The Events of Thursday, May 12, 2011 (Happy Birthday, Uncle Scott!)

                Once upon a time, there was a little stone cottage by the Irish Sea. In this cottage, there lived a family. There was a mum, a da, a boy of fifteen, and three girls of ages twelve, thirteen, and sixteen. The mum was of Irish heritage and the da of English. (They also were a mix of Swiss, Scottish, Welsh, German, and French heritage).

                A long, long time ago, the mum’s ancestors lived in a town called Sligo in Northwestern Ireland. This was the time of the Great Potato Famine, or as they call it in Ireland, the Great Hunger. An air-born disease affected the potato crop, making it inedible. Many of the poorer Irish died of starvation because the potato was their entire diet. All of the other crops were too expensive and most of these crops were exported. The land that the poor Irish worked was owned by wealthy English landlords. When there was no harvest off of the land, the landlords did not make any money. The poor Irish were thrown off the land. The landlords paid for many of these Irish to have passage to America, where they could start a new life. This mum’s ancestors were some of these poor Irish. Their family name was Tansey.

                The family living in the stone cottage had traveled from where they lived in America to visit Ireland, the land of their ancestors. They traveled many a mile and finally came to a town known as New Ross. Here the girl of twelve, Abby, and the da purchased tickets for the family to tour a Famine Ship called The Dunbrody. Each member of the family received a ticket, as if they were a passenger of the ship. For example, the thirteen year old girl named Lindsey (that would be me) became 76 year old Ellen Fitzergerald. They were all Steerage passengers.

                Now, The Dunbrody was actually a cargo ship, not made for humans. It had been built in Quebec, and went back and forth from the Americas to Ireland, carrying lumber, guano (bat manure), and other goods. But, when the Great Potato Famine came along, they started taking the starving Irish people on their way to the Americas and then bringing back the regular goods.

                The steerage passengers stayed in tight quarters below deck. They were allowed to come up and get fresh air once a day, for half an hour, if the weather was good. Their toilet was a bucket and they ate a mixture of flour, oats, and water. During their time up, the families would cook the food mixture, but when weather was bad, they ate it raw. The ships were nicknamed ‘coffin ships’ because nearly half the original number died during the crossing! Many of the steerage passengers were illiterate farmers who had worked hard for their entire lives. Therefore, most of them had no idea where America was and what lay ahead of them in this new country.

                The family from the stone cottage by the sea met a woman who claimed she was a fellow steerage passenger. Mrs. White told them what a hard life she had, her husband sick and weak and three children (including a small baby) to feed. The captain, she said, was giving her extra food rations to tell them her troubles. (The family was part of a group of other Americans, probably wanting to see what their ancestors had experienced, too). The family was astounded to hear that all six of them would have to share a space about 6 feet by 6 feet for the entire eight week voyage. The steerage area of the ship would take two or three hundred people at one time, not counting the number of babies and small children. If a passenger was lucky, he got the top bunk. The inhabitants of the bottom bunk were victim to drippings from the top bunk’s toilet and vomit bucket.

                The first class passengers’ life is an entirely different story. Although still cramped, for an extra ten pounds, you could have a private cabin for you and your family. The two beds had comfortable mattresses and you dined on freshly butchered pig, lamb, and occasionally fish with the captain every evening. The first class passengers were allowed unlimited access to the top deck. The family next met Ms. O’Brien, a first class passenger. She was bound for America to make more money. It wasn’t a matter of life or death, just greed. Even though she was a first class passenger, she was full of complaints and whined out her story.

                The crew’s sleeping quarters were under the bow … where the pigs and sheep were kept. So, in bad weather, the drippings from above made this area of living unpleasant. They were paid ₤2.50 twice a year. If they misbehaved, a certain number of day’s pay was deducted from this already meager pay. And in that time misbehavior ranged from washing clothes on Sunday and being drunk to swearing or striking another person on the boat. That was the end of the tour. The family then travelled to a park called John F. Kennedy Arboretum. The park is known for its 4500 different species of trees. The mum and da were talking about how they could eat lunch under the lilac trees, when their vehicle suddenly stopped. A large sign displayed the entrance prices into the park. The family only wanted to have a nice spot to picnic. So, on they drove.

