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MORAN “DO” CUP AND CLAN REUNION 2015

ELCOME Moran Cuppers and Clanners to 2015's Moran Mag. Best of luck to all golfers and best of craic to all revellers at the 2015 Moran Do.

Thanks to all who contributed to this year's Mag with personal stories and reflections, articles of interest, and researched pieces on little histories of the extended Moran Clan. We are always ready to hear new stories, so if you have a little nugget of history in your branch of the Clan, or an area of special interest you would like to share, or if you are doing something out of the ordinary this year, please write it down and send it in for next year's Mag. This year's cover shows the only known photograph of Anne Moran (known as Nan-Nan). Nan-Nan is a very important figure in Moran family history. As sister of the patriarch Patrick Moran, Nan-Nan took responsibilty for raising her brother's children, after the death of Patrick's wife, Ellen. In other words, the progenitor of every branch of the Moran Clan today, as pictured in the family tree (see centre pages) was raised in part by NanNan. Her influence may be little known after all these years, but somehow we all carry a part of Nan-Nan with us. Much gratitude as always to Angela, Brona, Betty, Alan, Trish, Balinrobe GC and everyone who makes the Moran Cup and Moran Do happen each year. The annual Moran family gathering has recently extended to a Friday night BBQ and for many, a full week of family activities in the West of Ireland. So we wish all the Morans a very happy time, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Be well, and like the stars in the family crest, keep on shining! Claire Maguire & Shay Moran The cover picture shows Nan-Nan with John A Moran's three sons, Jack, PJ and Tony Moran, who is held by Nan-Nan's next door neighbour Annie Hussey (née Glynn) 1

Moran Do 2014 by Moran Mag reporter Breda Maguire

he 2014 Moran Do weekend got off to a good start with the Friday evening/night event. Manning Betty's barbeque, Ian, Robert and Peter dished up mouth-watering goodies. Later other chefs took over and served more good grub, and the craic went on until late. As well as golf, random cycling, walking and climbing events took place. Hopefully when we have more enthusiasts these outings will become >>> more organised.

A small number of golfers were cheered as they teed off. Winners were rewarded, and the Saturday night dinner and singsong made it a most enjoyable evening for all. We had no Australian visitors in 2014. Seamus and Ellen Healy flew the flag for the USA. Ian represented Scotland. Audrey, Robert and the boys were our English contingent. Ireland, North and South, made up the final number. For the official family record, there were 22 from the second generation and 54 from the third and fourth generations. ď Ł

BBQ Babes! Betty, Breda and Cathy >>>

Patsy entertains at the Do

L-R: Austin, Robert, Audrey, William, Linda, Katie & Ian at the Barbie!

<<<

Getting ready to Do the Do! Morans revving up for party time. 2

Representing the USA Ellen and SĂŠamus Healy

Moran Cup 2014 Pat Moran Cup Winner: Alan Moran

Junior Moran Cup Winner: Andrew Donovan

Alan and caddy Jack on a winning round at the 2014 Moran Cup

Andrew cracks one down the middle.

The Story of Nan-Nan

Residents of House 23 in Lavallyroe according to the 1901 Census, showing at the bottom of the form Anne Moran, sister of head of family Patrick Moran. http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

he kitchen was lit by the low morning sun slinking in through the front window. The intense orange rays turned the seven year old’s mop of curls golden, as he poured steaming tea from a battered tin teapot into a large mug, using a rag to protect his hand from the hot handle. He loved their new house, the feel and smell of it; smell of fresh wood; smell of new paint.

He covered the mug with a makeshift lid made from old tin and met his sister Breda at the foot of the stairs. She’d been helping her heavily pregnant mother Katie with baby Michael. Outside, she clambered over the wall, held the mug of tea as he did the same, and they set off for the small thatched house in the corner of the front field. It used to be a shop he had been told, run by his grandaunt Anne, or Nan-Nan, as he knew her.

“Have you not that mug of tea brought over yet!?”

He was glad Breda was with him, she was better at chatting to the old lady. He loved listening to Nan-Nan’s stories about “the old days”, when his father was a boy like him. The green grass was barely visible beneath the crusting of spring frost. It reminded him of the flour, sprinkled on the table top, whenever his mother was making soda

His older brother’s voice made him jump, spilling some tea onto the table. His brother tutted and snatched the old rag to mop the spilt tea. “Go on. Quick!” “Yes boss. I’m going.” “Tell her I’ll bring over a lock of turf this evening.” 4

bread. But it wasn’t flour because it soaked right through their shoes. As they approached the house he thought he heard Nan-Nan singing. This was unusual. She was a great story teller but not normally a singer. He looked to his older sister but she just shrugged. When they reached the front of the house, they were both surprised to find the door thrown wide open and no fire lighting in the grate. He was now certain she was singing and when they got inside he was stunned to find her dancing around the room like a young girl, singing at the top of her voice, the stream of sunlight like an eerie, theatre spotlight. She spotted them straight away but didn’t break stride.

1901 Census form for House 23 in Lavallyroe

an-Nan was Pat Moran's sister Anne. The census of 1901 records her as resident in the homestead in Lavallyroe. She was then 45 years old and unmarried. She may have been there because she had nowhere else to live or she may have been there to help Pat’s wife Ellen with her eight young children.

“Do you like my new dress Tommy?” “Ehm, where will I leave your tea NanNan?” “Kit made it for me. Your aunty Kit. Isn’t it beautiful?” “It is Nan-Nan, beautiful,” said Breda. “Are you going to a party?”

Ellen Moran passed away in June 1902, not long after the birth of her last child Kit in 1901. Ellen left a young family behind: Mary Ellen, the eldest, was aged 14; Nora was 12; Maggie 11; Delia 9; Patrick 6; John 5; James 2; and Kit, the baby was 1.

