That's Just How It Was

By Mary Thorpe

Thats Just How It Was is a moving family tale through which much can be gleaned about life during the push for Irish independence This is a satisfying, emotionally involving read.- Clarion Review

Authors of family memoirs often overload their narratives with minutiae that puts nonfamily members to sleep. There are no such encumbrances in Mary Thorpes biography of her remarkable grandmother, Bridget ORourke. Thorpecarefully blends Bridgets story with the events of her day, some of the most pivotal events in Irelands history.- Blueink Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491889879

Mary Thorpe

This work is a labour of love by the writer Mary Thorpe as a tribute to her much loved Granny O’Rourke (nee Nolan) in an attempt to place the stories she heard and was told into a true and historical context. As a social worker who came across many cases of social deprivation in modern times, in the various Social Work Departments in which she worked in the South East and North West of England, Mary had the dawning realisation regarding what her own Grandmother had been through in even harder times in the late part of the Nineteenth Century and early part of the Twentieth Century in Ireland and sought to record this. Mary felt the driving need to record her much loved grandmother’s story as recognition of Bridget’s harsh life and also as a tribute to her and the millions of others like her who made the best of things whilst still retaining a sense of pride, of the worth of education as a ticket out of poverty and of the importance of retaining one’s dignity and commitment to family through good and bad times. Mary uses the life of Bridget to celebrate the achievements of other women in Dublin and Bray, in fact from all over Ireland, in this era, and as such, this story will be of interest to anyone with Irish ancestry. Mary hopes her readers will enjoy the mix of history and biography as an authentic record of times past and that this will be an addition to Celtic history from an empathetic and homespun point of view. Mary clearly believes that ‘our roots’ are as important just as ‘our word is our bond’. - Shayne Langstroth B.Ed Hons. M.Ed.

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© 2014 Mary Thorpe. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/22/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8985-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8986-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8987-9 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Historical Background

Early Years

Moving To Dublin (Crosstwaithe Park)

Getting Married/Living In Dublin

Moving To Bray

Andrew’s Death/Life Without Him

Appendices

Bibliography

Books/Magazines/Archive Records

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the assistance of my eldest son, Shaun, I would not have been able to do all of the research through all the files in the various libraries, archives, and record offices that I had to visit in my quest to document my grandmother’s background. His tenacious attitude towards this project and his own knowledge of Irish history were nothing less than superb.

Thanks also go out:

To Paul, my third son, who not only read the manuscript but changed the language when necessary. He, too, was a tower of strength during the whole of this project.

To Carrie, my eldest granddaughter, who like her father, Shaun, was unstinting of her time and support in all the government offices whose archives we visited. Her tenacious desire to know about her ancestors on her father’s side was delightful.

To Helene, my only daughter, who also supported me in researching online archives for my ancestors, and who listened to my frustrations when I lost some work!

To Éamonn, my middle son, who is of the opinion that his mum is not as computer illiterate as she has told him she is.

To Ian, my youngest son, who has been my saviour by supporting all my endeavours with the computer. He was constantly called upon to get me out of trouble when I had done something -not too clever on the computer, and he would willingly adjust or readjust the computer for the millionth time. I am completely computer illiterate.

To all my grand-children Thomas, Carrie, Louise . Orla, Eoin,Jasmine Matthew, who gave me the hugs and kisses that I needed throughout my often-frustrating endeavours to complete the manuscript. I hope it will be a reference for all of them in the future, when they may want to know more about their ancestry.

To my eldest sister, Ronnie, who helped me fill the gaps in my memory concerning places and people from long ago.

To Kieron Connelly (SIPTU) – I very much appreciate the time and effort he took to research the Trade Union records; not only that, but he took the time to hand-deliver the material that he found.

To the unknown woman whom I met at the Genealogy Department in Dublin Library; the information she provided with regard to Chancery Street, Halston St. School, and The Four Courts was invaluable, as she had lived there until they were demolished.

To Shayne Langtroath, English teacher and retired Deputy Head of a large comprehensive school, I owe a debt of gratitude for the unstinting contribution to my manuscript. She read and reread the manuscript, rewording grammatical errors and offering opinions and advice. In general terms, she was unwavering in her commitment to reading the manuscript and superb in her knowledge of English comprehension.

