Sequel to A Pocket Full Of Shells, the first part of An Irish Family Saga, this work changes course slightly from the earlier one which dealt with misery of Ireland due to potato blight, starvation, and resulting migrations, and goes into the continued misery of the poor with added travails due to rich and their servants, still keeping off the topic of any responsibility of the said misery being due to English domination of Ireland.
A Year of Broken Promises takes off a few years, and more children, after the end of the first part that left the family expecting a second child and hopeful of a better future. This one begins with death of Annie, the aunt that was mother figure to the couple, having left Mary depressed enough to have stopped functioning, and the first daughter Catherine looking after the home and family, until the children's aunt Maggie arrives from England and helps Mary recover.
But then comes trouble in form of a false accusation of theft of silverware against James and his uncle, the old widower Pat, engineered by presumably the actual thief who, one would think, must have been either a servant at the rich house, or, from the behaviour of the constable, perhaps him, or both, and the horror explodes - there is no satisfactory way to prove their innocence, and meanwhile the old man is held in lockup until the court session months later, wasting rapidly.
Then it turns to the larger background. The thief isn't a servant after all, nor is the constable directly responsible for the false accusation, however much the thereafter complicity of the constable in misery.
This time, one knows the cliffhangar the auþhor leaves the reader at - they are home with family in Sunderland, secure, with the money from sale of boat back at home in bank, but Mary still hankering after returning eventually, in which case the constable might succeed in getting James convicted of not only theft but murder, with paid witnesses swearing to anything that the constable might demand of them!
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"The failed uprising of the Young Irelanders in 1848 saw some of them going to America and others to France. James Stephens, John O’Mahoney and Michael Doheny, among them. Stephens came back to Ireland from Paris in 1858 and established the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a counterpart to the Fenian Brotherhood which had been formed in America by John O’Mahoney and Michael Doheny. They believed that armed insurrection was the only way to end British rule over Ireland and their members came to be known as Fenians."
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" ... “Your father tells me you have both been up to no good,” this was said to John and Daniel as soon as the door closed.
"“Well, to be fair to them, they were under the impression it was all in a good cause,” said Matthew.
"“Oh, the cause is indeed a very good one but their ignorance and naivety has created a big problem and led to a family’s unnecessary suffering,” the stranger with the mellow voice remained standing, his back to the window. “I know that both you young men are aware of how the Brotherhood is organized and that names are not given outside of your own circle, and I am an outsider. However, I have been told about a local man who has been trying to gain a lot of favour and recognition in the Brotherhood because of the large amounts of money he has been contributing to the cause. This particular person is a man of little means, yet seems to have raised prolific funds from his trips to England, where he claims he receives money from supporters of the Brotherhood. He has the same name as the man you have been working for.”
"John and Daniel looked at each other, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads. A turf fire was burning but not so hot that it would cause them to overheat. Daniel looked anxiously at his father, who was standing to the right of the man speaking to them.
"“Do you not realize that most of the money we raise comes from bonds sold to our supporters, and from donations generously made to the Brotherhood?” the voice was becoming less mellow. “Taking rifles and ammunition from soldiers and army barracks is acceptable. After all, they will be used upon our own people given half a chance. But robbing houses, no matter who the owner might be, is not something we encourage, especially when an innocent person is paying the price for it,” the man’s tone was much harsher as he finished his sentence.
"“Sorry, sir. That was why we confided in my father,” said Daniel. “Not because we thought what we had done was wrong, but because Pat McGrother is still being blamed for the theft.”
"The young men gave an account of how they had been instructed to retrieve stolen items, including Lord Devereux’s missing silverware, from various hiding places around the county. They were told to bring them to the man they called Flanagan. They knew he travelled to England with the goods but after that they assumed the money went to into the Brotherhood’s funds.
"“When Pat McGrother was found with stolen goods on him, we were sure him and his nephew had been part of it,” explained Daniel. “But Flanagan was the worse for drink the last time we met him and he laughed at his good fortune that Pat was in jail. When we asked what he meant by that, he said it was himself that had stolen the goods. He made a remark about the timing being perfect and said he would be calling a halt to the operation soon. We were warned not to breathe a word to anyone, as informers were everywhere and lives were dependant on our keeping quiet. I asked if my father knew about it and was told the only way to ensure a successful mission was if one hand didn’t know what the other was doing. It seemed to make sense at the time, so we went along with it, thinking we were helping the fight for freedom. Is that so, John?”
