'During those years our children were teenagers attending secondary schools in Ireland'

'During those years our children were teenagers attending secondary schools in Ireland'

Frank remembers his children visiting Malawi during the school holidays.

Frank Gaynor

Trinity College Dublin

1990

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Frank Gaynor

Work and Employment

Life Story

Malawi, Africa

1990's

During those years our children were teenagers attending secondary schools in Ireland. They joined us in Malawi for their Christmas and summer holidays. We enjoyed having them around and they enjoyed being with us. In this way we were spared the high tension that is often associated with relationships between parents and their teenage children. When they arrived for their first holiday in Malawi I was in Zomba marking examination scripts. Monica decided to introduce them to climbing Mulanje Mountain, and to spending three or four nights on the plateau. Since they had no previous experience I thought this trip might put them completely off mountain climbing. It didn't. They all became enthusiastic climbers. From there on their holidays in Malawi were action - packed experiences with mountain climbing, trips to Lake Malawi, visits to game reserves, golf, tennis, netball, squash, badminton, swimming, a couple of games of something like cricket, and a few sessions on Ruo river being swept over waterfalls in used tractor tyres. Joining in the fun helped to keep us feeling a bit younger than we were.When Claire arrived in the summer of 1991, not yet 21, she had already graduated from Trinity College Dublin and was on her way to work in Japan. She had a small problem - she needed a driving licence for Japan. Following some driving practice on Mulanje golf course she was ready for her driving test in Limbe. Driving in the Limbe/Blantyre area was seldom a relaxing experience. Claire took it all in her stride, passed her test, and headed off to Japan with a full driving licence.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)