was born November 2, 1890 in Owenduff Village, Achill Island, Ireland. Achill Island is a mountainous, triangular shaped island that sits off the coast of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean.
Thomas was the oldest of six children born to Hugh and Mary Gallagher Corrigan. His family experienced first hand the famine of 1845 thru 1850 as did much of this western region. The country had been conquered several times. The land confiscated and redistributed over and over. The population was on the verge of extinction. Food grown in Ireland was being exported during the famine years, wheat, barley, oats and oatmeal while people were dying of starvation. A ship sailing into an Irish port with a cargo of grain was met by six ships sailing out with similar cargo. To add to the Irish desperation a recession in 1879 meant no one would be hiring Irish workers.
The subjugation of Ireland began with the invasion by England in 1169. The Norman Conquest, 1169-1485, then the Tudor-Stuart Conquest 1485-1610. As in any conquest the Irish were dragged from there homes, evicted from their land. Many escaped to Connaught, the upper northwest section of Ireland. This part of Ireland was the last part to be subjected to English rule. Achill Island is in Connaught. The area is mountainous with lakes, rivers, and islands. It was hard to get to and harder live on. Thus Oliver Cromwell's famous declaration "To hell or Connacht."
Grandpa left home at age thirteen. He was sent out to bring money back to the family. All families on Achill exported their children so they could pay for their land. Usually they were hired as migrant workers, potato pickers or Tattie Paddies, as they were called. At one point before the famine of 1845 there were over 8000 people living on Achill, today less than 2000. Much of the loss of people was due to starvation and emigration.
The Golden West as it is called is the most Irish part of Ireland. In this area there are people who's ancestral links to the Firbolgs, a tribal people who swept across Europe and Ireland three to five thousand years ago. Gaelic was spoken in grandpa's house but English was learned.