All my life I've been proud of my Irish heritage. As a child, I was reminded often that my mom was 100% Irish and my dad was 50-50--half Irish and half Polish. In fact when my 100% Irish grandmother married my 100% Polish grandfather, it was a bit scandalous as many disagreed with cross cultural boundaries in marriage in the early 1900's. Mom always told me, you're 75% Irish and 25% Polish. More recently I had my DNA checked, and that confirmed Mom's analysis: 3/4 Irish, 1/4 Polish.
My mom told lots of stories about her great, big Irish family, and my grandmother also told me many stories about her Irish roots including the way her dad taught her to count in Gaelic. Our Irish ancestors mostly came from Kerry finding their way to America in the mid to late 1800's. The women were first household help later marrying Irish men and raising families while the men in my family were mostly laborers or involved in the liquor industry in some way. Education was highly valued so many in the next generations went to college and onto professional careers. Some entered the military for a while then found jobs in the community.
There are lots of old tales and traditions handed down. One is that my great grandmother Bridget Foley Lucey was trained in the Fanny Farmer School of cooking when she worked for a wealthy family in Brookline, MA. I believe that's likely true given Fanny Farmer's history and timeline as well as the great baking my mom's family is known for. Another is that my Irish great great grandfather Shea fought in the Civil War. His son, my great grandfather Michael Shea and his wife Bridget Donoghue Shea owned a saloon in Norwich, Connecticut for a while. They stayed close to the very, very large Donoghue (O'Donoghue, Donohue) clan who had many paths including the priesthood, law, government, store owners and more. Another tale my mother would recount time and again is that my great grandmother Bridget Foley was supposed to get on the ship to Australia, but hopped on the ship to America because it arrived first--that story clearly represents our family's often impulsive, enthusiastic, quick responses and actions in life.
One of my great great uncles, Colonel Roger Scannell, was the Grand Martial of the 1888 Boston St. Patrick's Day parade. He was a colorful character who owned a mineral water business, worked for the rights of a free Ireland and earned back some significant dollars for the American government via a tariff situation. Another relative, Agnus Scannell, worked for the United States Forestry Service traveling across the United States in the early 1900's. Later she became a teacher in Boston.
As with all of our family stories, there are high points and low points, positive trends and not-so-positive trends. In all, my favorite part of my Irish heritage is the value my family has for close and caring family ties and good times. That's kept us close throughout my life and the lives before me.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Whether you are Irish or not, it's a good day to celebrate the beauty, spunk and contribution of the Irish who come from a very beautiful country marked by family/community pride. Onward.