Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1919-06-28
Heartbreaking Crying of Parents
When Boys and Girls Were
Leaving.
Was Lonely When She Thought of
Those She Was Never
to See.
AND IRELAND WILL BE FREE.
ONE REASON WHY

ONE REASON WHY -. .--ses.ssss-s.
3. Why should Ireland be free? That
question was rather frequent FIVE
years ago; today, however, it drops
from the lips of those who are
either incapable OF approaching an
argument or are afraid of offending
1.-The Professionals of liberal views
with whom they associate" Both
these classes of people are hopeless,
whenever principle is involved. but
for different reasons, the former
from invincible ignorance, the latter
from lack Of manhood To neither
can any appeal be taken, but to the
great throng of thinking men and
women who value justice more than
sycophancy these pathetic words of
simple, gcdly old Irishwoman will
serve to accentuate one reason why
Ireland should be free:
There were eleven of us children.
Most of us had to go away. There
was nothing we could do at home.
So we had to go to America. We
lived on rhe Shannon, and across
the river there was station where
the train would be taking the peo-
pie to Queenstown. 'TwOuld break
your heart to hear the fathers and
mothers all crying and moaning, and
the boys and girls that were going
to America crying too. We could
hear them in our house. Often when
was a little girl, when ] didn't
know what it all meant, l would go
off and cry by myself Sometimes
when we would be playing about
! our mother would of sudden
throw her apron over her head, and
we'd know she would be crying. We
did not what it was for, why she
would be crying. When l got to
America l said to my sister who had
come over before me that l knew
why she would be crying, thinking
of the day when all her boys and
girls would be far from her. And
we all did leave save only one and
the two children that were born
after / came over. l never saw
them, my youngest brother and sis
ter. / think my mother died of a
broken heart, for she always wept
| for her children, far away in Amer
lea, she would never see again. And
my father died and left three small
children, and times were very hard
NY father never had much school
ing, but l think he was an intelli-
gent man. He was a contractor and
a farmer, both in small way, and
ne found it bitter hard to get on,
trying to feed us and give us some
schooling, for he'd no capital. He
never drank, but he'd have no man
give him the pledge, for he'd say,
IA man is no man that can't take
it or leave it as he wishes" He
never smoked pipe unless he was
in trouble, and when he'd take out
the pipe we children would know
his trouble was past bearing. And
then, likely, he'd walk the floor all
night. When we were little, of a
Sunday afternoon, he'd repeat most
Of the Gospel and the sermon to us,
and when we were bigger we had
to tell him the same. He did not try
10 stir up bitterness, but he would
say, "God is good, and twill all be
the same" But just to encourage
us to use what schooling he could
give us ne would tell us that when
he was wee boy there were no
schools, only the hedge-schools
} where they'd creep out to the hedge
of a night and If they were caught
ON the way home it's hard beating
they'd get.
1 Well. had come to America, fol