Nan-Nan stopped and thought for a second, “I suppose I am agraween, in a way.” Then off she went again, taking his sister by the hand and twirling her around the room, singing softly now, leaving him holding the cooling tea. He thought the dress was very plain and not really suitable for a party at all.

Anne remained in Lavallyroe to help rear the children. She eventually came to be known as Nan-Anne or Nan-Nan. She never married but later moved into a roadside cottage, in the corner of the field, in front of the new house, that had previously been Kit Cribbin's shop in Lavallyroe.

But he didn’t say that...

>>>

Seamus Healy has particularly fond memories of Nan-Anne: “I was five or six years old and I remember that my mother, Kit Healy, was very fond of her. She was the closest to a mother Mammy had ever known after her own mother died in 1902, when she was only six months old.

Nan-Anne, Jack, PJ, and Annie Glynn (Hussey) holding Tony Moran (1930s)

Nan-Nan, who never married herself, took over the task of mothering the young family left behind for her brother Pat Moran. I knew her as a nice old lady, always dressed in black, who had a small country shop on the roadside, directly in front of the new house which my dad, Martin Healy, was building for Uncle Jim and Auntie Katie and their young growing family.

As Nan-Nan got older Coleen Mac (Mac Manus) went in and put on the fire in the mornings. It’s unclear who exactly was tasked with bringing her a morning cup of tea. It’s likely that her grandnephews and grandnieces took turns. However, she definitely was seen wearing the dress/habit on one such morning... "Nan-Nan has a new dress, she must be going to a party!" 

I remember her funeral which must have been in the early 1940’s, probably because it was the first I had experienced. I remember when her coffin was removed from her little house, the clock was stopped and the chairs were turned upside down. This must have been a way of indicating that the life of that house had departed.”

Compiled by Séamus Moran based on recollections of Nan-Nan gathered from Breda Maguire, Tom Moran, Seamus Healy and Maura Joyce.

“The ‘lovely long dance frock’ was, in fact, the habit in which she would be buried and which she had commissioned my mother, Kit, to make for her several years before. She had been trying it on. A wonderful indicator of how her faith-filled generation confronted their own mortality. The fact that my mother, the dressmaker, whose nappies Nan-Nan had changed, was able to make her final clothing as she left this world, was an amazing rounding of the circle of life and death.”

The cost of dying… Provide a habit: The practice of dressing the remains in a special type of outfit known as a habit still applies in many parts of rural Ireland, but mostly with the older generation. 6

Up the Morans! Our Dad died in August 1988. Kathleen (our mother) reared myself and my siblings PJ, Sinead and Claire on her own. It was hard growing up without him. At that stage Tony had already died in May of 1986 and Jack in March of 1988. This was an extremely difficult time for Patsy as she had lost all her siblings and had also lost her husband in 1985. She was always and continues to be very good to us and has been a huge part of our lives.

Trish Fagan

We hadn’t been going to the reunion. Séamus encouraged us to go when we met him at the very sad funeral of my first cousin Gay Ruane in 2001 (Jack's daughter). So that along with Patsy's ongoing encouragement of PJ to play in the Moran Cup is how we started going, and we have been going ever since. I enjoy going to the reunion every year. PJ won the Moran Cup one year and my son Gerard won the Moran Junior Cup which brought me such pride, but also such a sense of sadness as I know if my Dad was there he would be so proud.

Moran family photo - PJ and Kathleen at the back. Front: PJ, Trish, Claire and Sinéad.

decided, with a little push, to write a small piece for the magazine this year.

All the children are excited going to Ballinrobe on the Saturday evening meeting the cousins. It is fantastic that it is still going strong. As Patsy says “UP THE MORANS”. 

My dad PJ Moran was one of the founders of the Moran Cup. His parents John A and Babe Moran had four in family namely Jack (RIP), PJ (RIP), Tony (RIP) and Patsy. As a child growing up I always looked forward to reading the big black book that Ronan Maguire (RIP) has put together and when American cousins came to visit I knew exactly who they were straightaway.

Pat & Ellen >> John A & Babe >> PJ & Kathleen >> Trish Fagan 7

MEETING THE YOUNG MORANS AROUND THE WORLD My Full Name is……

Austin James Vickery Bradley

Country of Birth /Residence Age I’m one of the ‘Pat Moran Clan’ because…. I was given my name because …….. I am told I look like……. The person who talks about Ireland the most is ……. So, what do they talk about/mention to you: Jot down the THREE things you’ve heard mentioned …….. Pick a word that describes your visits to Ireland. What part of Ireland would you most like to visit and why?.. Mention TWO of your hobbies: Have you ever heard any one in your family singing Irish songs? How do you celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day?

England 10 My mum is a Moran

Have you ever seen any Irish musicians? If you have heard an Irish Joke, will you kindly share it ?........

Yes, Peter Moran.

Because my mum's father was called James Austin, so my mum mixed it around for me. My Grandad Moran (Jimmy Moran) My mum (Audrey Moran/Bradley) 1. When they were younger and buying sweets for 1p and asking how much were the penny sweets. 2. Going to Leisureland 3. Going to Granny's farm. Potato Belfast because I like the name Cricket and Rounders Yes. Christy Moore songs By wearing badges that my auntie Caroline sends us and when we were little, face paints and stickers.

Paddy Englishman, Paddy Irishman and Paddy Scotsman in the desert, they are really thirsty and hungry and finally they find a bottle with a genie who gives them 3 wishes. Paddy Englishman asks to be back in England in a castle with a beautiful wife and all the drink and food they will ever eat and ping he disappeared. Paddy Scotsman asks to be back in Scotland in the highlands with a beautiful wife and all the whiskey he can ever drink, and ping he disappeared. Paddy Irishman looked around him and with a very sad face said, I want my friends back…….

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Jimmy & Cathy >> Audrey & Rob >> Austin Bradley 8

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Conchobhar runs off down the aisle and Maedhbh follows.

