The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

Aunt May's brother Joe remained
in Ireland and inherited the
family farm. He and his wife, Sally
(Ferrick), raised six children.
Her brother Jack married Loretta
'Lovie' (Slavin) Tierney. They
lived in Wilmington and had two
children, Loretta and Mary.
Aunt May's sister Una stayed with
her parents in Ireland. She
married Michael Mohan in 1941.
They had eight children, including
Bernadette Cafferky.
(1912), Thomas (1915), Una (1916), Eileen (1918),
Joseph (1920) and Kathleen (1923).
Bernadette is Una’s daughter. She
remembers that her “mam” often referred to her
own father and mother as “Ma and Da.” The Irish
use an “a” for mam, ma or mammy. Somehow, they
have managed to ignore the “mum” world to the
east and the “mom” world to the west. Bernadette’s
“mam” would say how her own father, John
Tierney, worked very hard to support the family. But
even after a hard day on the farm, when he would sit
down to eat his dinner he would lift the younger
children onto his knee and feed them from his own
plate. He would always bless himself before and
after eating and thank God for the food. He would
ask God to bless his wife who prepared it and to
keep his family safe. John was a talented thatcher
and so good at stonework, so neat and particular, he
built all his own stone barns. He took delight in his
vegetable garden and apple orchard. Most evenings
he could be seen in the garden pruning branches or
white-washing the apple trees to prevent any fungus
from developing.
According to Bernadette, the Tierney home
Aunt May's sisters Delia, left, and Eileen (Tierney)
Browne, center, are with Delia's husband, Pat Hannon,
in Wilmington. Pat was a native of County Galway who
came to Wilmington by way of New Zealand. At right
are Lovie Tierney, the wife of Aunt May's brother Jack,
and her daughter Mary.
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