His mother was not allowed to keep her job in the public service once she married, she took up oil painting and cared for her mother.
Describes his school days and recollects specific teachers. Outlines his engineering education and his emigration to England for work. Lived on Eton High Street and attended Tottenham Hotspur football matches. Influenced by stories of older relatives who regretted remaining in England he decided to return to Ireland.
Discusses how he began hillwalking as a hobby through photography. Explains what’s involved in leading a hill walk and how he wrote a number of hillwalking guidebooks. Mentions various walking routes in Ireland. Admires France’s rights for walkers, which are more favourable than the situation in Ireland.
Recalls starting work in Grattan Street medical centre and the various disciplines that operated there over the years. Discusses his duties as porter. Talks about the happy history of the medical centre building including its Quaker origins.
Remembers social events with fellow Grattan Street staff including Christmas parties. Mentions memorable events and incidents in Grattan Street including the floods of 2013.
]]>Sean grew up by the Lough in Cork city and spent holidays in Ardmore. Describes his family home and memories of his grandparents. Talks about playing football and the game Red Rover as a child.
His mother was not allowed to keep her job in the public service once she married, she took up oil painting and cared for her mother.
Describes his school days and recollects specific teachers. Outlines his engineering education and his emigration to England for work. Lived on Eton High Street and attended Tottenham Hotspur football matches. Influenced by stories of older relatives who regretted remaining in England he decided to return to Ireland.
Discusses how he began hillwalking as a hobby through photography. Explains what’s involved in leading a hill walk and how he wrote a number of hillwalking guidebooks. Mentions various walking routes in Ireland. Admires France’s rights for walkers, which are more favourable than the situation in Ireland.
Recalls starting work in Grattan Street medical centre and the various disciplines that operated there over the years. Discusses his duties as porter. Talks about the happy history of the medical centre building including its Quaker origins.
Remembers social events with fellow Grattan Street staff including Christmas parties. Mentions memorable events and incidents in Grattan Street including the floods of 2013.
0.00.00 - 0.03.24 |
Family and Early Memories Born in the Bons (Bon Secours Hospital). Lived all life in Cork except 4 years. Holidays in early teens to Ardmore fishing for mackerel. Brothers Paddy & Brian. Grew up on Hartlands Road by the Lough. Played football in the field by Lough or fished. Primary school St Joseph’s on Mardyke- socially mixed school with people from Northside, Southside and the country farmers’ children. Pres (PBC Presentation Brothers College) was a paid school beside them with uniforms. Got a lift to school with dad in the morning. Hour and a half for lunch so walked home for lunch. Mother stayed at home wasn’t allowed to work in public service once married. Secondary School CSN Coláiste Spioraid Naoimh Bishopstown for 3 years. Then the Regional College for junior engineering certificate course. Went on to an electrical engineering course and qualified in the early 1980s not many jobs available. Went to England using qualifications a little. Got job as porter in Grattan Street with Southern Health Board now HSE. |
0.03.24 - 0.06.08 |
Family House and Grandparents Small house 2 rooms in front, 2 behind, middle bathroom and flat-roofed kitchen at the back. Shared bedroom with 2 brothers. When 13 years old his grandmother came to live with them. In his pre-teen years his grandmother knitted a lot of their jumpers “long in the backs to keep your ass warm”. Grandmother was independent woman, went to Liverpool when 16, worked as telephonist. She married teacher in Cork & lived on Redemption Road. Stocky woman. Big motherly figure. People didn’t take exercise back then. Pleasant personality. Family visited her house on Sundays and she had “curranty bread”, Lucozade or orangeade. Parents would bring grandmother to mass. Remembers grandfather as very stern and always spoke Irish. |
0.06.08 - 0.08.30 |
Games Football across the Lough. Describes Red Rover game. In winter played football on the road which was a steep hill. Only one car on the road picked two neighbours’ gates to play football. Broke a few windows. Good natured nothing untoward. About 12 children on the road at the time. Still living on the road he grew up on now only about 4 children. There could have been 20 children at one time. The football wasn’t taken that seriously it was only killing time. |
0.08.30 - 0.09.30 |
Women banned from Work in Public Service after Marriage Mother took up painting with local oil painters in Cork for about 15 years. And then looked after her mother. There was no nursing homes. |
0.09.30 - 0.11.23 |
School and Teachers Br Albius teacher keen on science. Taught them Latin in primary school. Taught about condensation on the glass. Teacher used a sheet in the schoolyard to show how a sail on a ship works. Br John was favourite teacher because he played guitar. Sean thinks that life puts you in a certain career and if you’re happy you stay with it. You can “what-if” your life away but there is no point. |
0.11.23 - 0.13.18 |
Time in England Worked in factory doing electronic assembly. Lived in flat on Eton High Street with a few lads. Went to Tottenham Hotspur matches at night with stadium lit up- magical experience. Enjoyed England but after 2 years decided he didn’t want to grow old in England and if you stay too long you won’t be able to get away from it. Saw a generation of aunts and uncles who never came back to Ireland and regretted it. Likes the outdoors and hillwalking. Hardest thing about England- you can’t get away from people. Population of 55 million. |
0.13.18 - 0.15.20 |
Hillwalking Hobby through Photography Got into hillwalking through photography and landscape photography. But hillwalking took over. Cork Backpackers hillwalking club for about 20 years. Dungarvan Comeraghs, Galtees, Carrantuohill, Beara peninsula. Can only do that in rural places of England. Club meets on grand parade and divides into groups for different walks. Get coffee before the walk and a meal after the walk. |
0.15.20 - 0.17.46 |
What it takes to lead a walk They wouldn’t let you lead the walks. He went on the committee in order to put himself forward for leading walks. Kevin O’Flynn and from Ken Sumtana Malaysia taught people how to lead walks. Teaching people how to navigate and read maps. Started leading as coleader, then leader with supervision and it became clear he had an aptitude for it. Good hillwalker has a degree of fitness. Choose a leader with he same fitness level as you. The walk is only as fast as the slowest walker. About 5 hill walking clubs in Cork. Mountaineers, Cork Backpackers, Bishopstown is big club, Blarney and a few others. They dovetail into cycling as well. |
0.17.46 - 0.22.50 |
Writing books on Hillwalking Hill-walked on his own to research the books. Came across a slim guidebook on hillwalking and decided he could do it. So he wrote one on Mangerton. Impossible to get anyone to publish it so went to publish it himself but you end up with 3000 books in cardboard boxes. A guy in west Cork distributed small publishers’ books. Over 10 years he wrote 5 guide books. They made him a few thousand euro a year. Reeks, West Cork, County Cork. Books included: routes, maps, route descriptions, a little bit of history. Size of a letter about 50 pages and can fit in the pocket. Books became dated because places on the routes could no longer be accessed. “Trails Ireland” can be accessed on the internet. In France you cannot own up to the cliff face so the whole coastal area can be walked in France. It’s not the same here in Ireland. While in Ireland the old railway lines are being reopened more should be done to open the coastal area. Putting up barbed wire to stop people crossing the land. Success of Dungarvan Greenway Westport-Achill Cycle way Athlone to Mullingar route. Thinks we need more of that in the world we live in. If motorways can be built requiring land being baought up then it can be done. Mahon walk on Sundays Success of Ballincollig park or the lough for recreation. Common ownership will be taken up |
0.22.50 - 0.25.50 |
First impressions of Grattan Street & services over the years 26 years old when started in Grattan Street. Thought it would be a job for 6 months but stayed 35 years! Not much happening when he started. There were Public Health Nurses and Community Welfare Officers looked after people waiting for their dole or social welfare or interim payments. Initially Community Welfare gave out beds and blankets in Grattan Street but eventually it was thought this was demeaning and gave vouchers instead. Sean counts at least 15 different services run from Grattan Street during his time there: Public health nurses. Dental (came from City Hall), Schools Nurses (came from City Hall) Speech therapy, Social Health Education Project (SHEP) Psychology department, community workers, home help, podiatry, eye clinics, admin, Area medical officer European health insurance scheme, ophthalmic department, community welfare and Public Health Nurses At the moment [April 2019] 6 services remaining. Speech Therapy has moved to Western Road. Psychology moved to Blackpool. Most moved to bigger premises. Community Welfare moved to department of social welfare about 8 years ago. Grattan Street at any one time it had about 50 staff, 50 telephone extensions. Work for about 5 years and move on. Turnover of staff. About 150 or move staff have been Started as the youngest lemon and now is the “elder lemon” |
0.25.50 - 0.27.45
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Duties as the porter Opening & closing the building. Liaise with maintenance Male presence for security. What doesn’t come under someone else’s job description he does. Things that could never been written in a job description. Busy in mornings, quieter in the afternoons. Doing the post. |
