IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

From: "Jean R." <>
Subject: "My Special Aunt (Maggie Ellen KANE) from Mohill, Co. Leitrim" - Mary Casey FOREY, Boston, MA.
Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 21:52:07 -0700

SNIPPET: Excerpts from a piece written in 1998 by Mary Casey FORRY, President Boston Irish Reporter, subsequently published in the 2004 issue of the yearly "Leitrim Guardian" magazine along with an old photo of Mary Ellen KANE and a Delia GRAY, Bohey.

"To say that my aunt, Maggie Ellen KANE, was the last of her breed is probably something of an overstatement; but when she passed away just before Thanksgiving, not only was she the last of my mother's siblings to die, she was also something of a representation to me of an Ireland that is fast disappearing. Even though she was almost 90, Maggie Ellen was still just an Irish girl. She grew up on a family farm outside of Mohill, Co. Leitrim, and except for short periods when she visited us in America, she always stayed there. She reflected to me the innocence and modesty of a young woman to her last days ... She lived a very simple farm life, taking care of my grandfather, Pat (the Pope) KANE, and her brother, Frank. She moved once, in protest, and got herself a small place in Mohill town, and to all reports she was very happy there for some months. She moved out because my grandfather had refused to give her the dowry which had been promised to her upon her marriage, !
but as I came to understand could be given anyway if the young woman remained single after a certain number of years. She eventually went back home after intense negotiations between my mother, Mary Kate, and grandfather worked in her favour ... When she wasn't caring for my grandfather and uncle, she was working in the rather grand home of an English couple who owned an estate not far from them. Her life revolved around her neighbours on the Bohey Road. They visited one another on weekends and provided their own entertainment. My grandfather was known to sing at the drop of a hat, as was my uncle. I don't know what Maggie Ellen did other than keeping the tea hot. She was very shy and I don't think she ever did much in the way of performing. She probably took care of setting up for the regular Saturday mass that the local priest would come and say, at various locations along the road.

My mother, Mary Kate, and Maggie Ellen were as different as night and day. Mary Kate came to the States at about 15 years old, and immediately went into 'service.' She grew (indeed, she had no choice but to grow) into a smart, independent, no-nonsense woman.... There were wonderful tirades between these two Irish sisters over who had actually had it harder - the one who stayed home or the one who became 'the Yank' Thinking back on it, I think they should have split the difference.

On her visits home, my mother would spend one night on the farm and then spring to the nearest B&B for a warm bath and other comforts unfamiliar to her sister. Mum couldn't stand how Maggie Ellen kept house - cats, dogs, numerous chickens, mice.... It was more than a poor Yank could stand. But during the day, the two of them would walk where they played as kids and relieve the good old days.

Mary Kate talked Maggie Ellen into coming to America for a first visit back in the '70s and immediately lived to regret it. They fought about everything: clothing, food, brand of tea and tub baths. You name it. Mary Kate would insist on her doing certain things like getting her hair cut; Maggie Ellen would insist that, if she cut her hair she would certainly be dead from cold within 24 hours ... Even though Maggie Ellen weighed maybe 90 lbs, she wore a size 16-18 dress. The reason ; Maggie Ellen would dress in layers ... Although I was never in on the ritual, she would begin by wrapping cotton flannel around her back and front, then put on her warm woollen underwear This would be followed by a sweater and long drawers, then whatever dress she would decide to ear that day, followed by 2-3 more sweaters. On her legs would be long woolen stockings, knee socks and God only knows what else. She would then proceed to the warmest spot in the house and complain how cold sh!
e was ... Maggie Ellen used to say that cold had gotten into her at a young age and never left. My mother would roll her eyes ....

After Maggie Ellen went back home, there were many letters and the occasional phone call, which was difficult because she had to call us from the post office in town. After 1985 when Mary Kate died in the States, Maggie Ellen and Frank went on at the farm for six more years. They both went into a nursing home in Mohill in the early '90s, but Maggie Ellen insisted that she was going back to the Bohey Road where she belonged.... After my uncle Frank died, she went down-hill. Her hearing and eye-sight were bad and it became extremely difficult to communicate with her. But her nurses would keep us updated on how she was doing. On one of my last conversations with them, the young nurse who cared for her told me my aunt had decided it was time to die, which she did very peacefully. She was buried in Farnaught Cemetery next to her mother, Katherine, her father, Pat, sister Bridget and brother Frank and all the other KANE ancestors going back to Wild Will KANE. She led a fi!
ne, simple life, and we loved her dearly. (I only hope my mother was prepared for her visit this time!).

This thread:

• "My Special Aunt (Maggie Ellen KANE) from Mohill, Co. Leitrim" - Mary Casey FOREY, Boston, MA. by "Jean R." <>