'I now had money enough to go to the pictures on a regular basis and I also took to dancing in the various dance halls '

'I now had money enough to go to the pictures on a regular basis and I also took to dancing in the various dance halls '

Harry Browne describes his social life during his early adulthood.

Harry Browne

Trinity College Dublin

1960

This item is protected by original copyright

This content may be downloaded and used (with attribution) for research, teaching or private study. It may not be used for commercial purposes without permission.

Harry Browne

Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Life Story

Dublin

1960's

Arriving in Cathal Brugha Street for the first time we came into close contact with girls who were not related to us or from our immediate neighbourhood. The effect was astonishing. There was one of the cooks who hailed from the Aran Islands and as the song says 'Her hair was black and her eyes were blue'. I was totally smitten but too intimidated make a move. There was a presidium of the Legion Of Mary in the school and unlike any other such presidia elsewhere it was of mixed sexes. Needless to state all the boys in the class enthusiastically joined, probably not from a great wish for religious observance but rather in order to get to know the girls better. My social life improved immeasurably. I now had money enough to go to the pictures on a regular basis and I also took to dancing in the various dance halls which were numerous in Dublin. Dance bands were mostly Orchestras in the earlier years with Maurice Mulcahy, Jack Flahive, Mick Delahunty, Ralph Silvester, Billy Carter and others. These bands featured 10 - 12 (and as many as 18 or 20) musicians. Once they set up their music stands, they provided some of the most versatile (if not the most exciting) entertainment ever heard in rural or indeed urban Ireland. The band members all wore black tuxedos and they were fronted by a male crooner and sometimes by a female singer who was always a vision of loveliness in a sequined dress. The band leader usually wore a white tuxedo. Cinemas included the above mentioned Plaza, Adelphi, Ambassador, Carlton, Grafton Green, Regal, Lyceum Theatre also known as 'The Mairo' after Mary Street where it was located and where James Joyce once worked, and of course, the Savoy. The programme in cinemas was great value, comprising as it did of two full feature length movies, shorts and trailers. There was therefore a great selection of social outlets for us to choose from. Later in my teens my sister Carmel and myself formed an Irish dancing club with some friends. We met in The Carlton Hall in Fairview once a week and danced to music played on a record player. Dances were 'The Siege of Ennis' 'The Walls of Limerick' 'Blue Danube Waltz' 'Cuckoo Waltz' 'The Gay Gordon's' 'The Military Two Step' and jigs, reels and polkas. Our dances involved much high stepping and energetic swinging of partners. On one memorable occasion I was swinging Carmel and let go, with the result that she flew across the room and crashed into the wall, fortunately neither she nor the wall suffered any lasting damage. It is almost inconceivable nowadays to think that smoking was allowed almost everywhere. Viewing a movie was done through a haze of cigarette smoke and pubs literally reeked of both stale beer and also old smoke. It was not unknown to find men smoking whilst congregated at the back of churches during mass. An honourable exception to this situation was the bottom floor of double decker buses and nobody would even dream of smoking downstairs. Going home in the evening after cinema or dances we often called into 'the Chipper' for fish and chips. In recent years these have become very sophisticated with Kebabs, Chicken, Curry sauce etc, but at that time all that was available was chips and a selection of fish. Some of the options were Cod, Smoked Cod, Long Ray, Ray Wings and the oddly named 'Pissy Ray'. I never discovered why it was so called and I never tasted it as I did not fancy that particular culinary experience.About a year later I met and dated a girl from Milltown who also had a similar club going near the Dropping Well pub where we danced Irish dancing as described above. The relationship with that girl did not last long and my participation in the club did not survive the break up.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)