Mary Barry was born one hundred years ago on July 8, 1916. Mary’s father was a British Marine and her mother nurtured the home and took care of 9 children. She was born in Galway Ireland. She lived some of her childhood years in Limerick, Ireland and also in Doon, Ireland with her grandmother. Mary’s grandmother, Bridget, was a strong woman with a spirit of determination and survival. Bridget was a survivor of “The Great Famine” which was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration in Ireland. Not only did Bridget survive this horrible famine that has been identified as the worst to occur in Europe in the 19th century but she also fed homeless beggars and those without food.
Mary Barry
Mary’s memory is good. Her recollection of her time lived in Doon, Ireland is mostly about the British rule. She often tells stories about how soldiers would loot and steal from a family store beneath her home. Mary was frightened by the soldiers and their behavior. Mary was educated at e Sisters of Mercy School. Mary learned to speak 4 languages. Today she can fluently speak Irish Gaelic, English, French and Latin. She also mastered typing and book-keeping. Mary became a waitress at a family owned hotel named Glensview Hotel in Lisdoon Varna, Ireland. Mary enjoyed working as a retail associate. She worked two different spectrums of retail; Woolworth’s the affordable store and later at Harrod’s, the expensive luxury store in London.
While living in London, Mary met and married her husband Jim Barry. As a couple Mary and Jim lived through World War II. Mary remembers going into labor with her first child and being transported by ambulance with bombs being dropped all around her during the drive. The roads were closed due to the bombings. She also remembers her prayers to God to be kept safe. On one particular night of severe bombing in which she and her husband could not get to shelter, Mary asked her husband: “Do you think we will be alive in the morning?” Her husband responded: “Probably not”. Mary recalls saying what she thought would be their last prayer together. Mary and Jim survived the war, had a family of 5 children and traveled to the United States in 1963. Mary worked for what is now a major famous publishing company, Simon & Schuster, and excelled to a supervisor position which warranted her use of the first built computers in the 1970’s. Simon & Schuster has its main headquarters in New York City in Rockefeller Center. Mary and Jim later moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Where Jim passed away and Mary lived with her adult daughter Bridget. In 2012 her daughter Bridget passed away and Mary moved to Colorado to live with her son Kevin. She now resides at Rose of Sharon Assisted Living, Littleton.