Theresa Byrne

The flow of life moved on, we got older, meanwhile our interest expanded to dances and boys.  Boyfriends then were usually altar boys or boy scouts who too were attached to the Franciscans.  At the time, a bicycle was a great accessory to own and I bought and paid for one weekly.  To earn the money, I did some delivery, collecting and accompanying nuns to various places from our school because, at that time, nuns weren’t allowed out on their own.  As a close knit group, we cycled everywhere together.  In summer we swam in the sea at Portmarnock, Killiney, Dollymount and Sandymount strand.  Sunday afternoons in winter were spent at the Carlton or the Savoy cinemas.  In groups we holidays in Galway and stayed n Clarke’s bed and breakfast and every evening we dressed up in our colourful summer frocks and danced in the Pavilion Ballroom in Salthill to the sound of the big brass bands. That was a magical time in my life.

I also for a while, with some ‘An Oige’ friends, hiked in Glencree and stayed in the hostel for the weekend.  On Sunday the group walked to Enniskerry and boarded the bus upstairs for the homeward journey.  One of the boys had a transistor radio and in particular I remember a song which when played now on the radio immediately evokes wonderful memories of that weekend. The song was ‘Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream’ and soon  I am back there with those same people and I can actually visualise their faces and the chat and craic (fun) that made it so memorable.  On arriving in Dublin we headed to the Palm Grove ice cream parlour for the rest of the fun, just eating ice cream or drinking coffee, a chew and a chat, and a simple wind up to a perfect weekend.  Usually on Monday evenings, we went to a hop held in the basement of a building on North Frederick Street.  This was again run by An Oige.  The queue started early and the music played was by ‘The Platters’.  Songs such as ‘The Great Pretender’ and ‘Only You’, these songs you never ever hear now.

After primary school I did a commercial course in the vocational school in Ballsbridge.  I completed many short courses, such as dress designing, knitting, arts and crafts and others.  Forever it seemed I yearned for further education and an opportunity presented itself and off I went to study at NUI Maynooth.  For four years I travelled a couple of nights a week to complete a BA in Local and Community Studies.  Following that, I studied for my H.Dip., followed by an MA.  My family were present for my graduations which left me with a real feel good factor.