I Would Be..

    My entire life I have been led to assume that the majority of my relatives have always lived in Canada, but I recently gained knowledge on my family name that started all the way back to Ireland in the 1800s. My mother’s parents were both born in Canada, but by sitting down and talking to my grandfather, I discovered a lot about my family that I never knew, including the access I was give to a physical copy of our full family tree, created by my great uncle Mervin, when he took a great passion in digging up our family's roots. I discovered that if I had been born in Ireland, my life would be much different that it is growing up in Canada, much of it seeming very unideal compared to the life I live right now.

    Through interviewing my grandfather, Barry McBride, as early as 1835, my great, great, great grandparents William McBride and Nancy Rogers immigrated from Ireland to Rochester New York via Ferry boat. Their exact location in Ireland, and the boat they traveled on is unknown, but the reason for their immigration was the shortage of food they were suffering from at the time, mainly potatoes, living in Ireland. Canada was still a British Colony at the time, and after docking in New York, they were given land by the Crown, located in what is now East Garafraxa, Ontario. The McBride’s were, and still are farmers. The home that they built on the land is what my grandfather described as “The original McBride homestead” (McBride 2017). It was located off of Orangeville Fergus road, west of East Garafraxa Townline. It was called the McBride homestead, because three generations of McBride’s lived in that home. When my grandfather’s great grandparents Joseph McBride and Maryellen Byers married, they lived in my original home and had a family of thirteen, then two years later moved to a new farm located on the 13th line of Garafraxa, which ended up being the same home my grandfather grew up in with his parents Delbert McBride and Marjorie Irvin, and his siblings Ruth, Mervin, and Wallace. One thing that I found was especially interesting, was that my grandfather is the last McBride farmer in the family. My grandfather was very generous to provide me a picture of the home where many generations of McBride’s grew up, including himself. He also let me borrow the family tree, which is way too long to attach, so I took pictures of it, and of where I am located on the tree.

    By lots of research, I discovered that if I had grown up in Ireland, my life would be significantly different. Religion (Christianity) is taken very seriously in Ireland, and instead of my free, expressive way of living, I would be much more sheltered and directed. Instead of attending Public school, I would be in private school, wearing uniforms, saying prayers, and playing sports like Gaelic football, and hurling. If I worked a part time job, I would be making 72 Euros a week, which averages to 100.40 Canadian dollars, similar to what I make now, but slightly less. I also learned that many Irish teenagers are obese, due the high calorie meals like pasta, and fish that are consumed in their daily diet. If Ireland were my home, the negative things I would experience are that there is a 90.14% chance more likely to be unemployed, I would have 6.01% less free time, I would be making 4.18% less money, I would experience 5.61% more of a class divide, and according to statistics, I would die 1.11 years sooner. Some positive things I would experience if I were to be living in Ireland right now are, I would use 62.37% less electricity, consume 54.01% less oil, spend 35.4% less on health care, be 31.36% less likely to go to prison, be 21.43% less likely to be assaulted or murdered, and be 33.33% less likely to have HIV/AIDS.

In esscence, through my own research, and the help of my family members, I have discovered that if I was a teenager living in Ireland, the way I live my life would be a lot more strict, but also more economically sustainable, and I would be living my life in a country with a lower crime rate, and free healthcare. I would be in a private school working extra hard for my education, I would be receiving less and spending more money for it, and going to church weekly as a Roman Catholic. I am thankful that my great, great, great grandparents made the decision to move to Canada, because I enjoy the life I live now, and all the freedom I am granted with making my own decisions, having my own opinions, going to a public high school, and feeling safe, and confident in doing all of that.

Works Cited

If Ireland Were My Home. www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/CA/IE.

“Irelland as a Teenager.” Canadian Life, www.thejournal.ie/teenager-ireland-study-3060054-Nov2016/.

McBride, Barry. Interview. 14 Jan. 2017.

---. Interview. 14 Jan. 2017.

McBride, Mervin. McBride Family Tree. Raw data.

---. McBride Family Tree. Raw data.

Original McBride House. 1860.

Pinterest Ireland Private School Girls, www.bing.com/images/search?q=ireland+private+school+students&view=detailv2&&id=1A93B1D4E2E0F3BB1C4D710FEB78B993B6020E0D&selectedIndex=2&ccid=pdzZiLoq&simid=608008108734089556&thid=OIP.Ma5dcd988ba2a59456b77cc672e380fcfo0&ajaxhist=0.