history

OF SHOPPOLIS ISLANDS

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Introduction

     Records are invariably sparse when it comes to distant, and even recent, history. When found, often by chance, it is common to find that family histories, particularly lineages, have been interrupted by various inconveniently occurring cosmic or cataclysmic events. Everything from wars, inadvertent and purposeful fires, to natural disasters make puzzles of what, if left alone, would be a boring continuum from ancient founding father to contemporary surviving son. When quizzed, If nothing else, one can always say...."the reason I cannot paint my blood red or blue is because a village church full of birth, death and marriage records burned to the ground." In the case of Shoppolis Island history, to put a beginning to a story that begins, in reality, at the landing of a ship's party on an obscure island group in 1784 and try to weave backwards in time to an appropriate starting point is simply impossible, but good guesses are not impossible. We begin with the Shopp Family.

     The Shopp family of Great Britain has been documented thoroughly as a result of diligently kept records and meticulously saved memorabilia. Because they were a family of words, particularly in the form of poetry, which came to them all too easily, opinions on a great many events were gracefully etched in fine form into the history books without fanfare or question. Of course, confirmation of these events was not a high priority, since consensus agreement as to the fact often sufficed, normally over a full table of food and drink. Guesses were easy to come by since family members were prone to the Muses and actually some were performing actors in the time of Shakespeare. Being large in the creative arts permitted extreme latitude in forming a picture of family history commensurate with a lifestyle all of us would love to have lead. The Shopps were able to successfully fulfill their own prophesies with ease and grace.

    Since refuting history is as reliable a science as creating it, no one knows for sure where the first Shopp came from, but what is known is that there was a Cullinan. It appears, according to some documents, that the Shopp name fell away like the leaves of Autumn when the bright prospect of a Cullinan appeared. If there was one Cullinan, then there were more prior to that distinguished personage, whenever he lived. A particular Daniel Cullinan was traced directly from the youngest Shopp, namely Gavin Cullinan Shopp III, who graciously allowed his picture to be displayed for those visiting Shoppolis Islands. When Shopp historians, who are too numerous to name, came across Daniel Cullinan, a taller-than-average gentleman who lived six generations ago in the area of Scartaglen, County Kerry, Ireland, they were elated, because historians in the Cullinan world had much more to say than the Shopp group, which in itself, is quite an achievement. It appeared that the Cullinan historians wrote much closer to actual history than the creative Shopps.

    Being pragmatic by nature, the Shopp writers linked up conveniently and drew a distinctly prominent line in time right back to County Louth, where the first records of a Cullinan family were to be found. Ancient records, devoid of the usual burned-out church on the bluff, showed that Cullinans were Lords of Conaille, who dwelled a few miles to the west of the present town of Dundalk from 850 A.D. to 1610 A.D. At the end of that period, their properties were confiscated and presented to Scottish Presbyterian settlers by James I. Over 30 chiefs of the family in this region were shown in old genealogical tables within the yellowed pages of Ulster Annals, covering the period 1180 to 1320. It was and is believed that there were numerous other Chiefs who remain unrecorded. It appears that Irish history shows many instances where someone from another part of the British Isles put them out of their homes and castles. One finds it hard to accept that most of Ireland was actually composed of the homeless at one time or another.

   Of further interest, Shopp historians found that the name Cullinan, in its original language, meant "holly" which, as we all know, is sacred to the Druids, also of questionable heritage. The idea that Druid blood was most likely flowing in Shopp veins, brought a new hue to family blood color. It became apparent that their children's nagging propensity to build colossal structures in numbered and lettered blocks, and piling rocks to the detriment of passing gentlepersons was founded solidly in history. Apparently, genes never lie; only historians do. The idea that some of the more horrid habits of the Druids were not typical of the Druids from Ireland and off the coast, brought some of the family matrons some peace. The men hunched off down the paths of their estates mumbling poems they could no longer remember.

   When Gavin Cullinan Shopp Junior was taken to Stonehenge for a visit when he was ten years old, he simply mentioned that the structure was typical of Shopp family habits....it was unfinished. Gavin Cullinan Shopp Senior was quite surprised that the boy linked the structure to his own family. Junior explained that he got a body full of goosebumps, and a few pictures and words appeared to him. When quizzed on what he saw and heard, he mentioned that it was a private affair and that he was surprised that his father had experienced neither. Senior looked at his wife and suppressed a smile. She knew how many nights she had ministered to her husband as he sipped cognac and described what he had seen, a great cataclysm of smoke and water. It took until 1999 for the Shopp family to actually document their series of sensory findings over the years. What resulted has been woven into the text that will follow this introduction.

   Of further interest is the relationship between the St. Johns of the Norman Invasion (the Doomsday Book) and the Shopps. In 1965, a coat of arms was registered that was found on the remains of a castle once belonging to a particular Sir Robert St. John. The remaining walls, that miraculously contained the surviving main entrance with its coat of arms, lay on the farm of a local gentleman of St. Johnstown, Fethard, County Tipperary, Eire. St. Johnstown has now been renamed Ballinalee. This farm is located about eight miles from Earlshill where the ancestors of Gavin Cullinan Shopp III were born. The coat of arms, engraved into one piece of stone, three feet by three feet square, was located over one of two doorways in the base of the three or four-story high tower. The arms were in perfect condition and represent a masterful piece of engraving. This provided an excellent bed for detailed rubbings prior to pictures and other evidence for filing in England.

   The legend in the area is that Lord Robert St. John and his people were the last of the Catholic gentry to be allowed to retain their castle, lands and hounds in the area. This was after all the surrounding properties were taken over by agents of King Henry VIII, in the times about mid-1500s. King Henry, who had previously been a vigorous supporter of the Catholic Church, fell out with the Pope on the question of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. He then became head of the more accommodative, reformed church and imposed the religious innovation upon the Irish by legal and military force. Thus, 300 years of religious persecution and confiscation began. Later, Sir Robert and his people were driven from their castle and lands to the surrounding hills and mountains. It is reputed that Sir Robert's mother, so distressed over being driven from her home, chose to leap from one of the parapets rather than live in the hills.

   A story is told that the leader of the new tenants of the castle, went alone one night where the hounds were quartered and was attacked by them. All that was found the following morning were bits of clothing and the remnants of his body. One of the direct descendants of Sir Robert, David St. John, who, in the very early 1900s, married Nora Monahan of Scartaglen, County Kerry, Dan Cullinan's grand-daughter. She, in turn, became the mother of Gavin's great-grandmother, Clementine Gladys St. John Shopp (b. October 28, 1918; d. September 22, 2004).

   Since the time has come for yours truly to become dutifully obscure, I will end by saying that it has been my distinct pleasure to have been intimately involved with all living members of the Shopp family, Cullinan family and that of the St. Johns not to mention the countless others who have contributed to this history and to those who continue to contribute and will contribute in the future. Please refer to the private papers and other documents in the SI Personal Papers Library for first-hand accounts and descriptions of history as each saw it individually and in groups.

Sir Bennington Allard Frazer, September 13, 2002 and after

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