Archive (334 life histories found)
'The taste of that hot soda bread with loads of homemade butter still lingers in my memory some sixty years later'
My Mother's Mother came from Co. Wicklow and her brother had the small family farm so that each year, when we were old enough we were packed off to the country for the summer holidays. Her brother, Tom Quinn was married to Judy Burke and they were…
'I remember the first word I learned to read'
I remember the first word I learned to read. I was outside my house in Russell Avenue and there was a van there with the word 'DUBLIN' written on it. I have no idea what age I was but I distinctly remember spelling it out D, U, B, L, I, N, and…
'If someone managed to kick the can all the captives were set free and the game started again'
My favourite toy at that time was a hoop and stick. The hoop was made from a bicycle wheel with the spokes removed and in my case it had a tyre and tube, which made it much more desirable than my friend's hoops as it was silent and rolled with a much…
Tags: 'kick-the-can', 'Releivio', Chasing, children, Games, Hobbies
'We were given to understand that to chew the host and, by extension, the mint sweet was a serious sin and a cause for confession'
First Communion was received in St Francis Xavier's Church in Gardiner Street in the Ignatian Chapel. Some days before the event we all went in a crocodile to the chapel for a rehearsal. Instead of a host we had a mint sweet placed on our tongue. We…
Tags: Catholicism, Communion, host
'Protestants had a reputation of being better workers than Catholics, deserved or not'
Religion had a huge influence on all aspects of our lives. Being Catholics we were not allowed to associate too closely with Protestants for fear that they might contaminate the purity of our religion. There were a number of protestant families in…
Tags: Catholicism, Protestant, religion
'We received a small bottle of milk and a sandwich, the fillings of which varied from day to day, at lunch time'
After I got out of hospital I went to school in St Francis Xavier National School in Dorset Street. This was a feeder school for both St Canices and O'Connell's Primary boys Schools located in North Circular Road. The teacher's name there was Mrs…
Tags: first class, junior infants, orphanage, school, senior infants, teacher
'She had a fantastic memory and could relate the story of the movie next day in exquisite detail'
I was always a somewhat solitary individual and I did not have close relationships with my older brothers, George and Tony. I was probably just too young to be included in their games. I was also somewhat too old for my younger siblings so I did not…
Tags: brother, family, relationship, Sibling, sister
'A doctor to whom my mother took me, told her that he had never seen feet as flat as mine'
I was born with flat feet or fallen arches as it is also known. This meant that my walking gait was always slightly awkward. My uncle Jack who had a tendency to be somewhat cruel dubbed me with the nickname of 'footy'. This tag stuck with me for…
Tags: arches, Doctor, fallen arches, Feet, Flat feet, shoemakers
'The war, or emergency as it was called in Ireland, was in full flow and rationing had a severe grip on the city and countryside'
I was born on the 2nd March 1942, the sixth of ten children of Anthony (Tony) Browne and Mary (May) Browne (nee Hunter). I was christened in St Agatha's Church in North Strand, the Archbishop of Dublin's parish church. The day of my baptism there was…
Tags: double decker bus, emergency, fever, fever hospital, rationing, war, waterworks
'We had names for the different stages of our journey to school: the belly tree, the six trees, Luby 's hill and Johnnie 's boreen'
I fell and cut my knees on my first morning going to Johnstown national school. Johnstown school was in Delvin parish - it has since been closed. We were living in Taughmon parish. It was to Johnstown that daddy had gone for the full three years and…