'"I'd almost venture another flight there is so much joy in returning" John Locke'

'"I'd almost venture another flight there is so much joy in returning" John Locke'

Frank remembers coming home to Ireland after living in Kenya.

Frank Gaynor

Trinity College Dublin

1965

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Frank Gaynor

Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Life Story

Clondaliever, Westmeath

1960's

These words from the poet John Locke were in my mind as the plane came close to Dublin airport. I was excited about meeting with family and friends and telling them all about Kenya. While they were very pleased to see me I soon realised that they were not very interested in listening to lengthy stories from Kenya. My mother was just delighted to have me back home and was keen to update me on what had happened around the farm while I was away. When I met with friends the conversations moved on more rapidly than I would have liked to matters of local interest. One friend said 'I didn't expect to see you back so soon'. Another friend, who looked a little surprised, said 'I haven't seen you for a while; have you been away somewhere?' My uncle Eamon, who was very interested in travel, afforded me my best opportunity for indulging myself in recalling what I had seen and done. He invited me to give a slide show on Kenya, to his family and a few relatives from Dublin, in his house in Mullingar. I duly obliged with a selection of slides that gave glimpses of the school where I worked and some of the boys I had taught, the famine relief camps in Turkana, a herd of giraffe near Eldoret, and a few cars competing in the East African Safari Rally. I noted the relief with which my audience greeted the end of my show. From then on I tried to talk less about Kenya and concentrate more on what seemed to be important in other people's lives.It was around this time that a government official called to the house in Clondaliever one afternoon to ask my mother about the cattle that she owned. I'm not sure if the visit was part of a general farming survey, or related to my mother's application for a widow's pension. This official, who no doubt felt that he was on an easy assignment, was in for a surprise. I do not recall the exact words; I just remember that part of the conversation between the official (O) and my mother (M) went roughly as follows:O: Mrs Gaynor, I'd like to ask you about the cattle you ownM: If you had come here two years ago while Matt was still alive he would have given you a simple answer to that questionO: I'm only interested in the cattle you have now. Do you have any cows?M: The blue cow and the brown polly cow are out here in the pump field. They will be looking to get in to be milked shortly. I sold the shorthorned cow a couple of months ago.O: So you are now left with two cowsM: The grey polly cow does not come in for milking. I expected her to be in calf by now. I will probably have to sell her. There is also a heifer due to have her first calf next monthO: Can I say that you have four cows?M: Four! You must be including the shorthorn that I sold. Maybe you could call the heifer a cow if that's what you wantMr O had still to work his way through the calves, bullocks and other heifers. About an hour later I saw him shaking his head as he walked towards the gate and drove off with his details of Mrs Gaynor's cattle.During my 18 months away all the gravel pot - holed roads around Clondaliever had been upgraded to tarmac roads. There were many more privately owned motor cars in the area. The private car had replaced the open lorry for transporting Clonkill hurlers to matches. My peers were now dancing to the showbands two or three times a week. There was much talk about Ireland's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest - my first time to hear it mentioned. People were generally more on the move than before and travelling longer distances. Less time was being spent chatting at crossroads. But when three or more did come together for a chat it was as interesting and entertaining as ever. In Cloughan Inn Sean told of the young man who came to the shop one very frosty morning, wearing a heavy long overcoat, and asked for some bread and butter. When he went to pay he put his hand inside the coat and suddenly he froze in position, with his eyes and his mouth open. After what seemed like a long second or two he said 'Lord, I forgot my trousers'.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)