'I don't know why somethings stand out in ones memory but I remember saying goodbye to him standing on Aunties doorway the same way I remember saying goodbye to him in the hospital in Brooklyn as I knew I would never see him again'

'I don't know why somethings stand out in ones memory but I remember saying goodbye to him standing on Aunties doorway the same way I remember saying goodbye to him in the hospital in Brooklyn as I knew I would never see him again'

Margaret remembers her siblings leaving home before she herself went to Sligo to attend convent school.

Margaret McLoughlin

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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.

Margaret McLoughlin

Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Life Story

Dublin

1950s

Dessie had a bad accident and our grandfather took him out to live with him. Dessie had the highest regard for him. Even though he was living on the farm he would come into our house and him and Frank were like brothers. I'm sure they got up to plenty of mischief but he would have to fill us in on that. I know it was the best thing for Dessie because he did everything on the farm and his poor hand was no liability. Our grandfather had a great outlook on life so he got great training and love from him. Caorline was the first to leave the home. Auntie in Sligo heard of a Mrs O'Gorman who lived on the Line was looking for a housemaid so Caorline got the job. I can remember a car arriving at our house and this stout lady coming in to interview her. At the time jobs were non existant so she was very lucky to get it. A few weeks later I was sent in maybe with some clothes or something and went to visit her. It was like going into another world. The house is still there. It had a long drive. I can't remember whether I went to the hall door or the servants door but I ended up in a beauriful big kitchen and the cook presented me with a delicious dish of apple pie and custard. As the owner was away Caorline gave me a quick tour of the house. I couldn't get over the grandeur of the place and what impressed me most was, they had two bathrooms one was done out in green and one in black and white. It was luxury beyond belief. Then the Gardiner brought me around the garden and showed me all the fruit trees and flowers. It really was an education on how the other half lived. I don't know how long she stayed there but later she went as a trainee nurse to Holles Street but as she got so nervous she didn't get the exam so she became a nursery nurse. She spent a year or two with a family in Dunshaughlin who had great regard for her. She decided to leave and entered the Carmelite Order in England. When she left it she worked as a receptionist in the Dorchester Hotel in London before meeting the love of her life Tom. Shortly after, that Francis left as he got an apprenteship in a grocery shop in Mountbellow Co Galway. He served his time and then went to another shop in Roscommon. I was the next so my mother decided to send me into the convent in Sligo. I went in every Monday morning and stayed with Auntie Maggie until Friday evening. I also stayed the odd weekend in Sligo. My mother would send in I think it was ﾌﾣ1 and a half a crown also maybe a cake or eggs. Things were really bad for them. Auntie would also have Angela and Mary and Uncle Mick stayed with her as well. He would have contributed as she had only her dressmaking to keep her going. She was a great woman. Vincent also came to stay when the family home broke up and Padraic would stay when he got leave from the Army. Auntie was a very good cook. Every Wednesday she would make an apple tart that is if she had the money for the apples. We would be so dissappointed if we didn't get the smell wafting up to the third floor where we were doing our homework. The only dinner I didn't like was the stew she made on a Thursday. She used to put curry powder into it and not very many people used curry in those days. When I stayed in Sligo for the weekends we might get money for a film but Sunday afternoon we went for a walk and then maybe visit Sarah Mc Garry or Mrs Mc Grath both friends of Aunties . If money was flush we would go to the Ritz for tea and have a beautiful cake or ice cream. Sarah lived in a little house on the line and she kept it like a dolls house. She had been a Protestant and turned Catholic when she married and one couldn't get a better Catholic. She went to half seven Mass every morning. We children sat quietly while the adults were chatting and I remember being facinated with all her china ornaments on the mantlepiece. She had rows of china dogs all shining and looking down on us. She would also give Auntie a soda cake. I think it may have been a brown cake as Auntie herself made lovely bread. Auntie's house like our own house had loads of callers some on business and some just in for a chat. Of course the beauty of the sewing was one could chat away and also keep on working. While I was going to school in Sligo Francis decided to go to America. I still remember the day he came to say goodbye. I don't know why somethings stand out in ones memory but I remember saying goodbye to him standing on Aunties doorway the same way I remember saying goodbye to him in the hospital in Brooklyn as I knew I would never see him again..

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)