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Archiver > NY-IRISH > 2008-10 > 1224009933


From: "judy christopher" <>
Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Secretive ways............
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:45:33 -0400
References: <840307.40728.qm@web56805.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <840307.40728.qm@web56805.mail.re3.yahoo.com>


Growing up in an Irish household, it was a maiden aunt born in Ireland that
gave away the stories. My grandparents were mum on the subject of why they
immigrated. My Grandfather indicated that he came for "political reasons"
and that was all he gave away. It took me ten years of searching here in
the US and in Ireland to find my history. Judy Christopher

On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 9:39 PM, Kathleen Donnelly <>wrote:

> Hi, those of us who were born in Ireland and have know all about the
> various family ways of communication should realize by now that as a whole
> we are pretty secretive race. It probably has a lot to do with the history
> of Ireland both North and South. I think it was Seamus Healey who said "
> whatever you say, say nothing." Kathleen
> California via Ireland
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Clare Higgins <>
> To:
> Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 4:06:09 PM
> Subject: [NY-IRISH] An Interesting Quote
>
> Hi, everybody. My family history is divided in an interesting way – on my
> mother's side there are lots of old interesting stories, and on my father's
> side there are no stories at all. My mother and her relatives were very
> outgoing and communicative, and there were some scandalous events, and my
> dad's were remote, non-social, not talkative, and there were no scandals.
> My father lived from 1916 to 1997 and whenever I'd ask him about his
> childhood, his "stories" were purely "technical" – telling me about gas
> lighting, banking the stove, etc. Whenever I asked him about his family's
> personal relationships, he'd look at me like I was nuts, and say, "I don't
> know!" As I research his side of our family I find that as far back as my
> GGGF, the Higginses were never close and rarely visited each other.
>
>
>
> I have been reading a wonderful new book called The Secret Scripture by
> Sebastian Barry. It's told from the point of view of a 100-year-old woman.
> She says her father was full of stories but her mother had none at all.
> Here's how she feels about it:
>
>
>
> "It's funny, but it strikes me that a person without anecdotes that they
> nurse while they live, and that survive them, are more likely to be utterly
> lost not only to history but the family following them. Of course this is
> the fate of most souls, reducing entire lives, no matter how vivid and
> wonderful, to those sad black names on withering family trees, with half a
> date dangling after and a question mark."
>
>
>
> Then she says that her father's stories keep him "even now alive in me,
> like
> a second more patient and more pleasing soul without my poor soul."
>
>
>
> Just thought I'd share that.
>
>
>
> Clare Higgins
>
>
>
>
>
>
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
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> 3:59 PM
>
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>
> ====NY-Irish Mailing List====
> Don't forget to check out the NY-Irish mailing list website. Also,
> check/add your NY-Irish surnames on the Surname Registry:
> http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYIrishList/
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the
> quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>



--
Judy Christopher


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