Myles Moriarty - The Tragedy

Myles Moriarty and Ellen Leary had a garden where they raised potatoes and vegetables. They had a few chickens. Ma used to talk about her mother going into town to sell eggs and vegetables – she would take Tom the donkey and a cart. 

This is a picture with the old cabin in the upper left and Larry’s garden including potato drills/ridges in the lower right. Look at those rocks! Everywhere! Myles Moriarty would have planted a garden like this.  There would have been potatoes and perhaps onions and turnips. Across the dirt road is a hay field. The dirt road makes its way down to Brennans' old house near the water.

Imagine this old cabin with a thatched roof. The calves’ cabin is across the road from the old house – in the picture it almost looks like it is attached. Larry puts the calves in that cabin when he is separating them from their mothers. There will be a loud racket for a while from the calves crying for their mothers, and the cows crying for their calves.

This view probably hasn’t changed in hundreds of years except for the ESB poles for electricity.

Besides farming, Myles along with some of the local men also fished. They would set their nets in the Kenmare River. Then they would take their catch by donkey and cart to Cahirciveen to sell it.    

Myles and Ellen Leary began their family.

2 years after his parents were married, young James Moriarty was born on 4 February 1886 in Loughane. I wonder what that winter was like? Who was with 19 year old Ellen Leary when she gave birth? There was no phone to call a doctor. Was there a midwife or a woman experienced with delivering babies available? There were no lights except maybe candles. This was Ellen's first child - was it an easy labor and delivery? Was Myles there with her? Were there any complications? I don't like to think about it.

(Someone had told myself and my mother that Ellen Leary remained in Bohocogram for sometime after she was married because she was so young – 14 years old. But now we know that she was about 17 when she married.) 

James was baptized 10 February 1886 in St. Michael’s Church by Reverend J. O’Shea. Godparents were schoolmaster James Moriarty and Helen Moriarty. Helen Moriarty was probably Myles’ sister who emigrated soon after the baptism to America and died young – leaving 2 young children who were adopted by her brother Con. Helen, in the 1900 U.S. Census, listed 1885 as the date she immigrated – but as we have seen before, dates recalled from memory can be inaccurate. Do you remember that I found a listing for a 16 year old Ellen (Helen) Leary on the S.S. Baltic which docked in New York on 3 April 1886? This would have been 2 months after young Jim Moriarty was born in Loughane. 

Was there a celebration after the baptism? Had Ellen recovered? Normally mothers did not attend the Church for baptisms. Was there a party back in Loughane? I suppose Myles must have been thrilled to have a son.

Almost two years later, Mary (May) Moriarty was born 6 December 1887. The parish priest who married Myles Moriarty and Ellen Leary - Reverend R. McCarthy - baptized their daughter on 11 December in the parish church. Sponsors were Michael and John Leary – Ellen’s brothers. Her last name was spelt Moriority in book 3 page 39. 

Catherine/Kate Moriarty was born 24 October 1889 and baptized on 27 October by Reverend John Coumihan – sponsors were Michael O’Leary and Mary Moriarty according to book 3 page 53.  Michael O’Leary was probably Ellen’s brother, and Mary Moriarty may have been Myles’ sister who married the local neighbor and settled down Gleesk Pier road.

Ellen/Nellie Moriarty was born 12 June 1891 and was baptized 14 June by Reverend R. McCarthy according to book 3 page 64 - I guess he was still the parish priest. Sponsors were Florence O’Sullivan and Margaret Murphy. I don’t know who these sponsors are, but one of Myles’ aunts, Margaret Moriarty, had an address "c/o Maurice Murphy" in Newport – so perhaps the Murphys might have been relatives or at least close friends. 

I wonder if Myles was hoping that more sons would be coming along. Sons would help with the fishing and farming. But Ellen was young and had quite a few childbearing years left. Large families were the norm - there were no contraceptives in those days although nursing mothers tended not to become pregnant until they stopped nursing.

