blackfoot-valley

In the third book of his remarkable and ongoing “Hinges of History” Series, Desire of the Everlasting Hills’ , Thomas Cahill notes: “Languages bring values with them, and one cannot learn a language without making one’s own the things the civilization that developed the language considers important.” Later, referring both to the Jews of the first century B.C. and the Irish of the nineteenth century A.D., he observes: “This shift in language gives us a better sense of their dispossession than anything else. What does it take for a whole people to give up their language, their mother tongue, the original nourishment received along with breast milk, the medium of their hopes and dreams? Does it not mean that their common hopes and dreams have al- ready been shattered and that they have seen their inheritance so devalued that it no longer counts for much of anything?” During the twentieth century, Ireland’s total population has slowly re- covered to a present 5 1/2 million counting both parts of the now politically divided island. This is still 3 million below its peak of more than a century and a half ago. Such an ongoing “low” population is not necessarily a bad thing. Cultural and political tensions do continue in British-administered Northern Ireland (Ulster) for other reasons, but starting in the late 1980s the economy of the Irish Republic has become vibrant, since 1995 growing three times faster than that of the highly touted European Union, about which Ire- land is presently having second thoughts about full participation. As a result of the earlier troubles, however, there are today many more people of Irish descent overseas than in Ireland itself, who although now well-assimilated as citizens of the countries where their forebears settled, have not lost sight of their Irish heritage. Cemetary markers can give a good idea of the historical make-up of a community. A visit to Helmville’s main cemetary, St. Thomas, situated on a hill overlooking the town and St. Thomas Catholic Church, will quickly confirm that heritage. Irish names dominate those on the headstones and monu- ments. My count in 1997 revealed Irish names numbering 287, including a handful of stones so worn as to be illegible. The most frequent name is Geary, of the aforementioned Gearys who were among the valley’s earliest permanent settlers. That name accounted for 37, or about 1/8 of all names there. The Geary clan celebrated the 130th anniversary of the family ranch with a big party there in 1997. The other most frequently seen names are Coughlin (20), Wales (18), McCormick (17), Keily (14), O’Keefe (10), Lynch (9), Fitzpatrick (8), Fleming (8), Bignell (6), and Kelley (6). These 11 names accounted for 153 burials or 53% of the total, and the preponderance of Irish are evident. The oldest burial was of a Corbin from 1869. 120