Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?: the bestselling memoir
- Downloads：7956
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-10 14:16:32
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Séamas O'Reilly
- ISBN：0708899234
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A heart-warming and hilarious family memoir of growing up as one of eleven children raised by a single dad in Northern Ireland at the end of the Troubles
After the untimely death of his mother， five-year-old Séamas O'Reilly and his ten siblings were left to the care of their loving but understandably beleaguered father。 In this thoroughly delightful memoir， we follow O'Reilly and the rest of his rowdy clan as they learn to cook， clean， do the laundry， and struggle （often hilariously） to keep the household running smoothly and turn into adults in the absence of the woman who had held them together。 Along the way， we see O'Reilly through various adventures: There's the time the family's windows were blown out by an IRA bomb; the time a priest blessed their thirteen-seater caravan before they took off for a holiday on which they narrowly escaped death; the time O'Reilly worked as a guide in a leprechaun museum during the recession; and of course， the time he inadvertently found himself on ketamine while serving drinks to the president of Ireland。
Through it all， the lovable， ginger-haired O'Reilly regales us with his combination of wit， absurdity， and tenderness， creating a charming and unforgettable portrait of an oddly gigantic family's search for some semblance of normalcy。
After the untimely death of his mother， five-year-old Séamas O'Reilly and his ten siblings were left to the care of their loving but understandably beleaguered father。 In this thoroughly delightful memoir， we follow O'Reilly and the rest of his rowdy clan as they learn to cook， clean， do the laundry， and struggle （often hilariously） to keep the household running smoothly and turn into adults in the absence of the woman who had held them together。 Along the way， we see O'Reilly through various adventures: There's the time the family's windows were blown out by an IRA bomb; the time a priest blessed their thirteen-seater caravan before they took off for a holiday on which they narrowly escaped death; the time O'Reilly worked as a guide in a leprechaun museum during the recession; and of course， the time he inadvertently found himself on ketamine while serving drinks to the president of Ireland。
Through it all， the lovable， ginger-haired O'Reilly regales us with his combination of wit， absurdity， and tenderness， creating a charming and unforgettable portrait of an oddly gigantic family's search for some semblance of normalcy。
Reviews
Pernille
，
Such a funny， heartwarming and well written memoir。 Loved it！
Claudia
，
This was a DNF for me。 You know when you keep walking by the book and thinking "I should read some more" and then you think， "nah， not now" It was like that for me。 It has its charm and a good author voice， but I was bored。 The topic of Mammy dying and childhood memories/losing memories， other people's memories is the whole focus。 More than enough。 This was a DNF for me。 You know when you keep walking by the book and thinking "I should read some more" and then you think， "nah， not now" It was like that for me。 It has its charm and a good author voice， but I was bored。 The topic of Mammy dying and childhood memories/losing memories， other people's memories is the whole focus。 More than enough。 。。。more
Deb
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Funny and poignant memoir about the author’s father and family （of 11 children） after his mothers death when he was 5。
Joseph
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Tedious and boring。 I had to force myself to continue to the end。 The Irish humor can’t hide that he basically has nothing to say。
Heather Dreier
，
Beautifully written。 At times I was lost due to not understanding fully the Northern Ireland culture。 But I used it as a educational opportunity。
Stefani
，
Audiobook highly recommended。
Barb
，
A fun， funny， sad， poignant， hilarious memoir from a child's perspective。 The beginning is Seamas response to his mother's death。 The majority of the book is a tribute to his father's idiosyncrasies and how he managed to raise 11 children ages 3-17 determined they would thrive。 A fun， funny， sad， poignant， hilarious memoir from a child's perspective。 The beginning is Seamas response to his mother's death。 The majority of the book is a tribute to his father's idiosyncrasies and how he managed to raise 11 children ages 3-17 determined they would thrive。 。。。more
Amanda Moebus
，
god I loved this book so much
