True Irish Story for Haiti. Mary's Story

Mary was born in 1910, into a poor family in Wexford. The eldest of 3 children she had a brother and a sister. The family was extremely poor, living mainly from fishing. Their home was a small cottage a couple of hundred yards from the coast. There was no sanitation, no running water and no gas or electricity. Money was scarce so that clothing, shoes etc. were sometimes just not available. In about 1920 her parents died and the children were placed in care. However, an aunt, scandalised, took them under her wing.

Having escaped from care they continued their schooling. Memories of this time included fetching water from a pump about a mile away and walking to school about two miles away in all weathers, often with no shoes. Having survived through all this she eventually finished her schooling at age 16. Some time after this she entered a convent in Lucan as a novice. She stayed there for a few years but was asked to leave, having been caught climbing the convent wall to play cards with the local butcher. Some years after this she left Ireland and went to England where she worked for a doctor near London.At the outbreak of war she found herself in Surrey and she joined the Red Cross and became a nurse with them, serving at a military hospital in London. In 1940 she met a Canadian soldier serving in England and they were married in 1941.In June 1942 a son was born and she was living in Windlesham, Surrey. In November 1943 disaster struck, her husband was killed in an accident on his camp. Friends rallied round and accommodation was found. In June 1944 a daughter was born.

In late 1944 to safeguard the children she took them to Canada, to her husband's family. At the end of the war, things hadn't worked out and she returned to England and Windlesham. By this time her younger brother had a least three children and life in Ireland was extremely difficult. She then started a long history of solidarity with her brother's family which eventually rose to six children. It should be mentioned that her sister who had gone to England could not be traced and was never heard of again.

With two young children she needed to work as her Canadian Widow's Pension, although generous, was not enough to care for two fast growing kids. She took up employment as a nanny and was rarely out of work as the area was a rich one and the families required nannies. As the children grew up clothes were saved and parcels made up, which sometimes included things like chocolate. Initially a friend phoned to the neighbourhood bar and general store in Ireland and a message was relayed to the brother that a parcel was on way. This task was later taken on by her son.

This arrangement went on for many years while the children grew up. Her work as a nanny gave her more clothes for Ireland as her employers proved very generous. She visited Ireland for the last time in 1950 with the two children. She was shocked to find that conditions had barely changed. She continued her parcel service. The cousins are still in touch although two of their number have died. They still remember the parcels with great affection. She died in 1975 and is remembered lovingly in Ireland and England.