A Piece of Thyme

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This is the true story of Mary Bridget Kelly, my great grandmother, who was born in Kerry, Ireland in 1869. Orphaned and brought up in a convent along with her brothers and sisters, she alone escaped to England, where she worked at a canal side inn, then married a Bargee. She lived, worked and had her children in a barge with the other water gypsies (a way of life that has been lost), whilst traversing the northern ship canals. The changes that time made and how she guided her family through poverty, hardship, loss and a World War, whilst battling the demons of religion and death, make her presence formidable. It is a story of one woman’s lifetime. It is her tapestry and how each life connects with many others, to shape those who come after.