It has been said that the Irish have a strong tendency to exaggerate stories and bend facts.  The Irish commonly reject such stereotyping as being untrue and discriminatory.  As an Irish-American, I tend to agree with them in that it is unfair that the Irish are sometimes seen as liars and that one must dissect and analyze all that the Irish say.  In the course of my research, I came to learn a bit more about both my ancestors and myself.  In deciding which side of my family to research, I consulted my mother who provided extremely interesting stories about the Farrelly family, the sum of which seemed infinitely more interesting than my father’s side of the family.  These amazing bits of historical information regarding the Farrellys were so breathtaking that I felt compelled to double check her story with historical records.

Upon investigation, I found that many pieces of the story conflicted with the events during the time that they supposedly took place. There was a basis in truth but the total story makes the truth difficult to ascertain. My mother’s inherent trait of exaggerating stories of loved ones is in no sense her own fault.  According to Dennis Clark, “More often then not, these stories of memory are a great miscellany of symbolic people and events, trivia, and frequently distorted or romanticized by remembrances” (9-10).  Clark is referring to the strong Irish love and admiration for their ancestors and desire to give proper respect to their ancestors.  This love for our relatives should not cause others to distrust us.  We may unintentionally fabricate and elaborate some stories of personal interest, but does that make us liars?  No.  We may simply be adding interesting facts to our stories, perhaps unknowingly, to provide the listener with an increased level of interest.

Due to the fact that my mother’s story was filled with information that didn’t match the historical records, I chose to research my father’s side of the family instead. His family’s story, as told by my father and uncle, is more realistic.  Admittedly, the Purcell history may not seem as interesting, but it may be more applicable in my future.  Because of this, my research may prove to be more interesting after all.

It has also been said that the only way to figure out where you are going is to understand where you have been.  This knowledge of the past not only makes one more knowledgeable about one’s history, but also more knowledgeable about how others succeeded or failed in similar situations.  Through learning the secret of success, the knowledge can be applied to enable one to become as prosperous as possible.

In attempting to learn the secret of success, I chose to look back to a time when my relatives found themselves in a brand new world: their emigration to America.  This situation seems extremely applicable to the one that I, a college student, will experience upon entry into the “real world.”  By learning my family’s history, I sincerely hope that I will find the information needed to put me a step ahead of my competitors.  In researching my family and its experiences, I chose to investigate the history of the Purcell’s because it was a very prestigious family in Ireland and may serve as a great resource to uncovering the secret of success.
When my father told an Irish historian our name, the historian reacted in awe.  According to the historian, the Purcells have at least one castle in Ireland and were the wealthiest people in County Tipperary, Ireland.  The lush fertile land and beautiful rolling hills made the area particularly attractive and great for farming despite its inland location.  This luxurious landscape played for optimum life for the Purcells and helped us to gain our stature and role in the Irish society.  As seen repeatedly in history, once you are at the top you can only go down.  Unfortunately, this proved true for the Purcells as well as the other citizens of Ireland.

Fig. 1. Cahir Castle, by Suzanne Barrett.  Example of a castle owned by the Purcell family.

In 1845, the infamous potato famine hit Ireland with tremendous force.  Until that time, Ireland relied heavily on potato farming as both a primary food source and as an important driver of the economy. When the potato famine hit the problem hurt everyone in Ireland leaving people without food and crippling the economy.  Since potato farming represented such a large portion of Ireland’s cash cycle during the period, the demolished link in the economic chain hurt all those directly and indirectly involved with the potato market.  The potato famine reportedly took approximately 2 million lives and tremendously hurt the generations that followed by leaving many of them in unstable financial situations and unhealthy conditions (Flynn).

Ireland was in an extremely unstable situation during the 1880s through 1890.  According to Flynn, “on May 6, 1882, Irish terrorists murdered Lord Frederick Cavendish, chief secretary of Ireland, and T.H. Burke, the undersecretary” (Flynn).  The event revealed a sense of opposition toward the British government during the 1880s.  The sheer resentment of the British government and the demand for self-government was eminent.  The distrust toward the government seemed to destroy the sense of nationalism that the Irish were renowned for having.  In 1886, political instability continued when Prime Minister William E. Gladstone’s party broke apart.  These events, combined with his inability to pass proposed bills, lead him to resign from office.  Shortly thereafter, political instability continued creating a difficult situation for the Irish citizens (Flynn).

From 1871 through 1921, 2.1 million Irish people immigrated to America in hopes of finding a new life, security, and an escape from the political and economic conditions of Ireland (Miller 87).  The Purcells, once a wealthy and influential family from County Tipperary, left Ireland with nothing.  The severe famine had left the family with significantly less money than the time prior to the famine.  The family decided to leave Ireland to discover the new world in America.  Upon departure, my family left our remaining money for our other relatives and friends that continued to struggle in Ireland.  Despite the hype of America being a shelter for all in need, the Purcells quickly recognized that America was, in many ways, a nation of greed.