0.27.45 - 0.30.55 |
Unique Atmosphere of Grattan Street Grattan Street has so many disciplines where people interact in a “friendship kind of way”. Big enough to have heart. But not so big that it becomes impersonal. Building itself is 150 years old. Happy story attached to the building wasn’t prison or psychiatric hospital. William Penn who founded Pennsylvania allegedly stayed a night in the building. Ghost of Grattan Street Becky Haughton ghost is supposed to haunt the place. Supposed to see her on the stairs at dusk. SHEP used to have meetings in Grattan Street at night. They heard a strange noise at night. Masonry had fallen onto filing cabinet in the store. |
0.30.55 - 0.33.16 |
Grattan Street Social life and Changes Files and vaccination records, nurses dressings kept in the stores. Grattan Street has heart, spirit and character. Happy, friendly building. Party at Christmas. 30 people. A nurse might play the violin, or poetry, or make an alcoholic punch or home baking. When he came here first was in his 20s and the nurses were in their 30s the nurses were into home baking these days it was more shop bought. |
0.33.16 - 0.34.55
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Stories: Theft and Letters Dentist in Grattan Street had an expensive “flash” car which was stolen. It had been used in robbery and recovered. SHEP started in half the canteen Psychologists were in Grattan Street who were sending two letters to the same address one to each of the Once broken into and one of the doctors felt it was a reflection on the state of his room when Sean couldn’t tell whether it had been broken into or not. |
0.34.55 - 0.35.20 |
Podiatrist Appointments No one was turning up for podiatrist appointments. Secretary had forgot to send out appointments. |
0.35.20 - 0.37.44 |
Events in Grattan Street Medical Centre Flooding 2013 had to move vaccines. They arrived in small car and they had to do two runs and ploughed there way through 2 and a half feet of water. Couldn’t stand the smell of perfume. Spray their room with perfume so she wouldn’t come in. AMO had gotten locked in by mistake by the cleaners. The fire brigade had to get her out with a ladder European health insurance card. Someone came saying he was annoyed his name was spelled wrong. They could only put 22 characters for the surname and he had 23, his name ended in a double-Z they had dropped a single Z and he accepted their explanation. |
0.37.44 - 0.41.46
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Unusual Incidents in Grattan Street Medical Centre Bank robbery on North Main Street. Bad was thrown over the back gate. Sean found 2 bags of money. Guards came and replaced them with dummy bags, Roches Stores bags. Man came into the building trying to steal things. He was confronted and left his mobile and found him through his mother’s number. Bad weather a few years ago. All the pipes had burst when Sean turned on the boiler. Front portion of the building flooded. Elderly man in his dressing gown and slippers outside podiatry. He had wandered down from the Mercy. |
0.41.46 - 0.43.01
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Patients Dying in the Building Two patients came to get their toenails done and they died. He was in his 90s and 5 years later almost to the day another man died and they cleared the building. |
0.43.01 - 0.44.14 |
Story of child driving a car Guy in car waiting for his dad. Spoon stuck in the ignition to start the car. Gone like a rally driver he was no more than 14. |
0.44.14 - 0.44.52
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Birds in Building. Arrives early 2 male blackbirds chased a female blackbird into the building. Arrives half an hour before the staff. Turned off lights and opened the big double doors. |
0.44.52 - 0.47.25
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Story of Heating Failure in Grattan Street & Organisational Error Heating failed in the building. No heating for about 5 days. 5 different staff phoned 5 seniors in 5 different departments and they all authorised 6 heaters for the building so that 30 heaters arrived. Thirty separate 3 kilowatt heaters were plugged in totalling 900 kilowatts which is far more than the building could take. Awful burning smell came from the waiting area, emanating from the fuse. Sean plugged out all the heaters for safety. In response to this he thinks that: ‘People don’t understand how their decisions interact with others’. |
0.47.25 - 0.49.37
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Poor Maintenance of Grattan Street Building In 34 years the building has been painted twice, three times at most. Windows are never cleaned. Rent a building in city how much would it cost and what would the maintenance for that be? You’d need to get a new car serviced. Never any more spent on the place. Plan was to install ten new windows a year. After the first ten no more were installed. Attic never insulated. Roof leaks. |
0.49.37 - 0.51.00 |
Change to the medical services with close of Grattan Street Services are moving out. Shame to lose a public building in the city centre. Every institution needs a city centre presence. New primary care centre 250 staff. Like wing of CUH. It will be great when it gets going. |
0.51.00 - 0.53.40
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Quakers, features of the building and staff routine Understands the Quakers gave building for use by HSE. Would like to see the building used as a city centre museum. People in wheelchairs can access the building without help. Getting a taxi for someone from the building is very fast. Staff use local supermarket for their coffees. Sean holds post & letters for the school during summer and Christmas. The type of bed available from the Community Welfare was very basic back in 1984, it was like an army bed. |
0.53.40 - 0.54.12
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Podiatry & Diabetes Couldn’t tell us about nursing. Thinks the podiatrist sees more diabetics these days than previously. |
0.54.12 - 0.55.26
|
Reflection & Outlook on Life You can “what if” your life away. Married now. 50 when he got married. His 50s are his happiest decade. Everyone needs someone to share their life with. [interviewer states the year as 2009 but should have said 2019] Interview Ends |
She attended school in St. Maries of the Isle as most children from The Middle Parish did and Came home for lunch.
Played children’s games on the street including: skipping, piggey, release, cat and dog, hide and go seek, thunder up the alley, playing shop, playing house, runaway knock
Speaks of enjoyment and happiness in simple things even in the straightened economic circumstances that prevailed in the communities of her childhood. Discusses the prevalence of pawn shops on how they were relied on.
Recalls joy as a child when they got money for sweets as a treat.
Explains how her father like other men at the time would repair their shoes at home. Her father worked in the Munster Arcade and the family took it in turns to bring him lunch there
Discusses the differences in social class at the time
Speaks about the positive change in men’s role in housework today
Describes an annual family day trip to Youghal for swimming and a picnic.
Talks about shops and the stalls and sellers in the English Market and Coal Quay where food was bought for typical meals including stews, potatoes, tripe and drisheen, skirts and kidneys, offal, offal bones and liver.
Mentions some Christmas traditions in her family.
Remembers hearing men having a regular parting singsong while leaving the pub at night. Recounts a humorous story about musician in the Workingman’s Band pretending to play his instrument in a parade.
Remarks on parents’ strict time keeping in her childhood which was a useful skill as an adult.
Describes what dances in dancehalls were like, especially St. Francis Hall. Gives description of the rules and functioning of the dances as well as learning to dance.
Outlines common diseases in her childhood, including diphtheria which she contracted. Describes symptoms of diphtheria spending time in hospital isolation to cure diphtheria.
Remembers GP Dr Cagney in the dispensary on Grattan Street and the medicines available on site from the pharmacist including Parishes Food. Further describes the dispensary, its waiting room and how the caretaker and pharmacist lived in the building.
Talks about religious devotion, mass going, the rosary, fasting prior to holy communion and confraternity meetings in St. Francis church.
Criticises aspects Catholic religious practice such as fasting (which she describes as manmade), confession and whether children can comprehend their First Holy Communion . Humorous story of priest in the North Cathedral who gave lenient penances for confession.
Describes candy apples made and sold on Gerald Griffin Street.
]]>Mary grew up on in a tenement on Grattan Street where there was a toilet in the yard strong sense of community.
She attended school in St. Maries of the Isle as most children from The Middle Parish did and Came home for lunch.
Played children’s games on the street including: skipping, piggey, release, cat and dog, hide and go seek, thunder up the alley, playing shop, playing house, runaway knock
Speaks of enjoyment and happiness in simple things even in the straightened economic circumstances that prevailed in the communities of her childhood. Discusses the prevalence of pawn shops on how they were relied on.
Recalls joy as a child when they got money for sweets as a treat.
Explains how her father like other men at the time would repair their shoes at home. Her father worked in the Munster Arcade and the family took it in turns to bring him lunch there
Discusses the differences in social class at the time
Speaks about the positive change in men’s role in housework today
Describes an annual family day trip to Youghal for swimming and a picnic.
Talks about shops and the stalls and sellers in the English Market and Coal Quay where food was bought for typical meals including stews, potatoes, tripe and drisheen, skirts and kidneys, offal, offal bones and liver.
