Fadó, pronounced f’doe, is an Irish expression meaning “long ago” or “in years past.” The term was commonly recited as an introduction to old Irish stories related by a Seanchaidh (shana-'kee), a Gaelic word meaning a teller of tales, an antiquarian, or historian. A Seanchaidh was regarded as an important and highly revered member in Irish society.
It is by this unique story-telling device that author Kevin O’Donnell chronicles the confluence of two distinct cultures: one in Ireland, the other in the American heartland. The stories reach back to 1835 Ireland, while providing an historical account of Mundelein, Illinois, his boyhood village, during the same period. The narrative relates their simultaneous development, their unique ties, and the subsequent events that resulted from their confluence in 1959 when his family moved to the small, mid-west town which O’Donnell describes as: “so far on the outskirts of Chicago, it wasn’t even considered a suburb…too small to be called modest and too blue-collar to be called middle-class.” Resonating throughout each chapter is the underlining story of a son eager to please his father and prove his worth. Each chapter is a succession of journeys the author takes to appease, understand, and eventually escape from under his father’s shadow.
O’Donnell captures the essence of the unique Irish culture of his ancestors on the remote and desperately poor island of Arranmore in County Donegal – “a place,” the author notes, “where pagan superstitions can still be found and traditions begun by medieval kings have survived the centuries.”
“Where the old, roaring ocean, dashing its proud waves, embraces in its broad arms this trembling green gem, while the spray continually sprinkles its salt tears upon its once fair cheek, as if weeping over a desolation that it could not repair.”
Fadó, page 35
The intensely researched accounts of Irish Penal Laws, Famine, and every day island life during the 18 th, 19 th, and early 20 th century, provide vivid accounts of the hardship that were at the root of his family’s survival and the world into which the author’s father was born.
Simultaneously explored are the events of a fledgling settlement on the blue-stem prairie of northern Illinois. The transformation of the dairy-farming village to one of the world’s greatest seats of Catholic learning is meticulously traced as the town evolves. This is the author’s hometown, Mundelein. O’Donnell cleverly ties historical events, both big and small, in the context of family experience and personal insight, comparing life on the prairie to that on Arranmore Island, while offering a generous slice of 1960’s and 1970’s Americana. His tales move effortlessly from innocent, to heartbreaking, to disturbing, to tragic.
The author relates insightful stories from his early life and his journey into adulthood and acknowledges several of the village’s first settlers and we later discover how the lives of their descendants and the author become intertwined.
Each tale reveals the impact and influence of his small town upbringing and reflects his deep-seated interest in his heritage, his passion for history, his “addiction” to music, and the extent of the heavy-hand of the Catholic Church. Resonating throughout is the story of a boy trying to please and understand his father. These become central elements in O’Donnells life and come full-circle, with the author’s final, loving tribute to his immigrant father . The book concludes with several references and links to events that occur in earlier chapters and the in author’s life, and where previous, unresolved stories are distilled to the true meaning of Fadó.