Helen Berney

Garry and I take turns in saying, “stay close”, “come back”, “don’t touch those”, “put that back where you found it” occasionally interspersed with a non-specific “no”. We go two steps forward, one step back, three to the side, zig-zag and a shimmy. I come upon them at the cutlery section. Conchobhar is taking out spoons, licking them and putting them back – Maedhbh lurches up to copy him.

Maedhbh, Garry, Helen and Conchobhar

I have had enough, I lean down and swipe Maedhbh up onto my left hip, while admonishing Conchobhar.

lovely sunny Sunday, and we are heading out en famille to buy something for Chris McLaren’s birthday. As Garry has borrowed and never returned two barbeques from Chris, he thinks that it would be amusing to buy him a set of barbeque implements.

“That’s it, we’re going back to the car. Put the spoons back, don’t lick them. We are going to the car right now.” I hear the quiet voice of a stranger “Ah, you can’t bring them back to the car.”

So, off we head to Homestore + More in search of these elusive items, trailing children thrilled at the prospect of being strapped into car seats and then deposited in an out of town shopping zone.

What the - ?, Who the -? “That’s my daughter you have there.” I look to the child balanced on my hip. It’s not Maedhbh.

We enter the establishment with the usual entreaties about not running off, and not breaking anything really expensive.

Maedhbh is standing beside her father, who is trying so hard to suppress his laughter, that there are muffled sounds coming out his eyeballs.

Soon, Conchobhar is perusing the cleaning fluids and Maedhbh is lining up clothes hangers, all the better to crash them down to the ground in unison.

Chris gets beer for his birthday.  Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Mary & Bernard >> Helen Berney 9

Memories

as she wouldn’t want to upset him and they might argue!!! I think there was probably a bottle of Blue Nun in the box too!

by Trina Cooney (Dillon)

He was Paddy Joe to everyone else but Uncle Paddy to us. As a young child I thought he was so handsome and unlike anyone else I knew, he only drank coffee, how posh was that???

ou read about the stages of grief and the waves of grief but me … I have travelled through a tunnel of grief. Yes, I know the roller coaster ride continues but at last I feel like I can see the light at the end of my tunnel.

We grew up very close to the Tyrrells. They were our second family and I know for a period of time that we were their second family too.

Within four years, five members of my immediate family and your extended family passed away, all in different ways. But each person has left behind a void, an emptiness in my life… an emptiness that is slowly being filled with memories, images and stories.

Uncle Paddy died on June 7th 2010. Mammy couldn’t accept how ill he was but thank God she made it to the hospital just before he died and got to say goodbye. How difficult that must have been for her.

The void will never fill completely and for me it is important to acknowledge that. That empty space is the personal, private space that each of these people had in my life. It is also the space that says “You had a place in my heart and I miss you”. I don’t want that space to disappear and I welcome the stories, the images and the memories that circle it because they comfort me. So who were these people who lived among us and were part of my life and your lives? Allow me to introduce them!! First my Uncle Paddy… He arrived every Christmas with a box filled with Christmas goodies including a turkey. Mammy had always bought her turkey by then but she would never tell him

Uncle Paddy & Aunty Maureen Tyrrell. Granny & Grandad (Tyrrell) are on Paddy’s left 10

Then 7 months later, my dad John Dillon suddenly became unwell. He was a lovely man. We all loved him very much. He had a heart of gold and the patience of a saint! He was my hero and when he saw me in the town holding hands with a young man from the Carmelite College, he gently let me know that he had seen me, told me to be careful and warned me “don’t upset your mother!”

of you may not have known her. She was a very talented artist, who touched the lives of many people through her art. She was great fun, had a wonderful sense of humour and “devilment”. One of my fondest memories of Orlagh is of when she was quite young. She and her sisters were visiting Moate with Marie. Orlagh found (or brought with her!) a water pistol. Unknown to any of us she spent ages squirting water on the ceiling in the conservatory. For a full week afterwards my mother tried, unsuccessfully, to discover where the leak was!!! It was many years before Orlagh owned up to that one!

My father was an Offaly man and the GAA was one of his many interests. Paul Tyrrell told me that Daddy went to all his college matches and even changed sides at half time so that he was sitting on the same side as Paul was playing, so that Paul would know he was there! Small memories but hugely important. I now live with a family of GAA men. Daddy you prepared me well and you would be so proud of your grandsons! The last week of my father’s life was a very spiritual and healing week. That final week was spent beside my father, night and day with my brothers and sister and also my first cousins the Heavin Family. They arrived at various times day and night to be with us as we accompanied our father on his final journey. He passed away on Monday 16th April 2012 Again my mum had to say goodbye… an incredibly difficult one this time.

Orlagh

And then four months later a bomb exploded in our lives. Our beautiful, talented, kind and loving Orlagh decided to depart this world in her own way and in her own time frame. She left this world too early and some

A week after Orlagh’s death our gentle kind Aunty Maureen (Uncle Paddy’s wife) quietly and suddenly passed away. We all loved her. She just got on with things, never complained and was always happy. Every Christmas she 11

sent scratch cards for Eoin & Diarmuid (my two sons) and was always eager to know how they were. She and my mum spoke every week and Mammy really missed those phone calls when they stopped. Aunty Maureen died on September 8th 2012. And then my lovely Mum, Maureen Tyrrell passed away unexpectedly in 2014. She was a wonderful woman, who loved her family completely. She was a very intelligent woman, had a huge interest in current affairs and politics. She had very strong opinions, all of which in her mind were right and arguing with her didn’t really get you anywhere!!

John and Maureen Dillon

Many of you have your own memories of my parents, John & Maureen, of my Uncle Paddy & Aunty Maureen and some of you will also remember Orlagh. They were significant, important and very loved people in my life.

She was very creative and a super cook. Moate Agricultural Show was held in August every year and what a feast we had for tea that evening. Marie & Mammy would produce prize winning victoria sponges, coffee cakes, chocolate cakes and many more delights. Marie did the baking, I did the washing up!!!

