Enid Cecily Patricia Betts was only 14 years old when she disembarked in London off the Themistocles, in January 1913. It is not clear if Emily met her there before she crossed the sea again to Ireland. Arriving on Achill must have been a great surprise to young Enid. It was to be a life changing experience for her in many different ways. No doubt Emily was a kind and loving aunt, but she conducted her life in a different way to her sister Miriam, Enid’s mother. Little of her previous life in Australia could have prepared Enid for her new life with her Aunt.
When Enid first arrived Emily enrolled her in Alexandria College. Emily had attended the School for Irish Clergy Daughters, which was connected to the college. She stayed with friend’s of Emily’s in Dublin and was introduced to the cultural scene of the time, and Gaelic League and it’s members. Her name was changed to the more Gaelic, Siobhan, probably instigated by her aunt Emily. Emily had changed to hers to Eimhir ni Uadall a few years earlier.
Sources
Class: BT26; Piece: 561; Item: 67. Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008
Ní Dheirg, Íosold. Emily M. Weddall: Bunaitheoir Scoil Acla. Baile Atha Cliath: Coisceim, 1995.