My 'Irish' GGrandfather was not Irish at all! I just discovered that my hunch that he deliberately hid his childhood turned out to be true and he did it by inventing an Irish background to camouflage everything about his parents poor Liverpool linage, but why did he choose to become Irish?
I received my package from Bernardos Children's home on Thursday so I had time over the Easter Weekend to comb through the information and insert it all into my family tree. I couldn't pull my self out of his story until I had at least a timeline of events leading up to his 1899 marriage in Quebec where he stated he was 'late of Dublin'. I had been working on two clues to his history for 12 years, his middle name of Garrett which he always used and all his Canadian records stating he was Irish.
Rev Charles Garrett
Charles Garrett Hayes was christened by the Methodist Rev Charles Garrett at the Pitt St. Chapel & Mission in 1877 Liverpool in Lancashire England. Turns out Rev. Garrett was a notable figure who was known for his work for the poor families of Liverpool. The Hayes family must have had a close relationship with this enigmatic man which set the scene for what I was to discover. I had answered that first nagging question in my head and continued to dig hoping to find his Irish ancestry.
When Charles was 3 his father, a foreman at the Hutchinson Parr Street flour mill, died suddenly. In 1887, at 9, his uncle placed him in a charitable school and his 17 year old sister was sent to the Hamilton Distribution Home in Canada as part of the Dr. Stephensons Home Children group. The next year their mother died so she must have been ill. I have ordered a death certificate, hoping it is her to find out what happened.
During the entire year of 1892, at the age of 14, one of Charles 4 brothers removed him from school putting him to work for a woman selling fish on Duke st, then 'pulling up' roads for the tramways and all of a sudden he was admitted to the Liverpool Sheltering Home. Three weeks after that he was shipped to Quebec and admitted to the Knowlton Distribution Home and placed in 2 newspaper shops finally ending up on a farm in the predominantly Irish community of Morin Flats Quebec. Aha I thought now I am on to something!
Morin Flats, Quebec
In 1894 he was working on the farm of a Methodist Irishman named John Seale who reported that Charles goes to school and church, is improving and doing well. Three Seale brothers from Connaugh Ireland settled in this area in 1850, their old homestead is now a B&B in this now tourist community. I do not know if Charles stayed in the house but he lived on this beautiful farm surrounded by Irish families.
The Old Hammond Homestead now a B&B
His last known position in 1895 before being 'released' at 18 was working for Allan Hammond another Irishman from one of the original Irish settlers of Morin Flats, now called Morin Heights. I wonder if he lived in the house or the barn?
He lived amongst the poor Irish in Liverpool and was then 'farmed out' to Canada by the British Home Children scheme but did he come to appreciate and respect the Irish more then his own heritage? Did he learn how to speak with an Irish accent and when did he make his choice to pass himself off as from Ireland, here in Morin flats or 4 years later when he married into a recently immigrated English family from Warwickshire? I do not have any details of his life during his years with these Irish families but it seems to me preferring to be Irish than an orphan from Liverpool shows another emotional connection that he held onto along with the man Charles Garrett. His life did not get any easier but I came down through his DNA and I have been determined to uncover his story and I am hoping he doesn't mind that I did.
Jimmy's Hall screenwriter, and former human rights lawyer Paul Laverty is certainly no stranger to controversy -- you only have to look at the comments on Gerry Regan's article to see the kind of reactions his statements create. Director Ken Loach said, in the 'Spirit of 45' documentary, that his whole career has been "going up against those who have control over the distribution of his films and are the guardians of the nation's politics and the media's pro-government agenda of political censorship in England and Ireland.'
Ken and Paul seem to have a style of filmmaking that was birthed from a shared desire to capture the mood of the times, no matter how intense or controversial. In his interview with me, Paul said that it is actually a simple process, and yes, on the surface, it is. I believe their treatment of and approach to a story is closer to the truth of the times because of their simple style, closer than most filmmakers would have the patience or courage to attempt. I love these guys!
I was invited to witness this style of filming on the set of Ken Loach's latest and perhaps last feature film “Jimmy's Hall," about James Gralton, the only Irish citizen to be deported by the Irish Government without a trial.
Here is a little phone video & interview I did from the set with Paul Laverty
Among the actors were some real members of Ireland's progressive Sinn Finn political movement, born in the tumult of Ireland's freedom struggle more than a century ago, adding to the portrayal's realism. The scene portrayed members of the Irish Republican Army meeting with Jimmy and members of the community in the hall during a local land arbitration, asking him to appear with them when they take on the Earl of Kingston for evicting a family from its holding.
The discussion was about the risks involved and the tough choice of having to pick Jimmy's battles. The first takes of the scene played out straightforwardly, then Loach had the actors add their own overlays to portray a genuinely heated discussion. Many takes later the scene became emotionally explosive and powerful and yet still adhered to the script. It was a thrilling process for me to watch unfold.
I also spoke to John Rooney, a local historian and friend of the Gralton family, who is writing his own play about this multi-layered story and his strong desire to "set the record" straight. Gralton was extremely well respected in Leitrim, especially for his support of the tenants over the landlords and 'land grabbers.'
The outrage at Gralton's treatment by the Church and government still lingers, so there are those who worry that the film will not do the man justice. I can say that although I only witnessed one scene, I felt it was a perfect marriage of Sixteen Films, the courage of James Gralton and the Leitrim people who banded together in this little corner of Ireland to continue the Easter Rising's struggle for basic human rights.
I asked Paul about their style of filmmaking and how he thought Jimmy would react to the condition in Ireland today (see my video interview above).
I wish there were more companies like Sixteen Films, which, to me, harken back to a time of storytelling when the aim was to enlighten not manipulate, degrade and create devolution of the human mind and spirit. We shall see if Loach et al live up to everyone's expectations when the film is released.
