There were no stories or photographs.
I spent hours combing through Ancestry.com and scouring Irelands many public online databases for any information.
It only made sense to visit them.
Asia walking along Dunmore Head in Dingle, Ireland.Credit:Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
Shortly after, my boyfriend and I booked a week-longtrip to Irelandfrom our home in Boston.
Our home for the night was the historicThe Address Cork, a refurbished mid-19th-century hospital.
Although the house was decrepit, it was stillthere.
Sheep along the rocky coast of Dingle, Ireland.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
Built in 1848, the 50-foot conical stone beacon is one of County Corks most iconic sites.
We pressed further south over the next few days and began looping around the countrys wild western peninsula.
We feasted on lamb and steak, on sea bass and fish chowder.
Asia Palomba standing in front of her Great great great Grandparents house in Cork City, Ireland.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
On those days, we joined the sheep lying in the grass to soak up the warm spring sun.
I dont pretend to be Irish simply because I have citizenship.
I know it takes much more than a passport and some old documents to lay claim to land.
Writer, Asia Palomba in Kinsale, Ireland and an archival photograph of her Grandparents home in Baltimore, Ireland.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
Aerial view of the Spain Tower in Baltimore, Ireland. A Napoleonic era signal tower overlooking Baltimore Harbour and Roaringwater Bay.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
The steep single lane mountain pass of Priest’s Leap in County Kerry, Ireland.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
Scenic view of Dunmore Head in Dingle, Ireland. Located on the Dingle Peninsula it’s one of the westernmost points in Europe.Asia Palomba/Travel + Leisure
