While growing up on an Irish farm I took for granted the odd names given to fields. Like many Irish I didn’t bother to delve into the history of these fields. On our farm we had the The Far Field, Micks Him Bog, Farrely’s Bog, and Faffy’s Meadow. Just as in Minnesota certain areas are called bottoms, many meadow in Ireland were also called bottoms.
Bordering our farm was a large Anglo-Irish demesne owned by the Johnson family. The land had been given to the Protestant families around the time of Cromwell, having been seized from the Irish peasant. How many times did I hear men in our house say, “How I wish that we could have such grazing fields.”
About ten years ago, my brothers wish came true. Mrs. Johson, who was a very lonely eccentric Protestan lady died at the age of ninety, leaving no heirs. Consequently, her farm was divided and auctioned off in sections. My brother made the highest bid and became the proud owner of a field known not just as Johnson Bottom, but as Mrs. Johnson’s Bottom.
Following are the excerpts from a letter written around the time of this transaction.
Dear Enda,
Hope you are well as leaves myself and Eamonn. This was a bad year for the hay, but we have high hopes for next year. Guess what! Mrs. Johnson’s farm was auctioned off today and what do you think but Eamonn bought Mrs. Johnson’s bottom. As you will remember, this was a huge area with lovely long grass. Cattle fared very well eating off this bottom. Next week Eamonn plans on taking our cattle over there and letting them run all over it.
Eamonn paid $200 for the bottom. Most people think he got a real bargain. As you know, he has been eyeing this bottom for years.
Mike Dolan and John Smith have been very cool to us lately. I am sure that they would like to have gotten that bottom! At any rate, Eamonn knows a good bargain and plans on making a profit from that bottom. It will be great for the grazing cattle. We just hope that it won’t become flood next spring when the street rises. Wouldn’t you know the Protestants took good care of that, by putting good drainage systems in the bottom, so everything should be o.k.
I will look forward to seeing you next June. Make sure that you take your Wellingtons, so that you can see the bottom. Sometimes it gets wet in June. There is still a lot of wildlife in Mrs. Johnson’s bottom like foxes and rabbits. You might even hear the cuckoo or corncrake which always hide in the bottom.
We miss Mrs. Johnson and are sorry to see the land and house gone. We always got along so well, even when Protestants and Catholics all over the country were fighting. I am sure that Mrs. Johnson would be happy to know that Eamonn is taking good care of her bottom.
In the meantime, we are off to the solicitor’s office so that Eamonn can sign the papers and take over Mrs. Johnson’s Bottom.
Love,
Mom
Mrs. Johnson’s Bottom
by: Enda Fitzmaurice