I hope that this little tribute to them will start a conversation which will help you remember, make you smile and keep their spirits alive in our extended family The Moran Clan. 

All four of us, Noel, Marie, Sean & I spent a lovely Mother’s Day with her just two days before she died. Mammy passed away on 2nd April 2014, two weeks before Daddy’s second anniversary.

Pat & Ellen >> Margaret & Tom >> Maureen & John >> Trina Cooney (Dillon)

MORAN STORIES Baby Ella Rose Moon! This photograph of baby Ella Rose Moon introduces us to the newest great great grandchild of Jim and Katie Moran of Lavallyroe. Ella is the daughter of Jamie Moon, the grandson of Tony and Stella, and the son of their daughter Allison. We are delighted to welcome Jamie and Ella to the clan together with Ella's mum Shannon. The second photograph is of Jamie and Shannon with Ella and we look forward to meeting all of them at a future Moran Do. Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Tony & Stella >> Allison >> Jamie & Shannon >>Ella Rose Moon

Moran, Wyoming Pop: 295 Elevation: 6,749 ft Region: Northwest If you're planning a holiday in the Northwest of America sometime soon, why not consider Wyoming and the small mountain town of Moran. It is the gateway to the magnificent Grand Teton National Park. The community was named after Thomas Moran, an English artist of Irish ancestry, who accompanied the geological survey expedition to the Yellowstone National Park region in the 1870s. The community has had two different names, but the Board on Geographic Names officially ruled in favor of "Moran" in 1970. Score one for the Morans! Moran is Wyoming's coldest continually inhabited place, with a record low of -63째F (-52째C) registered in the winter of 1933. So go ahead and score another one for the record breaking Morans! 13

MEETING THE YOUNG MORANS AROUND THE WORLD

Margaret Rogers with her family L-R: Jim, Rosemary, Margaret, Grace and Nora

My Full Name is……

Margaret Nora Rogers

Country of birth/Residence Age I’m one of the ‘Pat Moran Clan’ because…. My FIRST name is….. but I’m called ……. I was given this name because ……..

USA 14 My Great Grandmother was Nora Moran Margaret... Margie...Bear

It's the American version of Mairead and my mom liked the Irish name but the spelling is tricky for Americans :) My sister, Grace My mom (Nora Rogers)

I am told I look like……. The person who talks most about Ireland in my family is ……. So, what do they talk about/mention 1. Our family name to you: Jot down THREE things 2. Going to the reunions is expensive you’ve heard mentioned …….. 3. We have a LOT of family in Ireland Write down THREE things you’ve The Famine learned about Ireland at school (not Colors of the flag from your family) Learned about the music What part of Ireland would you most Dublin. I wrote a paper on it and would like to see what it like to visit and why? really is like Mention TWO of your hobbies: Softball and basketball Have you ever heard any one in Yes, the Irish lullaby; songs played by a local Irish band (the your family singing an Irish song? Fushia Band) How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s At school, we have a "leprechaun hunt" with the younger Day? students My parents sometimes have a big party Has anyone ever spotted the Irish in YES! Daily you? Have you read any plays by Irish Yes, and children's stories authors/ poems by Irish poets?

Pat & Ellen >> Nora & Albert >> Patte & Duane >> Nora & Jim >> Margaret Rogers 14

When some distant cousins come up ... why not draw them

in conversation at the Moran Do this year ...... into the family tree !!!

From a Hedge School in Lavallyroe to a Life of Learning

hub of the campus as graduates prepare for a future I can’t even imagine.

Claire Maguire

Peering in through the windows at the end of April, I felt totally relieved that I couldn’t sense the internal anguish I always felt taking exams though I reminded myself of it nonetheless. Then, I spotted a sign on the door bearing the name LOFTUS HALLS, as if I could ever forget!

(with thanks to Mary Berney, Mary Margaret Coyne and the Cloonfad Parish Magazine ‘99 )

Two months later, I got a call from my godmother Aunty Mary (Berney) who said she had some information for me which she said ‘may be of interest for the mag’. I listened and was metaphorically jolted from my kitchen in Bray back to L-L-Loftus in Maynooth! Loftus Hall, NUI Maynooth

She called to tell me that the first school that existed in the Cloonfad area was a Hedge school in Lavallyroe. She went on to talk about the very man after whom the halls are named, Dr Martin Loftus. He was the Professor of Irish at the college in 1820, subsequently appointed parish priest in Dunmore (Ciara and Senan take note!) and compiled the Irish text of the Tuam catechism. Most importantly, Dr Martin Loftus was a past pupil of the aforementioned Lavallyroe Hedge School!

n a recent visit to the university I attended in Maynooth, I had the pleasure of staying on campus, in a room in Top Pats, overlooking the beautiful St. Joseph’s Square. How quickly the memories returned….. queueing for tickets and attending the Annual Song Contest in the Aula (That’s the Aula Max or Maximus to you), or going to see the latest film for 50p on a Sunday evening following the free tea and bickies after the 6 o’clock mass in St Joseph’s Oratory!

The thought struck me then, as now, that the fact that there was a hedge school in Lavallyroe, way back before our recorded histories begin, way before the Morans built their homes and farmed the land there, must not be disregarded. How rich indeed was the land that formed us?

Just how many times had I crossed the top of that Square? It led me very reluctantly to and happily away from Loftus Halls wherein I, and countless other under/postgraduates, sat exams. Today, it remains the exam 17

The excerpts from (Mary's school friend and Lavallyroe neighbour) Margaret Coyne's thesis proved very interesting indeed. As we know, Hedge schools became popular in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries following the legal restrictions imposed on Catholics by the Penal Laws; the Irish poor resorted to Hedge Schools.

