Novel Idea by Mary Kavanagh

The novel, set around 1900 in the Irish Midlands, tells the story of Bridget O’Mahoney. Bridget is the eldest of thirteen children and lives on her parent’s farm until, at twenty-one, she runs away to marry her father’s farm labourer. Her father is furious and disowns her because, not only is Jim Bourke penniless, but, he is also fifty years of age. The story tells of how Bridget copes, first with a marriage that is not all she expects and then with her husband’s death. Left alone with six children and alienated from her family, Bridget faces destitution in a lonely and unforgiving world.The story would span about fifty to sixty years starting with Bridget up to the time after her husband’s death when she cannot cope and her children are taken into care. The next section would follow the children particularly one of the younger daughters Jane, and her life in the orphanage believing her mother to be dead. The end of the book would deal with the reunion of Bridget and her children in her old age. 

Characters

Bridget O’Mahoney  - Nineteen years old when story begins. Strong character, works hard, loves her family Not very educated as she had to miss a lot of school to help her mother with younger siblings and housework. Sees no future for herself except to marry and rear a family.

Michael O’Mahoney – Bridget’s father. Strong, taciturn, stern especially when crossed. Can be unforgiving and unrelenting. Has a fierce love for his family but also a strong sense of what is right. Believes children should obey their parents. Works hard to provide for his wife and thirteen children.

Anna O’Mahoney – Bridget’s mother. A quiet woman who works hard beside her husband and to whom his word is law. Not particularly sentimental although she loves her family.

Jim Bourke – A fifty year old farm labourer on the O’Mahoney farm. The details of his background are hazy as he doesn’t talk much about his life before he came to Kilcarroll. He obviously had a difficult childhood, either in an orphanage or dysfunctional family, perhaps an alcoholic father. 

Bridget’s brothers and sisters, Other possible characters: a friend in whom she confides, a Parish Priest, local doctor, Nuns who run orphanage, Jane – Bridget’s daughter (also her sisters and brothers)   

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Chapter 1 

The bog always looked beautiful to Bridget O’Mahoney, through the haze of the late summer sun. She loved the quietness that hung over everything, like a blanket, and the softness of the turf when she walked barefoot across it. The rough grass felt warm beneath her feet and she swung the basket lightly in her strong young arms.Her father, Michael, swung the sleán with the ease of long practice and threw the sods of turf up on to the bank. His movements were easy and fluid. The muscles on his back rippled and sweat glistened on his bare torso. He didn’t see her at first but continued at his task pausing only to wipe the sweat from his face with a hairy arm. This farm was his life and from it he eked a living for his wife and thirteen children. His two eldest sons worked close by, stacking the turf as he and his farm labourer cut it. Pat, at nineteen was a strapping lad who loved farm work. His brother Joe, tolerated it while he dreamed of leaving this place for greener pastures.Bridget’s eyes strayed to the next bank where Jim, the farm labourer worked. His head was bent in concentration as he cut and swung in the same manner as her father. She watched him for a moment, furtively, enjoying the sight of his muscular back bending and straightening. He was as tall as her father but where Michael was heavy set and stocky, Jim was lithe and slim giving the appearance of being taller. She tore her eyes away and glanced again in her father’s direction hoping he hadn’t noticed. “Dad!” she called out “Here’s your dinner”Michael, looked across at his eldest daughter and stopped his work. “Right,” he called out “We’ll take our ease for a while.”The fresh air and hard work had sharpened the appetites of the workers and they ate the plain food with relish, each one lost for a while in his own thoughts.Jim sat a little apart from the others. He was a quiet man. No one knew much about him. He had come to Kilcarroll about a year ago looking for work. He didn’t seem to have much family. He didn’t talk about them anyway. He had an air about him that didn’t encourage questions.  Perhaps it was his reticence that made him so intriguing to Bridget. She lived a quiet life. Helping her mother with the farm work and her brothers and sisters didn’t leave much time for dreaming or for meeting young men.She knew her parents hoped that she would eventually marry Sean O’Donnell from the next farm. Sean was alright but she couldn’t imagine being married to him. All he ever talked about was cattle and whether the turf would be ready for cutting soon. The thought of being tied to a farm like her mother with a child every year didn’t fill her heart with joy. Surely there must be more to life than that. In the rare quiet moments when she got a little time to herself she liked to go off on her own and look up at the clouds or pull the petals from daisies, chanting the old charm ‘he loves me, he loves me not’. Vague dreams and longings stirred her heart when she lay in her bed at night. She had no words to describe them but they fluttered at the edge of her consciousness feeding her restlessness. She loved Kilcarroll but somewhere inside her there was a longing for something else.Half an hour was all the time Michael O’Mahoney allowed for a break. Just long enough to eat and to drink the lukewarm tea from the tin can his wife Anna had sent from the house. Bridget gathered the remains of the meal and, in no time at all the men were back in the rhythm of cut, swing, throw and the stacks of turf piled up along the bank.The walk from the farmhouse to the bog and back was a pleasant oasis in a busy day. She savoured the stillness, knowing full well that, as soon as she got back, there would be several little voices clamouring for attention.She loved her brothers and sisters – Kathleen at thirteen was the quiet serious one always ready to help out while Bernadette at eleven was as wild as a hare, full of energy as she ran wild through the fields always scraping her knees or tearing her dress on barbed wire. Four-year-old Margaret was already a little beauty with her blonde ringlets and big blue eyes. Jim, the baby was a chubby, sunny child and everybody’s pet.  There were thirteen children altogether, seven girls and six boys, and, though the farmhouse was spacious enough, it always seemed crammed with bodies and there was a constant round of washing, cooking and cleaning for Bridget and her Mother. The older girls all helped in the house, of course and even the little ones had their daily jobs to do. Except for little Jim who just got in everyone’s way. The older boys helped their Father with the heavy work while the younger boys had plenty to do gathering sticks for the fire, feeding chickens, collecting eggs. There was no room for idleness in the O’Mahoney household – not with all those mouths to feed. Suddenly, the stillness was shattered by the sound of feet running and shrill, raised voices. Bridget was nearly knocked over by two small bodies crashing into her as they rounded the corner of the barn. It was Sean and Colm, two of her younger brothers, at their usual game of chasing. At nine and eight, respectively, they were almost like twins – thick as thieves and the best of friends. Both had the same dark, curly hair and bright blue eyes like their father. Mischief was their middle name but they were loveable rascals and you couldn’t stay cross with them for long.“Mammy said your dinner is in the oven” yelled Colm as he and Sean raced off. Bridget smiled after them as she headed for the house.After she had eaten the bacon, cabbage and potatoes left in the warming oven for her she went in search of her mother. Anna was busy hanging out washing and smiled as her daughter joined her. They worked in companionable silence for a while, easy in each other’s company.Anna was a quiet woman. She worked hard but didn’t question her lot. It was just how it was. This was life and she got on with it. There was no time for dreaming and anyway she couldn’t have asked for a better husband than Michael. They had married young and settled down to work the land and rear a family. He was a good man, if a little stern, but his harshness came from a fierce love for his family and a strong desire to give them all the best start in life that he could. Family came first with him and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Anna and the children. He didn’t waste time or energy hankering after things he couldn’t have and expected no less from his children.