From breaking stones to making it big
THE Irish mother is a formidable creature. A blend of strength and softness, deep faith and pragmatism, at her best she rears children of whom Ireland may be proud.
One such mother was Mary McGaugh of Glassvalley, Headford. Widowed at a very young age with five children to support, she raised her family to succeed at home and abroad.
Born Mary O’Donnell in Greenfields, that haven of beauty on the shores of Lough Corrib, she married Michael McGaugh, a mild-mannered and soft-spoken man from a little further north up the lakeshore.
He was a member of the Ower Pipe and Drum band, a small farmer whose life came to a premature end as a delayed result of an acquired brain injury.
He and Mary would be known only to their extended family and a few neighbours had not one of their sons, Mark McGaugh, written his life story.
It is a progress from the rugged shores of the Corrib to the leafy suburbs of the Home Counties of the UK, and Mark credits his mother with giving him the attitude that brought him from breaking stones in rural Ireland to running his own multi-million pound company in the UK.
One such mother was Mary McGaugh of Glassvalley, Headford. Widowed at a very young age with five children to support, she raised her family to succeed at home and abroad.
Born Mary O’Donnell in Greenfields, that haven of beauty on the shores of Lough Corrib, she married Michael McGaugh, a mild-mannered and soft-spoken man from a little further north up the lakeshore.
He was a member of the Ower Pipe and Drum band, a small farmer whose life came to a premature end as a delayed result of an acquired brain injury.
He and Mary would be known only to their extended family and a few neighbours had not one of their sons, Mark McGaugh, written his life story.
It is a progress from the rugged shores of the Corrib to the leafy suburbs of the Home Counties of the UK, and Mark credits his mother with giving him the attitude that brought him from breaking stones in rural Ireland to running his own multi-million pound company in the UK.