Sir, – In his article, “Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese descendent makes pilgrimage to Cong” (Home News, September 18th), John Moran refers to visitors from “New Zealand”. Sisters Janet (Australia) and Rosalie (New Zealand), like Lafcadio Hearn, my wife Averil and her sister Sheelagh are all direct descendents of Rev Daniel Hearn (c1693-1766), Archdeacon of Cashel.
Janet and Rosalie came to Ireland to visit the places where their Le Fanu and Patton grandmothers were born, in Counties Galway and Down respectively. In connection with Rose Le Fanu, they had arranged to meet Brigid Clesham in Cong on September 16th, to learn more about Rose’s husband, William Edward Hearn of Queen’s University Galway and later Chancellor of Melbourne University.
As they did not know of any other living Hearn descendents in Ireland, I made contact with Dick Ryan of the Ireland Japan Association to inquire if he knew of any. From him I learned of the planned visit by Bon Koizumi and his wife, Shoko, to Cong, amazingly also on September 16th! Bon and his wife met his sixth cousins on their return to Dublin. – Yours, etc,