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SISTERS OF THE
Mary Louise O’Donnell is a harpist and author of Ireland’s Harp: The Shaping of Irish Identity, c. 1770–1880 (2014). She has published widely on topics relating to Irish cultural history, semiotics and performance studies. Her research has been published in Utopian Studies, Éire-Ireland, the Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland and The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland.
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Margaret, Patrick and Willie enjoyed Emily’s wedding, in particular, the apple pie served at the wedding breakfast. It was not until the arrival of their beloved Auntie Margaret at the kids’ table, however, that they were completely at ease. Emily’s gift to Margaret and Patrick for carrying out their roles so competently at the wedding was a scrapbook into which she pasted thousands of pictures; images of dragons, fairies and giants, as well as red-coated huntsmen, circus horses, harlequins and clowns. Patrick and Margaret spent many hours savouring ‘a book that was full of echoes from a world of romantic and far adventure’, which was so large that it took two children to lift.19 The departure of Emily from the Pearse home left a void in the life of the children. The family, however, maintained close ties with Emily and Alfred’s children, Emily Mary (b.1885), Margaret Mary (b.1886) and Alfred Vincent (b.1888). Indeed, the Pearses were an important support for Emily and her children when Alfred went to New York seeking work and never returned to his family. Left alone, Emily struggled to raise her children and they were placed in an orphanage.20
With his second family, James Pearse enjoyed the idyllic home life that had been absent from his first marriage. Margaret was a loving wife and mother with a kind and gentle nature. James was a quiet, mild-mannered man whose deep reserve disappeared when he tenderly embraced each of his children before putting them to bed. James was devoted to his family and took a keen interest in his children’s diet and general well-being. In some of the letters written while he was away on business in England, however, he comes across as bossy and occasionally neurotic. He often wrote to his wife instructing her to ensure that she and the children ate nourishing food, were properly attired so they would not catch cold and were cautious around the fire. In one letter, James even reminded his wife to put into a cool place, the succulent beef and ham he had purchased before his departure for England.21 He encouraged Margaret to bring the children to the seaside on sunny days but cautioned that she should ‘be extremely careful with the kiddies’ in case they might catch cold.22 All letters to his wife ended affectionately with kisses for the children: ‘[k]iss the children dearest for me. Also let them kiss you on my account’23 and ‘[t]ell Wow wow and Pat to give you some bigger [kisses] for Papa.’24
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