Griffin Journeys

  The Long Way Out 1854 It is generally thought [i] that The Great Hunger lasted from 1845 till 1852. Yet Edward and Catherine Griffin did not emigrate till September 1854. This suggests it was not famine itself which was behind the move. If so, what other forces were at work? While Edward Rae was listed as Edward and Catherine’s landlord in Griffith’s Valuation in 1847 [ii] , John Rae was also listed as a landlord for one section of Corkaboy townland. The Raes also went by the name Langford Rae, and John Langford Rae may have been the more dominant member of this land-owning family. According to Property owners County Kerry circa 1870, Langford Rae of Keel House, Castlemaine, Kerry (about six and a half miles from Tralee as the crow flies) owned 5,870 acres and Edward Rae at the same address owned 564 acres. [iii] An interesting anecdote from the London Daily News suggests another way out of poverty for people like Edward, and the role the landlord would play in facilitatin

  The Great Famine 1847 Irish Potato Famine 1847 - drawing by Granger   There is no light – inside or out. Edward Griffin wakes in the pre-dawn gloom after another restless sleep. His new wife Catherine is sleeping more peacefully than he could ever hope to do. He reaches for his boots – still damp and muddy from yesterday. The previous night he had placed them in their spot next to the fire to dry. The smell of mud and pigshit greeted him every morning. Outside it is raining, as usual for November. At least the wind has dropped, unlike the howling gale which blew like the devil last night. He prods the fire and reaches for another turf sod. The smoke fills the room, and Catherine stirs. Across the room one of the pigs lets Edward know it is hungry. The piglets erupt in snorting, harrumphing unison. “Yosh!” says Edward, grumpily. The dog barks outside. He lights a candle. Their cabin is about twenty feet long. The floor is hard-pressed soil. Stones retrieved from tilling th

  Mavourneen Mavourneen is an Irish term meaning my darling. An example of mavourneen is how an Irish man would refer to his wife. 1843 The dancin’. Ah, the dancin’.  Edward Griffin was doing what he always did on a Sunday morning, sitting in the parish church at Booleens at Mass. The parish priest, Father John Casey [i] was conducting business in his usual perfunctory manner, his back to the assembled flock from Corkaboy, Ross, Caherfealane and Keel townlands. Occasionally the landlord, Edward Rae, would also attend, but not today, as it was not a feast day. There was Tommy Byrne, with Alice and their five kids. Tommy was a fierce caid player for Castlemaine parish. Short and muscly, Tommy didn’t take any nonsense from anyone. Respect to him. Over there sat the widow O’Keefe, cruelly deprived of her new husband by the fever. She nursed him day and night for two weeks before God claimed him. All alone now. Edward wasn’t alone last night. His mind drifts off to the look across