The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

later became known as the Laconia Incident. Uncle Pete’s
voyage, thankfully, was relatively uneventful.
AMERICA
Eight days after leaving Cobh, the Laconia sailed
into New York harbor on May 2 and docked on the west
side of Manhattan. On their way in, Uncle Pete and the
other passengers probably caught a view of the stranded
U.S. Navy Dreadnought Colorado, which was grounded for
at least 36 hours on a sandbar just off Governors Island.
Less than three weeks later, Charles Lindbergh
would take off from New York on his historic flight to
Paris. But the big headline this day in New York was in the
sports section. Babe Ruth had swatted two home runs and
Lou Gehrig one as the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia
A’s, taking over first place in the American League. The
“Murderers Row” Yankees would go down as one of the
greatest teams in baseball history, winning 110 games and
the World Series. Babe Ruth would hit a then-record 60
home runs; Lou Gehrig added 47. Unbeknownst to Uncle
Pete, his relatives the Sheridans of Philadelphia were big
Philadelphia A’s fans, especially Aunt Annie. She loved
“Mr. (Connie) Mac,” the team owner and manager. Uncle
Pete’s daughter Mary can remember Aunt Annie sitting in
her room on Green Street listening to A’s games on an old
radio sitting atop a marble-topped dresser.
Mary remembers her father saying his sister Delia
met him at the train station when he arrived in America.
The Laconia docked at the pier at 14th Street, so the train
was probably at Penn Station, at 34th Street. The walk of
20 or more blocks up Eighth or Ninth Avenue must have
been a surreal experience for someone who had spent his
previous 18 years living in a thatched cottage along an
unpaved road in rural Ireland. No skyscrapers there. He had
arrived in New York with only $25 in his wallet, probably
one suitcase and a wool suit. The weather was comfortably
warm that day, in the mid-60s, about 10 degrees above the
average daily high for the time.
Soon after meeting Aunt Delia, the brother and
sister boarded a train to Philadelphia. There, Uncle Pete
stayed with his Aunt Esther Sheridan and her two sons,
Francis and John, at 2105 Mount Vernon St. Francis and
John would have been in their early 20s, about four and
five years older than Pete. Also close in age nearby were
Tom, Ed and Joe Duffy. They were the children of Anna
(Larner) Duffy, Aunt Esther’s sister. The Mount Vernon
address was about four blocks from Aunt Catherine
(Sheridan) Mitchel’s home at 1740 Green St. She was
His 1933 U.S. passport photo shows Uncle Pete as he
looked heading to Ireland for a two-and-a-half-month
visit.
living there with two of her children, George and Anna, and
Aunt Hanna Sheridan. Aunt Catherine and Aunt Hanna
were sisters of Uncle Pete’s mother. Aunt Esther was the
wife of his mother’s brother Ed, who had passed away in
1921. The Roaring 20s would have been an exciting time
for young men such as Uncle Pete, the Sheridans and the
Duffys to come of age. Uncle Pete certainly embraced his
new country. He became a U.S. citizen as soon as he was
eligible – five years after becoming a resident. He was
naturalized Dec.12, 1932.
Uncle Pete soon found employment at the
Christian Brother’s Academy in Merion on the Main Line,
in suburban Philadelphia. Soon after starting, his supervisor
asked him if he was able to drive a tractor. This was a step
up from the typical ass-and-cart transportation in
Cornaroya. Nonetheless, Uncle Pete, always ready for an
adventure and never afraid to try something new, assured
his employers he could. His first time out, he promptly
crashed it into a tree. But he quickly got the hang of it. He
soon bought his first car, an Essex, and, naturally, paid
cash. Uncle Pete did not have any run-ins with trees in his
Essex, a relatively small, affordably priced car built by the
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