Ordinary Joe becomes extraordinary governor

JOHN Garrahy from Callura, Lahinch, and his wife Margaret (nee Neylon) of Maghera, Lahinch, along with their two children Eddie and Mary moved to the United States in the 1920s. Joseph Garrahy was born in Providence on November 26, 1930, and his brother, Vincent, arrived soon afterwards.
Margaret, who spent her life mopping the floors in the Rhode Island state house, watched with pride as her son took over the role of Governor of the East coast state back in 1977.
“When he got into the state house, he told Margaret that she would have to leave now, but she said ‘no, I was here first’,” Mary recalled.
John Garrahy worked in a bottling shop for most of his life and this proved to be a starting point for his children too. But as Mary explains, times were tough when the family arrived in Providence as America climbed out from the Great Depression.
“When he went over to America first, John taught Irish dancing, you know, to help make ends meet,” she outlined. His daughter, Mary, took over this role in later years.
John and Margaret missed Clare and Margaret kept in regular contact with her brother, Thomas Neylon, Mary’s father.
“Oh she missed it here, you would no sooner have one letter answered and another would arrive. When they went first, Margaret used to send the children’s old clothes. It was great to get the parcel from America and we used to fight for what was in it,” Mary remembers.
Joseph’s brother, Eddie, is a regular visitor to North Clare. He brought his mother home on a visit when she was ill and more recently celebrated his 80th birthday in The Falls Hotel in Ennistymon.
From an apolitical family, Joseph Garrahy climbed the rungs of political life from delivering the paper to making the headlines, from state senator to lieutenant governor to the height of the State’s political ladder. Following his death at 81, local papers recalled a politician “with a nice-guy reputation”.
During the Korean War, Joseph Garrahy served in the Air National Guard stationed near Niagara Falls. In 1956, he married Margherite DiPietro.
According to Thomas J Morgan in The Providence Journal, “His administration, from 1977 to 1985, was credited with cleaning up the state prison system and the Ladd School for the mentally handicapped, initiating steps to end the pollution of Narragansett Bay by faulty municipal sewage systems and beginning an ambitious renewal of downtown Providence.”
For many in Rhode Island, he is remembered for his plaid shirt, which he wore when he headed up the state’s recovery after the Blizzard of 1978.
Mary visited Joseph and his family in Rhode Island in the early ’70s.
“We had travelled there with the football crowd from Ennistymon. Joseph took us to the state house and he treated us all to lunch. He really enjoyed that,” Mary outlined.
Although not born in Ireland, Joseph returned to his family home on a number of occasions, most recently a few years ago.
“Joe stayed with Tommy and Maureen Scales last time. He went to my home house, where Margaret was born. The owner of it brought him around and showed him every bit of it. It meant a lot to Joe, being Irish,” Mary explained.
“Joe was a fine tall man. He’d mix well. His position never affected him. He was very nice and that is how he got on so well, I suppose. He had a lovely manner. He was quiet and easy going. There was no grandeur in him whatsoever. Last time he was here, he wanted to meet everyone,” she added.
“Despite being high up in politics, he was very much a family man. He made time for his family. He would always write home too, at Christmas and send a St Patrick’s Day card to his cousins,” Mary concluded.
Joseph Garrahy died on January 24, aged 81. He is survived by his wife, Margherite; his daughters Colleen, Maribeth, Sheila and Seana;  son, John and 11 grandchildren.
Irish music featured prominently at his funeral in January.