Mentions some Christmas traditions in her family.
Remembers hearing men having a regular parting singsong while leaving the pub at night. Recounts a humorous story about musician in the Workingman’s Band pretending to play his instrument in a parade.
Remarks on parents’ strict time keeping in her childhood which was a useful skill as an adult.
Describes what dances in dancehalls were like, especially St. Francis Hall. Gives description of the rules and functioning of the dances as well as learning to dance.
Outlines common diseases in her childhood, including diphtheria which she contracted. Describes symptoms of diphtheria spending time in hospital isolation to cure diphtheria.
Remembers GP Dr Cagney in the dispensary on Grattan Street and the medicines available on site from the pharmacist including Parishes Food. Further describes the dispensary, its waiting room and how the caretaker and pharmacist lived in the building.
Talks about religious devotion, mass going, the rosary, fasting prior to holy communion and confraternity meetings in St. Francis church.
Criticises aspects Catholic religious practice such as fasting (which she describes as manmade), confession and whether children can comprehend their First Holy Communion . Humorous story of priest in the North Cathedral who gave lenient penances for confession.
Describes candy apples made and sold on Gerald Griffin Street.
0.00.00 - 0.00.21 |
Intro |
0.00.21 - 0.02.56 |
Tenement Life and Friendships Mary grew up in 44 Grattan Street. Despite there being tenements it was a magic experience. It was one big happy family, everyone knew and helped one another. All the children played and went to school together. 6 families lived in 44 Grattan Street, all had lots of children and still friends and went to each other’s marriages. Tenements today would be apartments. All had separate entrance but one main toilet in the yard. It was tough but they knew no other experience and everyone was the same. There was one family which was a bit better off than them, but they received the same treatment from them as everyone else and never interfered with their friendship. She still knows where all her neighbours are, and for going to funerals. |
0.02.56 - 0.04.08 |
Typical Day Get up, have breakfast go to St Maries of the Isle school [Bishop Street Cork], and most of Middle Parish went to that school at the time. Came home for lunch and returned to school at 2pm. And finished school at 3pm. Then went home, did the homework and went to play on the street. There were no cars on the street but there was an occasional horse and cart. Played all their games on the street: skipping and pickey. One of Mary’s happiest time because all the children were at the same level- no one was looking down on them. |
0.04.08 - 0.09.58 |
Children’s Games Skipping and Piggey Skipping and piggey with a piggey box or a shoe polish box taken from someone’s house. Mary’s sister-in-law once did not have any chalk to draw the boxes for piggey (or picky or pickey) [hopscotch] and she broke the finger of her mother’s holy statue of the virgin Mary and used it instead of chalk. Mary describes it as innocent, there was no harm involved. The statue was on the landing. They didn’t have the money to buy chalk. Still laugh about that story today. Release- game. Boys and girls were involved. 6 or 10 children all in a square drawn on the ground. One appointed to stay in the box. Someone would shout “Release” and everyone would scatter and hide. And the person in the square had to try to find them. Cat and Dog- game Place a small stick which is pointed a both ends at the edge of a kerb. Then take a bigger stick and hit it so it would fly into the air. The person who hit their stick the furthest would win. It was simple but very enjoyable. Hide and Go Seek- game [doesn’t give a description] Thunder up the Alley- game Lighting papers and put them up the drainpipe/chute and the draught took it up the chute. Mary says they should not have done that but they did, and says that they were bored. Playing Shop and Playing House- game Used the tombstones in the Protestant graveyard [St Peter’s on Grattan Street] They put all their “googles”? [8:10-8:20] on the tombstones and their friends came to “buy” them. They used coloured glass for sweets. Played with neighbours boys and girls. Run Away Knock-game People would claim they would tell Mary’s parents about playing this game but they never did because they knew it was innocent. Reminisces about childhood with friends now. |
0.09.58 - 0.11.21 |
Compares her childhood with that of today Things that she did people might frown on eg. playing on a tombstone. Mentions having a picnic on a gravestone on holidays. Contrasts this with deliberate vandalisation of graves. Wasn’t afraid of graveyard because her mother said mother said that “The living are doing the harm the dead can’t do anything to you”. |
0.11.21 - 0.12.48 |
Food and Meals Porridge for breakfast sometimes called gruel. They had tea and could toast bread in front of fire, no toasters. Doesn’t think there were cornflakes at the time. Simple life but great happiness. “everybody was on the same level” “we had nothing but we had everything” “we had love, happiness, peace and there’s no money can buy these things”, “If you hadn’t it you did without it.” |
0.12.48- 0.15.09 |
Pawn Shops There were loan offices available but Mary said they would try to avoid those because they couldn’t afford it. There was only one man’s wages coming into the family. Pawn shops were “rampant” at the time. Suits for Sunday mass were sent to the pawn on Monday morning and on Thursday when you got your wages you would get the suit back out from the pawn. “that was living in my time”, “no shame in it” People had to survive and get food for their children, and wages were small. “We managed”. Her brother doesn’t agree with her that they were the happiest days of their lives. If they got something it was like Christmas. “We made do with what we had.” |
0.15.09 - 0.16.32 |
A Sunday Treat A penny on Sunday from her father for sweets. There was shop across from where they lived. They could get bonbons and other sweets. 4 farthings in a penny. You could get change from a penny! Thinks most people were happy at the time. |
0.16.32 - 0.18.58 |
Clothes: Repairs and Hand-me-downs Fathers would repair shoes. They would buy leather form Davisons Shop [16:40 or Davidsons?] shop on North Main Street. Used a strip of leather to put heels on shoes using a “Last” [cobbler’s last- a tool similar to the shape of a human foot used to make or repair shoes] tacked leather onto the shoe Used paring knife to remove excess leather. And then “Blackened it with the polish”. Repaired both shoe heels and soles. It was expensive to send them to the shoemaker and they couldn’t afford it. Tough times but great times. |
0.18.58 - 0.22.57 |
Father’s work in the Munster Arcade and his family bringing him Lunch Father, mother 6 children 4 boys and 2 girls lived in one floor of a 5 floor tenement. Dad worked as porter in the Munster Arcade. His job involved work around the shop and delivering parcels. Munster Arcade and Cashes were the best shops in Cork, very expensive. His children used to help their dad. Galvanised pot for tea and bread and butter brought to his work for his lunch. Everyone did something similar for lunches at the time. Couldn’t afford to buy ham. No such thing as going to a café for them. Munster Arcade was an elite shop for people who had big jobs. The staff were very lovely. |
0.22.57 - 0.29.30 |
Father having to Deliver a Tie. Attitude of the Elite. Once a woman from Montenotte or St Luke’s bought a tie for her husband and Mary’s father had to deliver the tie at 5.30pm when he was due to finish at 6pm. Father often spoke, cribbed and cursed about that incident. “That’s the way people lived at that time like. They were up there like and we were down here.” She puts this attitude down to ignorance. “They wanted to be up there looking down on us” but “We were better off because we had what they couldn’t buy: love and contentment.” Describes a world of the haves and have nots. Feels sorry for people who have to pretend that they are well-off rather than being themselves. Describes her thinking as old-fashioned. |
0.26.04 - 0.29.30 |
Change of Attitudes to Work today. Positive Change in role of men in Housework. Thinks everything is “put on a plate” for people- that everything must be done for them and people are not grateful for what they have. Thinks it’s degrading to tell people “but that’s your job.” Men were never expected to do housework or look after children in the past and now it’s changed and she is glad. Fathers would take children for walks, fishing or to matches. But everything else was done by the mother. Is glad that her children turned out well, thinks it was worth her effort raising them when she thinks back. Recalls a recent news story of a 10 year old drunk and questions the role of parents today. |
0.29.30 - 0.30.45 |
Pub Culture Then and Now Describes how when men were paid their wages they would go to the pub, and how women and children were not allowed in pubs. Believes children were not allowed in pubs then. Thinks now women are worse than men from what she hears as regards drinking behaviour. Believes this is unfair on children. |
0.30.45 - 0.33.48 |
Mother bringing them on Trips, Youghal, Swimming Describes parents as salt of the earth. Had to be home at a certain time. Could play on the street as there was very little traffic. They were taken to Fitzgerald’s Park or Lee Fields for an outing One Sunday in August would be trip to Youghal. Train to Youghal. Thousands of people like cattle there. Train stopped near the beach. And came home at 6pm in the evening. People wouldn’t believe you had been to the beach unless you got sunburned. Swam in Youghal. No bathing togs! Sandwiches on the beach. Learned to swim in Youghal. Her children went to the lifesaving clubs. It was essential that time |
