The above is a representation of the necklace of Grainne made in the shoppe of Colin Greer. (To see more of his work, click here. Oh, the story behind this piece of jewelry is grand! Ah, and we couldn't have a book on Ireland without it, now, could we? So, let's have us a wee nip and I will tell it to you here and now...

These are all mythical characters, they say. You see, one was the husband, Fionn MacCumhail (who by this time was an old man) and one was the the woman he wanted to marry, Grainne. And, then, there was Diarmuid, who had saved Fionn's life many times when they were young and winning wars all over the place. Diarmuid was empowered by Fionn to give the gift to Grainne and ask if she would marry Fionn; the necklace was to be a betrothal gift from Fionn to Grainne.

However, when Diarmuid was born, a witch-woman put a love mark on Diarmuid's forehead that made any woman who saw him fall in love with him immediately and for all time. Diarmuid tired to hide the mark from Grainne, but his hair was blown by the wind and she immediately fell for the wrong man. Grainne, in turn, put a spell on Diarmuid to never leave her and to love her forever more. On the night they ran away together, Diarmuid gave the necklace to her and said it would bind the two of them together for all time. Her jealous husband-to-be was sure Diarmuid callously caused Grainne to fall in love with him; and forgetting both Diarmuid's loyalty and his youthful escapades, Fionn came after them with rage in his heart and blood in his eye.

Diarmuid's loyalty and love spell fought each other all the way; one made him leave a trail a blind man could follow, the other made him continue running throughout Ireland attempting to outdistance Fionne. They slept where they could find a spot, finally stopping in a grove of huge trees and sleeping at the top of the largest one, keeping one eye on the road below.

MORE RESEARCH NEEDED

Sometime during WW1, the influenze hit in the very hard and many people died. I was told that many thought this flu was brought over on the ships from Europe. It hit in a time before miracle drugs and the disease ran rampant throughout America. The coal mines had one doctor to cover many mining towns, and he could only come once a week. The doctor's own family was hit pretty hard, too. Aunt Marie, Uncle Bob and Aunt Marne were in Pittsburg working and Grandpa had to continue to work. Aunt Isabella was the only one who did not get sick, so she was the nurse and only about 14 or 15 at the time. The family lost one daughter to the flu, and Bernie became very weak; he was gone a few months afterward. Mary was very bad from the flu and pregnant at the time. She lost the baby and was in poor health from both the disease and the loss of yet another child.

This was the beginning of Isabella becoming the matriarch of the family -- guiding and mothering the younger kids, keeping house for her mother and waiting on her while she lay abed on the sofa in the livingroom. Uncle Ted got polio as a boy and needed special help. Isabella and Grandpa massaged his legs and exercised them relentlessly. The result was Uncle Ted walked with only a slight limp, just enough of a limp that he was very shy and quietly ashamed to be so marked.

Life continued on in this manner for a few years, then Aunt Isabella found a young man she really liked a lot and he asked her to marry him. However, Granddad put the kibosh to this affair because he would be stuck with noone to do for him, his wife and his chidren. He really didn't know what he would do with a lot of little ones around and himself having to work. In that day, women did as their parents wished. Isabella knew she could not appeal to her mother who was too ill to feel compassion for a young love. So, Isabella talked to her mother's youngest sister, Aunt Jane, who with genteel kindness let Bell know where her duty lies. Isabella did what she had to do. She gave up her sweet young man, and gracefully took over all of it, even became an expert in "the guilt trip".

About 2 or 3 years after Mary died, Grandpa had so much trouble with the company that the family moved once again, to Pittsburg where the older children lived and worked. They all moved into a house together. Since there were no coal mines close-by, Grandpa started working in the steel mills. The job was quite different and so he had to start at the bottom of the ladder once again. After a short time, he realized he was just too old to continue working the steel, so he stopped. Grandpa just decided one day to "retire" and never worked in a mill or a mine again. Bob was the oldest son and he took over the financial support of the family when Grandpa stopped working. He kept things working in the house and yard and went to the pub. He took up some odd jobs around the neighborhood, fixing things and he started inventing things, just to keep busy. He got a few patents, but nothing came of them. Of course, the baseball interest continued, and he became a coach for one of the local teams, and listened to the pro games on the radio, along with his sons.

These were the times of the Roaring Twenties - and there is a picture of some of the aunts getting ready for a dance. Then came the big bands and Aunt Bell used to talk about the times they had at those dances. She was a good dancer and had a full dance book all the time. When she and Uncle Bob danced together, they stopped the room and everyone clapped and whistled. Uncle Ted met his wife when one of these dances were held at her father's grand hotel. Ah, she could play the piano, real honkey tonk music and later, jazz. Uncle Ted sang for her and she played for him. Everyone had a fine ole' time!

Aunt Marne had a grand time at the bar she worked at. Aunt Bell says she was a bargirl, meaning the girl who talks guys into buying her a drink (which is very thinned down and costs more) and serving the patrons drinks, etc. I have my questions on what her job was, in reality. Soon, Aunt Gertrude "Bunny" joined Marne at the jobsite and she was a very funny. Aunt Marne was a very sweet, loving and cool gal. She was into poetry and making Irish lace tablecloths, and beading evening bags, and crochetting all sorts of things.

Aunt Ellen was into sewing like her mother, who made every piece of clothing her 10 children wore. Ellen went to work in a millinar's shop and learned to make absolutely beautiful hats for the ladies of wealth. Aunt Marie was into training children and would sometimes help Aunt Bell with the younger children in the manners and history, geography, etc.

Aunt Bell become a really good cook and remained one until her old age. She made many Sunday dinners and had as many as 28 people eating at her table a couple of times. Holidays were a lovely time and the food was abundant. The dinner conversations were very interesting affairs, and would sometimes last long into the night. There were many piano/sing/poetry fests and the skits were good and interesting, usually topical on politics. Sometimes, Grandpa would read outloud from a book and they would discuss the different aspects of the plots or characters. Jim even wrote a few stories and some poetry that were published in the local papers. Isabella continued to keep the family on an even keel and doing as they should. The garden couldn't have weeds and the house had to be spotless yet lived in. No "shanty Irish" in this house!

Uncle Pat is the only one who continued school, and not only was huge enough to play football, but his beautiful Irish tenor voice got him rave reviews and quite a few ladies. He used to do odd jobs for one of his male teachers and got paid for it.