Laughter and chat at the April Memory Monday

Larry O'Neill's copy book from the National Folklore Project.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our April Memory Monday — the sound of laughter and chat was music to the ears of the Meitheal of Memories project team, writes Mary Orford. We walked down memory lane, lubricated by tea and coffee and fortified by chocolate biscuits.

This month’s audience had a particularly strong contingent of people with Galway roots. Remember – our Memory Monday sessions are open to people from Kilcullen, from around the country — and indeed, from around the globe.
Our main topic this month was schooldays. We had a roll call of pupils from Brannockstown, Ballyshannon, Kilcullen Boys and Kilcullen Girls National Schools — with the audience answering 'Anseo' for all those pupils from the 1930s, a lot of them gone to their great reward but some, thankfully, still with us.

Laurence Bathe's note about the New Abbey monastery.

Thanks to Julie O’Donoghue, Tracey O’Dwyer and Liam Walker for doing the readings as we listened to cures, proverbs and local history gathered by the schoolchildren in the 1930s. The thought of curing a stye in your eye with a thorn from a gooseberry bush produced a lot of winces on the faces of the audience. Tales of a tunnel running from New Abbey monastery to the tower at Old Kilcullen perhaps needs further archaeological research. Riddles that children in the 1930s thought were simple and amusing proved far too difficult for the minds of the 2019 audience.

As we rounded off our morning with more tea and coffee, there were further tales of school days being shared around the room so it’s safe to assume a good time was had by all — including the project team!

As always, more memorabilia has turned up. These monthly events have sent people scurrying into attics, basements and boxes long since hidden away, searching out documents and photos from Kilcullen. This time, we were treated to a reading of an article by Ellen Dowling (RIP, formerly of Main Street) where she relates the story of an incident in 1922 involving the regular army and the irregular army. The author titled the article 'A saga of the Civil War, as it touched lightly on Kilcullen' and it is written in a humorous and informal way and signed off as 'An Onlooker', protecting the her identity — these were dangerous times when it was safer to keep a low profile. Thanks to the Dowling family for sharing this wonderful resource. Thanks to the National Folklore Collection for use of the images. www.duchas.ie

Our next Memory Monday is on 13 May, starting at 11am in the Kilcullen Heritage Centre. Please join us.

Ned O'Connor's recording of A Riddle.

Nora Keogh and an old cure.

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