Patricia’s
comment was on Martha’s mind for the rest of the afternoon. That voyage across the Atlantic over four
decades ago had forever changed their lives.
Martha was so young when the family left their small village on Inis Mór,
the largest of the three Isles of Aran, and there was little she remembered of
the journey or why they had left in the first place. Sitting in the back room with their cups of
tea, she asked, “Do either of ye remember much of Inis Mór?”
Ciara
looked surprised to hear the question.
Patricia took a sip of her tea and placed the cup back on the saucer
before answering. “If I close my eyes, I
can see the wee cottage we lived in plain as day. Do ye recall old Dearg?”
 |
| Nenagh, County Tipperary. Photo courtesy of Robert J. Higgins |
Martha
closed her eyes, searching deep in her subconscious for an image and then
seeing clearly the shaggy red horse.
“Aye, I think I do! He had long
whiskers, I recall, and they tickled my hand.”
Her expression changed as another less pleasant memory of the horse came
to her. “Funny, now that ye mention him,
I remember the sound of old Dearg crossing the bridge on the day we left the
island. I had my head tucked under ma’s
arm the whole time, so I couldn’t see a thing, but I remember the sound of the
hoofbeats changed once he got to the bridge, and I knew we’d soon be at cousin
Patrick’s and that he’d take us across the sea to Galway.”
A
flash of memory showed her the reason Martha had her head buried beneath her
mother’s arm. An old woman had
approached the wagon as it lumbered up to the bridge, yelling something, but
Martha could not remember what. The
woman had frightened her as did her mother’s reaction to draw Martha
closer. She quickly pushed the
unpleasant recollection aside, not wanting to cast a shadow on their memories
of home. “’Tis odd, I’d never thought
of that day until now.”
 |
| Inis Mór, Aran Islands. Photo courtesy of Robert J. Higgins |
“Well,
ye’d hardly remember it, would ye? I
was seven and I recall very little of our life on the island.” Patricia’s thoughts wandered out loud as she
struggled to bring back another small detail of her childhood in Ireland. She smiled, and almost popped out of her
chair at the sheer joy of the memory she recalled. “Oh, I remember our wee cottage was full to
burstin’ and cousin Patrick had a penny whistle. There was music, and everyone was dancin’.”
Ciara
had been silent until now. She smiled,
recalling the occasion. “That’d ‘ave
been at the new year.” She thought for a
moment before continuing. “You were
five, I think, and Martha was just two.
‘Twas Da who gave Patrick that penny whistle. He got it in Galway.” Ciara’s voice dropped
off, and it appeared as though she, too, was lost in the memory.
 |
| Inis Mór, Aran Islands. Photo courtesy of Robert J. Higgins |
“Surely
ye must remember how it was before we left?” Martha asked her oldest
sister. Ciara was seventeen when they
left Inis Mór and had become the guardian of her sisters after the death of
their parents.
Occupied
with her own thoughts, it appeared that Ciara had not heard the question, so it
surprised Martha when she spoke. “No,
not really. Just bits here and there,
like Patricia.” She was quiet for a
moment, but then felt the need to addend her comment. “We had a time of it aboard the ship, if ye
recall, and I’ve not had a moment since to spare many thoughts for the old
country.”
She
didn’t quite sound defensive, but moved to redirect the conversation lest her
sisters pick up on her anxiety. “Well,
that’s enough talk of the past.” Turning
to Martha, she asked, “Can ye stay for a while, sister? I’ve got Patricia until month’s end and I’d
dearly love to have ye here as well.”
 |
| Inis Mór, Aran Islands. Photo courtesy of Robert J. Higgins |
The Girl on the Shore will be released on Thursday, December 14 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, New York (see website for details). The book will also be available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. Locally, print copies can be purchased at The Antique Lamp Company, The Buffalo History Museum, The Museum of Disability History, Talking Leaves Bookstore, Dog Ears Bookstore and Cafe, Parker Pharmacy, and The Burchfield Penney Art Center.
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