Anne Shea-Lewis
，
I really enjoyed this book。 He captures what it's like to be from such a large family as well as the essence of grief from the perspective of a child into adulthood。 I really enjoyed this book。 He captures what it's like to be from such a large family as well as the essence of grief from the perspective of a child into adulthood。 。。。more
Sheri S。
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3。5 ⭐ - O'Reilly was five years old when his mother died。 A wonderful mother of eleven children， her presence in the family was sorely missed。 O'Reilly's father did his very best to raise the children in their North Ireland home。 Séamus is the ninth child and shares his experiences in his large family。 3。5 ⭐ - O'Reilly was five years old when his mother died。 A wonderful mother of eleven children， her presence in the family was sorely missed。 O'Reilly's father did his very best to raise the children in their North Ireland home。 Séamus is the ninth child and shares his experiences in his large family。 。。。more
Barbara
，
Debated as to whether this was a 4 or 5 ⭐， but the writing was so authentic， I had to go with 5。
Mark McCaughey
，
I knew the Ireland he was talking about。 Nostalgia can be lovely。There are some really funny anecdotes in this book。 These made me laugh very loudly。 There are also some very touching moments between him and his father。 These made me emotional。Really enjoyable read。
Lana
，
A nice memoir about a dedicated， Irish father and his huge brood of children。
stella shaughnessy
，
wow wow wow this book was just so immensely heartwarming。 absolutely recommend
J。J。 Murphy
，
Very entertaining， especially if you like exaggerated Irish anecdotes and gallows humor。
Brooke
，
I’ve said it a million times， I’m a sucker for memoirs and this one was both funny and poignant。
Kerry
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A very funny gift of a book。 Hilarious Irish yarn
Barbara
，
The summary of this book - the author's mother dies of breast cancer at 40 leaving behind her husband and 11 children。 Oh， and this happens in Derry， Ireland - so it sounds very Angela's Ashes。 But it isn't。 Seamas O'Reilly was the 10th of this group of siblings left motherless。 But their dad Joe O'Reilly sees them all through to adulthood。 The writing is very humorous although it can't help but be sad at times。 For me， a big fan of Derry Girls， it was interesting to get another viewpoint of Nor The summary of this book - the author's mother dies of breast cancer at 40 leaving behind her husband and 11 children。 Oh， and this happens in Derry， Ireland - so it sounds very Angela's Ashes。 But it isn't。 Seamas O'Reilly was the 10th of this group of siblings left motherless。 But their dad Joe O'Reilly sees them all through to adulthood。 The writing is very humorous although it can't help but be sad at times。 For me， a big fan of Derry Girls， it was interesting to get another viewpoint of Northern Ireland and Derry during the times of "The Troubles。" 。。。more
Jennifer Ollom
，
Very funny and sweet。 Took me a bit to read it （it's overdue。。whoops） but worth the read Very funny and sweet。 Took me a bit to read it （it's overdue。。whoops） but worth the read 。。。more
Ann
，
Some of this book was just brilliant and I am sure the author used humor to deal with his overwhelming grief。 When his mother died at the age of 5， all dressed up in his new trousers， he smiled at all the mourners and said， "Did ye hear mammy died？" A few years later he ended up ill with insomnia at the age of 7。 He spent pages on someone he made on the bus but gave very little information on his 10 siblings。 I think it was hard for him to deal with his mother's untimely death and his dad's diab Some of this book was just brilliant and I am sure the author used humor to deal with his overwhelming grief。 When his mother died at the age of 5， all dressed up in his new trousers， he smiled at all the mourners and said， "Did ye hear mammy died？" A few years later he ended up ill with insomnia at the age of 7。 He spent pages on someone he made on the bus but gave very little information on his 10 siblings。 I think it was hard for him to deal with his mother's untimely death and his dad's diabetes so he just told funny stories。 。。。more
Amy
，
Not a particularly long read， this is a great read anyway。 The author brings humor to an otherwise sad， life-changing event （the death of his mother）， and while doing so， not only remembers her but also celebrates his father， who dealt with the death of his beloved while raising 11 kids！
Maureen
，
