Michael P. Walsh

I would like to share Mike Walsh's 'Youth in Ireland' written by Joseph F. Cullen his son-in-law written on February 5, 2004

in hopes to share his early years that helped make and mold the fine man, mentor and gentleman that he truly was.

May you Rest in Peace Mike Walsh...

With our Love Always,

Patrick J. O'Hara and The O'Hara Family

Michael Patrick Walsh was born on July 24, 1911, at a remote estate called "tounahoulty," in Tubridgebeg district, Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland, the son of Michael Haney Walsh and Bridget O'Hara. "Beg" means small in Gaelic. In 1913 the third child, Edward, was born but the mother died about the same time. At this the father deserted his family. He intended to place the three children (Bridget, Mike and Ned) in "the workhouse." (Irish relatives say Mike's father was a herdsman, moving around remote locations and unable to care for children. They also said that they didn't know where the Haney's came from. Although Mike said he thought they came from Altabrocky) Fortunately the mother's parents, John and Mary O'Hara stepped in, adopted the children and raised them on their farm. These are some of Mike Walsh's descriptions of growing up in rural Ireland in the 1920s.

The O'Hara farm was located in Fiddaunageeroge ("Valley of the O'Hara") a group of about four homes near Lake Bunaveela. One road from there went 3 or 4 miles to "Rake Street", where there was a store and a pub, then about seven miles more to Crossmolina. Another road went to the lake, where there was a lodge for wealthy people to vacation, and then further on over a mountain pass to Newport (12 miles) and Westport. The lake was several miles long. The grandparents had 10 children, including Mike's mother, Uncle Tom -- who left, returned, and expanded the farm, Uncle Martin--who immigrated to Oakland, Aunt Annie--who also immigrated to Oakland, Andy--who with Mike and the grandfather ran the farm when Tom took off for England, and two men who died in their 20's from pneumonia. Tom had left the farm with a dozen or so sheep to sell at the fair in Crossmolina. After he sold them, he just kept going. When he came back a few years later, Mike said that no one spoke about it. Knock was about 20 miles away and was the site of the Marian apparitions of about 1885 which his grandparents followed. Mike Walsh emigrated from Ireland in 1929 at age 17 and after Tom returned.

Life in rural Ireland from 1911 through 1930 can be described as rough, requiring considerable hard physical labor to survive. Only the self-driven and hard working could make it--not like the tourist literature of the late 1900's or the welfare state years later. One had to speak up for one's self and to flatter and impress those who could dispense favors. Also, where survival was an issue, men had to work fast and hard. Acquisition of necessities was critical.

The O'Hara's lived in a small 2 or 3 room stone house which abutted another small stone home. The good-sized room was divided by a curtain and had a fireplace at one end. An unrelated family, the O'Donnell's, lived in the other house. Mike said that in all the years he had never heard a "cross word passed between the families." In 1985 Uncle Tom O'Hara was living in the latter and the former was converted to a storage building. These farm families relied primarily on wool and sheep for their living and augmented their diet with home-grown food. They spent little on extras.

The farm itself was in an area with barren hills, peatbogs, few trees, and long empty vistas of a countryside with little sign of human habitation or use. The house was hand-built from rocks mortared together and white washed. To obtain the building stones a fire was set on a large rock. After a few days the rock was shattered by pouring cold water on it. The mortar was made by heating a stack of alternating layers of turf and limestone in a rock kiln. The resulting fine white powder was then mixed with sand and water to prepare the mortar. The roof of the house in those days was thatch. The reeds were gathered upstream, bunched, and floated down to the house.

Inside, the only heating source, for both warmth and cooking, was the fireplace. Wood for burning was obtained from the bogs nearby, as was the turf which was cut, stacked, and air-dried before burning. Mike and Andy rebuilt the old fireplace. Wood burning was obtained from the bogs nearby, as was the turf which was cut, stacked and air dried before burning. All cooking was done in pots suspended over the fire. Dinner thus consisted mostly of boiled vegetables, boiled meat, and Dutch-oven baked bread. The fire was kept going continuously day and night. For light, one or two kerosene lamps were used, the kerosene coming from town in a drum. Other necessities from town such as flour, sugar, tea and clothing were bought from a delivery lorry which stopped twice a week.

The vegetable farming was done on two or three acres. These plots were plowed, harrowed and prepared using the work horses for power. Major crops were potatoes, onions, cabbage, turnips, and rutabagas. Fruit was obtained from some nearby blackberry patches and from a few apple trees. Mike said for some unknown reason carrots weren't grown. Milk was provided by 6 cows who were hand-milked. Meat was obtained from the sheep, plus an occasional pig, goose, and chicken. Eggs were gathered from the fowls, of course. When a pig was butchered, it was hung up and then cut. Mike remembers his grandmother cleaning the intestines, filling them with blood pudding, boiling them well, then smoking them in a small smokehouse. The goose was immersed in boiling water to remove the feathers.

Water for consumption was obtained from a well dug in a field some distance from the house. The well was about 10 feet deep and lined with rocks. It was about 3 or 4 feet in diameter and had steps descending to the cold water. Water for cleaning came from a small brook running in front of the house.

