Contributed by Annette Brady
Annette Brady has deep roots in both her maternal and paternal sides, with family connections stretching back to Counties Longford, Cavan, and Leitrim. Her paternal great-grandfather, Michael Brady, born in Cavan in 1838, joined the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) at 20 and served for 30 years. While stationed in Leitrim, he met Rose Anne Healy, a local schoolteacher, and they married in 1872. The couple moved to Westmeath, where Michael served as a sub-constable and later as a constable.
Their first children, twins Charles and John, saw only John survive. In 1877, they had another son, Thomas, Annette’s grandfather. After Rose Anne’s death in 1889, Michael returned to Cavan, where he spent the rest of his life farming. He remarried in 1891 and passed away in 1920. Thomas took over the family farm, located near Loughduff, and was a quiet man who enjoyed walking.
In 1920, at 43, Thomas married Ellen Elizabeth Kiernan, Annette’s paternal grandmother. Ellen, born in 1886 to Patrick and Mary (Smyth) Kiernan in Longford, travelled to America in 1905 with two sisters, working in domestic service until health issues brought her back to Ireland around 1910. Ellen’s family, known for their determination, had several members who spent time in America, with some settling there. Thomas and Ellen had three children: Rose Anne, Mary (who died in infancy), and Michael Joseph (Mick). Ellen’s health declined, and she died in 1937 at the age of 50. With his mother bedridden, Mick, born in 1925, spent his early years in the care of aunts before returning home for school.
In 1940, aged 18, Annette’s Auntie Rose travelled to Surrey in the South of England to train as an auxiliary nurse. In 1946, she moved north to Warrington, where she worked at Winwick Hospital and met her husband, Jimmy, whom she married in 1952. Her father, Thomas, moved to England in the mid-1950s to live with them during his final years.
Mick Brady, Annette’s father, was a skilled cross-country runner and football player as a boy. He worked as a driver for a wholesale egg merchant in Dublin. When his job came to an end due to the economy, Mick moved to London in 1952 to find work in the building trade. In London, Mick found lodgings and quickly joined the Irish community, working on new construction projects during the post-war boom.
On Annette’s maternal side, her grandfather William Brady was born in 1881 in Ennybegs, County Longford, to Thomas and Margaret (Walsh) Brady. When cousins asked him to join them in America, William chose to stay in Ireland to care for his elderly mother. At 40, he married Mary Anne McKeon, who was born in 1898 to John and Ann (Hughes) McKeon. The McKeons, also from County Longford, were known for their handicrafts and participated in the 1921 Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Spring Show with the Killoe Spinners. William and Mary Anne married in 1921 and had 12 children, though one, Lizzie Kate, died as an infant. William passed away in 1959, and Mary Anne continued to lead the family until her death in 1982.
Annette’s mother, Mary Teresa Brady, was born in 1932. She recalled many stories from her childhood, such as contracting scarlet fever at age seven and spending six weeks in Longford Hospital with her siblings. Mary worked on the family farm after finishing school at 14. In 1952, she moved to County Wicklow and worked at the Delgany Hotel before moving to London in 1953, where she worked at the Old Spotted Dog pub in Neasden. She and her sister Alice loved the Irish dance hall scene, and after a few years they chose to work at London’s West End hotels. They worked as chambermaids at the Regent Palace Hotel before transitioning to waitressing at The Cumberland Hotel.
Mary met Mick in 1956 when he was lodging with her sister Margaret. After their engagement in May 1957, they married on 8 February 1958 at the Catholic Church on Quex Road, Kilburn. They settled in West Hampstead, where their first two children were born. They moved to Willesden Green in 1961 and had six children in total: Maria, Thomas, Helen, Patricia, Annette, and Martin. Despite their original plans to return to Ireland, the family stayed in North West London after a failed relocation attempt in 1972.
Though they faced challenges, including discrimination and the IRA bombing campaign, Mick and Mary were always positive about their life in London. In the 1970s, Mary returned to work as a silver service waitress and enjoyed the energy of the catering industry until she retired at the age of 70. The family remained connected to Ireland, often visiting County Longford for summer holidays and participating in Irish dancing and music lessons. Annette remembers wearing Irish rosettes and green ribbons for St Patrick’s Day at school.
Mick and Mary were active in their local Irish community in North West London, where they made many new arrivals feel welcome. Mick supported GAA sports in London, and both were dedicated to the London Longford Association. Mick passed away in 2009 aged 83, and Mary died in 2023, aged 90.
**Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.**