The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

All three of Uncle Jim's children and their families were able to spend time with Uncle Owen during a trip to
Ballinrobe in 1997. Lynn Gallagher celebrated her birthday during the visit.
will understand what I am trying to say, OK, Mary. I wish
you a happy Christmas.”
One further story about keeping the house
presentable comes from Patsy DeAscanis. She remembers
that among the items she was sent by Maureen Gallagher
after Uncle Owen died was an Irish linen tablecloth that
would have been kept for when it was the household’s turn
to host Stations. Stations is a tradition that dates to the
Penal Laws in Ireland, which prohibited Catholic priests
from saying Mass in public. To get around the laws, Mass
was often celebrated secretly in the hedges or in people’s
homes. Afterward, those in attendance stayed on for
breakfast and other merriment. It was a big event and a
huge honor. A letter to Patsy from Aunt Nora explained that
on such occasions, the typical preparations would have
included whitewashing the outside of the home to make it
more welcoming for the priest and other guests. Mass no
longer had to be celebrated in secret in Uncle Owen's time,
but the tablecloth was still needed as the tradition of
Stations continued. In America, Patsy would often use the
cloth for special occasions at her home.
Uncle Owen’s new home had some modern
conveniences, but he didn’t get a phone until about 1993.
When Uncle Jim’s son Pat learned of the installation he
reached out and struck up a friendship with his uncle, whom
he held in high regard. He thought of Uncle Owen as part
historian and part philosopher.
Pat would alert Uncle Owen that his own brother
and sister-in-law were planning to visit during their
honeymoon. And Pat himself made three trips to Ballinrobe
in the next few years – once on his own, the second with
cousins Mary Theresa and Mary Kathryn, and the third with
Owen, Lynn, and Margaret and Rick Burkholder and their
three young girls.
Each time, Pat stayed in Uncle Owen’s house,
which had a formal parlor on the left as you entered the
front door, with the bedrooms and bathroom off a hallway
to the right. The kitchen was in the back of the house behind
the parlor. That kitchen apparently played a significant role
in a tremendous water fight that raged during the last visit.
The battle involved Margaret’s family and Eugene
Gallagher’s children, with whom the Burkholders stayed.
Rick was at risk of losing the battle until the idea struck him
to duck into Uncle Owen’s kitchen and fill several buckets
with water to drench his opponents. Margaret remembers
Eugene’s son Patrick being the instigator.
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