From my earliest days I was aware of
my links with the Commons. My paternal grandmother Margaret Heaphy was born
there as were previous generations of her Heaphy family. Five of her seven
children were born there too. Her brother Patey and sister Katie lived all their
lives in the Commons and were an integral part of our extended family. As a
child I recall Patey being cared for at my grandparent's home in Naas when he
was ill and not too long before he died on 22nd September 1946. Katie was so
familiar to me that I thought I actually knew her but in fact she had died in
1941 a couple of years before I was born.
In the fifties our family made
the long trip from Kildare to the Commons on many occasions. As children we were
always relieved when we began the big Slieveardagh Hills uphill pull for we knew
then that we were near our journey's end. On reaching the Commons our first stop
was at the home of the late Paddy Hackett after which we would look at my
father's cattle to see how they were progressing. The more serious business done
my father would show us places of interest and recall happy holidays he had
spent in the Commons as a child.
We learned about the coal mines on the
Heaphy lands, the making of culm balls used in open fires and the handballing
prowess of "Boggan" Healy. We were shown the receptacle in the old ball alley on
the Heaphy lands where adult handballers placed their bets while a handball game
was in progress. It was here that my father acquired his love of handball which
he passed on to us his children. Other tales included the catching of trout by
hand under the banks of the Munster River by tickling them.
In 1953 my
father replaced the thatched roof on the Heaphy home with a tiled roof. His
fondness for the Commons was such that he wished to live there or use the Heaphy
home as a holiday home. Without the benefit of Tipperary blood in her veins my
mother did not share his enthusiasm for the Commons and so his dream of
returning to the home of his Tipperary ancestors was not to be.
In 1955
Margaret Rodney from Brisbane and Mary Carey from New York visited their Irish
cousins in Co. Kildare. Margaret and Mary were granddaughters of Matthew Heaphy
who emigrated to Australia in 1887. Before his departure Matthew had owned the
pub known until recently as Murphy's Pub. Soon after their arrival Margaret and
Mary and three of their Irish cousins headed for the Commons on a sentimental
journey which was followed with great interest and sadness by Margaret's mother
Mary Anne Rodney (nee Heaphy) in Brisbane who as a young girl had left the
Commons never to return. Previously in 1930 Matthew's daughter Margaret Heaphy
had visited my grandmother in Naas and most likely also visited her cousins
Patey and Katie Heaphy in the Commons.
When the first All-Ireland
Handball finals were played in the new Commons ball alley in 1961 I was present
with my brother Billy to see handball "Greats" Paddy Downey of Kerry and Joe
Maher of Louth contest the Senior Hardball Singles final. The Commons has
produced its own All-Ireland handball champions such as John Ryan and Tom
Doheny.
After the early sixties our families involvement with the Commons
diminished. Seeing the deaths of Daniel and Ellen Heaphy in the papers in 1975 I
wondered if they were relations of our family. In 1984 Tipperary man Tony Ryan
defeated the up and coming Michael "Ducksy" Walsh of Kilkenny and Kildare's Tom
O'Rourke beat Kilkenny's Paddy Reilly in the Semi-Finals of the All-Ireland
Senior Softball Singles championship played in the new ball alley in Thurles. I
attended these games as did the late Jimmy Murphy of Murphy's Pub who introduced
himself to me. In 1987 Jimmy responded to a newspaper request for information by
Phillip Heaphy from New Zealand who was researching his Irish Heaphy roots.
Jimmy advised Phillip to contact Heaphy descendant Matt Purcell of Naas and
Phillip did as he was advised. This led to a visit to Ireland by Phillip's aunt
Val Wood (nee Heaphy) in 1989. Val was accompanied by her husband Colin and sons
Simon and Nick.
Arriving in Ireland the Wood family went first to the
Commons where Jimmy Murphy and his sister Mary gave their visitors a warm
welcome and Jimmy showed them around the old Heaphy home, lands and the site of
the coal mines. While in the Commons the Woods met Michael Heaphy and his wife
Annie and some members of their family. Next the Woods visited Ballingarry
Cemetery where they found the grave of Patrick Heaphy and various members of his
family. They also saw the grave of Michael Heaphy's parents.
The next
stop in the Heaphy roots trail was in Naas where the Woods met with Matt Purcell
who had celebrated his 87th birthday the day before. Matt introduced the Woods
to his nephew Dr. Billy Purcell and Billy's wife Carmel and their family.
Details of additional names and dates were gathered by Val and family
photographs were produced while Billy and Carmel entertained the visitors. In
the intervening years fresh bonds have been created between the New Zealand,
Australian, American and Irish branches of the Heaphy family whose common bond
is their shared ancestry and their place of origin - the Commons.
By Matt
Purcell - grandnephew of Patey and Katie Heaphy (2001)