0.33.48 - 0.45.47 |
Mother and Making Ends Meet: Pawns, Meals, Food Shopping Mother pawned father’s suit to make ends meet. And not ashamed of it. It was the thing to do to feed the children. Remembers her mother cooking stews and potatoes. Big bowl of potatoes in the centre of the table and everyone for themselves with butter on them! Tripe and Drisheen- good for the stomach. Beautiful dish. The dug of the lamb. Milk, onions, mushrooms, thicken with white sauce, and add potatoes. Mary still makes it as a winter dish. Her sons like it but not her daughters or daughter in laws. It’s still sold in O’Reilly’s in the English Market which was only around the corner from Grattan Street. Kidneys- skirts and kidneys. Kidneys referred to as “sheep’s pooley bags” [pooley: urine cf Sean Beecher Cork Slang: https://corkslang.com/pooley] Offal and offal bones, liver. The main dishes for the working classes. They were not able to afford steak. Today people are too squeamish about offal. English Market: The Chicken Inn. O’Reilly’s Tripe and Drisheen. Everyone had their own butcher. English Market was very basic when Mary was younger. Coal Quay was brilliant on a Saturday. Cornmarket Street used to be full of stalls, clothes, people, tinned food. Annie Punch half way down Cornmarket Street a big woman and a Cork character- “The Mother of the Coal Quay” blond, happy-go-lucky and funny person. Selling second-hand clothes at the time, although now they sell new clothes. It was very popular at Christmas. There’s snobbery about going into the Coal Quay today. Shop on corner Twomeys was popular. People would buy their Christmas Trees and decorations- Annie Punch was the main dealer for these. Saturday morning farmers would come to the city to sell their vegetables. There were also local shops that they supported. |
0.45.47 - 0.48.26 |
Christmas Might not have had a Christmas Tree but Santa Claus always came. They had chicken for Christmas dinner couldn’t afford a turkey Christmas Eve night her own children were frightened by her husband dresses as Santa Clause outside the window. They made their own fun back then. |
0.48.26 - 0.53.02 |
Singsongs and Music Singsongs after the pub which they could hear in bed a night. O’Callaghan’s Pub for the sing song. And opposite the protestant graveyard was the parting place at the end of the night. “Bill Bill” played the trumpet in The Workingman’s Band used to play it at 1am after the pub. The Workingman’s Band The Workingman’s Band played various wind instruments. They would meet in the club and march up Grattan Street and they were meant to turn left up to Patrick Street but one man turned right and people discovered he wasn’t playing his instrument! “They were very happy days” Songs at the singsong: “Mother mo Chroí”, “Kathleen Mavourneen”, “I’ll take you Home Again Kathleen”, “South of the Border- Down Mexico Way” Saturday night was the singsong and they would all make mass on Sunday morning in the Confraternity in St Peter and Paul’s Church for 8am mass or in St Francis church. Mary admired that they all stuck together. The men used take their pint but they never abused or neglected their families. |
0.53.02 - 0.57.46 |
Dancehalls and Father’s Strict Timekeeping Dances were held from 8pm-11pm in St. Francis Hall on Sheares Street. If they arrived home late her father would say: “I said 11 not five past” wouldn’t be allowed go the following week. Feels lucky that they were disciplined in this way. Her father was very strict but that all parents were like that at the time. Gresham Rooms on Maylor Street off Patrick Street was another place for dances, which their father was reluctant to let them attend as it was further away than St. Francis Hall. The Arcadia was an enjoyable place for dances. At dances the men were on one side of the room and women on the other. Women would run to the ladies toilet if an undesirable man came across the dancehall to ask them for a dance. “What a scatter!” Ladies choice: halfway through the night the women would have to ask the men for a dance. You could be reported and removed from the hall for refusing a dance. Lists some bands and singers: Victor Silvester, Clipper Carltons, Joe Mac and the Dixielanders. Terry McCarthy had died the week of this interview was a great singer. |
0.57.46 - 1.00.43 |
Funeral and Memories of Terry McCarthy and Music in Churches Beautiful funeral mass even better than that for a bishop! Large crowd at the funeral. Well organised and felt like being in heaven. When Mary was 80 her family invited Terry McCarthy to sing for her and he sang great old songs not pop music. Thinks that pop music is unsuitable to play at funerals and masses. |
1.00.43 - 1.08.51 |
Dancehalls: Rules, Learning, Locations and no Dances at Lent You couldn’t refuse a dance at a dancehall. And you couldn’t dance unless you were asked. A “legger” was a bad dancer. Types of dances: tango, quick step, foxtrot, and waltz. Learned how to dance at the dancehalls from each other and from a dancing partner at the dance. They would practice dancing at home with the sweeping brush! People would help and teach you when dancing. Some of the men were very proud of their dancing and would be showing off. Could get a glass of milk and buy tea and cake later on. Dance Halls: The Arcadia was the main ballroom in Cork was open 9pm until 2am, near Kent Station. Gresham Rooms. Dance near [Collins] Barracks and near Tivoli. Cork Boat Club on the Marina dancing finished at 2am and then they had to walk home. Once a friend Pauline from the Marsh who was an opera singer sang on the way home from the Marina but a Garda arrived and asked them to leave. Mary describes herself as a “chorus girl” rather than a solo singer! No dancing or dancehalls during Lent. So they met at the same time and went for a walk out the Lee Road. No vandalism at the time. “We made our own enjoyment” They would talk about fellas or sing while on their walk. They all went and came back as group from the Marsh/Middle Parish. |
1.08.51 - 1.12.23 |
Illnesses Measles, whooping cough, scabies, diphtheria- which 3 in her family had, Mary was the carrier. Puts it down to lack of hygiene. Diphtheria was the killer disease aside from TB. Her 3 family members were isolated in St Finbarr’s Hospital. Doctor told her mother to put her uninfected daughter into the hospital with the others to catch diphtheria and recover from it. Mary spent much of her time crying while in isolation and having to look out the window at her parents. It was sad. There were many medical tests. Recalls a neighbour who had polio. |
1.12.23 - 1.15.48
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Dispensary Grattan Street: Doctors and Medicines There were 6 doctors in the local Dispensary on Grattan Street. each area had its own doctor. People from the Marsh/ Middle Parish had Dr Cagney. Dr Cagney was very strict, very cross, “what else can I give you now beside a car?!” he said to Mary’s mother. Dr Cagney was a big man and elderly at the time and his son became a doctor too. [Dr Michael Cagney was his son, see: CFP_SR00762_OConnell_2019] Parishes Food it was like a tonic. Everyone liked the taste of it. You didn’t need a prescription for it. You brought an empty bottle to the dispensary after having visited the doctor who gave you a note with details of your required medicine and your bottle would be filled up accordingly in the dispensing unit. Cod liver oil was also recommended and was got in the Dispensary. Recalls giving her children cod liver oil with an orange to improve the taste. |
1.15.48 - 1.21.08
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Queuing in Dispensary for Doctor. Pharmacist and Caretaker Had to queue up on benches for up to 2 hours. There were 6 doctors, Dr Cagney was theirs. You’d get a prescription and then hand that to the dispensing unit on the way out. Thinks she recalls there being a Dr Fennell there as well. No appointments you just queued up. Beautiful atmosphere in there. She would know people there. Mentions 2 caretakers who lived on site. She knew is as “The Quakers” although she never met them but was aware that they had once lived there. Beautiful courtyard. Two families lived there either side of the front entrance: Morrissy’s (the dispenser) and Lucey’s or Healey’s were there caretakers. The daughters of the Morrissy’s would have been friends with Mary. [see also CFP_SR00760_Morrissy_2019;] Would see their neighbours in the waiting room. Couldn’t afford a private doctor. Different doctors there for different parts of the city. The Cagney’s were very popular, Dr Cagney’s son Michael took over. |
1.21.08 - 1.26.50 |
The Waiting Room could be very full with people. if the 6 doctors were present. Convenient living in Grattan Street as they were across the road. Very few chemists at the time. Everyone hoped they would get Parishes Food illnesses Polio and diphtheria. They weren’t afraid of the diseases, would be sometimes delighted to get sick to avoid school. Whooping cough and chickenpox were normal diseases. Treatment for whooping cough was mostly rest. There was an old saying “we got over the measles” Her brother Paddy was seriously affected by diphtheria. Symptoms of diphtheria You felt like your throat was coming up through your mouth. Thinks about how her parents coped with having children in St Finbarr’s isolation ward when they had no transport. |
1.26.50 - 1.32.00
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Christmas Party and ‘Simple Living’ of the Past There was a Christmas party for all the children with a bottle of watered down rasa/raza (raspberry cordial) and sweets. Everybody was on the same level except for a few who were slightly better off but they All going to the same school St Mary’s of the Isle. Great neighbourliness. Thinks they were very lucky and that their parents kept them “on the straight and narrow”. Says there was a lot of problems alcohol and drink but not in her family- suggests some people may not have had enough money to pay for food due to alcoholism. John O’Shea [likely the same O’Shea interviewed CFP00774] wrote a book about the “Red City” the Northside of Cork. Much of the book Mary agreed with and identifies with eg. box cars, collecting wood and making bundles out of it to sell it. “What we had to do to make a couple of bob” eg the Pawn shops. People were happy to live that way she thinks. Simple living. |
