Cousins

We slept for ten hours last night and could have probably slept for longer if we hadn’t booked breakfast for 8.30!

After a leisurely meal, during which wonderful host Brenda persuaded me quite forcefully to eat more than I had eaten for breakfast since before children, we chatted with German visitor Rudolph about local history, Chinese culture and, inevitably, Brexit. Then Tony’s cousin Mary arrived to collect us for a morning full of family history discovery. Tony hadn’t met Mary before but they got on really well straight away and were busy swapping information and stories on the short drive to the small town of Gurteen (pronounced Gurcheen) where Tony’s mum shopped and attended St Patrick’s Church.

Those following this aspect of my journal will recall my problems locating the small settlement of Carrantemple, home to the family farm. This was to be our first stop of the day at the burial ground. We spent some time trying to find the family grave and the one we did find turned out to be right name, wrong family.

Mary suggested we call on another cousin, PJ, who lived a short distance along the narrow lane. She was unsure about his address so we pulled in to the drive of another house and she knocked on the door. This in itself was surprising to us. The young woman who answered thought she knew which cottage we needed but then her father appeared, who located his mother in law and we spent some time with her, all happily contributing to furthering the family and neighbours story. One lovely anecdote came when the mother in law said she ‘remembered the beautiful girls in their fancy clothes from England.’ As this was the time of rationing, it brought home just how difficult life here was. Folks here are genuinely welcoming and more than happy to spend some time in conversation. Eventually, PJ’s Cottage was pointed out and we said our goodbyes and drove further along the lane and up a farm track. Luckily we caught PJ just before he was due to go out to tend his small herd of cows and he also threw himself energetically in to the Shiel story.

PJ had a wide knowledge and memory of the local families and events and Tony was kept busy trying to write down all the links to relatives and ensure he was getting the correct spellings. It was PJ who spotted we had incorrectly identified the family grave so we returned to the burial ground and found the correct grave for the cousins’ grandmother and brother. PJ then took us in to the much older part of the graveyard and regaled us with stories of illegal (at the time!) Fenian masses being held here. Apparently there was quite a cave system used by the locals in the surrounding fields. PJ also showed us the tree stump which was over the Shiel family graves. Fascinating stuff! This is the subject of my blip.

Next, we walked a short distance along the lane and up a boggy farm track. This was an emotional moment for Tony, and for Mary who had not been back to the family farm in over fifty years. PJ has converted the house in to a barn over the years, but was able to describe how it was set out in four rooms. Life was tough for the cousins’ parents and grandparents on this small farm, with no running water and no electricity. Much of their income came from farm work and picking crops. The surroundings are very pretty, with beautiful landscape abounding with trees and wildflowers to the horizon, but it must have been harsh in the colder months of the year and rain is a constant threat in this part of Ireland. It is no wonder that the five siblings left for England in search of easier lives at one point or another. Only two returned, as did PJ. Tony’s Mum was the first to leave and she remained in England until her death, as did sister N. Sister C emigrated with her husband to Australia on the £10 Pom tickets in the 50s and she remains there still, now in her nineties.

PJ described the route the children would take across the fields to the school and that was our next stop. Sadly the old school has gone and the newer school is now empty as a result of there being too few children locally to make it viable. Whilst looking around the exterior, a woman arrived to exercise her dog and we had another fifteen minutes or so swapping family information.

It was time for Mary to return home and she dropped us back in Boyle. It was so heart warming to see the cousins enjoying each other’s company and Mary was right when she spotted the family likeness in Tony and PJ. We said our goodbyes and are hoping that Mary is able to spend some time with us tomorrow to clarify Tony’s notes.

We enjoyed a late lunch at the King’s House tearoom and then walked to the pocket sized Boyle Abbey, where Thomas on the gate happily told us all we needed to know about its history. Such hospitality in this small town! We have just enjoyed more of it at Clarke’s Restaurant and now we are relaxing (and Tony should be writing up his notes before he forgets all those connections!)