 During the late 19th century, American business leaders often took advantage of the Irish workers who were in desperate need of money.  This abuse of labor was extremely difficult on the newcomers.  Most Irish-Americans found themselves working in difficult, and often times dangerous, manual labor positions.  The Irish immigrants were paid very little for their hard work and were unjustly labeled as social outcasts.  My great-grandfather was one such worker.  Once in America, the Purcells took residence in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Hazleton was a poor community, but it provided jobs for immigrants through employment in the coalmines. Many Irish immigrants, including the Purcells, found employment an opportunity to establish themselves in America.  But, the work was very dangerous and included risks of disease.  My great-grandfather, Patrick Purcell, continued to work the only available occupation without objection.  But, unlike the average worker, my great-grandfather had a certain degree of “Purcellious Awesomeious”.  This character trait is exclusive to those of the Purcell bloodline, and is a state of supreme work ethic complemented with comical attributes.  This exclusive advantage enabled my great-grandfather to excel at work compared to the other immigrants, while always remaining entertaining and high-spirited.  Through pleasing his heartless bosses and becoming a companion with all of his coworkers, he rose above the rest (Purcell).

 During that time, America was going through an era of progressivism.  America was experiencing a social revolution in which, the problems from industrialization and urbanization were beginning to be revealed.  At the heart of this revolution were a few political writers known as muckrakers.  Muckrakers such as Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair wrote of the social, political, and economic injustices of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  This time of reform and revolution was great for Americans, including my relatives, because the topics were often directly related to the injustice experienced by the abused members of the working class (“Journalism”).

The Progressives also fought for reform at the local level to make life a bit easier for hardworking immigrants.  As a result, settlement houses were set up in industrial neighborhoods to enable the poor immigrants to live in homes free of charge.  These neighborhoods offered adult education and other types of social aid.  This reform initially proved beneficial to the immigrants.   Shortly thereafter, the settlement houses became part of the slums.  Nevertheless, the reformation helped the new immigrants at the turn of the century and aided them in their quest for the American Dream.

The Americans began quickly taking advantage of the Irish.  The needy Irish immigrants were looking for money to survive and the American business leaders were handing out very little.  This apparent abuse of the Irish workers was soon corrected.  In 1900 the Irish banded together to bring about a social revolution.  According to Miller, “(the) Irish-dominated trade unions, such as those in the American Federation of Labor, protected the wages of skilled Irish-Americans and transmitted invaluable union cards to members’ sons and nephews from the old country” (92).  This move to improve the working standards of Irish-Americans definitely made it possible to achieve future moves toward equality.  Without the teamwork displayed by the Irish, the Irish may have never achieved equality.  Evidently, the early years my ancestors spent in America were both difficult and revolutionary times.

As seen repeatedly in history, revolutions do not come about quickly.  Admittedly, America was becoming more accepting of the Irish, but just as other groups and women have experienced in the history of America, it takes a while before full equality can be achieved.  Nevertheless, my relatives continued to work hard and establish a name for themselves in America.  This drive to excel has forever existed within the Purcells and continued through the many years of extreme difficultly.
After two generations in the coalmines of Pennsylvania, the family relocated to New Rochelle in Westchester County, NY.  Their friendly Irish neighborhood exposed the family to the segregation that was, and is, an important piece of American lifestyle.  According to my great Aunt, “the neighborhood was reportedly bustling with opportunity, but the Irish found employment very difficult as they were discriminated against” (Purcell). This definitely built up the character of the Purcells and continued the tradition of the friendly Irish folks that continues today.  Despite the discrimination, the Purcells continued to work hard and push forward (Purcell).

The hard work by the Purcells continued over the years.  Even though the upbringing of my great-grandfather’s children occurred with discrimination and disadvantages, the tradition of the Purcells continued.  The attitude of the Purcells had survived the difficult life of transition into America and was not going to be lost.  A Purcell family member, Kathryn Hayes, was determined to make a significant change in the family’s economic situation. She used her meager savings and her entrepreneurial spirit to buy a dry cleaning business in New Rochelle.  According to my father, “Through years of hard work and a philosophy of putting her customers and her employees first, she built the most successful dry cleaning business in New Rochelle and became independently wealthy” (Purcell).  This was a very significant achievement for any minority, let alone a woman during the 1940s (Purcell).

While Kathryn Hayes was succeeding making great strides for the Purcells as well as women in general, my grandfather was also not going to give up.  He worked as a respected lumber salesman in New Rochelle.  He continued the friendly spirit and determination that were now traditional characteristics of the family.  Meanwhile, he was raising the greatest Purcell success story to date.

