Archive (340 life histories found)

Shortly before starting in Roche's Stores I met Sheila Dunne in the Metropole Ballroom on 13th May 1963. This was a pivotal moment in my life. She was, and still is, a slim dark haired, supremely confident girl, not long up from Kells in Co Meath. I…

'There was a man who took a wife To walk beside him through his life They walked through sunshine and through rain They walked through pleasure and through pain She wore a dress of yellow gold She was a wonder to behold And underneath a purple…

We were happy in Swaziland. Work and golf were going very well for both of us. I may have made the mistake of thinking that I was in some way indispensable, and I definitely thought that my contract would be renewed. This all changed when I received…

My first month in Swaziland was spent in The Tavern Hotel in the capital Mbabane, in the company of 14 other expatriates, all on ODA contracts. We were all waiting for the Housing Department to come up with an offer of accommodation. One morning…

By January 1978 I had an ODA contract lined up for a teaching post in Swaziland. As this was my first contract directly with ODA I was asked to go on a preparation/ orientation course before travelling to Swaziland. This resulted in me spending a…

In January 1977 we traded our house in Rochfortbridge for a house in Dublin. This proved to be a very advantageous move. The Dublin house was a large, basically sound building, in need of a large dose of hard work which included cleaning, painting,…

We returned to Ireland in July 1976 by ferry from Holyhead. It amazes me now when I think of how small that ferry was. I remember standing on deck, very sea - sick, looking down at the cargo of 10 or 12 cars. From front to rear seemed to be a very…

As the Institute was affiliated to the University of Oxford I graduated with an Advanced Certificate in Education issued by the University. The importance of this qualification for me emerged seven years later when it enabled me to get a place on a…

We had a lucky break when we managed to rent a house in Woodstock. The owners were a university Professor and his wife who were moving to London for a year. We were a short drive from Oxford and within walking distance of Blenheim Palace, the…

Apart from a workload of up to 40 teaching periods per week, being a teacher at Providence was undemanding. I had enjoyed my time there but by 1975 I was getting a bit restless. I was itching to work outside the classroom. When I was offered a place…