3/17/24 SOLSC Day 17
My family has a history like many – messy and incomplete. So much history gets lost or misinterpreted. In reading through the folder my dad collected about his family, I ran across this paragraph. I don’t know if it is true or family legend, but it is fascinating!
“Michael had fled Ireland as a wanted man for teaching catholic religion to the village children. As Michael told the story, he was teaching the village children when a mob of Orangemen showed up. The local villagers and the Orangeman fought. The next day while Michael was plowing in the field in just his trousers the King’s Guard showed up to arrest Michael. He fled without his shirt or shoes and hid by a river bank. That night a boat picked him up and transported him to Scotland with his the (sic) trousers as his only possession. He worked at various jobs and eventually in the mines. He met his future wife when he stopped to help a wee girl who was trying to put up some shutters. The Hendrey (or Henry) family had moved to Scotland from Ireland to also escape the prosecution in Ireland.”
So I have two great-great grandparents who were born in Ireland. I wish I knew more! At least I know enough to say today, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
What “family legends” are in your history?
P.S. My reading of this histories also showed me why I became a teacher. More on that in a later post.
Some pictures from our 2019 trip to Ireland. So beautiful!
WhereWeRV 
What a fascinating story. Both my grandparents came from Ukraine.
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Your photos reinforce my wish to visit Ireland. I have met tourists from Ireland here in Oregon, and they say they love it because it reminds them of home. We have an Irish story or two, but nothing quite as dramatic as yours. Whatever parts are not absolutely true, I can see Michael crouched for his life beside the river, shirtless and barefoot. Worth a graphic framing, this tale.
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