1.32.00 - 1.33.25
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Quakers and Grattan Street The Quakers did live in Grattan Street, it was their religion. Mary says her daughter-in-law is working in Grattan Street. It was a lovely building. |
1.33.25 - 1.34.19
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School behind Dispensary St. Francis Boys School was at the back of the dispensary. “Rowdy Boys College” was what it was called at the time. Thinks that there is a private school in there at the moment. |
1.34.19 - 1.35.04 |
Happiness and Gratitude Reiterates that they were the happiest days of her life games as children, made their own enjoyment and is grateful for her good parents. And feels sorry for people today who aren’t as lucky. |
1.35.04 - 1.36.31
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LDF Local Defence Force Recalls the LDF (Local Defence Force) marching and as being part of the army and they wore berets. |
1.36.31 - 0.00.00
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Attitude towards the dispensary Dr Cagney lived on Summerhill North. His son took over. Mark Cagney the radio presenter is related to that family. Dr Cagney looked after Mary’s mother Mary. Says Dr Cagney senior was abrupt but had respect for the elderly which is not always the case today, thinks that sometimes elderly people can be treated as just a number. |
1.39.20 - 1.44.48
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The Franciscans They were friendly, spiritual and gave people time. People knew the Franciscans personally they weren’t snobs and you could invite them into your house for tea. The Franciscans were out more. Many people in Grattan Street were in the choir in St Francis. They also hosted a Christmas party for the children. Recalls them being funnier and more down to earth than regular priests. Went to mass in St Francis. St Peter and Paul’s was their parish church to which they went once a month for the confraternity meeting for rosary and prayers on Monday night and the following Sunday there was a confraternity mass at 8am on Sunday. Had to be fasting from the night before to receive holy communion. They had breakfast then after mass. On some Sundays they might have a rasher and egg- their father would get priority for a good breakfast. On Sunday would do their homework, go to Fitzgerald’s Park, Lee Fields to the outdoor baths. |
1.44.48 - 1.48.22
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Religion: Fasting Rules and Rejecting Man-made Religious Rules Today Fasted before Holy Communion and for Good Friday, they didn’t eat meat which was easy as they didn’t have much meat, but it is harder now for her to abstain from meat. Doesn’t fast on Good Friday anymore, she would eat meat. She has “no scruples” anymore about eating meat on Friday. “It don’t bother me” She feels she has “did my bit” and “we did more than our bit”, they didn’t have to do what they did. She considers these rules and restrictions to be manmade laws. She decides for herself now whether to eat before communion or on Fridays. Would prefer to go back to a basic, simple religion which would include going to mass and a few prayers at night, but without all the dogmatic things and novenas. Thinks that some people in the past probably didn’t bother following all those rules. People felt they were guilty of sin and felt it and went to confession. |
1.48.22 - 1.55.12
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Confession: Unfair on Children and Story of a Lenient Priest Mary used to teach young “itinerant” or traveller children for their First Holy Communion. Brought them for their first confession to the North Cathedral. The children were speaking so loudly that she could hear their sins and recalls one of them saying “I stucked out me tongue at me nanny” and thinks it was wrong that children were made to feel guilt and sin about something so small. People would say “you’d go to hell”. She thinks this was very wrong. She thinks that she took these rules to heart and Jesus never expected people to behave as they were required to. “Everything we did was a sin” “We went to confession shaking” “We came up the hard way, we were guilty of stupid things.” And says that their parents were the same way. They were chastised at home. Kissing a boy was considered to be a sin, but she doesn’t believe it was a sin in retrospect. Priest in North Cathedral who was reputed to say “God bless you my child” in response to any confessed sin no matter how grave. There used to be queues for this Fr Hart. Says that she would know herself whether something was wrong or right. Some people took sins too far, and some people would stay away from confession for years because they were so afraid of what their sin was even though it was not that serious. People went to Fr Hart in the North Chapel/ North Cathedral because of his easier approach. |
1.55.12 - 1.56.22
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No Sex before Marriage There was “very clean living before we got married”. There was never sex involved before her marriage. And she believes this was the right way. |
1.56.22 - 2.01.24
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First Holy Communion and Children Understanding Religion Was teaching the Northside traveller children in St Mary’s Cathedral (North Cathedral) as she was in the Legion of Mary on Brown Street. Doesn’t think that children really understand their religion when they are so young so they should wait until they are older, maybe 12 years old before they make their first holy communion. Recalls her own First Holy Communion as being very serious. Got dressed and had a veil and went to a photographer on Windmill Road. Everything was so respectful and disciplined. Mary returns to discussing the funeral mass for Terry McCarthy to compare the beauty and respect of that mass. Her own communion dress was made for her, as most people did at the time. Visited all her cousins for her First Holy Communion and “got the few bob” received money from family members and went home to count it on the table. She gave her parents some of the money. Thinks today that children make about 1,000 euro on their First Holy Communion and that this has become its real purpose and meaning. The church is full for Holy Communion day but the next Sunday they are not present. Mary made her own communion in South Chapel because she was going to St Mary’s of the Isle School. |
2.01.24 - 2.07.46
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Grateful for her Happy Memories and Good Friends Recalls her happiness and friends from school. Friendship, respect for parents, teachers and friends were her memories of the past. Still in contact with those old friends. Sincere friendships and bonds. “Always keep your friends” is what Mary recommends. She meets her friends to reminisce and recall things that she might have forgotten. She would never dismiss anything that happened years ago. [02.04.10 ] “I’ll tell you something now like” when she can’t sleep things from the past come back to her and she thinks about them for hours. Feels lucky she has these lovely memories to fall back on. Very simple living and they shopped locally. |
2.05.16-2.07.55
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Shops, Sweets, Candy Apples on Gerald Griffin Street The milk emporium the daily lived second-next-door to them and they sold milk and eggs, butter. Tuckshop was underneath for sweets. There were shops on every corner, you could go into “Candy apples was a big thing at the time” There was a place near the North Cathedral on Gerald Griffin Street where a woman would stick a lollipop stick into an eating apple, cover it in sugar and put it into a holder to sell it. Mary says that she didn’t expect to have been speaking for so long. Mary asks the interviewer what time it is, he responds that it’s after 1pm. One son calls to her for dinner but he will “help himself”. |
2.07.46- 2.07.55
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Outro |
2.07.55
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Interview Ends |
Describes her Cork grandmother Eileen O’Reilly née Ahern who always saw the funny side of things. She was a milliner and dressmaker and took in lodgers, usually meteorologists working at Roches Point. She also claimed to have heard the banshee the night before her husband died.
Speaks of her humorous grand-aunt who lived in Greenmount and describes her home including the sideboard and salt dish. “Drinking her tears” was one of her sayings.
Imelda refers to her schooldays in Scotland including corporal punishment administered by nuns. Her school had a mine beneath it to train the boys to work in mines when they were older. Was not sure of her career when she was in school but she came from a medical family. Her father chose their school subjects with a view to them acquiring vocational jobs rather than corporate jobs where they could be fired.
Discusses her father’s optician practice and how she and her family worked with him there writing prescriptions and repairing glasses.
Speaks about moving to Glasgow for college, finding the people friendly and accidently living in an alcohol-free part of the city. Enjoyed the college ski club.
Describes her podiatry clinical experience in Scotland. Explains that podiatry requires dexterity. Podiatrists work on a range of issues including biomechanics, diabetes, gangrene, neurovascular disease, wound care, ulcer prevention and more. Mentions the Irish Medicines Board regulatory issues surrounding podiatry nail surgery in Ireland at the time of interview.
