One day a year we like to take our Irish out for a walk. We like to let everyone know we have the right to wear green, and have a few drinks. But this Irish heritage and history also has a darker side. That dark side has everything to do with why you are here in America now, enjoying that green beer (and regretting it tomorrow). Here’s my families tale…
Once upon a time my great, great grandfather John Creagh’s family lived in the Bahaghs workhouse, just outside of Cbaherciveen due to the Great Hunger or as most know it, The Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852). This was a devastating chapter in Ireland’s history, leading to mass starvation, emigration, and loss.
During this time, workhouses like the Bahaghs Workhouse in Cahirciveen, County Kerry, became grim refuges for the destitute. Built in 1844, it housed hundreds of impoverished families and the conditions were harsh and overcrowded. They functioned like a poor house and also a jail.
My great, great grandfather was born in 1847 during the famine and once had to go to court when he was young for “stealing” fish from a wealthy person’s pond.
When they made it to America in the early 1900s they changed their last name to Cray.
Caherciveen is In County Kerry, which is what my parents named me after. But it’s more than just a name, it meant they made it, we made it, and this family somehow survived and prospered. In a time when we take aim at immigrants trying everything they can to get here and have a better life, remember this. Remember that your family likely had to flee for survival, for their future. Don’t ever forget…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day…
My families birth certificate.
Sasysquatchgirl 