Irish Roots

As the nation pays their respects to the late Queen I reflect on my Irish sides, my ancestry through both lines: paternal and maternal, the former being stronger than the latter. Driscoll and Healy and Connors. A gentle melancholy takes possession, an inherited yearning for Ireland, the old country, though in what parts my Irish roots are I do not know. My ancestors left long long ago, set up new roots in Wales and in England; and yet from time to time the old country draws me. The accents, the stories.

Written September 2022.

O'Malley Home, Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland, 1913, Robert Henri (source: WikiArt).