Here is the wedding photograph of my paternal grandparents, Thompson (always known as Tommy) Mulholland and Isabella Armstrong, who were married on the 6th July 1927. 

There was only one photograph, so obviously this was an expensive enterprise.  But it was a quality picture.  Also note, in this early era of photography, nobody smiled.  This was a serious business.   Then again, as Tommy Mulholland often said, these were hard times.  He often referred to “the roaring 20s, and the hungry 30’s.”  Not that there would have been much of a roar heard in Eden, or indeed anywhere else in rural Ireland.

Tommy Mulholland, Ballymacpeake, Eden

Mulholland wedding July 1927, Eden, Portglenone

Standing (back row): Samuel Armstrong (the bride’s brother); sisters Cissie and Meta Crockett; John Mulholland (the groom’s brother) and Joe Smyth.

Joe Smyth was a cousin of the groom i.e. Tommy Mulholland’s mother was Smyth.  Joe was a sibling of Robert and Ada Smyth.  Tommy and Isabella went on to name their first child’s middle name, Smyth  (i.e. Charlotte Smyth Mulholland).

Okay, some detail on the two Crockett sisters, Cissie and Meta.

Thomas Burnside Crockett and Sarah Crockett (nee Adams), from Fallahogey (beside Moyagoney), had seven children, four girls and three boys.  Elizabeth (born in 1907), Mary (1909), Margaret (1910), James (1911), John (1912), Thomas (1913) and Annie (1915).  They worshipped at the local Church of Ireland.

Cissie Crockett – ‘Cissie’ is one of those rare short-form names that often gives no clue as to the girl’s real christian name.  Cissie is often a shortened term for ‘little sister’ and/or for referring to an only girl in a family of boys.   Cissie in this instance refers to Elizabeth.  Elizabeth Burnside Crockett, born in 1907, was 19 years old when Tommy and Isabella’s wedding took place.  She was the oldest sibling.

Meta Crockett – “Meta” was a name commonly found in Germany and Scandinavia.  It is the short form of Margaret.  Margaret Samuelina Crockett was born in 1910 in Fallahogey.  She had just turned 17 years old, in the month before the above wedding photograph. 

Sitting (front row): Isabella’s father, Samuel Armstrong of Moyagoney, is sitting at the very left. 

Next is the groom and his bride, Tommy Mulholland and Isabella Armstrong.  Tommy was 31 years old, and Isabella had not long turned 20.

Agnes Neely sits to the right of the married couple.  She was the bridesmaid and had turned 29 years old in 1927.   Agnes was a close friend of the bride, and lived nearby in Moyagoney (Agnes in House 11 in Moyagoney, and Isabella in House 20).  She was the daughter of William James and Margaret Ann Neely. She had 12 other siblings.  The Neely family were Church of Ireland, while Isabella’s folks were Church of Ireland.

On the right of Agnes is Tommy Mulholland’s brother-in-law, Joe Armstrong.  Joe Armstrong was married to Tommy’s sister, Charlotte Maria Mulholland.  Joe and Charlotte lived in Greenlough, outside Innisrush.

Tommy (as he was known), and his wife, lived and farmed in Eden.   They had four children, Charlotte (born in 1928), Richard (1929), Samuel (1931) and Stanley (1936).    Tommy’s two brothers, John and Willie, also lived at his home (Hill House, Eden).

My memories, as a young child…..my grandfather was always entirely bald.  And when the hourly news came on the wireless, he always demanded absolute silence, of everyone, with a WHEEEEESSSST.

Tommy Mulholland died 19th December 1979, aged 83 years.  And his wife, Isabella Burnside Mulholland, died 13th December 1983, aged 76 years.  They are buried together, in a little country graveyard, in Innisrush (Tamlaght O’Crilly Lower).