In 2000 "David" from the UK posted on a County Cork internet forum asking to be sent a membership form for the McAuliffe Clan. Eight years on David would still not get a form because there is no formal clan he could join.
We have a Rally Committee that has done an excellent job of organising clan gatherings on a regular basis over several years. Without their efforts there would be nothing to bring the McAuliffes together. The McAuliffes are well behind other clans in that respect.
Many Irish clans have formal organisations that offer a variety of services to their members. Included in those are postal voting for elected officers to accommodate the worldwide spread of members, membership certificates, a clan database to assist members with genealogical research, clan publications and newsletters.
We McAuliffes have none of those. Perhaps we don't want them or need them? Is the clan an anachronism in the modern world? Perhaps the other clans are just catering to nostalgia. All we want is to get on with our lives and once in a while have a gentle reminder of our roots, like the opportunity of a trip to Ireland and a visit to the ancient clanlands that someone kindly sets up for us. Then it's back to the real world again.
