A Tribute In Memory Of My Father, Edward Hennessey (1877-1957)  

by Lucy Counsel (Hennessey)

Dad was born and died in Merasheen. I was 16 years old when he died but I feel that I have many more years of great memories of him.

He married my Mom (Mary Houlihan) in 1926. He was 49 at the time and she was 19. Mom gleefully related to me that grandmother asked him where the cradle was when he brought her home.

He was a devoted husband and father. I remember him getting up every morning, putting on the double boiler of porridge, then escorting all of us who were old enough to daily Mass. Afterwards, if he had a drink of hot punch, he would let us have a taste from the tip of a spoon. Saturday morning was a great event with the Big 6 on radio - he would get all of us out on the floor and we would dance to the tunes. We had lots of boat rides - especially memorable are our trips to St. Kyran's for Mass when Mass was not available at home.

Dad and Mom had eleven children. He was so proud of each and every one of us and wanted us to do our best. One child died accidentally and Mr. Bill Barnett tells me he never heard a man cry so loud before. His feelings ran very deep and he encouraged all of us to be true to God and to ourselves. He had a great sense of forgiveness and always taught us to never seek revenge because God is the judge of all things. He taught us that the wrong you do to others will come back to yourself some day and the good you do lives long after you. This philosophy has helped all of us throughout our lives. Dad had a great loyalty to family. His Dad died at a young age and my Dad, being the oldest, felt responsible to stay with his Mom until all his siblings were raised. When his youngest sister, Laura, got married, he also got married. They had a double wedding. When Sally and Ned Hartley's mother died (Dad's sister Lucy) he took them home to live with us.  When Aunt Laura died, there was a place for Gerry Best when he was home. Even though there was a house full of children, there was always room for one more. He felt that he had to do his best for any family relative.

Dad liked a good party. I remember St. Patrick's Day in particular. He could sing with great gusto and appreciated other singers and story tellers. Our house would be full of song and enjoyment on that night.

He was a businessman - had a general store. Before my time, he had a herring factory and a lobster canning factory. Poor times and ill health saw his business come to an end.

He was the first man to have a radio in Merasheen. As one woman is quoted as saying “it must be true, it came over Mr. Ned's radio". People would fill the house to listen to it.

He was asked to take on many duties in the community. When the Bishop would come, he would give the address of welcome. When the priest was absent, he would say the Rosary in the church. These were just some of the duties he did.

When Mom and Mrs. Cis Wilson went berry picking, he made sure that they were met to help bring out the berries. Everything was taken care of at home so that Mom could relax when she'd get home.

When he got sick, his concern was for us. He said to my Aunt Bessie, “I am not afraid of dying. I am not afraid to meet my maker but I wish there was some way of going without the children having to go through the pain of it“. The night he died, we got Aunt Bessie and Mrs. Cis Wilson just before he died. We were very sad but were comforted by the fact that he had gone home to the God he loved so much.