Last, but not least, I am indebted to all those who assisted with searching out other documents: Henry Cairns, Bray local historian, who offered advice; in particular, Robert at Bray Library, whose assistance I found invaluable; the National Library and the General Records Office staff. At all of these departments the staff were exceedingly patient; their assistance was invaluable and worthy of the Gaelic phrase Céad Mile Fáilte (a hundred thousand welcomes) – nothing was too much trouble for any one of the staff.

To all of the above, and to those people who may have been missed on my list: Thank you one and all!

Mary Thorpe

FOREWORD

This work is a labour of love by the writer Mary Thorpe as a tribute to her much-loved Granny O’Rourke (nee Nolan). It is an attempt to place the stories she heard throughout her life into a true and historical context. As a modern social worker who came across many cases of social deprivation in various social-work departments in South East and North West England, Mary gradually realised what her own grandmother must have been through during the even harder times in late-nineteenth century and early twentieth century Ireland, and so she sought to record this.

Mary felt the driving need to record her grandmother’s story, in recognition of Bridget’s harsh life and also as a tribute to her and the millions of others like her. These were people who made the best of things whilst still retaining a sense of pride, of the worth of education as a ticket out of poverty, and of the importance of retaining one’s dignity and commitment to family through good and bad times.

Mary acknowledges that Bridget possessed the old Irish good luck as well, in marrying a good man and in gaining the sponsorship of her patron, N. Stanislav Murphy.

Within Bridget’s story however, Mary is also writing about an era of tough times, and she acknowledges ‘these roots’ as the make-up of her own resilient Irish character. She is proud of her grandmother’s achievements, especially with regard to the life chances Bridget was able to create for her family – and rightly so!

Mary uses the life of Bridget to celebrate the achievements of other women in Dublin and Bray – in fact, from all over Ireland – during this era, and so this story will be of interest to anyone with Irish ancestry. Mary hopes her readers will enjoy the mix of history and biography as an authentic record of times past, and she hopes that this will be an addition to Celtic history from an empathetic and homespun point of view. Mary clearly believes that our roots are important, just as important as our word is our bond.

Bridget would have been the first to utter these sentiments, and in this respect Mary has taken the lead straight from her own upbringing which, of course, was heavily influenced by Bridget.

This biography is meant to preserve a time now past and to show current and future generations how previous struggles shaped them. It is a true story, including adages and personal experiences that have been passed down by word of mouth to Mary from her grandmother, in true Irish tradition. Mary has simply set about recording what she was told, as a history of her own family and as a story that will ring true with many of Irish ancestry who wish to know about their heritage. The tale is simply told in a comfortable and easily accessible style of writing that will be understood by all – young people seeking answers to questions and older people seeking comfort from former times as a way of making sense of their current lives.

Mary has done a grand job in preserving something of her grandmother’s life, and she has created an authentic piece of Irish history in doing so. Readers should enjoy this poignant read and be able to experience Bridget’s woes and triumphs along with her. Moreover, they will end by thanking God that women like Bridget existed as role models for women everywhere and that such strong, hardy, and steadfast women contributed to forming that charming, quirky, determined Irish character which shines in Irish eyes all over the world.

Shayne Langstroth B.Ed., Hons.M.Ed.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Between 1844 and 1854, when Patrick and Anne Nolan were born [Bridget’s parents], Ireland was suffering the worst famine ever known in its history, as the potato crop, the staple diet, had failed. This had been caused by a fungal infestation that attacked the roots of the potato, which in turn caused most of the potato crops to wither and disintegrate to a smelly pulp. This fungus had never been seen in Ireland before, and it would be many years before scientists could identify it. In fact, the name of the fungus was Phytophthora, and it was only discovered in Dublin University by scientists in 1882, when it was thought to have travelled from America via Europe.

