Author Archives: oldervoiceskildare

By Loretta Kenny I was born in 1957 in a small rural village in Co. Wexford. My parents ran a fairly large business which consisted of a Grocery Shop, a Mill and a Public House. I lived over this business until I was nearly twelve years of age and I would like to share withContinue reading “The Pub”

By Colette Moore The sadness overwhelms me, even though I’d always been told I’d had the “gift of the gab” on this occasion I’m lost for words, not so much lost, but trying to find the right words. I’m sad because such a huge part of my childhood is lost to memory, I’m trying toContinue reading “My May Altar”

By Marie Conlon This special Mass occurred long ago, when a house in the Parish was chosen by the Priest to say Mass in. This was a practice that had continued from the Penal times when the celebration of Mass was forbidden. For the family, it was an honour to be chosen but did involveContinue reading “The Mission Mass”

By Marie Conlon The Wake was a custom where mourners gathered in the persons own hometo keep vigil over their dead until they were buried. It was an important part ofthe grieving process and was seen as a chance to celebrate the dead person’slife and to offer condolences and support to the family. There wereContinue reading “The Wake “Sorry for Your Trouble””

– By Colette Moore – Old Mrs. Quinn stood in the kitchen. Strands of her dull white hair falling from the bun she neatly placed in it earlier this morning. Her shawl loosely draped from her shoulders. In her hand she held an old envelope, from that envelope she took a note and laid itContinue reading “Looking Forward to Knock”

By Marie Conlon The early part of January 1947 had been unusually mild and the Sean Lemass was glad as the Autumn had been very wet and a lot of the turf hadn’t been saved and lay wet in the bogs. The 2nd World War was still on and had affected our imports of coal,Continue reading “The Big Freeze 1947”

By Urcela Nolan Rural electrification was the greatest thing that happened in rural Ireland. Growing up in Donard before electricity came to our village we used oil-lamps.They had to be filled with paraffin oil, a wick had to be trimmed, and the Globehad to be polished. If we broke the globe, we had to cycleContinue reading “Memories from Donard Co. Wicklow: Rural Electrification of Ireland”

By Michéal De Paor At Halloween in 1957 or 58, as a young child, I accompanied my father and Joe O’Grady, who was then the Laois County Engineer on a journey from Portlaoise to St Jarleth’s College in Tuam to bring my eldest brother home for the Halloween break. As I was only 4 orContinue reading “My First Memory”

By Anne Doyle Bang!!! Mam Mam, where are you? We are learning all about the 1916Rising today, did you have any relations in the Rising?, Yes, and he playedsuch a big part in it all that they wrote a book about him. “Yes yes yes that’sbrilliant, I bet no one else will have as goodContinue reading “Family Ties”

– By Micheál De Paor – As the end of the Nineteenth Century approached, a headstrong teenager, Maggie Leyden, from Newport Co Mayo sailed to the US to join up with and marry her love Stephen Gibbons. Maggie’s parents strongly disapproved of her actions and missed her greatly. Within a few years a Telegram arrivedContinue reading “Broken Promise”