Category Archives: Story

Weddings are so different now than back years ago. Today a lot of young couples choose to have a Civil Ceremony in a Hotel or a Registry Office as well as the traditional Church Wedding. Turn the clock back 50 years ago, things were different for most of the Irish population. The prospective groom wouldContinue reading “The Wedding”

Bernard was my uncle, aged 32 on 17 th July 1955 when he died, he was the youngest of 10 children had a shop beside the Olympia Theatre, and his cause of death was “Phthisis”. He was not married and his sisters cared for him in their home in Dublin. As a child when IContinue reading “Phthisis”

I received my first prayer book on the day of my First Communion in 1958, and don’t know where it is now, but can see it as clearly as if it was yesterday, it had a white cover and I was so proud of it. I have many old prayer books in my house nowContinue reading “The Prayer Book”

– By Colette Moore – John Reilly of the Hill (as he was always referred to) was a first cousin of Daddy’s. Everyone in the town of Portarlington would say “you could set your watch by John Reilly”. John lost his beautiful young son Paddy at a very tender age. While Paddy was very ill,Continue reading “The Measure of a Man”

It was a summer evening, I was about 5 years old and standing on a chair at the sink in the back kitchen beside my mother at the sink, she was preparing a salad for our tea and was showing me how to peel the shell of the boiled egg and we were laughing asContinue reading “The Telegram”

We didn’t call it the Second World War, we called it “The Emergency” and it was during this time that “RATIONING” was introduced in Ireland. Every family in Southern Ireland received a half yearly book of coupons which had different lettering for the individual items each household bought. In Northern Ireland the rationing was notContinue reading “The Emergency”

By Loretta Kenny Campile is a village in South Wexford. In the early twentieth century a train station was opened as part of the construction of the Rosslare to Waterford railway. The Shelburne Co-operative Agricultural Society opened in 1919, followed by the opening of the Campile Creamery in 1927. The village at this stage wasContinue reading “A Shattered Peace: The Bombing of Campile”

A shopping trip to Dublin with my mother was always a very exciting day in my childhood especially at Christmas. Arnotts, Boyers, Clearys were her favourite shops especially their Summer and January Sales days. I, as a small child loved a trip into Woolworths and then down to Hector Greys. I remember pleading with herContinue reading “Hector Grey”