Chapter 14 Decisions to be Made Relieved that much had been decided, John sang his way down the path to his house, his sweet tenor voice growing louder the closer he came to the door and the bairns tumblin’ out of the door. “Da, Da, what have ye?” and then fightin’ to reach around him,…Read more Chapter 14: Decisions to be Made
Leaving Ireland
Look around you. What would it be like if half of the people living in your state disappeared? That’s what happened in Ireland in the middle of the 1800’s. And half of those people died of starvation and disease while the other half left Ireland to find a better life.
As I stood looking at the graves of my great-great-grandparents who immigrated to Pennsylvania in Ireland in 1848, I felt like I had to write their story and the stories of the millions of other people who left their homelands to come here for a better life, a life of freedom and hope.
So this is that story, and maybe you can relate. You have ancestors who left Ireland or Wales or England or Europe like John and Johannah did.
Remember, I wasn’t there back when all this happened. This story is built on a skeleton of historical facts, research about he history of the time and the history of my family. Butit is fleshed out the best I could imagining what their journey might have looked like.
Chapter 13: Philip
Chapter 13 Philip As they did every Sunday, the two Brennan brothers walked the road back from Mass in Templetoughy together, the children running ahead, the wives following, and from time to time, a ma or a da would be calling the boys back to the road. Brothers, John and Andrew, brought up the rear…Read more Chapter 13: Philip
Chapter 12: The Planting, And a Cup of Buttermilk
Chapter 12 The Planting and a Cup of Buttermilk The next morning John looked into the pit, as though looking down through the tunnel of time. He could see the wee pile left from the winter and knew t’would never give him a crop big enough to last for eatin’ through the year and have…Read more Chapter 12: The Planting, And a Cup of Buttermilk
Chapter 11: After The Long Hungry Winter
Chapter 11 1848 After the long hungry winter On their way to Mass through the brisk air, a bit of color greenin’ the countryside, John and his brother Andrew continued talkin’ about another possibility beyond the workhouse though John had not mentioned it to Johannah, at least not yet. “Did ye talk to Johannah…Read more Chapter 11: After The Long Hungry Winter
Chapter 10: Marked Men
Chapter 10 from Leaving Ireland “The wretched people were seated on the fences of their decayin’ gardens, wringing’ their hands and wailin’ bitterly the destruction that had left them foodless.” “I tell you Johannah, those were the exact words I heard the new priest, the traveling priest, tell Father Peter at the door after mass.…Read more Chapter 10: Marked Men
Chapter 9: Working in the Road
Snow blew in around the door and the windows froze over so they no longer served a purpose. T’was not an ordinary Irish winter, this one. Snow was a rare thing, a time for the kiddies to play about in it, but then that was when they were rosy and fat from eatin' their…Read more Chapter 9: Working in the Road
Chapter 8: The Wren Boys
“What do ye be talkin’ about so quiet over there?” Johannah asked as she turned from the dishes she and Mary were puttin’ away. Andrew and John were sittin’ across from each other at the table, dabbin’ up the last of the cake crumbs and sharin’ the bottle of porter Andrew had brought. “It’s niver…Read more Chapter 8: The Wren Boys
Chapter 7: Christmas Dinner
Patrick and Timothy led the parade homeward, stamping their foot prints in the fresh snow while Maggie hand-in-hand with Bridget followed, the two of them chatterin’ away like the long-lost sisters they were. John and Johannah watched their children laughin’, the boys now playin’ at who could run the fastest, and for all the pain…Read more Chapter 7: Christmas Dinner
Chapter 6: A Surprise at Mass
John finished the milkin’, a pleasant hummin’ fillin’ the small space. He liked the peace and quiet of milkin’, always a place for thinkin’ since the cows niver had ennathin’ much to say. Of a sudden it came to him, as he thought over the last months and the harvest or lack of much…Read more Chapter 6: A Surprise at Mass
Chapter 5: A Long Night
John laid another block of turf on the fire and slid into bed waiting for Johannah to finish with the little ones, then wrapped himself around her to warm her chilled body. The children deserved the warm fire, he thought as he drifted uneasily toward sleep. “John, do you hear that.” She struck him in…Read more Chapter 5: A Long Night
