'Their house was always spic and span and of course like many of the houses around, painted and done up for the twelfth of July each year.'

'Their house was always spic and span and of course like many of the houses around, painted and done up for the twelfth of July each year.'

Rosemary describes the neighbourhood where she grew up. She remembers the different families and recollects that they were both Protestant and Catholic families.

Rosemary McCloskey

Trinity College Dublin

1955

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Rosemary McCloskey

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Belfast

1950's

In Belfast, during term time, I had a few friends in the neighbouring streets. There was Margaret McCusker and her twin sister June, who lived at 54 Rosapenna Street. Their father worked in the aircraft factory and was also a member of the 'B' specials. They were good Methodists and attended the Lynn Memorial Church on the Old park Road, as were Margaret Anderson, her brother Ronnie, who lived with Mrs Crawford and her daughter Eileen and son Stanley, who joined the British Army. These lived at the other corner of Rosevale Street and Rosapenna Street. Next door to them was Bobby Gourley, who used to drive the Northern Whig van and his wife. Their house was always spic and span and of course like many of the houses around, painted and done up for the twelfth of July each year. I am not sure if he was the local grand master, but someone from that part definitely was, because the local Orange lodge used to leave from that place, every twelfth of July. Mrs McAniny and her son Derek lived beside the Gourleys. In our street, across the road from us was a big family called Johnston. I don't remember them all, but do remember Jackie, who was one of the older ones and Aggie, whom we used to call (Eggie), her sisters Lydia and Ina. The youngest was Bobby. There were not so many children in Rosevale Street in my early days. In fact we were the only young Catholic family then. The Loughrans and the Brennans lived further down and Mammy used to get Aileen Brennan to take Cecilia and me to the church for the devotions when she could not leave the younger children. Later on the O'Boyle family came from somewhere in Co Antrim,( I think it was Rasharkin) and the girls Mairead and Sheila went to the same school as we did. They had two older brothers David and Sean and a young brother called Paddy, who was really cute. We all played happily together when we were out in the street and enjoyed games such as 'Queenio, Queenio who's got the ball' and 'One two three red light!2 We had 'peeries and whips' and skipping ropes where everyone would take turns at holding the ends and tuning it and 'running in'. Then it was the season for balls against the gable walls. If one could manage with three balls one was an expert. There were also lots of skipping rhymes and rhymes with the balls. We had two swings in our back yard and the other kids would often come to play on them too. We had a game called 'jacks' or as was written on the box 'Starstones' where one put all the little pieces on the ground and bounced a small ball and picked up the 'Jacks' during the bounce. We had dolls and prams and the McCuskers had lovely wee blankets on theirs. May Lyness lived along Rosapenna Street next door to Myra and Peggy Artt. The Artts were staunch Presbyterians and their parents seemed a lot older than ours. They went to St Silas' Church on the Cliftonville Road. May worked in the Beltex factory and made lovely covers with frills for our dolls' prams one time. I can see them yet. Mine was white with a kind of pink pattern through it while Margaret McCusker had a white and blue one with a pillow case to match. WE thought we were really posh pushing our prams and dolls around all dressed up in frills! Mrs Bob McKinley who lived beside them was a great friend of Mrs Majury who lived in 17 Rosapenna Street and was like a second mother to us. Mrs McKinley was great at plucking and cleaning fowl and was often called upon to do the needful by the neighbours. Her front garden was full of flowers every summer for Da McKinley was a first class gardener. Margaret and Ann Walsh lived on Rosapenna Street. They had a wee brother Francis. Their mother played the organ in our church and later their older sister marie took over this job. Margaret was in my class at school as was Roisin McKeever RIP who used to come to visit her granny Henry who lived on Rosapenna Street also. There were the Goodfellows, too. Joan died during her primary school days.Mr Maurice Majury was a prison officer in Crumlin Road Jail. His wife, Ida, was from the Waterside in Derry and since Mammy had Derry connections they became fast friends. They lived in 17 Rosapenna Street next door to the Pettigrews, Desmond and Levee, whose father was a policeman( ex RIC) and from Kerry. The Majurys were also Presbyterians and had two sons, Gerald and Cedric. They were a lot older than I, but I was like the daughter she never had. Our yard doors were just across the entry from each other, and I can still see the latch of ours opening and Mrs Majury coming into the yard with her apron on. She was always looking out for Mammy and helping her when she could. She had worked in the shirt factories in Derry and was a great needlewoman. She did any sewing that was needed in our house, made curtains and patched sheets. She was also a great knitter and many a jumper she knit for Cecilia and me. She was a wonderful house wife and very skilled at baking and cooking I can still see the tin with the lot of little 'melting moments' (wee coconut buns with cherries on top) which she always had in stock. There was always something in the tins in Majurys, for there was always a lot of callers and it was ritual to have tea and something home baked with it ,when one was entertaining visitors. She made jam in season, too when, her husband would bring the fruit from the prison garden.It was uncanny how she always managed to find out that there was a forth-coming mission in our parish. She insisted on babysitting every night for the duration of it, so that Mammy could go out to it. She would get us washed and ready for bed, but apparently I was a bit bold and refused to say my prayers until Mrs Majury would get down on her knees and say them, too. We were not really aware of the religious differences in us and the neighbours. I wanted to know why I could not attend the Lynn Memorial School in Buller Street, where the others went. I knew that we all had the same reading books, Dick and Dora (Happy Venture series). I could see no reason for my having to go further up the road to Glenview Street and be educated with a lot of folk who were not my friends, but came from that side of the road and Ardoyne. My mother was a very wise woman. She merely told me that it did not suit us to go to Lynn Memorial, as the others had to go to Sunday school and we would be going to see our Granny in Dungiven on Sundays after Mass. I was not too keen on school, and therefore this was a wonderful reason for not going to Lynn Memorial. Imagine having to go to school on Sunday as well! Five days a week was more than enough for me.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)