‘Come home mother dying’
So the telegram said
And my Mammy went home to Ireland
To find her mother dead
Those were years of crisis
For the family
My father’s health was broken
I was nowhere near
My mother then went out to work
Domestic service first
But soon she got her skates on
Became auxiliary nurse
Tricia rose to prominence
Since I was far away
Bossed her siblings merrily
Fray Bentos for tea
Out of crisis came career
My mammy rose supreme
Matron of a forty bed
Wigan Metro’s queen
The darkest hour we often say
Is just before the dawn
The dying sun may melt away
But look it’s getting warm
Brian Fahy
18 March 2023
+ Being away in seminary, I missed out on so much of family life. I became a stranger in my own home. (So much for seminary!) I never witnessed the events described above. I was told them. My father’s health broke down and he suffered dark times because of it. My mother had to go out to work and it wasn’t long before she began to make her mark as a carer and as a qualified person to care for the elderly.
Erris Poetry 