As I read through this I was delighted to find out more about Edward, I had been told something about him by another list member who read the book a number of years ago. I'm always delighted when I post something to any list and someone from the list gets back and tells me something of the history assoiated with what I've posted. Thank you for telling me something more of him. However - I felt very sorry for Edward when I thought about what has been written here. Earlier on in the day I had been working on a list of names of people who signed a declaration against a Repeal of the Union in 1830 and I had been thinking about the people and their lives........most of all their fears about the future The person who has already read the book said the following to me: > I guess the question that comes to my mind relates to the accuracy of the > book. I wouldn't be surprised if the book presents a legalistic defense > of as many people as possible, and shades the truth to rehabilitate as many > of the participants and residents of the area as could be done. It must be > terrible to be a defeated people who must make the compromises necessary > for life to go on as peaceable as possible after such a bloody event. and I told him that he had put words to what I think about this book in a much better way than I could. Ever since I first got onto the net I have had messages from others outside Ireland who speak of the calamities of the famine era, people who wonder do we go around killing one another here, do we hate our neighbours, people who blame the English and Protestants for every wrong that ever happened in this country. People who have read romanticised versions of our history, written perhaps because they are the versions which will sell, anything which can appeal to the hearts of the descendants of those who left. A very small percentage of people who contact me have what I would call a balanced view of our history. Maybe there is no balanced view, maybe there is not enough there for anyone to ever present a balanced view. Bad news travels fast they say - we don't read about good deeds done in our newspapers, we read of what's bad in the world. Our history books also tell of the bad, we hear about the leading characters in any event...we do hear the good they did. While these history books tell these stories - they barely glance over the fact that so many of those who were orators and 'leading characters' in Irish history were protestants. However, the fact that the landlords were mainly protestant settlers is emphasized all over the place. We rarely read in popular books of the landlords who did let their estates go to wrack and ruin because they felt for the 'people'. We rarely read that many of these 'people' were not catholic but 'protestants' - presbyterians, methodists, COI, settlers who had been moved in from England -poor or reasonably poor protestants. We don't read of those people (not catholic ) who leave money to people on their estates or in their parish when they die, some quite large sums. We rarely read of those who had been wealthy who were affected by the famine and who ended up having to sell out and go to foreign countries working on the roads as those who used to be employed by them did also............... There are two sides to every story - two people will look at something exactly the same and see it differently. Life is not necessarily fair. Nobody knows how they will behave in any given stressful situation - they can think that they would do this or that, manage this or that way - but they will never know until presented with it. Life is pretty much survival of the fittest - wherever we look - the quality of our lives is very much up to ourselves. I think that most people will try to make the best of a bad situation, I think that all stories should be told and not just the romanticised ones. I think history should be full of stories, not just facts and as interpreted by the historians..........most people will read a story and make their own decisions. It all depends on whether they take the bits they want from a story and fit it into the views they already hold - or whether they are willing to read with open minds in order to learn for themselves. There were so many different kinds of people in Ireland all trying to survive. Poor catholics, poor Protestants, rich people, cunning people, intelligent people, educated, uneducated - listening to those who spoke and who knew better than them - or did they?? Yet, only a few stories are told.......... Most families have dirty washing, baggage which they carry as a family. Few hang it out to air. They are healthy...... None of us is qualified to judge anyone else......... I just think all stories deserve telling - good, bad, indifferent. and I feel very sorry for Edward and all those other Edwards who lived in Ireland and tried to survive Jane ----- Original Message ----- From: celestine rafferty <raffs@iol.ie> To: Jane Lyons <jlyons1@iol.ie>; <WEXFORD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, November 08, 1999 11:12 AM Subject: Re: [WEX] A book.......... > Dear Jane and list members, > > You may be interested to know a little of Edward Hay's background