There was another factor to consider in the failure of the potato crops, and this was, of course, the lumper seedling itself. It had been introduced into Ireland some years prior to the Great Hunger, as it had a reputation for sturdiness, high yields, adaptability to poor soil, and reliability. However, in the post analysis of the famine years, it was proven to be one of the worst kinds of potato that had ever been grown in Ireland. The lumper was described as an impoverished food: it was watery, tasteless, and the most unhealthy of vegetables, as it lacked the nourishment of other varieties such as the ‘the apple’ or the ‘cup’. The cup was one the Irish masses had found so tasty, with its skin bursting open like a ball of starchy goodness when cooked, giving a real sense of the goodness that a potato should contain. As a consequence of all of this, the potato that had fed the nation throughout Ireland’s history failed to do so in this period of its most vulnerable times.

When we consider that labourers of that era consumed between eight and twelve pounds of potatoes per day as their only food, with only butter melted in for flavour, it gives us a general insight into how the masses survived.

The lumper is now denoted in history as the tenant farmers having traded security for larger crops – they wanted to gain more money per acre of potatoes. The farmers, therefore, were in part just as susceptible to market conditions as any trader in modern Ireland. It is interesting to note, then, that all the potato seedlings sown during the years of the Great Hunger also succumbed to the blight.

Moreover, what has got to be understood in the context of the tenant farmers in 1844 is that 24 per cent of all Irish tenant farms had only one to five acres of land, while 40 per cent had five to fifteen acres. This led to the fields being sown year on year, as there was no land left to lie fallow. Therefore, the potatoes were unable to gain the nutrients that would normally be present in the land to help protect the crops. Holdings were so small that there was no crop other than potatoes which would suffice to feed a family or pay the rent. Neither was ‘ranching’ [the rearing of cows and pigs on the same small acreage of land] a possibility, due to the limited supply of land. The British government reported shortly before the famine that poverty was so widespread that one-third of all Irish smallholdings could not support their families after paying their rent, except by earnings from seasonal migrant labour in England and Scotland.

Following the famine, reforms were implemented that made it illegal to further divide landholdings, which gave some comfort to the tenant farmers. The census of 1841 showed a population of just over eight million. Two-thirds of those depended on agriculture for their survival, but they rarely received a working wage. They had to work for their landlords in return for the patch of land they needed in order to grow enough food for their own families and to pay the rent. This was the system which forced Ireland and its peasantry into a monoculture [the growing of only one single crop], as only the potato could be grown in sufficient quantity to make any type of living. The rights to a plot of land for the masses [who were Catholics] in Ireland could mean the difference between life and death in the in the nineteenth century.

Therefore, as a consequence of this lack of scientific knowledge, combined with the inferior lumper potato, the fungus that had blighted the potato, plus the additional factor of the shortage of farmland, Ireland and its people were left ravaged and decimated during the Great Hunger from 1844 to 1849 [some historians say from 1844 to 1854].

Patrick and Anne Nolan [Bridget’s parents] had been born in the middle of the famine years, and they had first-hand knowledge of the horror and devastation that occurred during this era. Bridget’s assumption that her grandparents had been tenant farmers was gleaned from the many conversations that she had heard between her parents and the neighbours as time went by. Those people who had been evicted from their homes by the rich English landlords had had to stay alive by any means available to them.

They built mud cabins or huts, just as all the other evicted people did, and it was into these dire conditions that both Patrick and Anne were born. The famine had caused nothing but starvation, the sight of loved ones dying, and living in squalid conditions, with terrible diseases ravaging people’s bodies. As well, many saw loved ones walking to the seaports to try to escape the awful situation which had ravaged the land and its people. All of this would leave scars in their memories that never healed. Anne and Patrick went on to have five children, the last of whom was Bridget, born in 1884.

The potato famine which had ravaged the country and its people by disease and starvation left only poverty and deprivation in its wake. This potato blight had caused devastation for the masses of Irish people who depended on the potato for a major source of their nourishment. Potatoes, bread, and butter were the only sources of nourishment in their daily diet, which, monotonous as it was, kept body and soul together to enable the masses to function, to feed their families, and to pay their rents. As a consequence of the potato blight, they were unable to do any of these. They were unable to feed themselves or their families; therefore they were unable to work or pay their rent. It was not only the people who depended completely on the potato but also the cattle, who fed on potatoes in the winter.

