Karen Alboucq started visiting Ireland when she was a child.

After all, her mother, the late Maureen (Mee) Karas, was born in the village of Glennamaddy in County Galway.

“She came over to the U.S. in 1950 with other friends of hers to San Antonio, Texas,” said Alboucq, Mahoning Valley. “It was either that or become a farmer’s wife.”

Karas served as a sister of the Incaranate Word for several years, but decided she wanted to have a family.

“And the rest is history,” Alboucq said.

Alboucq and her brother, Chet, traveled to Ireland with their mother in 1964. She’d visit again with her mother and father; late husband Stewart Alboucq, and their sons, Brian and Sean Alboucq. They usually stopped at the Mee Family Farm while there to see relatives, including Alboucqu’s grandparents. They also traveled there for family weddings and other important events.

“Then most recently my brother and I and his two sons (Andrew and Chris Karas) went in 2017 to visit aunts, uncles, cousins and new friends that we met along the way,” she said.

It’s time to visit again, she said.

In August, she, her brother and her sister-in-law will meet up with remaining family members. They’ll also get to see relatives who make their home in England.

“We have so many fond memories of the beautiful Ireland and I fondly thank my mother for my Irish roots,” Alboucq said.