Cornelius J. Leary : Short Biography

Born in Ballynabloun, Co. Kerry, son of JOHN LEARY and Mary Moriarty,

Emigrated to Bridgeport circa 1883. Brother to Patrick, Tom, Timothy, Mike, Ned and Jeremiah . All but Patrick went to Bridgeport, Conneticut between 1880 and 1895.

Cornelius J Leary married Mary Moran on May 4th 1886  in New London, Connecticut. He ran a tavern at 125 Main Street. The couple had 5 children John b 1887, Frank b 1889, William 1893, James Edward 1895 and Mary Gertrude 1898.

The family visited Kerry in 1894.

Mary died in 1902 and Con married  secondly Ellen Sullivan in 1906 .

Con, his wife Mary and their three sons came to Ireland in May 1894. His son Patrick Frank told the story of the visit in 1967.

We boarded  the ship Etruria late April 1894 and got to Queenstown, Cork on May 5th. I was 4years old. I felt the sea voyage very long. We then had to take a few different trains  before we got to Cahersiveen, Co.Kerry the following evening.

We were met there by Pat Moran my uncle who took us to Sussa by pony and trap. At our arrival there was much excitement meeting our grandparents, aunts and uncles. They loved seeing us.

They referred to us as "the yanks*. They mostly spoke in Gaelic though they also spoke English. After a few days in Sussa, Dad decided that John and I walk to THE GLEN to visit his parents. It was a 5 mile walk so Mom and baby William stayed home.When we reached the house another great welcome was  given to us. Dad's brother Pat  and his parents Sean (97 years old) and Maire Eamonn and her mother Ellen Moriarty were all present.

Dad's father had a white beard, carried a walking stick and spoke in Gaelic, and smoked a pipe. He referred to us as "buachailli deasa o Meiricea". I was awe struck by the view from the front door of The O 'Leary house across St. Finan's Bay out as far as The Skellig's and beyond. We stayed the night and walked to Mass the following morning at Keel. I noticed all the women wore shawls in Church and all the people that welcomed Dad home was amazing. Later in the week uncle Pat ad Dad took us out fishing in their small boat. They rowed back as far as Puffin Island. Dad caught some pollack with his line and Pat showed my brother how to steer the boat. We had pollack for supper that evening We left Ballynabloun before dark to go back to Sussa. Just as we were nearing the crossroads in The Glen we heard music. On the roadside people were  dancing to the noise of a fiddle. My father knew the fiddler and they talked for a small bit. My father told us later that the poor fiddler was blind.

We stayed in Sussa for the rest of the time. I saw Pat Moran cut hay with the scythe and we helped him gather it into small cocks. I saw them bring up the turf from the bog with the donkey and car. We helped to milk a cow ad make butter. Time flew by and we were back in Queestown again on 31st August. We were going back on a ship called The CATALONIA and there were lots of Irish travelling with us but we were going back home to 125 Main Street, New London, Connecticut. Dad had one hundred dollars on him a lot of money back then. Most people would have about 10 dollars on them"

Frank Leary returned to Ireland again in 1967, 74 years after the trip with his family. Ireland had changed a lot in the interveening years but his account of the 1894 visit sheds light on how we The Irish lived toward the close of the 19th century. He also met his four grandparents and one great grandmother Ellen Moriarty.

Chronicle published courtesy of Pat O'Leary.