Explains that the typical podiatry patient in the Grattan Street Medical Centre is usually high risk. States that podiatry services need to be expanded so they deal with more moderate risk patients in order to catch early problems and thus prevent them becoming serious issues.
Says that her first reaction to the Grattan Street building in 1999 was that it was like Colditz prison because of the bars on the windows. Explains that she does not share other staff’s love of the Grattan Street Building because of this and further criticises the leaky roof, holes in the walls, dirtiness of the canteen, and its general unsuitability as a clinical environment. Imelda encourages patients to complain about the conditions in the building but they don’t wish too as they are satisfied with the service. She has had positive experiences with other staff in spite of the building not because of it. She will miss the people not the building.
Mentions a patient’s negative opinion of refugees arriving in Ireland in the past, but says that it’s no longer a common opinion.
Expresses positivity in relation to the move to St. Mary’s Primary Care Centre Gurranbraher. Hopes that the services can be expanding and the workplace will be greatly improved including storage space, a computer system, space for filing cabinets.
Remembers that her older patients spoke of the dispensary in Grattan Street where they received free medicines and doctors’ appointments.
Expresses surprise that someone would want to get married in the Grattan Street marriage registry office as she does not like the building.
Mentions that podiatry work requires you to adapt to people and situations and also negatively affects your back. Speaks of patients telling her things in confidence that go beyond podiatry and her attempts to assist them such as encouraging them to contact counselling services due to sexual abuse and bereavement.
Recalls some incidents during flooding events while at work.
Describes how she saw many cases of rickets in Glasgow but none in Cork, while Cork had a higher rate of patients with long-term effects from polio, including the need for shoe adaptations or splints.
Speaks about vaccines and how to encourage people to take them. Suggests that the success of vaccines in suppressing diseases has meant that many parents haven’t seen any cases of these diseases and thus do not appreciate the risks they pose.
]]>Imelda grew up in Bathgate between Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. Her mother was from Cork so Imelda spent time in Whitegate in her youth where she enjoyed the relative freedom she had there playing children’s games and spending time on beaches like Corkbeg and Inch.
Describes her Cork grandmother Eileen O’Reilly née Ahern who always saw the funny side of things. She was a milliner and dressmaker and took in lodgers, usually meteorologists working at Roches Point. She also claimed to have heard the banshee the night before her husband died.
Speaks of her humorous grand-aunt who lived in Greenmount and describes her home including the sideboard and salt dish. “Drinking her tears” was one of her sayings.
Imelda refers to her schooldays in Scotland including corporal punishment administered by nuns. Her school had a mine beneath it to train the boys to work in mines when they were older. Was not sure of her career when she was in school but she came from a medical family. Her father chose their school subjects with a view to them acquiring vocational jobs rather than corporate jobs where they could be fired.
Discusses her father’s optician practice and how she and her family worked with him there writing prescriptions and repairing glasses.
Speaks about moving to Glasgow for college, finding the people friendly and accidently living in an alcohol-free part of the city. Enjoyed the college ski club.
Describes her podiatry clinical experience in Scotland. Explains that podiatry requires dexterity. Podiatrists work on a range of issues including biomechanics, diabetes, gangrene, neurovascular disease, wound care, ulcer prevention and more. Mentions the Irish Medicines Board regulatory issues surrounding podiatry nail surgery in Ireland at the time of interview.
Explains that the typical podiatry patient in the Grattan Street Medical Centre is usually high risk. States that podiatry services need to be expanded so they deal with more moderate risk patients in order to catch early problems and thus prevent them becoming serious issues.
Says that her first reaction to the Grattan Street building in 1999 was that it was like Colditz prison because of the bars on the windows. Explains that she does not share other staff’s love of the Grattan Street Building because of this and further criticises the leaky roof, holes in the walls, dirtiness of the canteen, and its general unsuitability as a clinical environment. Imelda encourages patients to complain about the conditions in the building but they don’t wish too as they are satisfied with the service. She has had positive experiences with other staff in spite of the building not because of it. She will miss the people not the building.
Mentions a patient’s negative opinion of refugees arriving in Ireland in the past, but says that it’s no longer a common opinion.
Expresses positivity in relation to the move to St. Mary’s Primary Care Centre Gurranbraher. Hopes that the services can be expanding and the workplace will be greatly improved including storage space, a computer system, space for filing cabinets.
Remembers that her older patients spoke of the dispensary in Grattan Street where they received free medicines and doctors’ appointments.
Expresses surprise that someone would want to get married in the Grattan Street marriage registry office as she does not like the building.
Mentions that podiatry work requires you to adapt to people and situations and also negatively affects your back. Speaks of patients telling her things in confidence that go beyond podiatry and her attempts to assist them such as encouraging them to contact counselling services due to sexual abuse and bereavement.
Recalls some incidents during flooding events while at work.
Describes how she saw many cases of rickets in Glasgow but none in Cork, while Cork had a higher rate of patients with long-term effects from polio, including the need for shoe adaptations or splints.
Speaks about vaccines and how to encourage people to take them. Suggests that the success of vaccines in suppressing diseases has meant that many parents haven’t seen any cases of these diseases and thus do not appreciate the risks they pose.
0.00.00 - 0.02.27 |
Background and House Grew up in Bathgate between Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, mom is from Cork. Spent time in Cork as child granny from Greenmount. Great-grand parents lived in James Street. Granny from Barrack Street lived in Whitegate, married to a guard [Garda] from Cavan. 2 sisters and 2 brothers. 3 weeks in Cork, and holiday in October. Old house and moved to estate where lots of people to play with. Then moved to house on main road where lots of older people. |
0.02.27 - 0.04.23 |
Children’s Games Hide and Seek, chap door run (run away knock), elastics, skipping, marbles, kiss cuddle and torture (boys chased the girls and if you were caught you got to decide between as kiss, cuddle and torture), British Bulldogs (someone always got hurt doing it). |
0.04.23 - 0.14.27 |
Memories of Granny (Grand Mother) Impact on family still, had a saying for everything. Saw funny side of things even though she had a hard life. Getting Imelda to go back to the butchers claiming “those aren’t four lean chump chops” Freedom of spending time in Whitegate, playing in Trabolgan- archway supposedly haunted by a duke. Granny’s house was rented, beside the barracks, had four bedrooms. Mattresses for them when they called over. Granny would cook scones, custard, stews. She played piano and sang. Loved music, had record of James Last. One of granny’s sayings: “Throw a bit of lipstick on brighten yourself up” She was small, wore glasses, long-sighted. She was a milliner and dress-maker. Annamae Aherne was a woman from the village who told Imelda her granny had made her first ball gown for her first dance. She did alterations for people. She had a Singer Sewing Machine with a foot pedal. In her 80s granny’s eyesight was going but she would work the foot pedal and Imelda thread the needle and guided it. Granny crocheted as well. She had lodgers. Eddie Tucker meteorologist at Roches Point lodged with granny for 25 years. Tony Cotter (meteorologist) lodged there for a while (Silvia was his wife). Headmaster at local school lodged with her for a while. Liam Cotter walked her dog in the rain and when he returned she had a warm towel ready for the dog not Liam! |
0.14.27 - 0.18.18 |
Granny’s House in Whitegate Scotsman piper as a knocker on her front door. Beautiful view from her front door of the sea across to Cobh. There was a garage next door and she would sit and chat with Gerry O’Connell. Spent time on Corkbeg beach where the refinery and holding tanks are now. There was a ballroom there. Spent all day on the beach. Dad and granny would bring the stews and potatoes from the house to the beach. Inch beach, even if it was raining. In and out of the water all day. Inch had good waves to dive into. Cousins there as well. Lanagan cousins from Dublin, Gibson cousins from Leixlip. She loved Cork because it had better weather than Scotland. |
0.18.18 - 0.22.25 |
Stories from her Granny Granny said she heard a banshee the night before her husband died. Heard a noise at the door and opened it and there was no one there. Grandfather stationed in Blarney before Whitegate. Thinks her granny “liked to play the field a bit” and had arranged to meet different men and she had to send her sister to meet one and cancel one of the meetings. Granny’s sister cut off her granny’s long plaited hair. Imelda’s granddad used to cycle from Whitegate to Cavan to see his family and would get as far as Mullingar on the first day. Great grand parents lived on James Street Mary Ellen and Jeremiah Ahern, buried in Ballyphehane cemetery. Learned about them from great-aunt in Greenmount Buildings off Barrack Street. Dad was Scottish and had sense of Irishness but his mother didn’t as they left Northern Ireland as Catholics in a predominantly Catholic area. Imelda’s mom went back and did her “highers” exams the same year Imelda was doing hers. |
