Teddy: A True Story
by Ursula Boylan O Gara
(donalogara@eircom.net)
Synopsis
It was 1880 when the infant son of Lord Edward Kirkpatrick Moreland was given up for adoption to my great-grandmother in a Dublin hospital, when he was one week old. Because of a family feud, between Lord Edward's father and the father of the child's mother (which began in India during the 2nd Sikh War), there was no possibility the couple could marry. Ellen Breen Kelly had a newborn son, also one week old, when she accepted baby Edward into her family. As the boys grew strong, William and Teddy were known as "The Kelly Twins". Ellen never divulged the circumstances of Teddy's birth to anyone outside her closest family; with one exception - her midwife! Twenty years later, the truth leaked out and that is the kernel of the story! Ellen reared eight fine children - four boys and four girls. Helpful and polite, each child seemed to wear a perpetual smile. Unbeknownst to their family, Patrick and Ellen Kelly kept hidden for over twenty years, a secret that would soon erupt and turn this respectable family to turmoil. It was almost 1901 when the realization of it all began to unfold. The sons and daughters of this close family had to deal with a revelation they previously knew nothing about; concerning their beloved brother Teddy.
Patrick Kelly, who would have been a giant of strength at a time like this, sadly died some years earlier. Having to bear the brunt of this shocking news, Teddy was suddenly afraid. He was terrified for the first time in his young life. The very mention of the unspeakable word - illegitimacy, now stared him in the face, leaving him hurt, lonely and isolated.
Ursula Boylan O’Gara – Author: Teddy: A True Story
What a fascinating story! It has all the makings of a grand tale - romance, sacrifice, a bitter feud, deep family secrets and a soldier's life in the Great War.
It strikes me as a story that should be told.
John Ward - Canadian Journalist, Ottawa.
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Review on Amazon.co.uk
Teddy – A True Story - The Review, 13 Nov 2008
Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery. But buying the film rights must run it a close second. `Teddy's' author, Ursula Boylan O'Gara, had written nice things about one of my books. I therefore read `Teddy' with some trepidation. Were I to write nice things about her book, would it not smack simply of mutual back-scratching? Suffice it to say, I finished reading it...and bought the film rights - Gregory Dark
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