This sunny cloudless day was St. Patrick's Day -- something that has devolved into a party day as evidenced by the line-ups outside two bars I passed on my way home from campus. I think about my ancestors on this day -- those from Ireland. There are several that we need to track down more than we have to date. Surnames were of Irish origin for several branches of that tree. The main genealogical work so far points to a family group who left Ireland just at the beginning of the famine -- three brothers with a sister-in-law and her baby. Some landed in the US and the others in Canada.
I can't begin to understand what they felt as they left their home, people and customs. Headed for something so unknown must have been frightening -- but mixed with hope that it would be better than what they left. The crossing would not have been delightful. As one who suffers motions sickness, this could have been horrific. Doing this journey with a young child must have been challenging, too. How does one make the decision to leave everything you know and set out for the great unknown? Doing so while knowing that one might never return must have been heartbreaking. Given the famine of the time, desperation was likely part of their story. Emigration to escape adverse conditions in their homeland led to mass migration. This created the Irish diaspora as people scattered across the globe.
The song chosen for today was one that my dad enjoyed. It holds a sense of longing for home -- not a usual St. Patrick's Day selection. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Galway Bay -- Celtic Woman
No comments:
Post a Comment