Lawrence Cummings was raised in a family of 2 sisters and 5 brothers in a small farming county in Galway, Ireland.  Lawrence was brought up to be a blacksmith and was taught all about being a blacksmith by his oldest brother Thomas. In older Irish culture, the first born son inherits the property (most likely farmland) from their parents. Lawrence was the 5th born son, so he had to fend for his own future from a young age by learning how to be the best blacksmith he could be. 

Mary Cummings was raised on an island off of the western coast of Galway, in the Galway Bay.  Growing up, Mary’s parents’  home was a small cottage with a dirt floor. Mary’s parents were fishermen and lived in severe poverty. Since Mary had five other siblings, her parents simply did not have the money to feed all of them. Because of this, Mary moved into her aunt's house in Clifden, which was a town in Western Galway. There was still slight poverty living with her aunt in Clifden, but this never got to Mary as “she had a happy childhood despite her up-bringing” (Lawrence Cummings II).