0.22.25 - 0.24.50 |
Grand-Aunt Grand-aunt was funny and had funny sayings like “drinking your tears” with laughter. A sideboard was where you kept dishes, condiments, sugar bowl, drawers with cutlery. Dish for the salt rather than salt shaker. |
0.24.50 - 0.31.26 |
School In Scotland: mixed school, state schools, catholic school. St Mary’s primary School Bathgate. Dad’s sister was a teacher and she came to that school when on her placement. Mistress of the infant school would dye her hair a different colour every week pink and blue. Some of the teachers psychologically unhinged. Nun who slapped people with a hoover slap and would run her knuckles down pupils’ spines. There was a mine underneath the school to train the boys how to work in a mine. It had good sports facilities. At Christmas they had a Ceilidh, which Imelda had at her wedding and everyone loved. She liked English and History. It annoys her that they weren’t taught Scottish history. Says there is a difference between rebellion and uprising. Very little Irish history on their curriculum in Scotland. She feels Scottish but has an affiliation with Ireland. She’s been in Ireland over 20 years and doesn’t think she will lose her accent. |
0.31.26 - 0.33.13 |
Family Tree Great grandfather was apparently good with horses and was a coachman in Ballymena House although there is no record of him in the archives. He lived until his nineties. And he was a gardener too. Worked in garden in Ayrshire. Granny didn’t speak about Northern Ireland at all and considered herself Scottish. |
0.33.13 - 0.36.33 |
Choice of Career and Career Path Didn’t know what she wanted to do in school, thought about optics but didn’t like physics. Applied for Podiatry in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Got a place in Glasgow and enjoyed it. Opened a practice in Bathgate, family involved in medicine. Dad was optician, sister dentist and sister optician. Moved to Dublin when she was going out with a man from Drogheda and worked in Inchicore and then moved back home when they split up. Got a job with greater Glasgow health board. And worked in Lothian. Shettleston in Glasgow. Job came up for diabetic unit in CUH, Dr O’Halloran looking for a podiatrist which she didn’t get but was second on the panel but didn’t understand what that meant. Later a job came up in the community and she took it, back in 1999. |
0.36.33 - 0.39.54 |
Choosing Podiatry for University & career. Dad’s influence Had been thinking about different options but couldn’t come up with anything better and felt pressurised to make a choice. Hated Podiatry after the first year as it was mostly revision for her and she was bored. She began to enjoy it in second year when there was more patient interaction and became more challenging. Her dad had a formula for all the children in school for which subjects they did. He thought that if you have a vocational job that you will always be employed, didn’t want them to be hired by large corporate companies where they could be fired. Her brother did law, brother is GP, sister dentist, sister optometrist. Thinks her dad was a bit closed to other occupations. It wasn’t bad advice but she won’t be using that approach with her children. A nephew doing economics and another doing architecture and they love them. Family is all fairly artistic but it wasn’t an option at the time. |
0.39.54 - 0.42.00 |
Father’s Optician Practice Imelda and family worked there. She could write prescriptions for lenses and repair glasses. Dad worked five days a week and two evenings as well. Didn’t have much time off. He had five kids had to work hard. He retired at 67. Still enjoys his whiskey. He’s very sociable, people would wait for two hours to go to see him. He would be buzzed for the next patient but he would still be talking to the previous one. Teachers in her school would know what Imelda was doing because they would have heard from her dad. |
0.42.00- 0.44.15 |
Living in Glasgow and College Loved people from Glasgow who are friendly and warm more so than Edinburgh. 17 when went to college, she had done 6 years in secondary school. Claire, a friend from school, did podiatry as well. But they picked a flat to live which was a “dry area” where no alcohol was served. Ski club in college. Imelda says if you can ski in Scotland you can ski anywhere because it’s dangerous and icy and with exposed rocks. |
0.44.15 - 0.48.06 |
Training Small college not affiliated with university, and it was a diploma. Not a degree and affiliated with Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh and Caledonia in Glasgow. On Crookston Road in a prefab where the clinics were. Because it was free everybody came and they could cater for 40 or 50 people. A podiatry school was established in Ireland about 6 years ago (2013) it’s in NUIG Galway University. Cork put in a bid for it but didn’t get it. [Whispers that Cork should’ve gotten it!] thinks that they bought the curriculum and course content from Glasgow. Glasgow was a small place so you got to know the lecturers well. Training was 9-5. Over the summer clinical set had to be done over the holidays because patients needed to be seen. 2 or 3 days of lectures and 2 or 3 days of clinics as well. Lots of hours of clinical training which she thought was good to get the practical experience as podiatry is a job that requires dexterity. She thinks the focus now in training is more on the background, and that a lot of people graduating now cannot treat a corn because they haven’t been shown properly or haven’t been exposed enough to it. Focus is also now more on wound care. Focus on wound care in high risk patients means you lose skills in other things like biomechanics and nail surgery. |
0.48.06 - 0.52.38 |
Role of Podiatrist Not about cutting toenails. They do cut toenails if there is something wrong with them. Holistic view of the patient. Look at the patient from the waist down. Biomechanics is the way people walk and the alignment of the joints and muscles. Hen toed and bow-legged. Some things can be corrected if seen early enough. Most of her patients are older, they are diabetics or have neurovascular disease or other neurological issues which you are not correcting just offloading to prevent ulceration. Diabetes on the increase and its complications can cause terrible things with feet- ulcers, gangrene etc. Wound care is a big part of what she does. Including removing skin, tissue and bone from wounds. Focus on wound care may not be what they should be doing. Issues with nail surgery. Hopes it will be sorted when State Registration comes in. 4 staff when Imelda started 20 years ago and there are 6 now. She thinks there should be over 60 now in her Cork area based on the population. There were 96 podiatrists in Glasgow when she worked there. Biggest population in HSE South. Fighting fire all the time not doing any prevention. |
0.52.38 - 0.57.00 |
Typical Client or Patient All high risk. Greater risk or have had ulceration, infection, amputation, gangrene. Active means they currently have one of those issues. Those with potential to develop problems may have problems with circulation, sensation or underlying medical conditions. Should be getting the moderate risk people and helping them from developing into Never-ending ‘like painting the Forth Bridge’. [colloquial expression for an unending task] Lots of diabetics. Majority of those with foot diseases are vascular because the vascular team doesn’t have a foot team. Mainly over 65s. But have people under 65 and have a few children too. Frustrating to only by offering a limited services because of lack of staff. |
0.57.00 - 0.58.28 |
Nail surgery Podiatrists enjoy doing nail surgery. When local anaesthetic issue is cleared up they will have to be retrained in nail surgery in NUIG (National University Galway). Not legal under Irish Medicines Board to use and buy and store anaesthetic. Could use it now if they could get a patient group directive going. |
0.58.28 - 1.01.50 |
Podiatry in Glasgow More of a general podiatry service. More structure in the services. Specialist clinics with pathways. A wider range than in Cork. Range of things that should be seen in Cork but were seen in Glasgow. Worked with foot care assistant. Did a biomechanics clinic. Did a nail surgery once a month to keep up to speed. Doing the same thing in Cork becomes monotonous and boring a bit of variety is more interesting and challenging. |
1.01.50 - 1.05.26 |
Impression of Grattan Street Thought it looked like Colditz because of the bars on the windows. Was feeling quite despondent about it. Thought “oh my god what have I done” Marion O’Donovan founded the podiatry service in 1967 in Greenmount Community Centre. Imelda had been working in Bishopbriggs in Glasgow seeing 30 patients a day- which was lunacy. Worked with foot care assistant and it was like a conveyer belt. She used a scalpel for the debridement [the removal of damaged tissue or foreign objects from a wound.] When she started with Marion they had 4 patients in the morning. Marion was very kind to her and didn’t want to scare her by giving her too many patients at the beginning. Told Marion “you could book in a few more!” Marion was very nice and ‘mothered’ |
1.05.26 - 1.08.06 |
Big Changes of Staff Speech and language were there and left before Imelda started. Secretarial staff- there has been a huge turnover of staff from Admin support. Aisling who is the current agency staff is great. Imelda, Marion, Helen, Vicky were in Podiatry. Marion is retired. Helen has been there the longest. Helen does 2 days a week, Vicky does 3 days a week, Imelda does 4 days a week. PHNs change a lot, AMOs change a lot and admin staff has changed as well. Lots of people coming through Grattan Street and so Imelda knows a lot of people from different areas- a good form of networking. Good that she knows who to contact, especially about patients. [Phone Rings. Interview Paused] |
