This biographical information and additional backstory about Aileen’s mother, Clare, comes from one of our Irish cousins, Linda McCann. Linda is a granddaughter of Briege Walsh (a sister of Nan and Clare). You will notice some varying spelling of names. This is something common in genealogy. Linda is a member of this website, so leave her some questions or comments in the comments below.
Claire youngest daughter of Michael Walsh and Mary Clinton Walsh
Claire married Peter O’Connor who was a Custom and Excise Officer in Carlingford. Claire died July 1981, and is buried in St Patrick’s cemetery Dundalk, Co. Louth.
She had 2 daughters with Peter O’Connor, Claire and Dorothy. Her husband Peter died aged 28 of T.B. Her daughters were sent to boarding school in Limerick. Claire (their mother) went to the U.S. Clair was a milliner. When she came back to Ireland she lived in Seatown place, Dundalk. She was always known as Claire Walsh.
Her oldest daughter Claire was a radiographer. She married Peter O’Brien from Cork. They moved to Isle of Whyte. They had 4 daughters, Sue, Oonagh, Sheila and Helen. Claire and Peter moved back to Ireland, when he retired. They lived in Kells, Co. Meath for a while then bought house in Ardee, Co. Louth. Claire and her sister Dorothy did not talk.
I often had lunch with Claire and my Aunt Mary Feehan, Claire often told us horror stories and funny stories about the boarding school in Limerick. She could not understand why her mother was not there to look after them and hated the Nuns and the boarding school, it was an unhappy time in her life. In later life Claire got cancer and sold up the house in Ardee and moved to Manchester for treatment and to be with one of her daughters.
Dorothy went to England and joined the land army. She was known as a ‘blue stocking’. Then she got a job as a secretary to an architect. Dorothy never married. She came back home to live with her Mother when architect retired. Dorothy went into an Old Folks home and died on 7th October 2014 No-one knew of 3rd daughter in U.S. It only came out after Claire died.
Daughter Aileen.
No-one knew of her, but when Miriam Kernan Grey came home on holidays from U.S. Claire Walsh would take her up to bedroom and ask about Aileen. Miriam’s family got suspicious of these secret meeting’s. Finally Miriam told them about Aileen. Even then the story was sketchy, we were told Claire had run off with a bank worker, gone to Liverpool and then U.S. and that he had left her. She couldn’t return to Ireland with a daughter out of wedlock. They all got it wrong!!! They were all sworn to secrecy, and never told anyone until Claire died. Claire’s daughter Claire was told but they decided not to tell Dorothy, I never understood why, some said Dorothy thought of her mother as a Saint and it would have devastated her.
When Dorothy came back to live with her Mother, they lived in a large 3 story large house in Seatown place, Dundalk. They kept lodgers. The house needed renovating and they were told to get a fire escape put in. Expensive. Money was scarce, the lodgers were not paying much either. Dorothy decided the best thing was to sell up. They bought smaller house in Wynne’s Terrace, Dundalk. Claire wasn’t impressed! She was used to a large house. She could be a bit snobby!! Dorothy never worked in Ireland, She had plenty of hobbies ceramics, making silk scarfs and big into the Church. She did her own thing, I liked Dorothy and often visited her. Not sure how well Mother and Daughter got on.