Coonfad, both in the parish of Kiltullagh, along with money to pay salaries. The first female school in Cloonfad was funded by the late Bishop O’Regan and opened in June 1870. Fergal Moran and Eoin Aylward, are currently Maynooth college students. Like others in the clan, I’m a teacher; always learning. Fast forward to a time in the future, on a warm humid sunny day, a student will ask ‘Can we have the class outside?’ I shall pause, think of that call from Mary, of Martin and Anthony, of the hedge school in Mayo, and smile. ‘Yes’. 

The first National School built in Cloonfad in 1856 was not adequate to meet the needs of the parishes and in 1865 a new school was built to accommodate boys and girls. It is likely that Pat Moran, Nan-Anne and other members of the Moran clan attended that school. Generations of Morans and other families from Lavallyroe attended school in Cloonfad through the years. Another past pupil of the Lavallyroe Hedge school was Fr. Anthony O’Regan who was appointed the third Bishop of Chicago, Illinois in 1853. Reluctant to take the position initially, he accepted it and accomplished much. A predecessor had secured the passage into Illinois State Law vesting all church property in the Bishop. By 1858, he was back in Tuam and subsequently served in Brompton, London. On his death in 1865, he left £2000 to All Hallows College for priests in the Chicago diocese. But while he looked after kith and kin, he did not forget the need for adequate school buildings for schools for children in his native home. Having also been educated in the hedge school in Lavallyroe, Bishop O’Regan bequeathed £400 for two schools, one in Lavallyroe and one in

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Breda & Ronan >> Claire Maguire

MORAN STORIES Creative Construction in Ballindine Patrick Moran of Ballindine With present day "water" charging and environmental discussions, our family should remember that it was Patrick who built a very successful rain-water harvesting system in Ballindine, Co Mayo in the 1930's. This water collection, storage and pipework system served the lodging house business of Pat & Mae (Mary Kelly) very well over the following decades. Many of the second and third generation will remember the two houses on the main street in Ballindine that not alone welcomed family and commercial travellers but also housed a secret room and holds a history from the War of Independence and Cumman na mBan... Pat & Ellen >> Patrick Moran ...but that's another story.

The Maintenance of Moran Hair while Travelling by Linda Meehan I'll set the scene... a small massage business in downtown Siem Reap, Cambodia, that just so happens to have one wash basin and hairdryer and thus can cater for the pleading request for a wash & blow dry from the now 4 day frazzled head of Ann Meehan. $3 was the price. Mother delighted. Unfortunately, the service came with limitations as mother soon realised the poor girl was incapable of drying her hair straight... 'No no, d'ya not have a brush?...no a CURLY brush, not a comb... Linda try find one on the table...CURLY...Linda you dry my hair... OWWW YOURE BURNING MY NECK! Feck it, I'll just do it myself.' And so, hairdryer in hand, mother attempted to reach this high level of perfection herself. However, seconds later, the extension cord sizzled, burst into flames, scorched the massage table next to her, and filled the entire room with smoke. Poor girl looks bemused at sizzling table and equally frazzled customer. Swift exit ensued and reflecting upon her "brush" with death (d'ya like that?), mothers only comment: 'Look at the STATE of my fringe.. I'm going to have to find another place'. 19

MEETING THE YOUNG MORANS AROUND THE WORLD

My Full Name is……

William Vickery Bradley

Country of Birth / Residence Age I’m one of the ‘Pat Moran Clan’ because…. I am told I look like……. The person who talks about Ireland the most is ……. So, what do they talk about/mention to you? Jot down THREE things you’ve heard mentioned ……..

England 13 My mum is a Moran

Have you learned anything about Ireland at school? Write down what you’ve learned about the Irish (not from your family) If you have been to Ireland, pick a word that describes the visit. What part of Ireland would you most like to visit and why?.. Mention TWO of your hobbies: Have you ever heard any one in your family singing an Irish song? Which song? How do you celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day? Have you ever seen any Irish musicians? Has anyone ever spotted the Irish in you?

Ian My mum (Audrey Moran/Bradley) 1. My mum singing “she’s got legs” by ZZ Top at school and being caught by the nuns and told off. 2. Ian running across roof tops to get to his friends and mum following him even though it was really dangerous. 3. The pub (The Step Inn) and mum and Ian dressing in black to steal milky ways when the pub was busy. Very little Some Irish Geography only

Grand Ballyconneely because everyone talks about it and my mum says it’s the furthest west you can go in Ireland. Singing and drama Yes. Johnny Jump up (Seamus sang it last year and it was pretty good). My mum likes Christy Moore (especially Continental Céilí). Yes, My Aunt Caroline sends us crazy t-shirts and we are made to wear them out in public. No, apart from all the family musicians at the Do. Yes, it’s the madness in me apparently.

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Jimmy & Cathy >> Audrey & Rob >> William Bradley 20

HAVE A HEART – My solo play

an alternative. The struggle, both internal and external, provided abundant opportunity for comedy. Most people who saw the play were particularly taken by the opening monologue and the way it played with language. The main character Ray is losing his grip on life and so his language has begun to break down. For those who didn’t get to see it, here’s an extract:

Séamus Moran

SCENE ONE: INTERIOR -TIMELESS FX: Music on radio, distorted, tuning in/out, speeding traffic, rain. We see a body lying on a hospital operating table, a white sheet over him

Writer... actor... legend!

his play came about following a discussion about post-mortem organ donation. Eleanor asked me not to donate my eyes. She feared that, if she met the person who had got them, she would, in a Hitchcokesque moment, see me in them. This prompted me to think about what it is that makes our eyes uniquely ours, are they truly a mirror of what’s within. As it unfolds, the play becomes a simple debate between the role of the heart and the head and how we all struggle to attain a balance between the two. It also looks at what can happen if this balance between heart and head is upset. The older character is a man who has always been ruled by his head but this all changes dramatically when he ‘receives’ a restless, irrepressible, young heart with a mission? Through the journey of the play, both characters learn to have faith in themselves and each other and to trust that things will turn out fine or if not, that there’s always

RAY: The last…the last thing…the last thing I remember I was on the talky. It was my girlfriend, no, ‘my fiancée’ as she was everly remindering me. She was info-ing me on the… pocket-talky… the eyefo, I know that. We were…it was watering down… streaming, lashing and we were (miming – arguing) about… well it’s 21

really hard to… explete… to explain… ya know?

accountings… A, B, C, D, Duggan. John. Yes.