1.08.06 - 1.09.31 |
[interview restarts] Never thought it was a nice building. Bars on the windows. Hasn’t seen it painted. Money has not been spent on it. It’s a clinical environment which has not been well maintained. Imelda will not be sad when Grattan Street closes. Substandard. Holes in the wall. Will miss the camaraderie. |
1.09.31 - 1.10.42 |
Parking in Grattan Street and relations with Colleagues Parking has been a nightmare. There has nearly been fisticuffs about it. May have to move your car ten times when with a patient. Lucky to have free parking. On the whole got on well with colleagues, except for a few who were hard to get on with due to odd personalities. |
1.10.42 - 1.12.00 |
Patients’ Perspective of Grattan Street Imelda tries to get patients to complain about the holes and cracks in walls. People don’t want to complain but they are happy with the service and the people. |
1.12.00 - 1.15.30 |
Grattan Street vs a Different Environment St Mary’s Would like pleasant surroundings for the workplace where people spend so much of their time. Imelda describes Grattan Street as a kip. 20 years working in that environment is not good. Hopes that in St Mary’s the services can be expanded. Set up an ad hoc foot care clinic in Mayfield and it was a way of saving HSE money as patients were being prescribed bespoke footwear from GPs which is expensive and may not often be needed. Imelda can insert insoles into stock shoes which helps the patients and saves the HSE money. No shelves have been put in to stock the shoes. St Mary’s will have a space for storing shoes, there will be a workshop, a state-of-the-art sterilisation room and four clinical rooms. They are also going paperless. They will have a new computer system. This is possible because they are such a small unit. There are 8 filing cabinets in podiatry in Grattan Street and there will not be space in St Mary’s for these. Hopes that the camaraderie of Grattan Street will continue in St Mary’s, although she has heard the canteen is small and it’s hard to get to the kettle. |
1.15.30 - 1.21.12 |
Grattan Street, Attitudes to Migrants and Refugees Imelda started in Grattan Street in 1999 there had been a brain drain going on in Ireland with people leaving. Since there was no school of podiatry in Ireland they were relying on people from the UK coming to fill positions. One of Imelda’s first patients was very angry that an Irish person couldn’t be found to do her job. She told him not someone as good as she was! This patient had had a few children who had to leave to get work and he couldn’t understand how Imelda came in and got a job and they weren’t able to. Around this time refugees started to come into Ireland. Imelda was surprised by the racism of the over mainly 65 year old patients and what they thought it was acceptable to say. Imelda thinks it would be worse if she were black. She heard a lot of hatred towards immigrants because so many people had to leave Ireland to get work. Imelda pointed out that Irish people had to be accepted in places that they went to. People were suspicious of her coming into the country possibly because they weren’t used to people coming into the country. People would say things about immigrants taking “our jobs”. Wouldn’t expect to hear people say that so openly in Glasgow as a much more diverse city. Imelda doesn’t hear those kinds of comments now. She thinks that new graduates get a hard time from patients at first, because they are new, younger and it is almost a rite of passage. It can be hard for patients having been used to one clinician to switch to a new one. |
1.21.12 - 1.23.50 |
Change in Patients Imelda knows of a woman from Africa whose foot was put into a fire. She survived but the deformity she has is horrific. [1:22:23 phone rings and Imelda says she has to move her car] Woman was only 13 when this happened to her. Many similar stories and stories from older people of sexual abuse. Imelda feels ill-equipped to deal with it. If Imelda hears of it she has to report it, but the patients don’t want her to report it and just want to tell her in confidence. They have maybe never spoken to anyone about it before. They tend to open up as they see the same person repeatedly so they build up trust. [Pause Interview for Imelda to move her Car] |
1.23.50 - 1.25.20 |
[Interview Restarts] Refers people to counselling services which are free in North and South Lee. For sexual abuse, deaths etc. Quite a few patients do take that help but you have to almost make the phone call for them. |
1.25.20 - 1.28.45 |
Future of Grattan Street Imelda doesn’t know exactly what is happening with Grattan Street but thinks other services are moving in. Thinks work will have to be done on the building if it is to keep functioning for the HSE. There was bucket in canteen collecting water every time it rained for a years. No one should have to work in an environment like that Imelda thinks. Imelda just feels that about Grattan Street that she will “close the door” and “put it behind me”. Hates the canteen and the building thinks it’s horrible, dirty and filthy. Thinks people like it because it’s small and lots of people know each other from having worked there together for a long time. She thinks that people will miss the people not the building. The building used to be the Dispensary which provided free healthcare she thinks. Her patients when she started used to tell her that. They told her the doctors were in the dispensary, she thinks it was free health care. They used to come to get medicine. Quaker meeting house before that, and they left it to the HSE. Marriage registry is also in Grattan Street but Imelda doesn’t know why anyone would want to get married there- thinks it’s horrendous! Sees people getting married and taking photographs while she is working and has to wait for them to finish. |
1.28.45 - 1.29.15 |
Grandmother “Drinking her tears” grand mother’s saying. |
1.29.15 - 1.32.23 |
State of Podiatry in Ireland and the Option of Private Practice Services need to be expanded. They could retain staff if there was more scope- unless someone is interested in wound care they will enter private practice rather than staying in Grattan Street. Imelda has been tempted to enter private practice. Imelda has done private practice as well in the past. Imelda is now a manager and misses being a clinician because she thinks that is what she does best. There was a podiatrist in Grattan Street while a patient had a cardiac arrest and the podiatrist got an ambulance and he/she was in such a flap and gave the patient’s home address and not the address for Grattan Street! Patient survived thankfully. And Grattan street now has an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). |
1.32.23 - 1.33.10 |
What makes a good podiatrist. Have to be a good people person and be able to do a bit of social work. Have to be versatile. So many diverse different kinds of people come in. You have to adapt and try to relate to them as best you can. Good communication skills. |
1.33.10 - 1.37.21 |
Would Imelda choose podiatry again? Thinks she would but then doubts herself. Has enjoyed being a podiatrist. Doesn’t think there is anything that she would prefer to do. Podiatry takes a toll on your back partly due to poor posture and not having the correct equipment. Remembers some of her old patients who were great characters. There was a man who lived across the road and was washed out of his house. During the flood Imelda was in Neptune inoculating children against swine flu. Fiona Kelly was the secretary at the time and her husband’s car was swept away. People in the houses nearby had to live in a hotel for a while. One of the patients would call her Miss Imelda and the other clinician Miss Vicky. Learned that this area was the Middle Parish and funny that her great grandparents were born just up the road in James Street. [Interviewer does the final outro here but there is another part to the interview which follows] |
1.37.21 - 1.43.03 |
Past Diseases and Vaccines Imelda didn’t see rickets in Cork even though she had seen a lot of it in Glasgow. “every second person who came into you had the wee bandy legs”. Lack of sunshine in Glasgow due to tenements and high rise. Polio and TB were big in Cork. But TB was a bit comparable to Glasgow. Her dad had TB and her uncle in Dublin had TB as well. People don’t remember what some of the diseases that can now be vaccinated for were actually like. Polio can have long term effects such as deformity, muscle wastage, smaller limbs, leg length difference which requires large platform shoes to make up the difference in the leg length. Debilitating diseases so important to get vaccinations as a child. Especially for TB which Cork did not do regularly you had to request it which she did with her own children. Her dad talks about when he got TB a lot because he missed a year of school due to it. He had to go to an asylum but his siblings didn’t get it. Imelda still has patients who had polio. Shoe adaptations or splints are needed for them. It is debilitating and unnecessary. Imelda thinks that some of her colleagues would have a different view to vaccinations than she would have. Thinks that to encourage people to get vaccinated they could be shown pictures of things that can happen as a result of not getting your child vaccinated. If that’s the choice between a small chance there might be side effect versus an epidemic of children getting polio. It’s no contest. Some colleagues might have sort of anti-vax [anti-vaccination] views. They may focus on the side-effects but not on the effects of getting the disease. She thinks it’s reasonable to weight up the facts and see that inoculation is safer. Thinks people have their free choice, although points out that there is talk of making it compulsory. Not certain that she agrees with whether it should be made compulsory or not. But thinks that new mothers have not seen any of these diseases and that they need to see them in action to realise that they do not want their children to have the disease. Doesn’t agree with taking away freedom of choice. Cannot operate as a dictatorship. [Interview Ends] |