Contributed by Hannah Pender
The Gavaghan family history can be traced back to great-great-grandparents who lived as farmers on land just outside Swinford, County Mayo. On the maternal side, the McDonnell family worked tirelessly on their small plot of land, churning milk, growing vegetables, and selling eggs in town. Maureen’s mother Catherine McDonnell was born into a large family as the second youngest of 11. A number of her brothers and sisters emigrated to Chicago. They used to send parcels and money home - most of their clothes came from America. The money they sent home enabled Catherine to stay longer in Ireland and attend the new local secretarial college. Eventually she left with a neighbour to join her sister Margaret, who was already working in London.
Arriving in Euston she initially found the large city intimidating and unfamiliar. Catherine soon found work in the office of Gallagher’s factory in Camden. While she did encounter some prejudice in England (for example, encountering signs that read “No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs”), she did find great support and solace within the strong, tight-knit and supportive London Irish community.
Catherine remembers seeing the reddest apple she’d ever seen. Only on biting into it, did she realise it wasn’t an apple - it was a tomato – she’d never seen one before.
Maureen’s father Tom Gavaghan was born in 1927, in Killasser, Swinford, one of six children. He emigrated to England at the age of 15, although his work permit claimed he was 19. The early years of his life in England were spent working seasonally before he settled permanently in the 1940s. His proudest moment came when he returned to Ireland with £100, which his mother used to clear all her outstanding bills.
Maureen’s parents, Tom and Catherine, enjoyed the lively London Irish social life centred around the ballrooms. They met at the Buffalo Ballroom in Camden - theirs was a veritable ballroom romance. After a short engagement, they married in 1954. Tom arranged all of the wedding reception. As money was tight, Catherine’s family in Ireland couldn’t come over for the wedding. The young couple moved into a rented flat near Camden. Tom worked as a labourer in construction for Sir Robert McAlpine’s, for a long period living in a caravan with Catherine and their first child whilst working on Bradwell Power Station. He continued to work for McAlpine’s until his retirement. While his work was hard, he never complained, enjoying his job and the strong sense of community.
Eventually, the family moved out of the flat in 1961, when they bought their first house in Upper Tollington Park, Finsbury Park for around £400. It was a spacious three-storey Victorian house, cheaper because it had sitting tenants. Maureen fondly remembers Sundays filled with music from the record-player, their father Tom singing ballads, and dancing with their mother Catherine. There were plenty of lodgers over the years, mostly single Irish lads. Many Irish moved to this area at this time as their families grew, attracted by the larger family homes and the close knit church community of St Mellitus.
Despite their new life in England, the pull of Ireland was strong. Maureen’s parents missed Ireland more than their family realised. Catherine left a memoir where she recorded her life growing up. Tom particularly dreamt of one day returning to his home place to build a home. He even had plans drawn up for the house - it was never built.
The family returned home most summers, maintaining their strong connection to the land in Swinford. Today, Maureen and her sister still visit regularly, as do their adult children, keeping the ties with their Irish roots alive. The wider family stay in close contact even after years in London. The Irish identity remains central to their sense of self. Maureen, her daughter Hannah and the Pender family all identify as London-Irish.