In-Character
Full Name: Caitríona Connolly née Brennan.
Nicknames: Cait. Auntie Cat to the extended children when they were young and couldn’t pronounce it.
Birthdate: 10th September, 1831.
Current Age: Fifty-Seven.
Occupation: Matriarch. Disappointed Matchmaker.
Reputation: Seven. Cait is mostly respectable in herself, apart from being the sort of woman who can never sit still, but her children and extended family don’t make anything easy.
Residence: The Connolly House in County Galway, Ireland.
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor.
Wand: 13’. Beech. Hard-wearing. Cait is right handed.
Blood Status: Halfblood.
Social Class: Middle.
Family:
Pádraig Connolly | Husband | 1823-
—Donovan Connolly | Son | 1855-
—
—
—Brighid Connolly | Daughter | 1867-
—
Colm Brennan | Cousin | 1817-
Eileen Brennan née Connolly | Sister-in-law/Cousin-in-law | 1820-
—Cillian Brennan | Nephew | 1848-
—Connolly Brennan | Nephew | 1853-
— Niamh ---- née Brennan | Niece | 1855-
——Ronan ---- | Great-Nephew | 1879-
Siobhán Byrne | Sister-in-law | 1827-1884
Desmond Byrne | Brother-in-law | 1825-
—Connell Byrne | Nephew | 1852-
—
—Lorcan Byrne | 1861-
Gilroy Connolly | Brother-in-law | 1829-
Keira Connolly née -- | Sister-in-law | 1832-
—Dublin Connolly | Niece | 1861-
—Belfast Connolly | Nephew | 1867-
Appearance: Standing at 4’10 1/2 inches, exactly the same as her oldest daughter Maeve, Cait also passed along her grey eyes and fiery hair. A diet of fresh air and exercise has kept her looking extremely youthful, though her once whip thin figure has gone after five pregnancies, even if no one would ever be foolish enough to point it out to her.
History:
1831: Caitríona Brennan is born the fourth child, and only daughter, of middle class hippogriff breeders who instil in their children a love for nature, belief in the value of hard work, and a considerable degree of pragmatism. Largely due to the fact that no nanny stayed more than a week when faced with three rambunctious boys and they saw no point in getting one just for their daughter Cait is raised much the same as her brothers for the first decade of her life.
1843: After she displayed magic at the tender age of six – really Colm oughtn’t to have teased her so much and it’s entirely his own fault his hair turned green – it comes as no surprise that Cait receives a Hogwarts letter at eleven. It is also far from startling that she is quickly sorted into Gryffindor.
1843-50: Cait’s schooling is a pleasant, but mostly incidental time in her life. She is sociable as can be and nearly has a heart attack in her fourth year when she is unjustly accused of taking part in a duel – the subsequent and silently seething hatred she develops for the girl in question never fully goes away.
1847: Cait meets Padraig Connolly for the first time at the wedding of her cousin Colm to his sister Eileen – she immediately decides she likes Eileen more than Colm and they have a lifelong friendship while Colm remains a pain. Padraig on the other hand is a curiosity to her. Several years older than her he had already finished his schooling and begun his auror training: she learns, over the course of the wedding breakfast, several dances, and the interference of innumerable other relations, about the slightly odd traditions of his family and finds herself increasingly baffled and charmed by them.
1850: The Coming Out ball at Hogwarts is a fair success for Cait. Her hair is a little out of fashion but she still drums up a respectable amount of interest though she is perhaps a little bit too intelligent to be a truly great prospect: fortunately for her she once again encounters Padraig Connolly who doesn’t mind in the slightest that she knows the Latin names for most plants. They dance, surreptitiously share the contents of his hip flask, and the following day he asks her father for permission to begin courting.
1851: Within the year they are married and embarrassingly happy. Not for lack of trying it will be a few years before they begin a family.
1855: After enjoying her first pregnancy, which helpfully coincides with Eileen’s third, Donovan is born and Cait loves him more than anything. He favours his father with his looks but from the moment it is agreed he is a very quiet baby Cait knows he will be her son through and through.
1860: After a decent interval, during which Donovan is a quiet and happy only child and Cait takes up painting – which she is terrible at and soon abandons – they have a second child, this time a girl, this time with hair as red as hers who cries all day and all night. Cait instinctively knows her daughter will be quite a different beast to her son.
1862: Finlay is born. Dark-haired and quieter than Maeve Cait is beginning to notice a pattern with her children.
1867: The year after Donovan goes to Hogwarts for the first time, Brighid is born and she is a much quieter girl. The following year Maeve sets fire to Desmond and Cait pretends she doesn’t find it as funny as Padraig clearly does.
1870: Cait delivers her fifth and final child, another boy, this one called Domhnall.
1872: Maeve attends Hogwarts and is predictably sorted into Gryffindor, along with two of her cousins. She and Siobhan, and Keira but in a much vaguer way, enter into a silent competitive hope that their child will not be the most troublesome.
1873: In quick succession Donovan covers himself in glory by graduating with excellent marks and going straight into research and then Maeve falls off a broom and breaks her leg. The next few years pass with little incident from Cait’s perspective – no one dies or goes to St.Mungo’s and that’s good enough for now – until…
1879: Maeve, defying everybody, begins her training as an auror and Cait is sure her own hair will be white before the first year is out with worry. The following year Finlay has the good sense to be a healer, like he’s supposed to be, but she can’t help worrying about Maeve over her other, less reckless children.
1881: Domhnall utterly fails to be sorted into Gryffindor and Cait is the only member of the family who at no point sounds like they’re considering disowning him. The following year Maeve becomes fully qualified and Cait takes up croquet and golf as a means of distraction.
1884: Siobhan dies in the laughing plague and Cait mourns for her as a sister.
1885: Brighid barely has time to unpack her Hogwarts trunk after graduation before Cait has her sent to the Pendergast School, refusing to allow another daughter to become so uncouth and horribly aware that being a hit witch is even more dangerous!
1887: Cait makes one last ditch effort to set up Maeve with a respectable bachelor but when it fails quite spectacularly she finally begins to accept that her efforts are entirely in vain. She is now moderately convinced that her daughter is a sapphist but still wishes she’d get married for the sake of preserving her reputation.
Personality: Loyal, stubborn, thoughtful, quieter than most of her family. Prepared to verbally cut a bitch is necessary.
Other:
+ Cait has made it her mission to see at least one of her daughters married like a proper lady. She is rapidly losing optimism.
Out-of-Character
Name: Lauren. Age: 28.
