Thomas William Croke (1824-1902), Archbishop of Cashel among other titles, is a distant relation of mine, as he is to the descendants of hordes of Crokes who emigrated from Ireland to the United States and Canada in the nineteenth century. I'll admit I'm ignorant of my true connection to him. He was likely a far-removed cousin to my paternal great-great grandfather, or even farther back than that. Once when I was a waiter and serving some Irish tourists at the Irma Hotel in Cody, Wyoming, a man asked if I was related to "the bishop." "Yes," I said, putting on my brogue. "His blood runs in me veins." Always a good line. lt;/span>
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