In 1924, Ellin Mackay and Irving Berlin fell in love. She was the granddaughter of a man who had been born in 1830, in the back streets of Dublin. He was making a name for himself as a songwriter.

John William Mackay was born in extreme poverty and saw no hope of advancing himself in Ireland, so he emigrated to America. There, in 1859, he was one of four Irishmen who made vast sums when silver was discovered in Nevada. Mackay, the most farsighted of the four, became the richest man in America. Although his wife spent fabulous sums entertaining in the great cities of Europe, he never forgot his own upbringing and gave huge amounts to worthy causes.

His donations were usually made in secret. He preferred it that way, but it did become publicly known that he was the main benefactor behind the building of the Catholic Church of St. Mary of the Mountain in Virginia City, Nevada. It is one of the most beautiful churches in that part of the world. It was said of him by his business manager, 'I don't suppose he knew within twenty million dollars what he was worth.'

Clarence, son of John Mackay, never boasted of his father's Irish origins. The son was a snob and when Irving Berlin asked for Ellin's hand in marriage, Clarence was outraged. His lovely daughter marrying a Jew! He said, 'The day you marry my daughter, I'll disinherit her.' Irving was not in the least upset. 'The day I marry Ellin, I'll settle two million dollars on her.'

After the marriage, Clarence stated that the wedding took place without his knowledge or consent. He and Ellin did become reconciled after a number of years but, until the day he died, he carried the resentment in his heart.

Irving Berlin was originally called Israel Baline. One of eight children, he was born in Siberia in 1888. Four years later, the family moved to New York. His father died, and Israel helped the family finances by selling newspapers. He regularly stood outside a particular saloon and from within, he often heard waiters and barmen singing the popular songs of the day. Eventually he turned his back on the newspapers and became one of the singing waiters.

With a fellow waiter, he wrote a song called 'Marie From Sunny Italy' and they had it published. It brought him earnings totalling 37 cents. It also brought him a new name because on the front cover of the sheet music was printed, 'Music by M. Nicholson. Words by I. Berlin.' He liked the name and now called himself Irving Berlin.

He wrote many other songs in collaboration with others, but it was a source of annoyance that he had to use the others, because he himself was such a poor piano player. His problem was solved when he came across a firm which could make a piano that had a special lever. At a single twist of a wheel, the lever could change the key.

Then in 1911 came his 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' People the world over were captivated by its freshness and its irresistible vitality. It made him a fortune. Now there was no more waiting on tables. Now he was a fulltime songwriter. He married Dorothy Goetz in 1912, and off to Cuba the pair sailed on their honeymoon. On the island, Dorothy contracted typhoid fever, and she died on their return to New York. Twelve years passed before he found love again - this time with Ellin.

To boost morale during World War One, he assembled an all-soldier show featuring songs he himself had specially written. He always liked to work through the night and then to sleep till mid-day, and this gave him the idea for a song that became truly popular.

Night after night, in theatres on Broadway and throughout America, the cast of soldiers brought the house down with their rousing rendition of 'Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning" as the bugle rang out the morning call.

In the 1930s, with the advent of 'talkies' in the cinema, Berlin wrote many songs that have stood the test of time, songs like 'Easter Parade,' 'Dancing Cheek To Cheek' and 'Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.' Ginger Rogers, who starred with Fred Astaire in many Berlin movies, said, 'I think he's the sort of the apple pie type of composer that makes you want to bleat out a song whether you can sing or not.'

Even better was to come in the 1940s. He wrote songs for the very successful show 'Annie Get Your Gun.' Wonderful songs they were, and they included 'There's No Business Like Show Business' which became known as the 'national anthem' of the theatre. For the 1942 film 'Holiday Inn' with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, he wrote 'White Christmas.'

Overnight Crosby's rendition of the song touched the hearts of people everywhere, and it was said at the time, that the fact that the world was then at war gave it a poignant meaning. Yet, when the war ended, the popularity of the song went on and on. Now both composer and singer are dead, and still that recording has never lost its appeal.

As a Catholic, Crosby had some initial reservations about the song. He felt that it would commercialise a Christian festival but, amazed at the public response to the song, he changed his mind.

Irving Berlin's beloved Ellin died in 1986 after 62 years of marriage. Three years later, at the age of 101, the man who gave the world 'White Christmas' died.