Loretta A. Murphy
Irish themed novels, short stories, and poems
AN NAUCHT
An Nuacht (pronounced un Noo-uckht)
is Irish for
"The News"
Thank you to all the journalists and their newspapers
NEW!
Web site shows other side of Molly Maguire saga
BY LESLIE RICHARDSON
STAFF WRITER
lrichardson@republicanherald.com
12/16/2007
BOSTON RUN — It’s been 132 years since the Wiggans Patch massacre, when Charles O’Donnell and his pregnant sister, Ellen McAllister, were shot in their home by a band of masked vigilantes.
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According to local Irish historian and author Loretta Murphy, O’Donnell, who was 18, and McAllister were in-laws of John J. “Black Jack” Kehoe, alleged leader of the Molly Maguires.
The “Mollies” were a band of Irish miners who allegedly carried out acts of violence against mine bosses in the 1860s and ��s. On June 21, 1877, six alleged Mollies were hanged in the
According to The Daily Miners Journal, the siblings in Wiggans Patch were allegedly murdered by Welsh and Dutch vigilantes who called themselves the “Moducs” about 3 a.m. Dec. 10, 1875.
No one was prosecuted for the crime.
“About three or four weeks ago, knowing when the anniversary was, I got a compulsion to get a Web site of a few pages together,” Murphy said. “There was so much information I got obsessed with it and I didn’t stop until I had my 20 pages, which is all they will allow you for free.”
The Web site offers a history of the event, including articles from local newspapers at the time, commentary from Molly Maguires historians, photos of the building, mining and Irish history and links to other sites of interest.
Losing the house
Until November 2006, the O’Donnell’s clapboard house stood along Route 54 just west of
Murphy passed the house each day on her way to her job as a school nurse at Mahanoy Area. She often thought the bulging front of the home reminded her of a pregnant woman, maybe a throwback to Ellen McAllister.
“On Nov. 17, 2006, I drove past the house as usual. A work crew was in front of the house. Road work, it appeared, was in progress. Thinking little more of it, I continued on my way,” Murphy said. “Coming home later that afternoon, I rounded the bend and headed toward Gilberton. The house didn’t catch my eye as it usually did and I felt a little disoriented as to my exact location on the all-too-familiar roadway. Odd, I thought to myself.”
Murphy didn’t realize until the next morning when she opened the newspaper that the crew she passed on her way to work was actually tearing the house down. The structure was reduced to rubble in less than 15 minutes.
“I have always had an interest in that house, but now that it is gone I think it is even more important to remember the anniversary,” Murphy said.
The events of the 1875 massacre inspired Murphy when writing her novel, “The Pipes Are Calling.” The novel follows the lives of a present-day Irish-American single mother of two and an Irish native son. Their ancestors share a common tie in the past. The core of the story however, is what happened at the O’Donnell house.
Ironically, Murphy received word her book would be published the same day the house was torn down.
Preserving history
Murphy believes there are many rumors and false reports that have been spread about exactly what happened at Wiggans during those early morning hours. She hopes the Web site can set the record straight.
She said some news stories give the date as Dec. 9, perhaps because the murders took place after midnight. Other reports misidentify the victims as Ellen O’Donnell McAllister and her husband, Charles, instead of as sister and brother and include the McAllister’s young child among the murdered.
Murphy said the older child survived and moved into the Kehoe household in Girardville with Ellen’s mother, Margaret O’Donnell, and husband, Charles McAllister, who survived the attack.
“This house is important to those interested in their Irish heritage and Molly Maguire history,” Murphy said. “There are disputes that this wasn’t the house in the massacre, but all the research I have done indicates that it is.”
A few years ago, Murphy tried to have the house become part of the state’s historic-preservation project.
“I was in the process, but there are so many restrictions and one being the house has to be structurally sound, which it wasn’t. Also, it was on private property and that presented another challenge,” Murphy said. “I had a petition with about 500 or more names to have it preserved, so people were interested.”
Murphy said several letters in support of erecting a historical marker at the site have been sent to the Historical Preservation Society in
“Senator (James J.) Rhoades (R-29) has been very supportive of this,” Murphy said. “It is an important part of Irish history and
©The REPUBLICAN & Herald?
***
NEW!
At this historic 1860s Irish pub in Saint Clair, a reputed “Molly Maguires’ hangout since 1866,” several regional authors signed books and talked about the inspiration for their works — namely, the Molly Maguires, a notorious band of 19th century Irish immigrant miners.
