PHOTO | PAULA MULLER
Edward Calnan, right, and his son, Edward Calnan Jr., talk over a photo of John Calnan, Edward Calnan’s father, who was a revolutionary in Ireland.
BY THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — Edward Calnan’s Christmas present didn’t arrive until Easter.
But the Lynn resident could not have been happier to receive it that day.
Calnan and his son, Edward, spent Easter in Dublin, Ireland, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising that struck a first blow for Irish freedom. The seven-day trip was a gift from the younger Calnan to his father, but both Edwards were thinking about John Calnan during the trip.
An Irish farmer turned volunteer fighter, John Calnan left his West Cork farm at 19 to fight for independence. He left Ireland for Canada and then Lynn in 1923. With his wife, Bridget, they raised sons John, Patrick, Edward, Frank and William and daughters Margaret and Eileen to love Ireland and remember its struggles.
He lined up his boys and put them through military drills in the same way “flying column” organizers trained Calnan and other volunteers in the rebellion years.
“He was one of the first volunteers,” Edward Calnan said.
Seventeen years after his death in 1953, the Republic of Ireland honored John Calnan with a medal saluting his volunteer service. His son keeps it in a commemorative box with a picture of his father.
The Easter Rising took place from April 24-29, 1916 with the centennial time this year to coincide with Easter. The Calnans said the centennial celebration drew people worldwide who marched in or watched a several mile-long parade. Giant screens set up around Dublin showed commemorations around the city.
“This was a worldwide event,” said the younger Calnan.
They attended a state reception that included Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland officials and attended the proclamation declaration reading in front of the Dublin post office — a significant site during the 1916 rebellion. The pair also traveled to Northern Ireland where they found former combatants dating back to the “Troubles” of the 1960s living and working in peace.
Their father and son trip was not a surprise to Calnan, 77. He traveled with his wife, Susan, and their daughter, Bridget previously to Ireland, including trips to southwestern Ireland where Calnan roots date back seven generations.
For Marblehead resident Edward Calnan, 44, the March trip with his father was special, even on the heels of five previous trips to Ireland.
“This was a once in a lifetime trip together,” he said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
