An American politician with strong family ties in Knockmore is working with his relatives in Mayo to develop ways to further commemorate the links between north Mayo, the wider county and region and Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, where the city of Scranton is located.
Democrat Bill Gaughan, who is the County Commissioner of Lackawanna County, is working with his cousin Brian Gaughan, from Lisaniskea East, Knockmore and Foxford, on a number of projects in this regard, including the opening of a Michael Davitt exhibition at the Everhart Museum in Scranton.
The Everhart Museum is located next to Nay Aug Park, where Davitt and members of Clann na Gael gathered in support of causes of the Land League and their native Ireland.
Davitt himself has a strong association with Scranton. His father Martin, sister Mary from Straide and brother-in-law Neil Padden from Foxford are buried in Scranton and Bill Gaughan and his parents Jack and Marie (nee Murphy) regularly visit the grave to maintain it. Bill’s mother Marie has ancestral ties to Currower, Attymass.
During a visit to the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, where he laid a wreath on Davitt’s grave during his first trip to Ireland in August 2023, Commissioner Gaughan said he would like to see the Michael Davitt story commemorated in his home city of Scranton given Davitt’s ties to the city.
Brian Gaughan told the Western People that they are both working on opening the doors between Mayo and the Scranton area. He said his cousin Bill has a vision of connecting people with Irish roots in Scranton and the greater Lackawanna area to their ancestral stories.
“We want to celebrate and promote the shared history of north Mayo and Lackawanna, to open up the history between these two places,” he said.
Brian said he recently paid a visit to Bill and family in Scranton, which he said is a like a ‘home away from home’.
“Scranton is situated in a valley surrounded by natural beauty similar to our own surroundings in Mayo. It has beautiful architecture and an easy pace of life.
“On every street there are people named Ferguson, Holmes, McHale, Gaughan, the names you get in Knockmore, Foxford and around north Mayo. These are all people whose ancestors left home and set up in Scranton. Bill even brought me down a street with my own family name on it.”
Jack Gaughan at the grave of Michael Davitt’s father and sister in Scranton.
Other links between Scranton and Mayo include the links with the ancestors of President Joe Biden and the family of Fr Patrick Peyton. The town’s third-ever Mayor Matthew W. Loftus, who designed the city streets, was a native of Foxford and Admiral William Brown’s father is also buried in Scranton.
Brian said there is also a link between President John F Kennedy and Knockmore, which they hope to commemorate.
“There is a story that JFK’s bodyguard came to Knockmore during JFK’s visit to Galway in June 1963 looking for his roots. His father was a Thomas Gaughan from Lisaniskea and after making some enquiries at Hughes local pub, he was told there were 12 families of that name in the village.
“He had to get back to his duties and turned back up the road having had no luck. When Bill and I researched it, we learned that the bodyguard name was Vincent Martin Gaughan,” explained Brian.
Vincent Martin Gaughan, who was an aide to JFK and President Harry Truman, was a first cousin of Brian’s father Martin and his own father Thomas was the eldest of Brian’s grandfather Patrick’s ten children, six of whom went to Scranton. Vincent was an advance man for Kennedy as well as his close friend and recalled his relationship and memories of JFK during an interview with an American newspaper, The Buffalo News, 25 years on from his assassination.
“It shows the strength and determination of the people who came out of this area, a lot of it stemming from Davitt, that they went on to have links with Presidents,” said Brian.
Other projects they are working at is the creation of a flight path between Ireland West Airport and Scranton Airport. Brian said Bill is in discussions with the directors of Scranton Airport regarding this but it is a “big task” that could take an investment of over $20 million and the involvement of an airline company to make it possible.
Brian added it was important that they keep up the momentum on this work after President Biden departs the Oval Office at the start of next year.
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Publish date : 2024-09-07 01:11:00
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