"The immigrant's heart marches to the beat of two quite different drums, one from the old homeland and the other from the new. The immigrant has to bridge these two worlds, living comfortably in the new and bringing the best of his or her ancient identity and heritage to bear on life in an adopted homeland."

Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland

My only grandparent not born in the U.S. was my paternal grandmother Mary. In 1890 at the age of seventeen, she left her family, impoverished by years of the Irish famine, high taxes, and unfair laws, and she emigrated to New York City. She traveled by the Cunard ship Bothnia and found work as a domestic servant for a wealthy family on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Later on, she married and had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. During World War II, she was considered a Gold-Star Mother because all five of her sons served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Our extended family gathered every Sunday and holiday at the home she and my grandfather owned. Grandma died in 1968 at the age of 95.  

She often told us that she had come from Cork and had lived in Ballyengland. However, thanks to my brother’s genealogical research, we learned that her ship had left from Queenstown (renamed Cobh in 1921), a seaport in County Cork. However, she was born and raised in a townland called Ballyengland within the small town of Askeaton in County Limerick. The town is on the N69, the road between Limerick and Tralee and is built on the banks of the River Deel some 1.8 miles upstream from the estuary of the River Shannon. Among the historic structures in the town are a castle dating from 1199 and a Franciscan friary dating from 1389.

 A townland (Irish: baile fearainn) is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering 100–500 acres. The concept of townlands is based on the Gaelic system of land division, and the first official evidence of the existence of this system can be found in church records from before the 12th century. It was in the 1600s that they began to be mapped and defined by the English administration for the purpose of confiscating land and apportioning it to investors or planters from Britain. Until the 19th century, most townlands were owned by single landlords and occupied by multiple tenants.  Mary’s family were tenants who worked the land at Hollywood House in Ballyengland.

In 2003, some 113 years after Mary made her long voyage of survival, I flew to Ireland to see where she came from. Unlike hers, my trip was a vacation. I found Askeaton to be a picturesque town that was prospering. Coolrahnee House, the B&B on the outskirts of Askeaton that my husband and I stayed at, was fairly new with modern amenities and the owners were welcoming. When I mentioned my grandmother as we enjoyed a cup of tea with them, they perked up at hearing her maiden name. They knew locals with the same name and made a call. Soon, a young guy showed up, and listened to my story, but said he didn’t think his family was related to my grandmother. However, he suggested that we talk with his elderly mother who might know who my relatives were and if they were still in town.

We met his mother outside of the church where she had attended Sunday services and she said she would show us around Ballyengland to look for my relatives. We stopped at a home where the surname was the same, but again, no relation. They did, however, give our local companion directions to Hollywood House.

We came to a large walled estate that we were told was now owned by an Italian woman who exported textiles. The gate was locked, but through it, on the grounds behind the large main house, we could see a thatched-roof cottage which just might have been Mary’s Irish home.

My brother, who did the genealogical research, hasn’t just visited Ireland one time like me. He applied for and received dual citizenship. Though all of our great-grandparents were born in Ireland, it was only Grandma Mary who made his bid possible. Under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1956, people born outside Ireland can claim citizenship if a grandparent was born there. As a musician, my brother performs in both countries. In 2003, he wrote a song called “Balleyengland” for his first album. Like Mary, he has bridged both worlds.