"“Daniel is telling the truth, sir. Flanagan brings trinkets over from England and sells them to the staff at the big houses. We think that’s when he manages to steal whatever he finds lying around the kitchens. Now that he is suspected of lining his own pocket, we can see him for what he is, but at the time he seemed genuine. We only wanted to help the cause, sir, and Flanagan gave us an opportunity to do so – or so we thought,” explained John. “If we had known what he was really up to we would never have gotten involved. You have to believe us, sir. Sure we never once took anything for ourselves. Did we, Daniel?” asked John.
"Daniel shook his head and the sorry look on both their faces was enough to convince Matthew Clarke that his son and his friend were telling the truth about everything. Whether the man standing next to him was of the same mind was a different matter. Men had disappeared for a lot less, never to be heard of again and for the first time Matthew felt a stab of fear for his son’s safety."
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"“What will happen to the boys? They meant no harm,” asked Matthew. “I think they have had enough of a scare but you must keep your eye on them, Clarke.”
"“I will to be sure and I won’t give them a minute’s peace. You have my word on that, sir. What about Flanagan?”
"The man with the mellow voice smiled, “He thinks he’s getting away with it but give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself. When your son and his friend are no longer around, Flanagan will have to retrieve the bounty himself now, won’t he?”
"Matthew’s heart skipped a beat at what was said, “What do you mean by ‘no longer around,’ sir? Surely you don’t mean to harm them.”
"“Not at all, Clarke. Not at all. Here, have a seat,” a chair was pulled out from a table in the centre of the room, “But for their own safety they must be sent away. You do see that, don’t you?”
"“How far? The West, or Cork maybe. Surely not to England, my wife won’t be happy about that,” said Matthew.
"“I’m sorry, Clarke. Even further – to America.”
"Matthew jumped up from his seat, “You can’t be serious. For how long?”
"“Indefinitely, I’m afraid. There are a lot of men, and quite a few women, who have had to exile themselves because someone has been too careless or too foolhardy. The Brotherhood is in its infancy and will no doubt have many problems such as this one to deal with. We handle these situations as best we can, even when sacrifices must be made. Go home, man, and prepare your son and his friend for what lies ahead. As far as anyone else is concerned, and I include your good wife and your family in this, the boys have been offered work in America. They must be out of the country before Flanagan is dealt with. If they were to remain in Ireland or even England they will end up behind bars. Better that they live as free men in exile than prisoners of the Crown.”"
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"As Matthew walked out of Paddy Mac’s he felt as if a mountain of guilt had been heaped upon his shoulders. It was unnerving how close he had come to telling the young fisherman the truth about his uncle. Giving out information like that, no matter how good the intention was, could get a man killed. Matthew had been assured that Flanagan would get what he deserved and Pat McGrother’s name would finally be cleared. The fact that justice would be served too late for the old man’s family, left a bitter taste in Matthew’s mouth. Add to that the forced exile of his own son, and it took all of his will power not to hunt down Flanagan and throttle him, until he had squeezed every last breath from the wretched man’s body."
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"As the solicitor left the building he was more determined than ever to convince James McGrother that he must not return home, under any circumstances. If the inquest found that Flanagan had been murdered, it would not bode well for James. On the other hand, even if the death was declared to be an accident, Armstrong might still try to link the dead man to Pat McGrother and his nephew. The old fisherman and the thief were both dead and it would be easy to find someone in need of money to swear under oath that they had been seen together in the past. There would be no one to refute it and William Harrington was not sure to what lengths the head constable would go, in trying to make a case against James McGrother. That his uncle may have been acquainted with Flanagan was a possibility, as the elderly man may not even have known he was in the company of a thief."
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"The previous year an Irish Cardinal had refused the lying-in-state of a Fenian leader, Thomas Bellew McManus, who had died in America. He had been given a state-like funeral by New York’s Irish exiles when his remains were taken to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue, before he was brought back to Ireland. In spite of Cardinal Cullen’s refusal to allow McManus’s coffin into any of the Dublin churches, some thirty thousand mourners attended his funeral at Glasnevin cemetery."
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May 30, 2020 - June 01, 2020.
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