Free Irish Secrets by Paula Martin Page A

yours."
    Kara waited a couple of seconds until the car reappeared around the bend in the driveway leading up to the house. "Yes, this is him." She grabbed her shoulder bag from the chair, and pulled up the hood of her waterproof jacket. "See you later, Liz."
    She sprinted across the hallway to the front door, and waited until Ryan stopped the car near the house and leant over to open the door for her.
    "Thanks," she said, as she slid into the passenger seat, pushed back her hood, and wiped the rain from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm so glad I didn't suggest meeting in Clifden. I'd be drenched before I even got to the gate."
    "Aye, it's lashing down today all right."
    "And windy, too."
    "We call it a bit o' a breeze here."
    "And what do you call a force ten gale?"
    "A fierce breeze."
    She laughed. "Okay, I'll remember that."
    When they reached Clifden, he drove through the town to the N59, and she looked at him. "Where are we going?"
    " Lough View . It overlooks Skelleen Lough, and in good weather there's a grand view across the water. Not that we'll be able to see much today, but I don't think you'll mind too much, because I have some interesting news for you."
    Kara caught her breath. "You've seen the certificates?"
    "I have, and it seems Declan may have found your mother. Mary O'Brien was born at Ballykane on April 2nd, 1959."

 
    Chapter 7
    Kara stared open-mouthed at Ryan. "You're kidding me!"
    "Not at all. Declan sent me the certificates last night, and I had a quick look at them. Mary O'Brien's birthdate is the right one, isn't it?"
    "Yes, but somehow I didn't expect—" She blew out her cheeks as she tried to collect her thoughts. "To be honest, I think I'd convinced myself that none of the dates would match, perhaps because the nuns didn't register her birth or she wasn't registered in Ballykane, or for some other reason, but this is awesome. Can you remember anything else on the certificate?"
    "I've brought my tablet so I can show you when we get to the restaurant, but yes, the mother's name is Bernadette O'Brien, father's name and occupation listed as unknown, and the informant was the Reverend Mother."
    Kara pressed her hand to her stomach as the implication of Ryan's words sank in. "Does that mean she didn't know who the father was?"
    "Not necessarily. She could have refused to name him for a variety of reasons."
    "Such as?"
    "He may have been a relative – a cousin or uncle or even a brother – or he was married, or she was reluctant to bring shame on him or his family for fathering a child outside of marriage."
    "She could also have been a prostitute, of course. That's a fraught topic in itself, but two other questions are going around in my mind. Is there any way of finding out if Mary O'Brien was adopted? And how do I even start to discover what happened to Bernadette?"
    "O'Brien is a very common name in County Galway but there are O'Briens all over Ireland, so Bernadette's family could have come from anywhere."
    "Josie said the Ballykane home took in girls from Galway and Clare, as well as Tipperary."
    "Is that right? So maybe we concentrate on the O'Brien families in those counties."
    Kara tried not to show any reaction to the way he said we , despite the spark of pleasure that ignited her nerve endings. "It would be easier if she had a more unusual first name and surname, of course."
    "You're right, but Declan's given me a couple of websites, and he said he'll have a search for her, too."
    "Is family history his hobby, or is he a professional genealogist?"
    "He does a lot of research as part of his job, so he knows the best places to find information. Anyway, here we are. I'll let you out here so you don't get too wet, and then I'll find a space to park."
    He pulled up near the door, and Kara ran into the lobby. Ryan joined her a few minutes later, shaking the rain from his hair and pushing it back with his hand. "It's a wonder we don't turn rusty with all the rain here."
    "But without it,