Tell us your family secret

crockholm · 02-10-2013 03:13PM

Grandmother was engaged to a sailor on HMS Hood,but ol' Bismark took care of him.She then met my grandfather.

Had cousins in the British Army,was always odd when they used to drink with a family member who was in the IRA,All admitted,that given the situation neither would have any qualms killing the other,as it was duty,lucky it didn't come to it and older age has softened their opinions and perspectives.

I Heart Internet · 02-10-2013 03:13PM

MonstaMash wrote: »

My grandfather & his twin brother arrived from Sicily to Ireland in 1897, they were on the run, accused of a vendetta killing arising from a feud between two families.

Did they do it?

lukesmom · 02-10-2013 03:19PM

My 'mother' used to be called Harold and wears neck scarves in public

MonstaMash · 02-10-2013 03:28PM

I Heart Internet wrote: »

Did they do it?

That's for me to know & you to find out

The grandfather stayed after marrying my grandmother & ended up fighting with the IRA in Jacob's garrison in the 1916 rising.

His twin brother went back to Sicily just before the outbreak of WWI & lived to a ripe old age.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 02-10-2013 03:30PM

lukesmom wrote: »

My 'mother' used to be called Harold and wears neck scarves in public

Christian? Is that you??

02-10-2013 03:58PM

wuzziwig wrote: »

My Dad was born out of wedlock in the 40s. They tried to force my Gran to give him up but she fought tooth and nail and kept him. She's Catholic and when he was 5 she married a Protestant. 2 huge scandals at the time in her community. Nowadays it's practically the norm!!

It's women like your gran that this nation owe a great deal of gratitude to for having the courage to live the life she chose for herself as opposed to getting pushed around by the church and its zombied followers.

Had there been more like her that had the cop on to realise that the catholic teachings in Ireland was based on a load of fascist shíte then there may not have been half the oppression and child abuse over the last century

ElleEm · 02-10-2013 04:06PM

Great idea for a thread!
The best I can think of is that my granny was adopted in the early 1900's, and had two birth certs with totally different dates on them (different years, too). I don't think she knew, she was a bit mad. We just picked one of them and told her that was her birthday!

Bog Standard User · 02-10-2013 04:14PM

Keith wrote: »

Have a half sister out there somewhere that I've never met. . . .

which half? top or bottom????

biko · 02-10-2013 04:17PM

I am a serial killer, but I only kill other killers.
And my sister is a cop.

OU812 · 02-10-2013 04:21PM

One of my great grand uncles was an admiral in the British Navy.

His records are sealed which means he probably did something dreadful

Madam · 02-10-2013 04:21PM

My great uncle was a bootlegger in New York, he came back home to Ireland in the 1930s for some unknown reason. He then opened a pub and kept a loaded shotgun under the counter - he once shot and wounded someone with it but was never charged. Great guy by all accounts but I'm not sure I believe all the stories I've been told about him!!!

I looked up the census for my granparents, seems my granny was 5 years old when they married:eek:

My great uncle William(Winter Willie behind his back but thats another story), drank all his inheritence, so no money or land left for anyone when he died!

I COULDA BEEN RICH I TELL YIS:D

martinedwards · 02-10-2013 04:22PM

My Grandfather was born in Moville in 1909, then his family moved to England.

during the war he was a Naval officer, and ended up as acting captain of HMS Violet, a corvette in the south Atlantic, before he was invalided out with TB

he "retired" to Moville but remained on full pay for the duration of the war.

it was his job to spread misinformation about convoy timetables etc out of Derry to anyone who'd listen on the Republic side in the hope that word would get to Nazi sympathizers with a radio.

He had a legendary ability to drink and appear drunker than he was. A very useful ruse in the the old deception game......

martinedwards · 02-10-2013 04:23PM

OU812 wrote: »

One of my great grand uncles was an admiral in the British Navy.

His records are sealed which means he probably did something dreadful

or spectacular.

Links234 · 02-10-2013 04:25PM

after reading this thread, I think my family must be secretly boring

certifiedcrepe · 02-10-2013 04:31PM

My dad has been talking to myself and my brother for so long about his life up to the time he met our mother. He get really smashed one night and got a butterfly tattoo, then he was engaged to be married to the dermatologist that removed it until she left him at the altar for her ex.

