Kilkelly, Ireland
This is a true story - actually a song, called Kilkelly, Ireland,
or more often, just Kilkelly. It is a slow, hurtful lament,
sung with hope but hidden behind reality - few who left Ireland
in emigration ever returned. Many, many died on the infamous
Coffin Ships, on the trip over. Some went to England,
more to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and others. But most
went to America - giving rise to the term American Wake.
Kilkelly was recorded by many, many groups, including:
Moloney, O’Connell & Keane and Jeff Ward.
The story seems to be that Peter Jones found letters of his
great grandfather, who left Kilkelly some one hundred and
thirty years before, probably around late 1850. The letters
were from Peter’s great, great grandfather to his son, Peter’s
great grandfather.
They tell of life in Ireland, starting just after the closing
of Irelands most devastating famine, An Gorta Mor,
(or the Great Hunger), from 1845 thru 1850, including the
now infamous year of Black 47. Somewhere between
2 million and 9 million people either perished or emigrated
from Ireland during this period, the number devastated depends
on who you talk to. The governing British, sending shiploads of
grain and wheat out of Irish harbors while millions died within a
few feet and all across the country, claimed that there were 4 million
in Ireland at the start of An Gorta Mor.
This number was based on the now infamous Hearth Tax. This tax
was figured on the tax men (or excise man) walking throughout Ireland and
counting the Hearths (chimneys) he saw. He then figured that there were
four people - mom, dad and two children - living under each chimney.
Now, I am no authority, but there weren’t too many farming families
in Ireland that had only two kids, many had more than ten. They were
farmers, and needed free labor. They certainly weren’t going to call up the
excise man and say, Yo we have more than that, tax us more!
Also, in most families, the oldest son got the farm, his parents, if still
living, lived there too, and often an unmarried brother or sister, or two, and
sometimes even a cousin, uncle or other relation might be living there also.
The truth lies somewhere in between.
We do know that at the end of this period, there were only two million
Irish left on the little island (you can fit all of Ireland inside Ohio).
So, draw your own conclusions.
Kilkelly, Ireland
by Peter Jones
Kilkelly, Ireland, 1860,
To my dear and loving son John,
Your good friend the Schoolmaster Pat McNamara
was so good as to write these words down.
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
the house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected,
a third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O’Donnell
are going to be married in June.
And Mother says not to work on the railroad,
and be sure to come on home soon.
***
Kilkelly, Ireland, 1870,
To my dear and loving son John,
Hello to your Mrs. and to your 4 children,
may they grow up healthy and strong.
And Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I suppose that he never will learn.
Because of the darkness there’s no turf to speak of
and now we have nothing to burn.
And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her
although she’s got six of her own.
You say youve found work, but you don’t say what kind
or when you will be coming home.
***
Kilkelly, Ireland, 1880,
To Michael and John, my sons,
I’m sorry to give you the very sad news
that your dear old mother passed on.
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
your brothers and Brigid were there.
You don’t have to worry, she died very quickly,
remember her in your prayers.
And it’s so good to hear that Michael’s returning,
with money he’s sure to buy land
For the crops have been poor and people are selling
at any price that they can.
***
Kilkelly, Ireland, 1890
To my dear and loving son John,
I suppose that I must be close on to eighty,
it’s thirty years since youve gone.
Because of all of the money you send me,
I’m still living out on my own.
And Michael has built himself a fine house
and Brigid’s daughters have grown.
And Thank you for sending your family picture,
such lovely young women and men.
You say that you might even come for a visit,
what joy to see you again.
***
Kilkelly, Ireland, 1892
To my dear brother John,
I’m sorry I didn’t write sooner to tell you, but father passed on.
He was living with Brigid, she says he was cheerful
and healthy right down to the end.
Ah, you should have seen him play with the grandchildren
of Pat McNamara, your friend.
We buried him alongside of mother,
down at the Kilkelly churchyard.
He was a strong and a feisty old man,
considering his life was so hard.
And it’s funny the way he kept talking about you,
he called for you at the end.
Oh, why don’t you think about coming to visit,
we’d all love to see you again.
February 28th, 2009 at 3:11 am
[…] This song is a sad love song, over the course of 7-8 years the Famine in Ireland took it’s toll on many families, the country lost 25% of it’s people, a million dead, a million or so emigrated.The political side of the debate still lingers as does the bitterness of many. This song was written based on a series of letters from a father to his son who left Ireland for America for a short visit, well thirty years later the song plays out to a sad end…. […]