The event also served as a premiere event for the Molly Maguire Tunnel Room, a 800-square-foot addition which the tavern’s owners, James T. Croley II and his wife, Jessica M., have been working to finish for the past few months.
“We’ve been wanting to do something like this for some time now,” James Croley said. “Because this is one of the area’s two true Irish pubs — along with the Hibernian House in Girardville — we wanted to do something that would bring the place back to its roots.”
The couple have made extensive renovations to the building at 1 W. Caroline Ave. since they purchased it about two years ago; they’ve made some changes, but they’ve kept some important features about the old building intact, Croley said.
In addition to preserving the building’s original doors, wainscotting and ceiling, the Wooden Keg Tavern retains its place as a part of local history by showcasing its strong connection to the Molly Maguires with authentic artifacts and Mollies memorabilia.
The Croleys believe the unique cobblestone corridor in their establishment’s basement may have been used by members of the infamous group as an escape route from authorities or even as a method for transporting alcohol during Prohibition in the 1920s.
One of the authors appearing at the book-signing was Girardville native Loretta Murphy, author of “The Pipes Are Calling.”
According to Murphy’s Web site, the novel weaves together the present and the past in a story that spans more than a hundred years, and tells the true tale of the 1875 Wiggans Patch Massacre near Mahanoy City.
“This is the perfect place for a book signing of authors who have written about the Molly Maguires,” Murphy said. “You can see that they’ve put a lot of work into it.”
Other authors who participated in the event were Thomas Barrett, a Shenandoah native and author of “The Mollies Were Men — the Final Chapter” and “The Ballot Box;” Clemson N. Page, a Berks County resident and author of several works based in the Lansford anthracite region; and Mary Slaby, a Girardville native and author of “Call me Kate.”
©The REPUBLICAN & Herald **
Local author pens novel dealing with Irish heritage and Molly Maguires
BY JOHN E. USALIS
EDITOR
saturday@newsitem.com
ASHLAND — Anyone who reads the novel, “The Pipes are Calling,” will find themselves caught up in a romantic historical fantasy that will take them to Ireland and Schuylkill County, from the 1870s to the present day, with the Molly Maguires saga as a backdrop.
For the author, Loretta A. Murphy-Birster of
“I have always been a writer and I knew there was a book inside,” said Murphy. “I began to do some genealogical research because I was planning to visit
Murphy has three scheduled book signings:
• Saturday, Feb. 17, from
• Saturday, Feb. 24, from
• Saturday, March 3, from
If you have a copy of the book, bring it along and the author will sign it. If not, she will have copies with her that will be available for sale. The book is also available online at WaldenBooks, Amazon, Borders and at the publisher’s Web site at www.publishamerica.com.
In addition to her interest in her Irish heritage and local history, Murphy also enjoys singing, songwriting, performing and playing the tin whistle. She is a regular performer with the Catholic Churches of Ashland Drama Group, which regularly presents live programs at Christmas and Easter.
Murphy became interested in the Carroll family as part of her family line and any familial connection to what happened at
The house, which was located in
“I had been interested in the O’Donnell House long before I wrote my novel,” said Murphy. “Since high school, my interest in the Molly Maguires was fueled by some old family stories that led me to believe one branch of our family, the Carrolls from Port Carbon and
The romance novel tells the story of Maggie Carroll, a mother of two who longs to visit
Murphy was born in
“My fascination was strengthened when I began to do the genealogical research that led me to James Carroll,” she explained. “James was hung for his alleged connection to the Benjamin Yost murders in Tamaqua. James Carroll was married to Annie O’Donnell, the niece of “Nanny” or Widow O’Donnell, the matriarch of the O’Donnells of Wiggans Patch and owner of the O’Donnell homestead. Jack Kehoe was married to Mary Anne O’Donnell Kehoe, the widow’s other daughter and sibling to Ellen McAllister and Charlie O’Donnell, who were murdered in the December 10th massacre.”
One of Murphy’s ancestors was also a Carroll, and she believes there may be a family tie.
“My great grandfather, Charles Carroll, owned a tavern in the little patch of Cumbola between Port Carbon and
The title of the book comes from a popular Irish folk song.
“I always loved the song ‘Danny Boy,’ so I thought it would be fun to take the song and build a story around it,” said Murphy. “I did a lot of research on it and it seems that no one is quite sure what that song is about, but there are enough story lines that you could really take it anywhere. So I took my family research and started to use that story to build a fictional novel.”
Murphy began to pen the novel in 2001, with the interest in the O’Donnell House peaking when she began to work in
“I started working at the
Her interest sparked a personal campaign to save the house, including a petition drive. The structure may be gone, but Murphy hopes that an historic marker will eventually be placed to indicate an important site in the history of the Molly Maguires.
