Emily’s Father, Rev. Burke did not officiate any cermony during his time in Ballinasloe, with the exception of a marriage in nearby Taughmaconnell. He was well over 70 at the time and not as active in the church as in his missionary days.

Rev. Burke who, was never far from controversy in his missionary days made the newspaper columns frequently, now he hardly appeared in them now at all.  Again with one exception of a court case form 1875, he was not reported on at all. The case concerning land involved the Rev, his brother Patrick and the local Rector, Rev J. Moran of Kilcolgan Co Galway. The case centered around land leased by his father in the 1830’s from the Rector of Kilcolgan, which had come up for review. The court ruled in favour of the lease being granted to his brother Patrick rather than Rev. Burke.

The Commissioners established the right of Patrick Burke, and held that the lease made to the Rev. Mr. Burke was invalid.

The only other references to Rev. Burke in his latter years were the issue of a dog license and a listing in the paper of an event that he and Mrs. Burke attended in Dublin, the year before he died.

Bible in Saint John the Evangelist Church of Ireland, Church Hill, Ballinasloe, County Galway

Rev Burke was now in his late seventies and after an eventful life it was a time of rest for him. But he may not have got the respite that someone of his age deserved, there was a huge upsurge of hatred  against coverts in the early 1880’s. It is hard to say if he suffered any further persecution as he did in the past.

The violent persecution of Connemara’s convert community between 1878 and 1884 was without precedent. Its direct result was the winding down of the Irish Church Mission’s activities in the west of Ireland. It is difficult to identify what sparked the particular aggression towards converts and and mission personnel that began in late 1878, although underlying causes are clearly evident.

 

lectern in St John the Evangelist Church, Ballinasloe

Sources

http://www.ballinasloe.org/articles/article.php?ID=13

The Freeman’s Journal, Monday, January 11 1875.

Moffitt, Miriam. Soupers & Jumpers: The Protestant Missions in Connemara, 1848-1937. Dublin: Nonsuch, 2008. P 136

Thanks to Saint John the Evangelist Church of Ireland, Church Hill, Ballinasloe, County Galway for allowing me to photograph the church.

In 1872 Rev Burke was transferred from Castlejordan to Ballinasloe, in his home County of Galway. Emily was five years old. The family took up residence at a address on Dunlo Hill in the town. Rev Burke may have owned the property, as according to Griffiths Evaluation 16-18 was owned by a William Burke. Although it is impossible to say which house the family may have lived in because numbers change due to houses being built and demolished over the years. Below are a few houses that are possibly from the time Emily lived there.

Below is a view of Dunlo Hill as it is today.

Sources

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/IRL-GALWAY/2003-01/1042002347

Emily Weddall spent about five years in all in Edenderry. Most of that time was spent without the presence of her father, as he spent most of his time away from home on missionary work. On a meager income and with a growing family to provide for it was necessary for him to earn extra income lecturing in the UK. In a later lecture he admits that he and his family were starving on the £92 a year salary.

LEICESTER ANTI-ROMANIST ASSOCIATION

The Rev. W. J. Burke, formerly Parish Priest and Vicar-General in the Church of Rome, but for the last 23 years a Clergyman of the United Church of England and Ireland, will deliver in connection with the above Association, the following LECTURES in the Large Room, Temperance Hall on THURSDAY and FRIDAY Evenings, March 26 and 27, 1868.

Thursday Evening:- Subject: “The Disloyal Teaching and Practices of Maynooth, and the Confessional.”

Friday Evening:- Subject: “How Romish Priests and Bishops, if so minded, could as easily put down Fenianism as they created it.”

The above subjects were pretty weighty and caused a huge backlash against him, but they also paid well and sometimes there was a collection afterwards for Rev Burke. His talks used to fill lecture halls all over the UK, but it was not just the subject matter that drew the audiences Rev. Burke was an excellent orator. Since the early days of his conversion he gave impassioned speeches of the “Errors of Popery” and was instrumental in the conversion of many Catholics to Protestantism. He was also a determined letter writer expressing his opinion of religion freely. His strong views did not make life easy for him and his family, inviting backlashes and even violence against them.

Emily’s formative years were not easy by any standard. From an early age she witnessed hatred, violence and persecution firsthand. As she grew it did not get any easier, but she also saw determination, resilience and courage in her father. Perhaps this is where she first learned these traits herself. As she grew life did not improve greatly for her in some incidences things got much worse before they got better.

Sources

Leicester Journal March 20, 1868. Page 5

06 December 1870 – Sheffield Independent – Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England