Caught In The crossfire
Helen has her own mysteries to solve when it comes to her family’s involvement in the Irish War of Independence
Like many readers of this magazine, I am hopeful that I will see my own family’s circumstance in the 1921 census. However, I will have to wait until 2027 to find out about my great grandfather, who was born and raised in the heart of Dublin, with family on both sides of the War of Independence. In 1911, my great great grandfather was working at the General Post Office in Dublin, and was still there in 1916, during the Easter Rising, My great grandfather, his son, would have been 16 years old during the rebellion, and lived through the War of Independence. His aunt had married into the Nannetti family, a prominent family of Irish nationalists, who visited the family home often. Despite having a father who worked for the biggest symbol of British rule in Dublin, my great grandfather had been raised in a typically Roman Catholic, pro-Home Rule community.
So what on earth did he do?
While it’s likely that he supported Home Rule, he never got involved in the fighting – all thanks to his formidable mother, who was determined that her brother would not get caught in the conflict. During the War of Independence, my great grandfather was sent to England, and by 1929 had married my great grandmother, the daughter of an Irish immigrant. Nobody knows exactly when he left for England, but it’s clear that it wasn’t his choice – I’m hoping that the 1921 census will finally reveal where he was living.