Creena O’Connell: Gurranabraher, Shawls, Allotments

                             COC: What kind of things would you play?

                             CC: Em there was a stream there and we used to make a dam and then we’d paddle in the stream and so you couldn’t go beyond the stream – the stream that’s right – you couldn’t go beyond the stream because that was the farmer’s fields and awh if he caught you, you’d be in trouble. But on – in Summer nights then they used to play, what was it called? Housey house then, it’s Bingo now. They’d all sit down on the field and the mam would call out the numbers and – I think it was a penny to play or something like that you know. And then there was em – what was that stall with Rasa [Raspberry Cordial], a penny a glass and Peggy’s legs and all that like, you know. So it was lovely, you really think the summers were good then that it was always sunny. [Laughter] And em, ere you know until about half-past nine then all the children would move off and go to bed like you know.

But I was just thinking there now that did anyone talk about the SAO? The School Attendance Officer. Nobody spoke about him, did they? And eh he was a Mr Stanton and he used to come up the road and I never saw him on the bike, he’d walk with the bike you know? And em, if you were away from school he’d call to the house to know were you away from school and I was away from school. One day my mother asked me to stay home, she probably wasn’t feeling very well and em so she sent me down Shandon Street for em messages and I met Mr Stanton and he said to me eh ‘Why aren’t you in school today?’ So I said ‘My mother is sick’. So anyway I came back home anyway and my mother said ‘Mr. Stanton called’. So I said ‘Oh did he?’. And she said ‘I told him you were sick in bed’. [Laughter]