Burren Girl in focus following Rita’s Clare ancestors quest

A North Clare family from both sides of the Atlantic will be reunited next week in Doolin for the Ireland premiere of an award-winning documentary about their family history.

This film, showing on May 4 at Hotel Doolin, highlights the story of a traditional Gaelic clan of the Burren, the O’Dubhdaboreinn.

The film, called ‘Burren Girl,’ (www.burrengirldoc.com) follows the quest of Irish American Rita Davern as she searches ancient records and wanders the Burren interviewing friends and distant relations to learn more about the land and people her grandmother left behind in 1887.

Ms. Davern, who produced and directed the film, said, “I am excited to bring this film back home to the Burren, where the my family’s story began more than 1200 years ago.

“Twelve people from the extended Davern branch, and a few filmmakers will also come over from Minnesota for the premiere. They are excited to finally meet the Davorens they encountered in the film.

“Our ancestors who left, and those who stayed, will be on all of our minds. I think they would be very pleased that this reunion is happening.”

Forty years ago, curiosity about her ancestors led Rita to travel to the Burren from her home in the US.

She said, “I grew up knowing little about my ancestors’ lives in Ireland. I recall my father searching for distant relatives here in the 1960s.

“I wanted to continue the relationships he built with the people who now live in two of our ancestral homes.”

The “Burren Girl” title refers to Rita’s grandmother Anne, who at 19 travelled from her farm near Lahinch to America with her sisters.

She and her younger sister settled in Minnesota and married two brothers, William and John (also Daverns) who were distant cousins.

Two generations later, Anne’s story was forgotten, although a street and a house in St. Paul still carry the family name.

“I wanted to learn more about what happened to my family, particularly Anne, who died a year before I was born.

“I hoped that by learning something about her life I could understand something important about mine. I especially wanted to understand why she left. What were the forces pushing her away from home?”

In 2015, encouraged by her niece Maria, Rita began the film, despite having no previous filmmaking experience.

She said, “I started taking film classes to learn things like how to light and shoot an effective interview. Thankfully I met some talented filmmakers willing to teach me.”

What started off as one film became two, both of which were released during the pandemic.

‘Stories I Didn’t Know,’ which follows the Minnesota strand of her family story, was released in April 2020 and has been shown on PBS – U.S. public television; ‘Burren Girl’ was released in September of that year.

In both films, Rita questions what impact emigration/immigration has on descendants and why it might make sense to unearth the past. Rita’s own journey attests to the value of learning about homeland and history.

In order to understand the deeper history and events that impacted her family, and to spend time with friends in the Burren, Rita tries to visit every other year.

These friends and distant relations generously shared their time and the stories that make this film so enlightening. Rita was surprised to find out that some of her Clare friends have also lost parts of their history.

She listened to their stories and then did research to understand the historical context. What were those ancestors up against, and why did they make the decision to stay or go?

Rita said, “In my teens my dad’s last uncle died and his Lahinch farm was willed to my dad, the closest male relative. Dad signed ownership over to his aunt who was still living on the farm.

“Through the making of the film I came to understand why land ownership – and passing it on to the next generation – is so crucial for Irish families.”

Her research also led her to the discovery that the O’Davorens founded a law school in the Burren in the 1500s and helped preserve Gaelic laws from as far back as the eighth century.

“Thanks to the work of scientists, historians and those doing family research to find stories buried in stone, I know now that the O’Davorens played a small but significant part in the preservation of Gaelic culture by codifying and preserving a collection of Brehon Laws when Gaelic culture was under attack,” Rita said.

She continued: “The search for my own past brought both innumerable gifts and a hard reckoning with history and its traumas. I came away with new insights about myself and my family.

“I made new friends and gained a deeper understanding of the culture my grandmother left behind.

“We are now attempting to reconnect the branches of our family that were scattered to the winds over the last 400 years,” she concluded.

The film showing is a fundraiser for environmental charity Burrenbeo Trust, so while tickets, which are available at www.burrenbeo.com, are complimentary, a donation is suggested. View the trailer at burrengirldoc.com/trailer