Private Patrick Downey - A History Lost and Rediscovered

The war that took Patrick's life also left his wife destitute and unable to care for her daughters. The temporary solution of parting with them to the care of someone else ultimately became a permanent break in the family; causing a fissure so deep that my mother and aunt rarely spoke of it and never knew their extended family. After my mother died, I began to look into her family tree. This is what I now know about my grandfather Patrick.