The main income was from the sale of wool (at 6 pence per pound). The sheep grazed on about 200 acres of hills. The O'Hara's owned about 200 sheep and provided summer pasture for another 400 or 500 from town. Mike hand sheared them by hand at about 20 per day (Tom could do 30!) while his grandfather sharpened the hand-shears, which looked something like lawn edger's. The owners of the town-sheep watched the shearing of their animals. After reading about it, Mike constructed a sheetmetal dip for the sheep. The sheep were run through water before shearing and the "MacDougall" after shearing. The dip helped prevent infection and made for cleaner wool. In the winter the sheep used open sheds in the fields. There was a barn near the house. Some snow fell in the area.

Mike liked to fish although it was illegal. He knew the bailiff (Cronin, a Protestant) taking care of a nearby estate through which a stream ran. When it was "safe" the bailiff put out a signal light, and Mike would sneak in and catch some salmon for them both. Mike caught the fish by spearing them as they swam towards a flashlight. He left 5 or 6 hung in the man's garage. The fish he kept were salted and stored in a barrel which was placed under the ground for "refrigeration." This method of preservation kept the fish edible through the summer. Later the Irish Free State took over the fishing rights and sold licenses. About 1932 the Free State abolished rent-rates and distributed the land of the absentee owners. The state also "striped the land - - consolidating small scattered holdings. Eventually Uncle Tom acquired 4 holdings at Fiddaun (O'Hara, O'Donnell, and 2 Scanlon's).

Electricity was obtained about 1932--while the popular Devalera was president. DeValera Mike said, was also responsible for building bridges and roads to replace inadequate paths or ones destroyed in the Civil War. He brought in German engineers (whom Mike admired) to supervise construction. Mike worked under these engineers and he was paid by the Free State. Mike was paid the same wage as the older men despite their complaints. Mike said the countryside was in poor shape. Mike learned how to dynamite rocks when constructing the road around the lake. He also helped build bridges at Gaulan (beyond Lake Bunaveela) and near the lake. Later in California Mike used his dynamite experience to land a job with Morton Salt. He also learned how to "dry pack" concrete which he taught to others at Berkeley.

The school was located a couple miles away at Keenagh. Keenagh consisted of the school, church and a few houses. Mike walked there each day. The school was a two-room affair, the upper grades taught by a man and the lower by his wife. The school master was quick-tempered and used "the rod" to get his point across. He was a Gaelic-speaker from Achill, so he didn't need to attend class to teach the compulsory Gaelic language. For some reason Mike was angered at him, calling him calling him "nothing but an English spy," and throwing the slate at him. Fortunately the slate missed, but school was over. This insult was probably true. Cafferkey had quizzed students about nighttime whereabouts of possible IRA relatives. As a warning four men abducted him one night and pulled out his mustache, leaving him tied naked to a tree. Some of the four had wanted to shoot him. The teacher did not reveal the names of the kidnappers and went on to teach at Keenagh many more years.

The church was also located in Keenagh and was reached by walking or bicycle on Sundays. On some Sunday afternoons Mike and his grandfather would go fishing for brown trout in the stream beyond Lake Bunaveela. For entertainment, they played cards.

Mike said Uncle Tom was involved with the IRA and would disappear at night. After the Peace Treaty with Britain was signed in 1922, the IRA split into Treaty and Anti-Treaty factions. The Free State was pro-treaty and the DeValera faction anti-treaty. Uncle Tom joined the Free State army which paid a salary. DeValera remained very popular in the west of Ireland. Mike himself illegally possessed a two-barrel shot gun. He used it to hunt game birds in the heather above the lake, but kept it hidden the rest of the time.

There were several poteen (moonshine) operations conducted secretly in the hills, including one on the farm. Poteen was made 4 or 5 times a year. The brew was made of yeast (mailed from Dublin as it was illegal to sell in the countryside), syrup (or "treacle") from town, and warm water. It was mixed in a large drum (about 100 gal) and fermented for about 5 days. Each day a few hot rocks were stirred around in it to maintain temperature. When completed, the distillation equipment was pulled out of a hiding place in the lake, assembled, and fired up for night time operation. The poteen was sold to people from town.

Occasionally roaming tinkers would come by. Since they would steal any object they could, Mike's grandfather would watch them when they left. He didn't mind however if they only stole some vegetables. Also a beggar woman sometimes came by to spend the night. In this case Andy stayed awake all night to watch them. The fair was held about 3 or 4 times a year in Crossmolina. If sheep were to be sold, they were taken by horse-drawn cart the night before and kept at the fairgrounds.

Mike decided to emigrate even before Tom returned. In order to immigrate to the U.S., Mike had to take some tests at the American consulate in Dublin. He traveled there on the train. He was sponsored by Aunt Annie who bought his ticket. When Mike left the farm for America he remembers his dog wanted to follow him down the road. As the train left the station in town he said his grandfather followed down the track so as to not loose sight until the last minute. Mike went by boat from Cork New York and then by train to Oakland where Aunt Annie and Uncle Martin lived. Mike worked in construction, earning a good salary of $1.50 to $2 per hour. He soon repaid Aunt Annie, saved some money and sent some to his grandfather. He received his citizenship in 1937.

Mike's grandparent's live to old age, perhaps to ages 105 and 98. After his mother's death Mike and his brother and sister ceased all contact with his father, who apparently lived into the 1940's. On one occasion Mike's father came by the farm when Mike was in the hills. He was about 15 years old. When he saw his father he demanded he leave immediately, still angry that the father had totally abandoned the three children. Mike's sister Bridget, immigrated to Oakland before Mike did,and his brother Ned, stayed in Ireland.