Subsequently the wealthy English landlords evicted all their tenant farmers, via their henchmen, and left the masses of Catholics homeless without any clothing or food. Diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, typhus, and infections of all kinds, such as scabies, sores from broken wounds, scurvy, mouth ulcers, and much more, ravaged their bodies. Without nourishment or medical attention, they died in their thousands day after day. Historians are not sure how many people died, as there were no accurate records kept then; however, it is estimated that one and a half million people died, and roughly the same number emigrated during the initial stages of the famine.

Ireland was under British rule, and Queen Victoria had been on the throne since June 1837. Queen Victoria showed a remarkable indifference to the Irish people during this period. She became known as the ‘Queen of the Famine’, due to her lack of care, total lack of understanding, and certainly her lack of responsibility towards a British-colonised country; this left a lot to be desired. However, when told of the plight of the Irish people, encouraged by her government, she sent a begging letter all around the world asking for funds and alms for the Irish people (see Appendix 1).

The Irish people did not want charity. What they wanted was their right to be looked after by the country that had colonised them. The British establishment made all the policies and legislation, and through their negligence, they failed miserably.

What had been obvious to Daniel O’Connell for many years had now manifested itself in a famine, and he was galled by the terrible tragedy of watching it in 1844. He had spent hours, days, and years, even, in Parliament, trying to make his peers understand that Ireland was in a crisis long before the famine had begun. So when he saw the Irish people now at the mercy of wicked landlords, starving to death, and being evicted for non-payment of rent, he was livid with anger (see Appendix 2).

So it was that Daniel O’Connell, MP, who came from a very prominent Irish Catholic aristocratic background, was often referred to as ‘worse than a public nuisance’ by the workers in the Corporation Offices [Dublin Corporation]; it was because of his constant campaigns against the British establishment. He was to make his anger very clearly known to Queen Victoria and her government when he stood up in Parliament two years before his death in 1847. His impassioned speech for justice – to seek aid and not charity – was mocked by the rest of the Parliament yet again.

Nevertheless, he did not let this mocking deter him, and he continued his speech under great duress. He told the Parliament in no uncertain terms that the Irish people did not want charity; they wanted Catholic emancipation, infrastructure, and industry, so that they could get jobs and could work to keep their families. First and foremost, in this instance of unparalleled suffering by the Irish people, the masses of Catholics, he wanted aid from those people whom he was holding responsible – the British establishment.

In response to Daniel O’Connell’s impassioned speech, Queen Victoria continued to draft the begging letter around the world.

In Calcutta, Irishmen who were employed by the East India Company, and Irish soldiers based there, responded to this begging letter by collecting and sending a total of £14,000. Pope Pius IX sent many thousands of pounds, as did the United States of America; the Canadian First Nations people sent much money also. The United States continued to send more funds via every Irish organisation throughout North America. It was also rumoured that many Iranian shahs offered aid, as much as £10,000 and cargoes of corn, and that when the Queen heard of this amount being sent, she sent a letter to tell them that their generosity was too much, as she was only sending £2,000 herself. Luckily for the Irish people, these Iranian shahs ignored Queen Victoria’s letter and continued to send money and food. It was also rumoured that Queen Victoria sent the same amount to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home on the same day! This was never confirmed however.

Some historians are inclined to differ on what, where, when, why, and how the famine was caused, and who exactly was to blame. Some historians have even tried to exonerate Sir Charles Trevelyan. A notable journalist called W. Mitchell, however, was to write at the time: ‘The Almighty may have indeed sent the blight, but it was the English who caused the Famine.’ Unfortunately for him, his outspoken comments were to get him tried for sedition and sentenced to deportation.

It was, in fact, Sir Charles Trevelyan, First Baronet and Assistant Secretary of State for Ireland during the famine years (see Appendix 3), who believed that ‘little should be done to intervene, as the Irish deserved what was happening to them’, and that ‘the judgement of God has sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson … It is a mechanism for reducing the surplus Catholic population.’ The Irish historical records are littered with quotes written by Trevelyan in the same insulting, insensitive vein. His record of sending cargos of Irish corn all over the world while allowing the Irish Catholic people to starve during the Great Hunger was a travesty that was not ignored in later historical analysis of this period in Irish History.

It has now been noted in history and claimed by Francis A. Boyle, Law Professor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ‘Trevelyan and the British government pursued a race- and ethnicity-based policy aimed at destroying the group commonly known as the Irish people and that the policy of mass starvation amounted to genocide as per the Hague convention of 1948, approximately 100 years after the famine.’