You see I was on my way whereplace to do with work.

Anyway I was waiting for his bell and she, my ‘fiancee’ bring-bring, bringbrings instead. But not to howya, howsitgoin, whereyanow? No. She was (snarling), giving it loads, bitching, moaning. Wondering where the hell I was?!

So I was… (driving) to close a big (spit & clap) ‘done deal’. It was massive and I’d been making it… chasing it, for months, with the guys from…mngh…over there and the fellas from, that other where… and it was all coming together, that workend.

He hops down off the table You see… she’d made up this big thingy, this big workend away, for us and her dama-mada… mmmmngh, us and her da-anma-anme-an-her… for that very same workend! Uncredievable!!

He sits up… as if driving his car, listening to music on radio… So I was… ‘woohoo’, on a high-ho, yeah (singing along with radio). This done-deal (spit & clap) could fling… shoot me right up the… right up… the ladder, major rise in greenbacks, promotion, ching ching. For sure, for sure.

We were all supposed to meet at their stay-place, out at the rilk, the rake, the lake! At their lakeplace. You seesaw…

But I was, whohoho too, I mean this deal could still’ve gone splatt, totally belly up, face in the dirt, and Ida been right back down to, you know, ‘regional sales’ and cold-calling in the wind and the rain and all that shite again…

They have a stay-place out at the lake and we were all going to sit around and glug-glug vino-veritas and natternatter about the rings’n’bells ‘n ‘dressy-ups’ (using the sheet like a wedding dress, he hums “Here Comes The Bride”)… and her da-anme was going to teach me how to (miming - fishing) hook-line-andsinker… A real barrel of hee-haws that… what?? (The sheet is balled up now)

And then, and then, can you credievable this? I’d left a really important fold-over back in the place, the offy, the icey, the office, yeah, a fold-over with big figures, important addings and guessings in it, that I needed, had to have, you know, so I was waiting for… a bell, yeah?

Oh, and it was her…cake-an-candles, “so-say-all-of-us,” her bornday! It was her bornday as well… So… you seesaw… she’d made up this whole workend thing like months before and she was just bring-bringing me now to see-saw, check-check like, when I’d be pickin her up, what time I’d be callin’ to head for the hills, start the

From yer man, the old guy in countings, mmmnnn, what was his name?… the guy with the tricky-dicky heart… in 22

workend... You know?

And then the next thing I know she’s goin on and on about… committee, no… commitment, and our whole togetherness, like, our next days, next weeks, next months, all our next years and how I was always dodgering and swerving about the rings-on-herfingers, bells-on-her-toes, for better or worse till death do us part…

But I’d completely lost it, let it go, right out of my… (knocks on his head) empty, phewt, gone, you know. I mean I was up to my bleedin eyes that workend. So even if I hadn’t lost it, let it go, I still would have had to go ahead with this (driving) ….and this meeting, and this (spit & clap) done-dealing, in this other place, and it was probably going to take the whole bloody…

Till death like!!?... But for me, it was just, you know… yeah, defo, of course, someday we will be him-an-her, mister-an-missus, someday, down the lino… But right now, this ring on her finger thingy was just a signal, bing-bong, orange light, ‘proceed with caution,’ know what I mean?

I mean… these guys don’t giveashit about workends and away-stays at lake-places with daanmaanmeanher! Dayweeks and workends are all the same to these guys! He picks up shoes & socks Anyway… she was (snarling) like in fast-forward and I was doing my best to fend myself, you know, talkback, say how: “Oh, is it this workend??” “Uncredievable!?” Then going on that I might make it back for the sunny day at least and the hook-line-and-sinkering and how would that be love? “Do I mean anything to you?! The whole workend is destroyed, wrecked, ruined!” And it was all my blame, blame me, and how it was bloody… bloody… just what I always do!!??

But for her? “Ooohh” (kiss) Well it was the whole she-bang, the busy knees, the cats dinner.

“Bloody typical!”

“So you think I’m pressuring you?”

He sits on chair and puts on his shoes & socks

No I don’t think you’re pressing me…

“Then what do you think, Raysay, sayRay, what you real-time think?” And instead of just going…‘this isn’t the time to go into all that love, I mean I’m sorry about the workend and all that but it hardly means that our togethership is “unsubstantial,”’ I Raysays…‘I’m not dodgering the committee, I’m not swerving at all, it was just that right now things were really starting to do it my way, know what I mean?...’

She was calling-off the rings’n’bells and ‘better or worseys’... She was returning to sender my diamonds-are-forever-friends. And she wouldn’t consider it a “major trauma!!” if she never saw me again! All over a stupid workend away with her-da-an-ma-an-me-an-her! I mean for f**k sake! Then she hung up. She hung up on me! Bitch!! I f**king hate you!!

And for her too, I mean she had a great work thing, people loved her, she could be a top… a top… she could be tip-top in her game… in her jobbing… you know?



Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Paddy & Betty >> Séamus Moran

“As far as I’m concerned work is only a means to an end Raysay, the end being, to have a life, together!!” Like I didn’t want ‘a life’ as well?? I had a great fucking life!! Then on tip-top of all that, I was earwigging the ‘beep beep’ comin-in on my eyefo. That must be… yer man, you know, what’s his name from accountings, the guy with the trickydicky heart, Duggan, John. Yeah. And he’s buzzing me now about that foldover that I left back in the office and I need to talk to him…and it was nearly going-home-for-dinner time for him…. Damn. Shit!! And then, before I know nothing more than I already knew, she’s going… “There’s no point in us ‘meeting up’ when you get back to discuss this calmly.” I’ve had it Raysay, I’m not going to rubbish my life on a man who’s shillyshally and self-targeting.”

