Interview

This is an interview, in early 2026,  with Mr Bernard Power Canavan who will be 82 yrs old this year. At the time of his birth, Ireland was in the grip of heavy religious oppression, known as Theocracy, where a ruthless church authority dominated all aspects of life, from the cradle to the grave, and there was no way to avoid the religious oppression. 

Bernard takes his first name from his birth certificate, his second name is his mother’s maiden surname, and his last name is his adopted surname. Because Bernard’s mother, Helen, and father, Tommy, were unmarried - dreadful sin at the time - they gave Bernard into the hands of the church for safekeeping. Soon, Helen was writing to the nuns to tell them she would send any money required for Bernard’s keep when the current money ran out, she was preparing to get married, and a false marriage certificate was prepared, presumably to be able to remove Bernard from the orphanage. Bernard tells us more: 

Q. How long were you in the orphanage and what happened there? 

Q. How old were you when adopted by Mr. & Mrs. Canavan?

Mrs Canavan owned a sweet and general shop. She was well educated and taught Bernard, an only child, to read and write. He rarely went to school due to illhealth, and would look after the shop. When he was 14 years old, Mrs Canavan left to stay with family in England, and Bernard ran the shop alone. When he was 16 years old, he left with his step father, for England to do unskilled work in the Oxfordshire area. Sometimes, he and his father were down on their luck, but in those days,no man and a boy could often get work, especially if only the man was paid! 

Those early years were hard, but Bernard is resourceful, and was good at drawing and earns money as an artist, and also turned his hand to other work, writing, designing, and he took a degree course at Oxford University, building on his skills, knowledge and connections. 

Bernard began making a search for his biological parents, only when his Canavan parents died. What amazing discoveries! His mother, Helen, became a top model, appearing in many couture magazines and her image was posted in prominent places. She moved to Milwaukee where she lived a rich and luxury lifestyle, her home had a ballroom, and her daughters owned expensive race horses. Sadly, just before Bernard could contact his biological mother, she died in a car crash. However, he was able to contact her two daughters, his half sisters, the eldest attended a prestigious exhibition of Bernard’s art work at the Irish presidential buildings. Bernard’s art often tells of his personal story and that of his countrymen, the hard times of construction jobs, the immorality of the Catholic Church, and corruption in politics and the suffering of the ordinary person.