Thomas Larkin

Thomas Larkin was born in the townland of Derrew, Ballyheane, Co. Mayo on July 4th, 1874. Similar to thousands of other young Irishmen and women he made that perilous voyage across the Atlantic ocean to the 'New World' of America, simply in the hope of securing employment. His 'American dream' became a reality when he secured employment with the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, spending most of his time in the greater Pittsburgh region. Following the invention of the telephone by Alexander G. Bell in Boston on March 10th, 1876, the American public remained sceptical for a time, with many people predicting that his new invention would never achieve commercial success. Even U.S. President at the time Rutherford B. Hayes reportedly stated; “That's an amazing invention Mr. Bell...but who would ever want to use it?" As one of the early Telephone Pioneers of America, Thomas Larkin helped to deliver what was at the time 'ultra modern, high speed connectivity', which, for the first time, enabled the sound of a human voice to be transmitted over great distances throughout America. Throughout his distinguished career he received a number of accolades and was conferred with lifelong membership of the Telephone Pioneers of America at a prestigious ceremony in the AT&T Headquarters in New York. Following his retirement from the Bell Telephone Company, he fulfilled his wish to return once more to the old Larkin homestead in Derrew "Believe me, the day will come when you will be able to 'see' the person who you are speaking to on the telephone" When Thomas Larkin uttered the above words, following his retirement and return to a predominantly rural Ireland, they were greeted with suspicion and doubt. Similarly, when he referred to the wireless, or the 'talking box', which radio was called at the time, most people were unsure as to whether his utterances were factual or fictitious. (Radio KDKA Pittsburgh was the world's first commercial radio station, its first broadcast occurred on November 2nd, 1920). In 2016, the President of the Fort Pitt Telephone Pioneer Chapter, Pittsburgh, Ms. Gerri McLaughlin made a very special visit to Mayo, where, in a simple, yet very fitting ceremony, she placed a bell shaped wreath at the headstone of Thomas Larkin in Killawalla cemetery. 'Making the Right Connections' is the title of a book written by Michael Larkin which depicts the pioneering journey of his ancestor Thomas Larkin. The book also encompasses themes relating to emigration, transatlantic connectivity, evolution of the telephone and an overview of the social history of Ireland and Irish America in the early 1900s. A limited number of books are available from Castle Bookshop, Castlebar and other good bookshops, or online at www.MayoBooks.ie