In a year of notable birthdays only one of them, as far as we know, made the front page! A very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all who celebrate BIG birthdays in 2015. 24

An Ghaeilge Labhair í agus Mairfidh sí?

an rogha sin níos fearr….. táim cinnte nach mbainfidh sibh aon sult as an alt seo.

(Speak it to keep it!)

‘Sibhse atá fós á léamh…..nár chuala sibh mé? ‘NÍL AN PÍOSA SEO CEART DAOIBH, LEANAIGÍ GO H-ÁIT ÉIGIN EILE ANOIS!’

Dónal Ó Móráin

Muise, táim ag scríobh an t-alt seo sa chinnteacht nach bhfuil na daoine óga ag léamh an ‘Moran Mag’, mar tá siad amuigh lena gcuid cairde ag pleidhcíocht thart ag déanamh rudaí nach gá liom cur síos air anseo. Sin mar a bhíonn! I ndáiríre, scríobh mé an t-alt seo trí Ghaeilge dom fhéin. Tá díoma orm, nó náire fiú, nach bhfuil Gaeilge líofa agam. Nílim ábalta ár dteanga féin a labhairt le líofacht. Is iomaí duine sa domhan ata lán-abalta an Ghaeilge a labhairt ach níl mise ina measc. Ach is Éireannach mé. Nach bhfuil sé sin anbhrónach.

ónal takes us on a linguistic journey, seeking some colourful words and phrases which exist in the Irish language (but were never learned in school!). In his aspiration to speak Irish more fluently, he feels it is essential to embrace all of its language and shares some ‘useful phrases’ with us.

I mo thuairmise geobhaidh an teanga bás muna mbíonn gnáthdaoine ábalta an teanga a úsáid ina saoil féin chuile lá. Agus, freisin, i mo thuairimse, ní féidir le duine bheith ‘líofacht’ muna bhfuil na ‘focail dána’ ar eolas agus in úsáid acu. (‘n bhfuil sibh do mo leanúint?)

Conscious of the Mag’s audience, Dónal has included a warning ‘ar eagla na heagla’. Ironically, the Irish translation of the words ‘warning’ and ‘choice’, are homonyms! So readers, tá rogha agaibh anseo, léigh nó ná léigh.

Right so, má tá sibh réidh léanfaidh muid ar aghaidh? Mar a deirtear “is fearr Gaeilge dána no Gaeilge leadránach!” (ok, ok, ní deirtear é í ndáirire, ach seans go dtuigeann tú cad ‘tá igceist agam!)

--Nóta ón údar: Rabhadh! Do na daoine fásta atá á léamh, nó na seandaoine sa chlann, sibhse i bhur gCríostaithe nó fiú amháin daoibhse le moráltaithe éigin, tá seans agaibh stopadh anois agus leanúint ar aghaidh chuig alt éigin san iris, tá seans ann go mbeidh

Tar ar thuras liom….. céim ar chéim, tiocfaidh feabhas, geallaimse duit.

Céim a hAon:

Céim a Seacht (shocked, cinnte!) Anois bigí cúramach leis an gceann seo!

Cúpla focal deas éasca: ‘Amadán’ agus ‘Asal’.

‘Aiteann’ nó ‘Aiteann romhar!’

An-simplí ar fad; focail a dhéantar díreach mar a deireann sé ar an ‘tin’, mar a deirfeá!

Ó mo Dhia (OMD!), tá an dochar déantá anois, táim go dul go hIfreann!

Céim a Dó

Ach sin ráite, is aoibhinn liom an ceann sin, ach tá sé an an dána agus don ócáid speisialta amháin. Ná bigí ag úsáid an ceann sin an t-am ar fad!.

Ok! ‘Póg mo thóin’. Tá an ceann sin ar eolas ag an domhan is a máthar, nach bhfuil? Céim a Trí Coinneáil suas liom!.

Úsáidim iad nuair a bhíonn duine éigin ag rá gan stad go bhfuil sé cur báistí go trom agus mé lán tuirseach de!

‘Bitseach!’ nó ‘An bhitseach. (Ouch) Céim a Ceathair

Sin iad! Focail dána as Gaeilge. Bainigí triail astu agus bainfidh tú sult astu. Táim cinnte de! Tá súil agam go bhfuil sibh fós ag caint liom, nó b’fhéidir nach bhfuil aon Ghaeilge agaibh.

‘Bod!’ agus ‘Bod Ceann!’ nó ‘Cúl Tóna!’ Caithfidh mé a rá, is breá liom an ceann deireanach sin and bainim anúsáid as gach lá. (Táim ag obair le polaiteoirí sa tuaisceart ffs!)

Bigí maith anois. Is mise, Dónal Ó Móráin

Céim a Cúig Bigí cúramach! Tá chuile rud ag dul in olcas anois. ‘Cac’ nó ‘Cacamais’ nó ‘Carn mór den chacamais’. Mar shampla: “Táim ag ceapadh go bhfuil sé ag caint carn mór den cacamais!” (Comhairle ón údar: Bainigí úsaid as, mar tá an abairt sin an deas ar fad agus déanann sé maitheas duit…. tá sé i bhfad níos fearr taobh amuigh ná taobh istigh (mar a deirtear as Béarla ) Céim a Sé ‘Téigh i tigh Diabhal’ nó ‘gabh suas ort fhéin’. (Ouch!)

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Albert & Nuala >> Donal Moran 26

MEETING THE YOUNG MORANS AROUND THE WORLD

Grace and Lucy with their family L-R: Bella, Nicola, Tom, Lucy and Grace

→ ↓

My Full Name is……

Grace Melissa Moran

Country of birth/Residence Age I’m one of the ‘Pat Moran Clan’ because…. I was given this name because …….. I am told I look like……. The person who talks most about Ireland in my family is ……. So, what do they talk about/mention to you: Jot down the THREE things you’ve heard mentioned ……..

