Commodore John BarryAs long as I can remember, John Barry has been a fixture in my head. I suppose like any Wexford person (townie anyway), there are landmarks that we carry about in our minds like some spare change in an old suit pocket - in my case it was Barry. I am sure there is some freudian import in this but I can't be bothered to analyse myself at this moment in time!
I remember as a very small boy, a toddler even, being brought down to the quay and to look up at him, a towering figure, solid, grim, foreboding yet strangely comforting. Staring, out across the sea to the wild Irish Sea which became the Atlantic around the corner.
Barry was a legend and is only being recognized now for what he was – the father of the American Navy. He was known locally as "The Pirate Barry" , my source was a venearable old sea dog, Ibar Murphy who rejoiced in Barry's Rosslare connections.
I remember the "Barry Days", the visiting US Navy, the pomp & ceremony of the day as both navies of Ireland & the US paid homage to their spiritual father (formerly) and actual father (latterly).
Indeed the United States owes a lot to the South East Corner of Ireland, her shores sending off rafts(pun intended) of men to form and man her navy , particularly the Barony of Forth & Bargy – my own ancestral home through my paternal grandmother.
As it often is, History can be very piquant. This corner of old Erin having more in common with the South West of England than the rest of Ireland. Our cultures & traditions being very much in sync with those of Cornwall, Somerset & Devon. Indeed these Counties are all that remain of Celtic Britain, the Britons being the dominant Celtic tribe of the land, Wales being their last refuge.
Yet it was this Southeastern corner that was the most rebellious, insurgent piece of soil, the English had ever encountered. Our mixture of Gaelic, Viking, Flemish & Norman blood made us a belligerent bunch when facing tyranny or hostility.
I’ll write more of my home’s history. As I type here in exile, I reflect very much that it is the soil that forms us and makes us what we are which makes me very comfortable in my skin these days. Call it tribal, whatever but I guess when it comes to adopting a mark, I wear my tattoos on the inside with pride.
John Barry Kelly is a descendant of John Barry. He is a Park Ranger at the Philadelphia H
eritage Park, a favorite haunt of mine. He wrote the following piece on his great uncle here: http://www.ushistory.org/people/commodorebarry.htm . Do yourself a favor and read it.With regard to “Philly”, it is fair to say that History literally seeps from the pores in her cobbled streets. If you have the means, the time – Visit this City. America has given so much to the World and indeed received a lot too. This city will help you understand that fact and why we all need each other, especially in these darkened days.
Fogra: Today is "National Speak like a Pirate day!", according to Captain Pugwash at work. Shiver me timbers ya curs, Hoist sail for the coast of Malabar or I'll keelhaul every one of ye before the day is through!