As the Purcells continued our gradual assent toward the American Dream, it was time for my father to continue the tradition.  Dealing with the daring lifestyle of the late 1970s my father was aware of what the Purcells stood for, determination and friendliness.  He recognized this and intelligently kept himself on track while his peers were drifting toward experimentation.  This determination, will power, and vision did anything but hinder his aspirations.  Under the guidance of my mother, Kathleen Purcell, he continued to pursue his dream.  He focused on his studies and was always aware of his alcoholic genes.  Intelligently, he never allowed himself to become the stereotypical Irish-American drunkard.  This decision helped him to accomplish more than any of his relatives that preceded him.  My father accomplished amazing feats through hard work, determination, a positive attitude, and visualizing a goal.  He went from an accountant, to a consultant, to a controller.  He has recently achieved the title of CFO at barely forty years of age.  My father’s natural ability to visualize where companies are capable of going, along with a keen sense of how to accomplish it, has made him great at his job.  His positive attitude and dry sense of humor has been the key that has enabled him to open doors inaccessible to most others.  With these Purcell traits, he has soared above his competitors.

After analyzing the past of the Purcells, it has become apparent that I have some big shoes to fill.  Seriously, we are a tall family (an example of our dry humor).  Honestly, my ancestors have done wonders for me and I am forever grateful.  Without the determination, humor, and positive attitude of my relatives I’d never be capable of achieving all that I am today. As an honors student in high school and a Dean’s Scholar here at Iona, I do display the sheer determination that my ancestors have passed on to me.  I am aware that personally, I have the ability to accomplish those achievements without the aid of my ancestors.  But would I have?  Without the intense dedication of the Purcells, I may have cracked under the stress of carrying school and working twenty hours a week.  But I didn’t, thanks in part to my hard working ancestors.

I display the sense of humor that my ancestors have displayed for generations before me, which is debatably the most important characteristic of them all.  Anyone who knows the Purcells knows that we are a funny family.  Whether cracking jokes together as a family, with our coworkers, with our peers, or with our supervisors we have the tendency to improve the environment of others.  This is a wonderful trait.  Most people fail to succeed in life because they lack the ability to work well as a team, but the Purcells have mastered the individual level as well as the social level.  This inherited or educated attribute has put me at a tremendous advantage over my peers.

The final characteristic that I hold with my ancestors is the ability to visualize success and achieve the goal.  My ancestors knew that they had the ability to move up the corporate ladder and set a particular rung to reach.  I, too, have set goals for myself, and can honestly visualize myself reaching them though hard work and a positive spirit.  I set out to reach various short-term scholastic and musical achievements over the years, and have also set out to achieve some realistic goals for later in life.  An immediate goal of mine is to achieve A’s in all of my classes.  My hard work displayed in this essay is evidence that I am truly attempting to make the dream reality.  Further down the line, I aim at graduating from NYU’s Stern School of Business.  Using the excellent internships offered by that school, I intend to land a comfortable position on Wall Street with one of the big banking firms.  In the distant future, I desire to become a successful financial banker on Wall Street with a beautiful family in Connecticut.  It’s quite apparent that the ability to visualize success and reach it has been successfully passed on to me.

Evidently, the secret to success is made up of three distinct pieces.  When dedication, visualization, and a keen sense of humor combine success is soon to come.  The most interesting part of this finding is that I didn’t need to consult a best-selling book for the answer.  The answer was inside of me due entirely to the actions and beliefs of my relatives from previous generations.  After researching my family history, I have gained greater respect and admiration for those who came before me.  I have also discerned the secret to my family’s success.  This knowledge is without a doubt going to be applied when I leave college just as my relatives had done when they left for America.
 

Works Cited
Barrett, Suzanne.  Tipperary: Not a Long Way.  2000.
<http://goireland.about.com/travel/goireland/library/weekly/aa080398.htm> (23 Nov. 2000).

Clark, Dennis.  Erins Heirs- Irish Bonds of Community.  Lexington; The University Press of Kentucky, 1991.  9-10.

Flynn, Ciaran.  History of Ireland – Struggle for Rights (1801-1900).  2000.
<http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/bay/3604/history/rights.html> (10 Nov. 2000).

Miller, Kerby A.  “Assimilation and alienation: Irish emigrants’ responses to industrial America, 1871-1921.”  The Irish in America: Emigration, Assimilation and Impact.  Ed. P.J. Drudy.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.  87-92.

Purcell, Kevin Sr.  Personal Correspondence.  25 Nov. 2000.

Works Consulted

“Journalism.”  Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000.  CD-ROM.  Microsoft, 2000.