Judas in Kilkenny

Susan McKnight is an administrator of the Courts Technology Integrated Justice Project at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

Theresa Lennon Blunt was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1931. She moved
to Brighton, England, in 1951 and later immigrated to Canada with her
husband. Judas in Kilkenny is a coming-of-age story about her life in
Kilkenny during the 1940s. It is a story of poverty, despair,
disappointment, and heartache intertwined with a few happy memories,
told in a quasi-diary style. As Blunt describes one memory, another is
triggered in what seems to be an attempt to find meaning for the trials
and tribulations suffered by her family.

One notable person in her life was her alcoholic mother. The sad
passage of her mother from a hardworking domestic to an angry lost soul
is painfully described through the eyes of the young daughter. The shame
attached to this type of behavior permeated the entire family and it
comes through the narrative with blinding clarity. On the other hand,
the description of her father changes as she watches his reactions to
her mother’s decline. He originally came from a family of respectable
means; however, his gentle love and carefree nature were no match for
his headstrong wife. The overwhelming love Blunt felt for him in the
beginning seems to have been replaced with pity and disappointment. Then
there’s Mr. Dempsey, an old man living in the neighborhood, who told
stories and imparted wisdom to those who wanted to listen. He was a
gentle soul who seemed to have quite an effect on young Theresa. Through
her friendship with him, she was exposed to the virtues of forgiveness
and compassion.

Although this book may remind readers of Frank McCourt’s Angela’s
Ashes, Blunt does not seem to see the beauty and love in her life that
McCourt saw in his. Judas in Kilkenny is a sad story. Blunt’s
descriptions of Kilkenny and the surrounding landscapes, however, are
beautiful and take the edge off the despair that flows through the
narrative.