My Grandmother...

My Grandmother, Ellen Gillespie, was petite in stature and came from an Irish Protestant family. She married my Grandfather who was nearly 2 meters tall. Here they are kitted out in their finery. She is wearing a beautiful and fashionable "Afternoon Dress". I wish I could see her shoes. My Grandfather Peter Ruane is also dressed very fashionably in a gentleman's afternoon suit, a shirt with a high detachable tubular collar and silk tie. I bet he is wearing spats. They are both wearing pocket watches and what look like matching chrysanthemum corsages. I'm not certain of the year this photograph was taken but I believe it was around 1908.

My Father Malachy Ruane was born in 1911 and grew up on a country estate in Athenry, Co Galway. He met my mother later in life, apparently, a confirmed bachelor up until that time. My Mother always remembered the day when my father brought her home to meet his parents. They arrived up to the tall pillared gates of the big country house and two Irish wolfhounds came to meet them. She thought they were at the wrong place. Malachy Ruane was a legend. He was educated in Scotland. At the time his family were living in Ireland and he would cycle from Scotland to Galway and back, to visit home, getting the boat in Wales. He was also legendary swimmer and won the 8km prom swim in Galway two years running, and was an expert diver. He was a qualified mechanical engineer and even though he was ran his own business, he who was more interested in helping his friends and people around him than he was in making money. He engineered the first disabled car  and enabled the first disabled driver in the world, to pass his driving test. All he asked in return was for him to buy him a drink sometime. Unfortunately my father didn't patent the design and several years later someone copied it.

My Dad also enjoyed playing darts, fishing, socializing and playing poker. The story goes, himself and my grandfather (the man in the photograph above) used to disappear for days on end to poker games. My grandfather would arrive home with cattle, chickens, or food, and money that he won at the game. It would never matter what time he came home. Even if it was 4 o'clock in the morning my Grandmother would get up and make him tea and sit and listen to his adventures.