NY-IRISH-L Archives

Archiver > NY-IRISH > 2008-10 > 1224164384


From:
Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Secretive ways............
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:39:44 -0400
References: <840307.40728.qm@web56805.mail.re3.yahoo.com><102894300810141145v5593aa60v37cfdf942de8082@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <102894300810141145v5593aa60v37cfdf942de8082@mail.gmail.com>


My grandmother (who was born in NY of immigrant parents)  when asked about the family roots always said ...the Irish couldn't look back...which I understood as being too sad...

or she'd say "they were horse thieves" which I've just recently figured out meant they were pretty darn clever...

I am sorry not to have learned more...

J OC


-----Original Message-----
From: judy christopher <>
To:
Sent: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 2:45 pm
Subject: Re: [NY-IRISH] Secretive ways............



Growing up in an Irish household, it was a maiden aunt born in Ireland that
ave away the stories. My grandparents were mum on the subject of why they
mmigrated. My Grandfather indicated that he came for "political reasons"
nd that was all he gave away. It took me ten years of searching here in
he 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 Interes
ting 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=0
D 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.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.526 / Virus Database: 270.8.0/1720 - Release Date: 10/11/2008
3:59 PM

====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



====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


--
udy Christopher
===NY-Irish Mailing List====
on't forget to check out the NY-Irish mailing list website. Also, check/add
our NY-Irish surnames on the Surname Registry: http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYIrishList/
------------------------------
o unsubscribe from the
list, please send an email to
ith the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of
he message


This thread: