A.J. Cronin

The Man Who Created Dr Finlay

By Alan Davies

Alma Books Ltd

Copyright © 2011 Alan Davies
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-84688-112-1
CHAPTER 1

It is necessary to go back to the generation of Cronin’s great-grandparents to understand the man himself, as well as to appreciate the meaning of certain key references in some of his books and unravel many of the claims made about his life and personality. In the early- to mid-nineteenth century, the main characters in the Cronin story were drawn to western Scotland from a wide area of the British Isles – County Armagh in Ireland, Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed in England – eventually converging on Glasgow, where the skilled and industrious could always find work. As a result, Cronin’s genetic make-up was half Irish, three-eighths Scottish and one-eighth English.

On the paternal side, his grandfather Owen and his grandmother Bridget (née McShane), both staunch Catholics and founders of the Scottish dynasty – if that is not too grand a term – were born in Ireland in about 1826 and 1832 respectively. Owen Cronin’s origins have not been verified, since his parents never left Ireland. However, his wife’s parents – McShane and Smith – are known to have hailed from Annaghmore in County Armagh. It is not known if Owen was from the same region, nor if he and Bridget McShane knew each other before emigrating to Scotland. Owen’s surname, however, when he arrived in Scotland in about 1850, was Cronague, changed to Cronin in 1870. He married Bridget McShane in Eastwood, Renfrewshire, in January 1851.

Their first child, James, was born in Glasgow in about 1854, and sometime after that date, but before 1861, the Cronagues set up business in Alexandria, north of Dumbarton. Initially hawkers – another name for rag-and-bone men – they were later described as “glass and china merchants” as they became more sophisticated and affluent. In that area they raised a further eight children, and in 1881 the entire family comprised:

James 25 years Clerk, later Publican
Mary 23 years Dressmaker
Ann 19 years Yarn Picker
Joseph 18 years Cabinet Maker
Thomas 16 years Emigrated to USA
Patrick 13 years Scholar, later Salesman [A.J.’s father]
Francis 11 years Scholar, later RC Priest
Edward 9 years Scholar, later Wine Merchant
Margaret 5 years Scholar, later Housekeeper

By 1891, the date of the next census, only three children were at home: Patrick – later to marry Jessie Montgomerie – Edward and Margaret. Frustratingly, Owen Cronin disappeared from official Scottish records after 1891. However, though a precise date cannot be found for his death – suggesting he may have returned to Ireland – it is known that he predeceased his wife Bridget, who died of heart disease in 1894. It is significant that neither of Cronin’s Irish grandparents lived to see their son Patrick marry, nor did they meet or directly influence A.J., Patrick’s one and only child.

Much has been written about the Irish Catholic invasion of Scotland and the subsequent sectarianism, bigotry and racial conflict – sadly, not always objectively. When they decided to uproot in the mid-1800s, the Cronins would have been just two more unfortunate souls swelling the vast army of emigrants to the west coast of Scotland. Some made the move to better themselves – greater opportunities, higher wages, steady employment. Others, less welcome, moved for reasons of self-preservation. They had nothing and hoped to find something. Unfortunately, for the latter categor