There's a few other things like how he used to knock our aunt Robin and all that. He really tells us too much, I wish he just told us how he met our mother.

ElleEm · 02-10-2013 04:39PM

Links234 wrote: »

after reading this thread, I think my family must be secretly boring

Or you're the secret!!!

Merkin · 02-10-2013 04:40PM

I keep my great aunty Josephine in a sealed container in the attic. I allow her out on Holy Days when I read Wuthering Heights to her and feed her dried figs (as long as she only answers my questions in Spanish).

OU812 · 02-10-2013 04:51PM

martinedwards wrote: »

or spectacular.

See... Now I'm intrigued again.

kumate_champ07 · 02-10-2013 05:15PM

its staying secret!

Fr.Buzz · 02-10-2013 05:21PM

Not so much a family secret but my grandmothers brother was walking home from the pub one Christmas night with his two mates. Walking down the lane to his farm house while intoxicated having a sing song when he was attacked by a neighbour who heard them coming. He mistakend there signing to be that of the screams of the Banshee so he attacked him with a rock. His two mates picked him up carried him home and put him into bed. Next day he was found dead in his bed. His death was put down to exposure to the elements as his clothes were wet!..No Garda investigation! No suspicions raised! Nobody outside of my family and the man who attacked him's family know what happened that night!..Rural Ireland was a strange place place in those times where people didn't talk about things like that!..So they just moved on with their lives while justice was never served!..

wexie · 02-10-2013 05:57PM

.....where to start, my family has so many skeletons we could start our own graveyard.

Best one is probably the aunt and uncle that announced (at the same time as announcing their divorce) they were both gay, had always both been gay and had always known about eachother. Early on in their relationship

they both caught the other one in an 'indiscretion' (allegedly of such magnitude its never been mentioned again) and decided to write off the indiscretions against eachother and carry on the relationship.

one of their (2) kids was always somewhat unstable and is now technically completely loopy.

Good ol' catholic families ey?

charlietheminxx · 02-10-2013 06:08PM

I would be typing all night if I started on mine. There's so much drama it sounds like a soap...

MurdyWurdy · 02-10-2013 06:09PM

Charles Haughey tried to feel my granny up when she was 6 months pregnant. It's actually not really a secret. We all laugh about it and tell my uncle he looks like him! It's not funny though in reality. I think she told him to eff off

Muise... · 02-10-2013 06:13PM

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

Charles Haughey tried to feel my granny up when she was 6 months pregnant. It's actually not really a secret. We all laugh about it and tell my uncle he looks like him! It's not funny though in reality. I think she told him to eff off

GUBU boo boo! :eek:

wuzziwig · 02-10-2013 07:24PM

Deleted User wrote: »

It's women like your gran that this nation owe a great deal of gratitude to for having the courage to live the life she chose for herself as opposed to getting pushed around by the church and its zombied followers.

Had there been more like her that had the cop on to realise that the catholic teachings in Ireland was based on a load of fascist shíte then there may not have been half the oppression and child abuse over the last century

She was some woman alright. She had 11 more children (one died as an infant). She'd give u a clip in the ear as quick as she'd look at you too. I remember staying with her as a child & when you got up in the morning she'd have a big pot of porridge cooked along with the full dinner for later in the day!

My grandfather (not technically my grandfather but he will always be the only grandfather I've known) was an absolute gentleman. He had a wooden leg. He got gangrene after getting cut with rusty metal while working on the railway tracks and he had his leg amputated.

Osborne · 02-10-2013 07:29PM

We know how they get the figs in Fig Rolls.

wexie · 02-10-2013 07:34PM

Osborne wrote: »

We know how they get the figs in Fig Rolls.

Everyone knows that!!!

amazingemmet · 02-10-2013 07:40PM

My ancestor was commander of the tower of London during the time of the two princes. He knew what happened to them and was given land and a title in exchange for his silence. When I'm old enough I'll get to know the truth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_in_the_Tower

markomuscle · 02-10-2013 07:44PM

My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather killed a Norwegian.

mud · 02-10-2013 07:54PM

I was sent to live with my two spinster aunts and their talking cat while I tried to work out our family secret.

Tell us your family secret

Comments