Ellen must have been busy with 4 small children, cooking, cleaning - tending the garden and chickens, helping in the bog and hayfields, while Myles was fishing or farming. During this time Myles would also help his neighbors at their bogs or in their hayfields. The neighbor's wife - and Ellen Leary when the neighbors were helping Myles - would prepare meals for the men and perhaps take them tea in the hayfield or bog. 

I want to think that, altho life may have been hard for this young Moriarty family, there were happy times as well. I wonder if they enjoyed storytelling, singing, or dancing?  Remember that there was no electricity or plumbing. Neighbors would visit each other in the evening - talking about local news if someone had been into town, catching up on neighbors who had emigrated to England or America if a letter had arrived, tracing family relations, singing, telling stories, maybe playing cards.  

But there were also the worries about whether the weather would hold for the crops and turf, would the potatoes last till the new crop came in, would there be enough food for the children, would there be enough turf to last the year, and most importantly, would there be enough money to pay the rent. 

The 1880s were also the time of the Land Wars and the boycotting of landlords, their agents, and any tenant who took the holding of a tenant who was evicted. There was violence on both sides - even in Kerry. The Irish National Land League and its president Charles Stewart Parnell were trying to obtain fair rents for tenants and the eventual purchase of their land. The League encouraged tenants not to pay unfair rents - the League would decide on a fair rent and encourage tenants to offer this to the landlord. If the landlord refused, the tenant would give the rent to the Land League until the landlord, who would now be receiving no rent, agreed to accept it.

One day in October 1893 a storm was brewing. There were probably dark clouds, maybe the wind was blowing, Kenmare Bay might have been churning. Old Paddy Dennehy of Ardmore, with tears in his eyes, told me that Myles Moriarty and the other fishermen wanted to rescue their nets, which they had set down in the Kenmare River. Nets were expensive and if they lost those nets, it might be hard to replace them. If the nets were gone, so was their livelihood. Then how would their families survive? Neighbors warned them not to go out. But they persisted. Myles Moriarty, a Casey from Loughane and one or two of his sons (while another son hid at home under a bed – he did not want to go,) a Burns from Gleesk, and another lad (who was setting a garden at Schoolmaster Crowley's and was asked to go) headed out in the boat(s.) I don't know what kind of boats they had  - curraghs, hookers, seine boats - curraghs I suppose. 

Ellen Leary Moriarty’s sister, Julia Leary, was married to Patsy "Cran" Currane of Ardmore. They were Molly Crowley’s parents. Patsy Cran was supposed to go with Myles Moriarty and the other men to save the nets, but he was taking a catch of fish to Cahirciveen.

The people on shore could see the men in their boats ------suddenly a squall blew up - the next minute the men were lost from sight. When the storm subsided, there was no trace of the men or the boats. They all drowned. Paddy Dennehy from Ardmore said that the bodies were never found. Aunt Nellie Keohane heard that the bodies washed up on an island off shore and were buried in the old Coad Cemetery. Ellen Moriarty had only been married for nine and a half years – now at 24, she was a widow and the sole support of her four children.

Five or six months after Myles Moriarty drowned, Margaret Moriarty was born on 18 March 1894 to the widow Ellen (Leary) Moriarty and was baptized 20 March 1894 by Reverend John Mangan (later Bishop of Kerry) – sponsors were Michael O’Leary and Brigid Shea. This was recorded in book 3 page 81. These were Ellen Leary’s brother and sister. 

I wonder if Ellen knew she was pregnant at the time of the drowning? 

Apparently after Myles drowned, Ellen Leary’s family wanted her to leave the children with relatives in Sneem and go out to her sister and relatives in America and work – eventually she could bring out the children. How could she raise and support her young children and pay the rent on the farm? But Ellen refused – she did not want to break up her family. Remember that young Jim was 7, Mary was almost 6, Catherine was 4, Ellen was 2, and Margaret was not born until about 6 months after her father drowned. 

Eventually a match was made with John L. O’Sullivan – but more about that later.