Dennis Clarke, an Irish-American historian, claimed that the famine or ‘Great Hunger of 1844 was the culmination of generations of neglect, misrule, and repression. Not least, that it was of epic proportions of English Colonial cruelty and inadequacy; for the landless cabin dwellers it meant emigration or extinction." It would now appear that Trevelyan’s inactions intentionally exacerbated the famine and can therefore be in no doubt.’

Trevelyan went on to imprison any Irish Catholic who stole corn from the surplus corn sheds to feed their families. These people were sentenced to prison ships and deported to Australia, leaving their families behind to suffer the awful emotional pain that this caused them on top of their starvation. While all of this was happening, all livestock reared in Ireland by farmers of the upper classes and Protestant farmers was being exported, and in George Bernard Shaw’s, Man and Superman, Act 1, a real account of the famine is encapsulated: ‘While a country is full of food there can be no famine.’ What all of this amounted to, then, was ‘starvation’ on a massive scale.

It is fair to say that Trevelyan was the most reviled and hated man in Ireland during the famine years, and for good reason. All down through Irish history his name has evoked anger (see Appendix 3). His name will always remain synonymous with the tragady and cruelty that was perpetuated on the Irish people by the forces of the Crown under his leadership during the famine years. The song ‘The Fields of Athenry’ – which is now known to many thousands of people who attend the six nations’ rugby at Lansdowne Road [renamed Aviva Stadium], Dublin – is a stark reminder of his cruel and insensitive handling of the Irish famine situation.

The Irish people suffering this grave tragedy were already victims of a regime that cared little for the Irish people’s welfare. That, combined with the absentee landlords who continued to evict the tenant farmers who could not pay their rent, left destitute people wandering all over the country, eating grass or any other edible plant material that was available. Irish history has not been kind to either Queen Victoria or Sir Charles Trevelyan!

In the aftermath of the Great Hunger of 1844–54, [some historians say 1844 to ’49, others say 1844 to ’50 or ’54], as it became known, ordinary Irish people who had been left homeless and destitute those people that had not left Ireland for foreign shores had to go on living and providing for themselves and their families by whatever means were available to them; eating grass or any berries that may be available.

Add to this terrible calamity the fact that some thirty years later, between 1877 and 1881, tragedy struck again in West Ireland when the wettest weather in many years caused the potato to rot in the ground once more. Famine-like conditions prevailed once again. This placed tenant farmers in the same situation as during the Great Hunger – although there was a different reason for the crop failure – whereby they were unable to pay their rent or feed their families.

These adverse conditions led to the eviction of over three thousand tenant farmers from their homes in the West of Ireland. Emigration had remained unabated in the intervening years since the Great Hunger, but now, with evictions coming on top of this latest famine, the flow of emigrants out of Ireland increased. There were also many people who did not take the emigration route, and they were wandering up and down the country, trying to find shelter or some work so they could feed their families.

It was Charles Stewart Parnell, a Protestant landowner known as ‘Ireland’s uncrowned king’ in this era, who railed against the British Parliament and the Crown [Queen Victoria was still on the throne]. He gave voice to the people’s anger when he made a speech in Ennis under the auspices of the Land League. It was said that he and other prominent people who supported tenant farmers owning their own land had set up their own courts and acted as if the Land League were the government of the country! This followed a speech in Ennis where Parnell declared, ‘When a man takes a farm from which another has been evicted, you must shun him, in the streets, on the roadside, and in the shops.’

He did in effect put land grabbers [as they were known] into a ‘moral Coventry,’ which resulted in the boycotting of rent payments to the landlords and crimes and murder being committed against landlords and their agents. Charles Stewart Parnell was a very real thorn in the side of the British establishment and the Crown, and he continued his support of the Irish tenant farmers by putting their cause – to own the land which they tilled – on a national level, for them.

Therefore, it is very important to understand that the Irish traveller, derogatorily known as a ‘tinker’ or ‘knacker’, was thought to belong to the group of people who had been on the margins of society since being uprooted by Cromwell’s ‘ethnic-cleansing policy’ in 1641, whereby he confiscated the vast majority of Irish Catholic lands, thus