Category Archives: Story

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”

– By Maureen Cusack – In the early part of the 20 th century agriculture and the farming population dominated the rural economy. When the 20th century opened rural Ireland was still a society of tenant farmers, but by 1920s this had been changed by a series of land acts from 1880 to 1903 andContinue reading “Farming in the 1920 and 1930 Period”

– By Dorothy Clinton – “Life is strange”, she said to herself. She used to have a good memory, now she was uncertain of it. She was uncertain of a lot of things, there were times when she was not sure of who she was herself. Then she smiled and thought of the coat. TimesContinue reading “The Coat”

– By Bridie Corrigan – I would like to introduce you to two formidable women each in their own way. The first, my mother Nell Barrett R.I.P. and the second my Aunt Kate Brennan R.I.P. They are both on their way to visit a brother in England. I was tagging along as general factotum (whichContinue reading “Dare to Be Yourself”