Helen Prout: Fairhill, World War 2, Worklife,
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Description
In this interview, Helen recalls life in Ireland during the Second World War, as well as various jobs during she did during her working life.
Helen was born in Millstreet in 1930. She remembers having a responsible childhood, looking after her younger siblings. Her mother was from County Tipperary; she eloped with Helen’s father rather than agree to a match which had been made for her, and was disowned by her parents. She explains that her father came from a wealthy family.
She describes life during the Second World War, particularly rationing. Neither foodstuffs nor household goods were easy to come by, and Helen tells a story about having to tell the time by looking at the sunlight on the floor because clocks were not available.
She married her husband in England but did not like it there and came back to Ireland and lower wages.
Before she got married she worked in hotels and then looked after a woman in a wheelchair. She describes how she got fed up with some jobs and quit them.
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CFP00271; CFP00305; CFP00406:
CFP_SR00387_sheehan_2010; CFP_SR00388_sheehan_2010; CFP_SR00389_healy_2010; CFP_SR00390_kelleher_2010; CFP_SR00391_crean_2010; CFP_SR00392_mckeon_2010; CFP_SR00393_twomey_2010; CFP_SR00394_stleger_2010; CFP_SR00395_speight_2010; CFP_SR00396_lane_2010; CFP_SR00397_obrienoleary_2010; CFP_SR00398_jones_2010; CFP_SR00399_saville_2010; CFP_SR00400_magnier_2010; CFP_SR00401_marshall_2010; CFP_SR00402_marshall_2010; CFP_SR00403_murphy_2010;
CFP_SR00405_walsh_2011; CFP_SR00406_prout_2011; CFP_SR00407_newman_2010; CFP_SR00408_newman_2010; CFP_SR00409_leahy_2011; CFP_SR00411_newman_2010; CFP_SR00412_newman_2010; CFP_SR00413_finn_2011; CFP_SR00414_ohorgain_2011; CFP_SR00415_oconnell_2011; CFP_SR00416_sheehy_2011; CFP_SR00417_mcloughlin_2012; CFP_SR00418_gerety_2012; CFP_SR00419_kelleher_2012; CFP_SR00420_byrne_2012; CFP_SR00421_cronin_2012; CFP_SR00422_ohuigin_2012; CFP_SR00423_meacle_2012; CFP_SR00424_horgan_2012; CFP_SR00425_lyons_2012; CFP_SR00427_goulding_2011;
CFP_SR00491_fitzgerald_2013.
Heritage Week 2011: CFP_SR00429_casey_2011; CFP_SR00430_tomas_2011; CFP_SR00431_newman_2011; CFP_SR00432_stillwell_2011; CFP_SR00433_oconnell_2011; CFP_SR00434_lane_2011; CFP_SR00435_montgomery-mcconville_2011; CFP_SR00436_ocallaghan_2011; CFP_SR00437_corcoran_2011; CFP_SR00438_jones_2011; CFP_SR00439_ohuigin_2011; CFP_SR00440_mccarthy_2011; CFP_SR00441_crowley_2011; CFP_SR00442_obrien_2011; CFP_SR00443_jones_2011; CFP_SR00444_mcgillicuddy_2011; CFP_SR00445_delay_2011; CFP_SR00446_murphy_2011;
Video Interview: CFP_VR00486_speight_2014
Published Material:
O’Carroll, Clíona (2011) ‘The Cork Memory Map’, Béascna 7: 184-188.
O’Carroll, Clíona (2012) ‘Cork Memory Map: an update on CFP’s Online Project’, The Archive 16: 14. https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/research/corkfolkloreproject/archivepdfs/archive16.PDF
Dee, Stephen and O’Carroll, Clíona (2012) ‘Sound Excerpts: Interviews from Heritage Week’, The Archive 16: 15-17. https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/research/corkfolkloreproject/archivepdfs/archive16.PDF
O'Carrol, Clíona (2014) 'The children's perspectives: Place-centred interviewing and multiple diversified livelihood strategies in Cork city, 1935-1960'. Béaloideas - The Journal of Folklore of Ireland Society, 82: 45-65.
The Curious Ear/Documentary on One (Cork City Memory Map) http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2011/0816/646858-curious-ear-doconone-cork-city-memory-map/
To view the Cork Memory Map Click Here
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Transcription
H P: [laugh] But that was the way twas them times.
H K: And like when it was during the War now, weren’t ye able to go out then at all or --
H P: You, you, you could, there, there was no signs up on the road or anything. All the signs were taken down.
H K: Were they?
H P: Yeah and all -- there was no signs telling you where you were going on the road, if you went down now at all the crossroads, if you were going somewhere now and you wanted to go to a new place [unintelligible 24:58].
H K: Did ye -- were ye afraid?
H P: Yerra you wouldn’t -- you’d be used to it, you see. You see there was no War here but the result -- it resulted in the same thing, a ration book for everyone. And you couldn’t buy clothes or anything sure. You’d only so much stamps or whatever they are.
H K: Ye’d get stamps, is it?
H P: You’d get stamps or is it vouchers or something like that, ration books, we had ration books and then they’d stamp them or take out a page or --
H K: Oh you’d -- they’d take out some -- a stamp for each whatever you’d buy like. Clothes and all?
H P: Yeah, and you’d have only so much for the for the week or the month and you couldn’t buy any more.
H K: That must have been very hard when you had six children like.
H P: Oh twas very hard. I mean they were very hard times. I remember them very well, a very hard time. We might have had -- we wouldn’t get oil then either, we’d [unintelligible 25:52] we wouldn’t have any electricity, you’d no electricity in the country in them days. Well I -- we had an electricity in Millstreet I remember but when we moved out to the country we had no electricity.
H K: And ye couldn’t get the oil then to --
H P: We had an open fire. Often I did my lessons down by the fireside. And you coulnd’t get any oil for the lamp, there was only so much oil for the lamp.
H K: So you had to do the homework in the dark?
H P: And there were no candles, there were no candles available, you’d only get so much and that’s it. And you know what we used do, put like margarine into -- the butter was rationed too -- put a bit of margarine into a tin or lard and get a bit of twine and put it up at the corner of it and light.
H K: Would that work, it would?
H P: It does, yeah.
H K: Go away.
H P: That’s what we used have to do.
H K: Go away.