Limavady, east of Eden? US Consul General plants tree to mark John Steinbeck’s Ulster links for America's 250th celebrations
A tree has been planted to mark US author John Steinbeck’s Ulster links, honouring his country’s 250th year – though in this case it’s less ‘East Of Eden’, and more west of Coleraine.
Now in place on Limavady’s Main Street, the oak tree was planted by the US Consul General in Belfast, James Applegate, and is dedicated to the many who left the area to emigrate to America.
That includes Steinbeck’s grandfather, Presbyterian farmer Samuel Hamilton, who was from Ballykelly – a small village three miles away from Limavady.
The connection has created an annual festival dedicated to the literary giant who penned ‘The Grapes Of Wrath’ and ‘Of Mice And Men’, some of the best known titles of 20th century fiction.
Indeed, it was the Limavady Steinbeck Festival’s committee that invited Mr Applegate to the Co Londonderry town to celebrate the shared links between Ulster and the US.
With this year marking 250 years since the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence, the committee was keen to honour Limavady’s transatlantic story and the Ulster Scots roots of a Nobel Prize-winning author.
Steinbeck’s mother was from the Co Londonderry Hamilton side of the family, while his father was of German and English descent. But he certainly seemed far more interested in his Ulster lineage, making a pilgrimage to the old country in the early 1950s, when he was already acclaimed as one of the greatest American novelists.
In 1953, Collier’s Magazine published an account of his journey, in which Steinbeck stated: “Every Irishman – and that means anyone with one drop of Irish blood – sooner or later makes a pilgrimage to the home of his ancestors.”
In that piece, the author described himself as “half Irish, the rest of my blood being watered down with German and Massachusetts English”. He added: “But Irish blood doesn't water down very well; the strain must be very strong.”
The author credited the Ulster side of his family for the stories, creativity and passion that drove his literary imagination – though he was guilty of a little myth-making. “Only kings and heroes came from this Holy Island,” he wrote, “and at the very top of the glittering pyramid was our family, the Hamiltons.”
He also hymned his grandfather as “a great man, a man of sweet speech and sweet courtesy”, adding: “He died when I was quite young, but it is remarkable how much I remember about him.”
In addition to the tree-planting ceremony, the consul was taken on a tour to see Samuel Hamilton’s name written in the original birth register of Ballykelly Presbyterian Church.
The tour also took in the Hamilton family grave in rural Tamlaghtfinlagan Parish Church, as well as a visit to the former site of the family’s house and farm.
The consul was joined by the Deputy Lieutenant of County Londonderry, celebrity chef Paula McIntyre – host of the BBC’s ‘Hamely Kitchen’ show, which sees her explore the culinary delights of her Ulster Scots heritage and highlight some of the best produce Northern Ireland has to offer.