In a new project, photographer Ruth Mejivar is asking the public to share their amazing stories. This week she meets MJ O’Brien, who moved to America from Dublin in the 1960s with his biracial sons.
MJ O’Brien photographed by Ruth Medjivar for the series “Sin Scéal Eile”.
MJ O’Brien photographed by Ruth Medjivar for the series “Sin Scéal Eile”
I met MJ O’Brien at her home in Dublin city centre. Her backyard is a canal dock, creating a stunning view. She’s funny, charming, and flirting with my sound engineer/partner who is recording a podcast interview today.
MJ is the kind of woman who has always broken down social divides with love and laughter. Like when she first met her lifelong friend Anne when she started studying nursing in Essex. “She’s from the north side of Dublin and every time I opened my mouth she always said to everyone, ‘Don’t worry about her. She’s from Northumberland Road.’ And I told people, ‘Don’t listen to her.’ She’s a commoner. She’s from the north side. ”We still joke about it and she still calls me the ‘Dublin 4’. ”
MJ’s tells me about her life, with some heartbreaking ups and downs, but what struck me most was the difference between her life and the obstacles she faced in 1960s Ireland and today’s society.
News in 90 seconds Friday, January 23rd
“I got into a little trouble,” MJ began, laughing a little. It was like I could tell there was a man involved. She told how her nursing college in England was located near a U.S. military base and was bussing in soldiers for dances. MJ waited all night for “a woman’s choice” and described herself as a bit of a plain Jane who was constantly being watched.
She met Al at the dance and fell in love with him. “Since I was 17, I thought he was the second coming. He was lovely, and of course he had a different hue.”
MJ O’Brien photographed by Ruth Medjivar for the series “Sin Scéal Eile”
As we look around MJ’s apartment, family photos come into focus and the smiling faces of different skin tones begin to make perfect sense.
MJ and Al had two sons, but having mixed heritage wasn’t easy in the 1960s. MJ’s parents (both highly educated and respected doctors) were supportive, and MJ had great love for them and his siblings. However, she made the difficult decision to leave Ireland and immigrate to America with her two young children.
She felt it was a less scandalous option for the family and less pressure on the mother, who was trying to convince neighbors that the children were half-Spanish.
Unfortunately, Al passed away from this world, leaving MJ to raise their two sons on her own. She worked hard all her life and lived all over the United States from New Jersey to New Mexico.
Now that her children are grown, she has returned to Ireland to reunite with her siblings and friends.
This has not been an easy journey. Although she has faced all kinds of hardships, losses, and injustices, MJ feels it is important to forgive those who have wronged her or inadvertently hurt her. However, it is most important to forgive yourself. She says this is something she didn’t learn until later in life.