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‘Would you believe it, the autumnal rains have brought forth in crop more bountiful than ever those accursed marshmallows,’ complained my great grandfather to his son in 1919, ‘the docks we utterly routed but the others will apparently plague and cumber the ground for years’. Would ancestral Irish knowledge have changed his tune?
Old skeletons are highly sought after in the family historian’s closet. When I picture the closet of my recent ancestors, it is full of men’s suits, white lab coats and leather brogues. But if I think of the dark wooden closets of the Meagher women, there is barely a coat hanger to leave a clue about the women they were or the life they led. Their stories, aspirations and laments are hidden, unacknowledged or neglected, and I’ve spent years scrounging around for any loose thread I can find that might tell me of their histories. This is common for women across the ages and something that Women’s History Month seeks to address. Read more
When was the last time you did a jigsaw puzzle? The family archive in my spare room is the ultimate games room to me. Boxes upon boxes of various pieces waiting to be put together to create a new understanding of my family's collective history.
What Will Be looks back at people, places and travel and uncovers stories hidden in diaries, letters, and photos. It pieces together obvious clues and obscure details; reveals the personalities of people we used to know and those we could not have known; and re-tells the stories that have been forgotten or hidden. Tell me your thoughts and put a piece or two in the puzzle while you're at it.