In this book， the author reflects on growing up in a large family who suffers the loss of their young mother。 It is a wittily written book which describes a loving， supportive family and also offers many colorful descriptions of the natural beauty of Ireland and the characteristics of its inhabitants。 The book is a nice tribute to the author's parents。 In this book， the author reflects on growing up in a large family who suffers the loss of their young mother。 It is a wittily written book which describes a loving， supportive family and also offers many colorful descriptions of the natural beauty of Ireland and the characteristics of its inhabitants。 The book is a nice tribute to the author's parents。 。。。more
Laura
，
Very funny， wonderfully written， and a beautiful tribute to the author's family and parents。 Very funny， wonderfully written， and a beautiful tribute to the author's family and parents。 。。。more
Laurie
，
Despite the grim material （see title！）， this was a marvelous book。 Hilarious and touching， with a sprinkle of history about the Irish republican conflict， the narrative leads you like an old Derry Granny， chatting you up in the street。 I listened to the audio version， read by the author， and his soft lilting matter-of-fact Irish accent adds to the overall warmth of the book， although sometimes he was so soft I missed the punchline。 Still， this was an utter delight and I'm tempted to buy the book Despite the grim material （see title！）， this was a marvelous book。 Hilarious and touching， with a sprinkle of history about the Irish republican conflict， the narrative leads you like an old Derry Granny， chatting you up in the street。 I listened to the audio version， read by the author， and his soft lilting matter-of-fact Irish accent adds to the overall warmth of the book， although sometimes he was so soft I missed the punchline。 Still， this was an utter delight and I'm tempted to buy the book in print， just to be able to reread it at my leisure。 And Seamas O'Reilly is a brilliant new talent; the world is put on notice。 I can't wait to read whatever he writes next！ 。。。more
Lesley Halliday
，
Dear god， somebody needs to stop telling People Who Are Funny on Twitter that they should write a memoir。 More a series of newspaper articles than a memoir。 The odd funny phrase but shamelessly self-indulgent & clichéd
Jenna
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I absolutely LOVED this funny and unique story about this unusually large and lovely family。 It’s not necessarily uncommon for an Irish Catholic family to have 11 children BUT it is very different for those 11 children to be raised by a widower father。 When your mode of transportation is a mini school bus whenever you needed to travel together， you know you aren’t like the neighbors next door。 A sweet and laugh out loud memoir despite what the title implies。 I have been recommending this to ever I absolutely LOVED this funny and unique story about this unusually large and lovely family。 It’s not necessarily uncommon for an Irish Catholic family to have 11 children BUT it is very different for those 11 children to be raised by a widower father。 When your mode of transportation is a mini school bus whenever you needed to travel together， you know you aren’t like the neighbors next door。 A sweet and laugh out loud memoir despite what the title implies。 I have been recommending this to everyone and anyone！ 。。。more
Kris Eggert
，
The audio book as read by the author。 Lyrical。 Funny。 Touching。 And enough — just the right length。
Mary
，
Very enjoyable read。 Interesting not only for the author's situation growing up （one of the youngest in a family of eleven children being raised by a single father after his mother dies of cancer） but for the description of daily rural life on the border of Northern Ireland toward the end of the Troubles。 I don't remember how I heard about this book but I did first listen to a discussion with the author on the podcast "Grief Cast" （episode 157） which I also highly recommend。 Very enjoyable read。 Interesting not only for the author's situation growing up （one of the youngest in a family of eleven children being raised by a single father after his mother dies of cancer） but for the description of daily rural life on the border of Northern Ireland toward the end of the Troubles。 I don't remember how I heard about this book but I did first listen to a discussion with the author on the podcast "Grief Cast" （episode 157） which I also highly recommend。 。。。more
Aine Hawthorne
，
I enjoyed this book in audiobook form。 I was expecting a bit more humor， but was not disappointed with the introspection that the author sprinkled throughout the book， all starting and in a way ending with the death of his much-beloved mother when he was too young to have more then a handful of memories of her。
David McGinn
，