Ms. Land,
I read your recent article in the August 2026 issue of Irish american News.
I have some additional info for you that you can use as you see fit. I don’t need any credit for it.
My dad, Martin Walsh, was a friend of Father O’Donnell when growing up. My dad was born in 1915 so Father Steve might have been a year or two older.
When they got into their later teens six of the friends chipped in $5 each and bought a car. They all took turns driving and if one of them got a ticket, Steve would put the ticket in an envelope and mail it to his uncle who would have it dismissed. His uncle was named Kelly.
In your article you mention Limerick which is where my maternal grandfather is from.
My great-great-great grandfather bought a large plot at Calvary Cemetery. There are now 30 people buried there.
There is a picture of Mayor Daley in the same issue of IAN. There is a slight error in the caption for the picture on page 39. Richard Daley, the son, was not named after his father, Richard Daley. The son’s name was Richard M. Daley.
Next to the Daley photo is a picture of Harry Truman with Mayor Ed Kelly. He was Father O’Donnell’s uncle.
I had an uncle named Father Philip Cahill.
Besides being a professor at Quigley, he was the chaplain for the Pioneers Total Abstinence Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an Irish group of course.
Take care,
Phil Walsh
p.s. I turned 85 a week ago and I’m still kicking.
