My childhood, many days spent listening to stories by my grandaunt Fanny Blake-Forster, then Kelly living Porte, Ruan, Co. Clare.
She told me stories of maids, butler, boarding school … relations the Macnamaras The Falls Ennistymon, the Comerfords, Lady Rose ffrench, a great grandmother, based in Galway, with thousands of acres of land, never could I have grasped as a small child this story. I later learned that their home had become the following:
Ballykeale Auxiliary Workhouse (Co. Clare)
During the peak of the Famine in 1850–1851, the Ennistymon Poor Law Union took over Ballykeale House (a 19th-century big house originally built by the Lysaght family) to act as an auxiliary workhouse. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] Subsequently owned by the Comerfords, the Blake-Forsters
Capacity: It operated exclusively for females and held up to 500 women at a time. [1]
Conditions: Records show that in October 1850, the house held 473 female inmates, many of whom were left idle without employment, severely impacting their physical and mental well-being. [1]
Historical Records: Detailed accounts of the staff, and the unfortunate return of deaths from the site during the 1850s, can be explored in the Clare County Library archives.
Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
canisgallicus 