                The Irish National Heritage Park was crowded with students when the family arrived. In previous days, the family had noticed that the students of Ireland had a very dressy and prim uniform. This group of students had a uniform of blue sweatpants and a polo shirt. The family ate lunch at a picnic table and then headed inside the visitors’ center. The lady at the desk helped them to buy their tickets. With the tickets came free coffee/tea and a certificate with free entry for a family of three children and two adults. (Anyone want it?) Then, after touring the fun gift shop, the family started their tour of the Heritage Park.

                The guide of the tour was named Jimmy O’Rourke and made it clear from the very beginning that the Irish were behind all things good. The family watched an “audio visual” telling a brief summary of the history of Ireland. The first known inhabitants of the island were the Celts from Scotland. They worshipped the earth and used the earth to build memorials. Then, the archaeologists think that there was a comet or other sudden change and the people suddenly started to worship the sky. They built stone circles around the tombs as memorials to the sky gods. Then, St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland, and they left their tombs and stone circles and built churches and monasteries. The stone circles and tombs disappeared into the earth over time, until a farmer in the 1800s unearthed a tomb. Then, another farmer found a circle of post holes on his land. As modern technology and time progressed, they were able to unearth more and more of these ancient structures. They discovered how these people lived and looked, and what they ate and did. They are still making discoveries. But the words ‘possibly’, ‘maybe’, and ‘probably’ were used so often that it looked like they still had a long way to go.

                Jimmy led the group, including the family, to replicas of tombs, stone circles, and living areas. They visited a rebuilt monastery and church. Jimmy, with his Irish pride, informed the group that these structures were made a century before the Pyramids. When the work suddenly stopped, his belief is that the Irish left to help the Egyptians build the Pyramids. Then, at the Stone Circle he proudly stated that the Irish were the first to use logs to move large stones. Hurray for Irish pride! According to Jimmy’s biased opinion; the Irish were the first and the best at everything. They continued their tour by going to the first ever boiler, which of course was made by the Irish. They heated up stones in the fire and then dropped them, red hot, into a wood lined pit. The water would boil, black with the ash on the stones from the fire. Then, the Irish would drop chunks of meat wrapped in straw into the boiling water and voíla!

                The tour ended by a visit to an island dwelling where the houses were being collapsed for a study and then to a Viking boathouse. The family waited while the rest of the group, which was on a private tour, took pictures in the boat together. The fifteen year old boy, Ben had previously been used as an example of an average farmer of the Stone Age (except, of course, they were shorter). So, since they knew his name, the group asked him to take their whole group picture. He was handed a huge, complex camera, bigger than his head, and took a few shots for them. Then, a man from Turkey offered to take the family’s picture and after thanking him, the family walked back to the visitors’ center and took advantage of the free hot drinks, as it was a blustery day.

                With a €0.60 supplement fee, the family ordered six hot chocolates. When they were served, it was a cup of hot milk and a wooden stick with a chunk of chocolate on the end. The family found it very satisfying and headed back to their little stone cottage by the Irish Sea. The girls of twelve and sixteen, Abby and Caitlin, as well as Ben (whom the author has mentioned before), helped the mum and da cook up a dinner of spaghetti, bread, and veggies. Lindsey, the author of this entry, worked on the computer. Then, the family said grace and sat down around a nice wooden table with six steaming plates of warm spaghetti.

                After dinner, the children thanked the mum for the meal and asked the da to be excused and helped clean the dishes. Then, the family sat down for a cozy evening in the family room. While reclining on the comfy leather couches, they watched High Society, with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly. Then, after wishing their parents ‘good night’, the children went to bed in the little stone cottage by the Irish Sea.