
Gaiety Theater. Gaiety is the perfect Victorian theater! It opened in 1900, and endured closures, re-openings, deterioration, and near demolition. Finally rescued in the 1970s, Gaiety was restored to as near its original appearance as possible. Theater architect Frank Matcham’s original architectural drawings of Gaiety still existed, and these along with a handful of pictures guided the restoration. The gorgeous rose window was painstakingly rebuilt. The theater’s original drop curtain survived and is now the only Victorian drop in a public theater in the British Isles. And the Victorian machines under the stage include the last surviving example of a Corsican Trap, which you should look up if you’re interested in theater.
Gaiety’s been in the movies, too, standing in for New York’s Mercury Theater in “Me and Orson Welles,” a 2008 film about young Orson Welles with Zac Efron. Half the shoots were done in Gaiety, almost the exact replica of the old Mercury.
I took the tour which lasted a bit more than two hours – so plan ahead but do go. It’s a jewel.
Manx Museum
The museum is up a steep hill from the promenade, but there’s an elevator and pedestrian bridge from a parking deck. I liked taking the steps up the hill, though, because it’s pretty, and not too high up. The museum’s in a brick Victorian building that had been a hospital before opening as the museum in 1922. A 2022 BBC Online article points out that while many Victorian museums built eclectic collections, the Manx museum “collected itself.” So, the museum is a treasure trove of riches from 10,000 years of Manx history and pre-history, with Stone Age materials, impressive Viking hoards, and natural history, social history, and culture exhibits up to the present. There’s also a nice painting gallery, and I liked the gift shop. When I visited (twice) a terrific temporary exhibit of Manx artists was just coming down, so be sure to check for special shows when you go.
The Bee Gees
St. Thomas Church. The neogothic church of St. Thomas is a block or two off the promenade and is well worth a visit to see the extraordinary murals that cover much of the church’s sanctuary. Around the turn of the 20th century, the vicar felt that the church’s style lent itself to wall paintings, which were common in medieval churches, and renowned local artist John Millar Nicholson translated the ideas into pictures. When I went by the church, workers were setting up for an Earth Day celebration, and the crew chief told me I could come in (with care), so I saw the murals, not optimally, but there they were. It’s really nice – clever vicar.
Famous People. There are plenty of accomplished, well-known people who live in and come from Isle of Man, but one group got my attention every time I walked along Douglas Promenade – the Bee Gees, the Gibbs brothers, who were born in Douglas though they emigrated with their family as youngsters. But here in Douglas, they stride forward in bronze permanence, walking toward the town.
Some Parting Facts
Speaking Manx. I don’t speak any. In fact, the UNESCO Atlas of World Languages in Danger declared Manx dead in 2009. But they didn’t take kindly to that on Isle of Man, and there has been a revival, although I haven’t found (or looked for) information about fluency levels. There’s a Manx primary school in St. Johns, and the Manx Language Service (Yn Skimmee Gaelgagh) provides Manx Gaelic lessons to island schools.
TT Races. If you like motorcycles and races you’re likely already familiar with the annual Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Races. They take place over a two-week period in May and June on public roads – which are closed to the public. That the races are dangerous is well known; there are deaths nearly every year. But the races are tremendously popular, and the island is crowded with spectators. On the way back to Douglas, we drove along some of the course.
Loaghtan Sheep and Manx Cats. The Loaghtan is a primitive Manx sheep breed typically with four horns. I wanted to see one, so Jane drove by a farm where Loaghtans are sometimes in a field fronting the road, but it was lambing season, and the sheep were elsewhere. They’re unique, so I’m including a picture of a drinks coaster that I bought at the Mostly Manx shop in Douglas, in lieu of an actual photo.
As for the famous tailless cats, the lack of tail is a mutation, which not all Manx cats share (“longies”). I also read that the breed is quite social. As with the Loaghtan sheep, I didn’t see a tailless Manx cat in situ.
Raise a Glass of the Local Brew. I came to learn about the island’s history and about family. But Isle of Man would also be great for a hiking holiday, history tour, or just hanging out – on the beach, at the Gaiety, in a garden. And if you raise a glass of local brew, you can feel good about it. Way back, the insightful (and pub- and brewery-owning) Dr. William Okell convinced Tynwald to enact beer purity laws to deal with the adulterated beer problem. It’s good stuff, so, slaynt vie!
Animals: There are no badgers, squirrels, moles, or snakes on the island.
Snaefell: The name comes from a Norse word meaning Snow Mountain. The Manx Gaelic name is Sniaull.
Trip date: April, 2024