IRISH ROOTS?
KENNETH E. HALL JULY 28, 2018 HOUSTON
Well before DNA was discovered, and some time before I began to delve deeply into my family roots, I had a love for Irish music! The older and the more traditional it was, the more I liked it. I especially wanted to hear songs in the original Irish Gaeilge language.
Why? As a child I had no idea. I just did. I could feel the music resound deep inside my heart, as if somehow I was a part of this - well, I didn't know of what - but it was something that called to me from beyond the sea. Sounds silly, I know, but nevertheless I felt it.
Whenever I would see a piano or keyboard, I would play it, and usually I would play something Irish. I had a deep emotional connection to a faraway place I've never been.
When I was about ten years old and in grammar school, I first heard the name "Eileen" and thought it the most beautiful name I had ever heard. I swore on that day that if I were ever to get married and have a daughter, I would name her Eileen.
In the springtime of the year, when I was but fifteen, my mother surprised me with something - but not just a simple present - it was a gift of a lifetime - it was a PIANO!
I was delighted, to say the least, more than words can tell. I told her, though, that I would never be a virtuoso, nor would I ever play the instrument well at all, but I that would play strictly for my own enjoyment.
She paid for piano lessons, which taught me very little, I'm afraid. My learning, such as it was, was all done by ear, and letting my heart play its desire.
One thing: my piano teacher at Werlein's Music in New Orleans was named Mr. Moye, and I thought it was a strange name. I told my mother that he probably was "Canadian" because I never heard of such a name in my life. I figured it had been changed or something.
Thanks to the bit of instructions from Mr. Moye and my own developing interest in the piano, I learned to play several Irish ballads and tunes, as well as songs from around the world. My mother enjoyed hearing me, and I told her many times how much I enjoyed that very special present. Her hard-earned money was indeed well-spent!
In my mid-40's, I developed an interest in genealogy. My initial successes at family history research showed I had roots in many places, but, sadly, it seemed for a long time, I had no Irish roots. NONE! I chalked up my love of Irish and Celtic folklore as just a question of personal taste, and let it go. I did buy many records of Irish and Scottish music, and payed them often - but sadly visiting Erin's Isle only in my dreams.
A major breakthrough in genealogy came when I was told by my father's family of a link - a new link - and a new name - this one of my heretofore unknown and mysterious great-grandfather. His name was MOYE!
Coincidence! Pure coincidence it was, I'm sure. Or was it?
A little further investigation let me to trace his ancestry back to IRELAND!
Now, not everyone likes genealogy, and some even consider it bunk. I mean, do you know who your parents are? Do you REALLY? Of course you believe them when they told you that you were their child, but it happens time and time again when a slip of the tongue or a well-hidden document comes to light, and the whole family illusion falls to earth like a stack of cards.
I had no doubts - ever - I need to make that perfectly clear - as to my parentage, but much beyond that it was just a matter of hoping that the paper trail was correct. There was lots of information, fortunately, So I had ways of checking and verifying.
....Still..... one never knows....
EILEEN a-RÚN - One of the happiest days of my life was when my first child was born. It was a little girl. I fed her her first bottle of formula, I sang her a lullabye I had known for many years: "Eileen a-Rún" - Eileen my Love. As I looked into her bright eyes, I knew that this would be a lifelong thing - and we gave her the Irish name Eileen.
Then DNA testing came out, and was highly advertised. Surprisingly, I held back doing it, simply because I did not have the confidence in the testing companies - that they would actually do the testing and not make up something. One late night, while vainly chasing elusive sleep, somewhere high above the Atlantic, something told me to do the test.
A few weeks after that, I did, sent it in, and soon received the results. I trembled as I opened the website that was to show me my true genetic background. As it turned out, all of the research I had done thus far had been proved, as I saw people - actually living relatives - from the many different sides and branches of my family.
I heaved a sigh of relief, and took great delight in knowing that years of painstaking research had paid off.
.....And yes, when it said I was 15% IRISH, I just couldn't believe it!
Is this the reason why I like Irish music? Maybe. There's an old saying: "What's bred in the bone, ye cannot knock out o'the flesh." Has this been something passed down to me from generation to generation, through the mists of time? Or maybe I just like the tunes. However it is, whenever I play an Irish song on the piano, I think about my piano teacher, and a mysterious great-grandfather, and I still wonder.
I may never know, and really, in the scheme of things, it doesn't matter; what is in the past is in the past. What really matters is life and love - and the here and the now.
☘
Just the same, one day I hope to go to Ireland, and that is no Blarney!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxjvNUNXhkU&list=RDzxjvNUNXhkU&start_radio=1
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