England 9 Because of my Dad and my Nana and Grandad

If you have been to Ireland, pick a word that describes the visit. Would you like to visit? What part of Ireland would you most like to visit and why? Mention TWO of your hobbies: How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Have you read any plays by Irish authors/ poems by Irish poets?

AMAZING

because my mum really liked the actor Grace Kelly My dad My dad 1. How Nana and Grandad met at a table tennis tournament. 2. About all our cousins in Ireland.

Dublin because my cousins and Nana and Grandad live there gymnastics and acting Sometimes we go to my dad's restaurant. Yes I read one poem which I'm doing for a festival. It is called Daydreams and it's by Berlie Doherty

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Tom & Kay >> Tom & Nicola >> Grace Moran

My Full Name is……

Lucy Charlotte Moran

Country of birth/Residence England Age 11 I’m one of the ‘Pat Moran Clan’ My dad was born as a Moran. because…. My FIRST name is….. but I’m called Lucy… Lugie (loo-g-ie) by my friends in school and just ……. Lucy at home. I was given this name because My mum always liked this name, she named her dog Lucy …….. when she was 18. I am told I look like……. My mum The person who talks most about My dad Ireland in my family is ……. So, what do they talk 1. The Moran cup about/mention to you: Jot down the 2. The Moran Mag THREE things you’ve heard mentioned …….. Have you learned anything about Yes. Ireland at school? If yes, write down THREE things There was an Irish civil war. you’ve learned about Ireland (not from your family) If you have been to Ireland, pick a Thrilling and really exciting. word that describes the visit. Would you like to visit? Again? Definitely! What part of Ireland would you Dublin because everyone there is friendly. most like to visit and why? Mention TWO of your hobbies: I like dancing and writing. Have you ever heard any one in Yes-My dad. your family singing an Irish song? I don’t know what it is called. How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s There is usually a party going on wherever my dad works. Day? Have you ever seen any Irish Yes - Uncle Peter. musicians? Has anyone ever spotted the Irish Yes - My friend Grace in school in you? If you have heard an Irish Joke, will Never iron a four leaf clover. You don’t want to press your you kindly share it ?........ luck.

Pat & Ellen >> Jim & Katie >> Tom & Kay >> Tom & Nicola >> Lucy Moran

Local History Bits …..

Bowers Walk

Claire Maguire Cloonacastle, site of Balllinrobe Golf Club.

Ballinrobe Golf Course, Cloonacastle

Historic Military Bridge along Bower's Walk

Most visitors to Ballinrobe, down for the ‘Do’, particularly those who’ve stayed out at the ‘Cottages’ have taken a stroll along the Bowers Walk which runs along the banks of the Robe river.

he annual Pat Moran Cup Golf competition takes place at Ballinrobe Golf Course, now at Cloonacastle on the Claremorris road. There can be seen the remains of Cloonagashel Castle, built by the Fitzgerald family around the year 1238. During the course of its history, it passed into the hands of the Burkes and the Binghams. It is in extremely good order for its years.

The Bowers walk originally formed part of an elaborate engineering undertaking that envisaged the linking of Ballinrobe to Galway by means of canals. The River Robe was to be canalised from Ballinrobe to Lough Mask and a huge channel excavated between Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. This would allow trading between Galway and Castlebar. The scheme to construct the canal system was abandoned in 1856 due to lack of funding from the government of the day and also due to the fact that railways were fast replacing waterways as a means of transportation.

Sir Richard Bingham took possession of it from the Burkes in 1592. He was the Governor of Connaught, his duty having been to harness and oppress the power of the Burkes. The Burkes rebelled against this opposition and numerous conflicts took place. Bingham went to extremes to quell the revolts. He hanged the three sons of the Burke family on one occasion and on another occasion, slaughtered fifteen women all with the name of Mary Burke. He buried these women in a hollow adjacent to the castle and the site was known as ‘Poll na Marbh’ or ‘Hollow of the Dead’. Richard Bingham later became Lord Lucan.

The present structure was built in 1849. Bollards and mooring rings are still as they were when first constructed. The waterflow from the Bulcaun River was diverted to feed the Mill and Brewery. 29

The channel, now dry, still exists and can be seen on the far bank. The Military Bridge, which you pass under, was constructed at this time. The building beyond the bridge was the Cavalry Barracks, which originally was Ballinrobe Castle. It was constructed in the 13th century by the De Burgos (Burkes).

Greenway was finished in 2011 and now can be enjoyed by all. You can buy special containers of feed (€1) there if you wish to feed the fowl, or simply enjoy a stroll or sit down in the woodland or by the lake. Trails are marked and the longest one (5k) brings walkers up to the back of the Claremorris Golf Club.

The Bowers Walk can be entered/exited via the town centre and Creagh Road which continues down to the Western Pride Cottages.

Worth a visit when visiting the area for the ‘Do’. Entry is free and parking nearby. (Rumour has it that two giants Clare and Morris may live in the lake but nobody has ever seen them.) 

Clare Lake Congratulations Bro Terence! = 75 Year Jubilee =

Clare Lake Park, Claremorris, Co. Mayo Two years ago while staying in Mayo after the Do, I went for a walk in Claremorris one day and I happened upon a park on the outskirts of the town named Clare Lake Forest Greenway. It’s a beautiful park with trails and is situated around Clare Lake.

Not much lasts for 75 years, but in 2015 Brother Terence McLaughlin, FSC (pictured right) celebrated 75 years as a Christian Brother. An incredible milestone! Congratulations and lots of love to Bro Terence from all the Moran family.

Back in 1988, the idea to develop what was then industrial wasteland was conceived by the youth involved in the local Foróige Club. Due to the generosity of local landowners and Mayo County Council, the great amenity that is the Clare Lake Forest

Next Year’s Moran Cup and Do will take place on Saturday 30th July 2016. 30