Murphy also wrote a poem about the house called “The Ballad of the O’Donnell House.” (See sidebar to this story.)
“A few chapters into my book the song about the O’Donnells crept into the pages,” she said. “Before long, my present day heroine and hero were joined as characters by their Irish descendants and the book began evolving into two connecting stories — one set in the post-9/11 present and the other in 1875.”
Her research into the Mollies and the house was helped by a retired Shenandoah Evening Herald journalist and editor and history buff.
“In 2001, I started doing the minstrel in
After she learned more about the house, Murphy decided to incorporate the incident into her novel.
“The last picture I took of the house, eerily enough, with the bulge in the front as it buckled, made the home look like it was with child. Ironically, like poor Ellen when she was murdered,” she said. “I never expected it to be demolished.”
“The story is pro-Hibernian. It tells in a fictional account what many of us who support pardons — as John “Black Jack” Kehoe received due to the hard work of Joe Wayne and the local men of the Ancient Order of Hibernians — for all those who were hung as Mollies. We believe that these brave men were innocent. Many were railroaded to the gallows. They were guilty of no crime other than to anger the coal barons and their allies through their efforts to unionize and create better working conditions for themselves and their families.”
Murphy said that while it is considered a romance novel, she said that the historical, humorous and adventurous aspects of the book will keep all readers anticipating what will happen on the next page.
“This story will make people laugh and cry,” she said. “There is plenty adventure, murder, mystery, and mayhem to go around, along with a trans-Atlantic leprechaun by the name of Thomas Terrance O’Toole, who somehow ties it all together.”
©The News Item 2007
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House inspires author to pen book
BY LISA COONEY
CORRESPONDENT
“When I was a little girl I wrote a book out in longhand in a notebook. My Aunt Lizzie saw it and thought it was wonderful. She took it to get it published, I guess, and that’s the last I ever saw it,” said the 1973
Murphy earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from
“I’ve been writing all my life, poems and plays and musical lyrics. In college, I did good research and wrote good papers. I always knew there was a book inside me somewhere,” Murphy said.
Building on her Irish heritage, Murphy incorporated the lyrics to the classic ballad “Danny Boy” in her newly published book, “The Pipes Are Calling” (PublishAmerica,
The romantic novel follows the lives of a present-day Irish-American single mother of two and an Irish native son. Their ancestors share a common tie in the past.
For a touch of Irish whimsy, there is a modern-day leprechaun who serves as a matchmaker for the pair.
“But at the core of the story is what happened at the O’Donnell house,” said Murphy, referring to the 1875 Wiggans Patch massacre when Charles O’Donnell, 18, and his pregnant older sister, Ellen McAllister, were shot in their home by a band of masked vigilantes.
Murphy said McAllister was a sister-in-law of John J. “Black Jack” Kehoe, the man known as the leader of the Molly Maguires.
No one was ever brought to justice for the brutal crime.
Murphy’s book is a work of fiction, but it includes her interpretation of historical events surrounding the Irish immigrants who worked for labor rights in the hard coal industry in the 19th century.
While doing genealogical research, Murphy discovered her great-great-grandfather, Charles Carroll, immigrated to the area from
Although she has been unable to find a direct relationship, she believes that her family is somehow related to James Carroll, the Tamaqua tavern owner who was put to death for conspiring with the Mollies.
Murphy has always held an affinity for the Molly Maguires.
“These guys were important not only to
Murphy would pass the abandoned O’Donnell homestead in Boston Run each day on her way to work as a school nurse at
In November 2006, the owners of the property, the Reading Anthracite Co., had the wooden structure demolished.
The building was in danger of toppling onto power lines and the roadway.
“Every day I would look at that house and think that house bulged like a pregnant woman. It was like Ellen had a hand in it,” Murphy said.
“That house had some kind of persona, some kind of pull on me. I would say to people, when my book comes out, the house is going to fall. The press release for the book came out from my publisher on Nov. 17. The next day in the paper, there it was, the house came down. It was weird,” Murphy said.
Murphy is now working on a compilation of her poetry.
She has two daughters, Brigid M., 20, and Terra D., 18, and is married to Patrick Birster.
Her book is available locally in bookstores and available online at barnesandnobles.com, amazon.com and Waldenbooks.com as well as PublishAmerica online.
More on Murphy and her book is available online at http://www.publishedauthors.net/lmurphy/index.html.
©The REPUBLICAN & Herald 2007