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His almost completely bald head was rarely seen as he always wore a bunnet. He was always quietly spoken and had a gentle way about him which was in stark contrast to his wife who was fierce and loud. He took a shine to his daughter in-law, 'yae've gote a great wee wife in Ann, she'll dae yae proud' he would say to my Da. On the odd occasion we visited, he was always sitting in a big chair by the window. My ma told us that my granny never allowed him to have a lie in on his days off and he even had to get out of bed when he was ill. His huge hands were like shovels and full of calluses from years of work at the Clydeside ship yards. His father and grandfather before him had been chimney sweeps but John Murphy Cairney learned his trade as a hammerman. He worked long hours, for low wages but my Da said he enjoyed the company of his mates and probably had less stress at work than at home. Granda had first met Mary Ann Connor when his friend Robert Gregory began winchin her sister Nellie. Robert's family lived up the same close, at 50 Commerce Street, as the Connors. Mary and Nellie got on well and were soon going out as a foursome with John and Robert. When Nellie and Robert married, Mary Ann and John were witnesses at their wedding and just one month later they themselves were married. The foursome remained friends for many years, even moving into the same close at number 11 South Stirling Street. Even though granny was married to John Murphy Cairney for forty-four years, she and all the other Connor women were always referred to by their maiden names. The Connor family seemed to produce strong characters, both the women and men. Richard Connor, my great grandfather, was known as the 'big man'. He disembarked onto the Clyde side in 1897, along with thousands of other Irishmen. Richard was twenty-one, completely alone and had little money or possessions. He had lost most of his family in Belfast, including both parents, to years of famine, disease and poverty. Like his father and grandfather before him, he was proud to be a stone mason. On arrival in the Gorbals (Portugal Street Model House) Richard believed he would soon find decent employment, but little did he know of the wide spread prejudice towards the immigrant population, particularly the Irish. Despite being highly skilled, Richard never found suitable employment and became resigned to undertaking menial low paid jobs in order to care for his new family. Despite surrounding hardships, my Da told me that Richard Connor and his wife Ellen Linning managed to raise six children. The first child was born in 1899 and as tradition dictates, was named after his father. The second child John, died in early infancy in 1902, which was not uncommon in the Gorbals. Most families experienced the death of a child and my ma and Da were no exception. Martha was the third born in 1903, followed by my granny, Mary Ann, in 1905. Nellie (Helen), Margaret and Robert followed in 1907, 1911 and 1918 respectfully. With the birth of each child came a flittin, which was common place in many areas of Glasgow. It is difficult to understand why they flitted so often, as the tenements varied so little in size. Richard and Ellen's first home was in South Wellington Street, followed by Thistle Street, South Stirling Street, South Coburg Street and Commercial Rd. All of which were within one square mile. Mary Ann appeared to be one of the most dominant female Connors and soon after they were married, Granda began to find it impossible to stand up to her. Every Friday night she made him hand over his wage packet unopened and then she went through his pocket to be sure he wasn't diddling her of a few pennies. He wouldn't have dared. She gave him just enough money to buy a little bit of tobacco for his pipe, his only luxury in life. My Da loved his faither but he also felt angry at the way he accepted humiliation at the hand of his wife, but his gentle nature could never be a match for Mary Connor's tongue. My ma often tried to slip him some money for baccy but my granny was wise to this and would take it from him when we left. Sometimes while pretending to shake our hands, he secretly gave my sister and I a few pennies for sweets. He told us to run to the shop straight away before granny noticed, 'hurry up noo before yaer granny finds oot'. We ran out of the close in Elmfoot Street across the road, through the pend to the sweety shop in the next street. We ate our sweets as fast as possible because if we returned with any, granny would have taken them from us. 'Yer spaelin' thae weans, they'll jist grow up tae be brats if yer no hard enough oan them'. At those moments, I thought about the childhood my Da must have experienced but despite her evil nature he loved his mother dearly. Nobody was ever allowed to say a bad word against her and this sometimes caused tension between my Da and other members of his family. 'Yae huv tae understaun, she's still his mother' was all my ma could say by way of an excuse. I never understood and secretly called her an auld witch. I think my Da actually believed his mother would change for the better when he presented her with grandchildren but he couldn't have been more wrong. |
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