'Protestants had a reputation of being better workers than Catholics, deserved or not'

'Protestants had a reputation of being better workers than Catholics, deserved or not'

Harry Browne reflects upon the influence of religion on his early life and the separation made between Protestants and Catholics.

Harry Browne

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Harry Browne

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

North Strand, Dublin

1940's

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 our street. Blackers, Butlers and Goughs are names which I can recall. To enter a protestant church risked eternal damnation and the final verse of the Our Father 'For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory' could not be spoken aloud in Catholic company. Protestants had a reputation of being better workers than Catholics, deserved or not. Our next door neighbour a Mrs Blacker, who was good friends with my mother, used to wash the front steps once a fortnight. She scrubbed the steps with soap and a scrubbing brush until they reached an acceptable standard in her eyes. Late at night my mother would brush our steps with water and bleach, the result was invariably much better than Mrs Blacker's. My mother never told her the trick of using bleach. The poor woman must have been very put out.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)