"old Dublin family"

time lord

I did some research on my Dublin family and wish to share some things I found ammusing or interesting beyond the usual family lineage stuff.
My mother grew up in Dundrum when she said it had "feck" all houses. She was pure country and didn't see O'Connell Bridge until she was 13! They had pigs, geese etc and there was always a pheasnt hanging out of the kitchen door (dead of course). Her brother had downs and never came out of the cot where years later he died in the house. She hated the local school as she said a lot of the nuns were pure evil and at 14/15 went fulltime to work in a sewing factory. She dosnt like the memories of her early life in Dublin.
She met my Father at 17/18 and he was an inner city Dub, pennyless but full of life. He it transpired came from a long long line of Dubs. Believe it or not all the houses they lived in are still standing back a hundred and forty odd years or so. I am taking my sons for a photograph outside each, on their grand fathers, their great grandfathers, great great grandfathers and their great, great, great grandfathers house. My da's parents entered into an unapproved marriage and stayed paupers all their lifes. As such my da grew up in tenements etc and my mother strongly discouraged him from telling us about his life in Dublin. I always held on to snippets though here and there, heres a few. Bread and dripping for lunch, wrapped up and dropped out of a four or five story block onto the ground where he would be playing football for him to pick up.
Hiding if anyone ever came to the door as it was always for money.
He was the youngest and was always refered to as "the shakings from the bag"
The cops were ignorant and rough. When my brother became a garda years later he was very sad but didnt show it.
He would of died for Shamrock Rovers and always lamented them leaving Milltown.
His dad was called "the Gent" he was a chronic alcoholic. He had a top instructors job in Bolton st. but he died when my father was young and they live in abject poverty.
One of his older brothers died in Guinness' of a "strained heart" trying to provide afterwards.
He never met some of his older brothers and sisters. One was a military policeman who just disappeared from their lives, more went to England, some ended up on the game, some got swallowed into the concrete sprawl of big cities. Indeed I know one who was 50 years in Birmingham never saw Ireland again and didnt even have an Irish passport or a Brittish one.
He served in the Congo. He told me they were once days without water in 40' heat. He was on duty when an American officer came out of a tent and tossed him a can of cola. The Irish officers had access to same but left them to rot. He said he would never serve with Irish army officers overseas again. Many Dubs left the army later on, he found quite a few living rough in Dublin. He said they were supping Brasso through a cloth. Not long before he died I found a written account of some of his engagements in Africa, he plugged a lot of enemy. This is a wierd one to find out your father has taken the lives of more than a couple of men at several engagements.
He was an atheist up until about 5 years before he died.
two things he held against the church. 1 he felt they watched him starve growing up, Many other familys got hand outs from S.V.De.P. but only the priests favourites time and time again he didnt get a steal heel of anything. 2 His brother got sent to an indrustrial school for stealing a push bike. He was raped solidly for two years. No father to stand up for him, elder brother dead.
The brother went mad after all the raping and never strung two sentences together again. Died a pauper about 20 years ago in Dundrum.
My God I better put some cheery stuf in quickly.
He loved Dublin, the G.A.A (Dubs) dance halls etc. In the country town where he settled in the seventys he would often during a match between Kerry and Dublin open the window when Dublin scored and cheer accross to the Kerry neighbour. The Kerry neighbour would go mental. Thank God Dublin won a few all Irelands back then.
he did guard duty in that old abandoned fort in the Phoenix park the Magazine I think. He also did guard in Kildare st. He became a officer in the army had a good life and his funeral was bigger than a Bishops! Thanks for reading.

Gaspode

Interesting stuff there!

delta_bravo

time lord wrote: »

I did some research on my Dublin family and wish to share some things I found ammusing or interesting beyond the usual family lineage stuff.

My mother grew up in Dundrum when she said it had "feck" all houses. She was pure country and didn't see O'Connell Bridge until she was 13! They had pigs, geese etc and there was always a pheasnt hanging out of the kitchen door (dead of course). Her brother had downs and never came out of the cot where years later he died in the house. She hated the local school as she said a lot of the nuns were pure evil and at 14/15 went fulltime to work in a sewing factory. She dosnt like the memories of her early life in Dublin.

She met my Father at 17/18 and he was an inner city Dub, pennyless but full of life. He it transpired came from a long long line of Dubs. Believe it or not all the houses they lived in are still standing back a hundred and forty odd years or so. I am taking my sons for a photograph outside each, on their grand fathers, their great grandfathers, great great grandfathers and their great, great, great grandfathers house.

My da's parents entered into an unapproved marriage and stayed paupers all their lifes. As such my da grew up in tenements etc and my mother strongly discouraged him from telling us about his life in Dublin. I always held on to snippets though here and there, heres a few. Bread and dripping for lunch, wrapped up and dropped out of a four or five story block onto the ground where he would be playing football for him to pick up.
Hiding if anyone ever came to the door as it was always for money.
He was the youngest and was always refered to as "the shakings from the bag" The cops were ignorant and rough. When my brother became a garda years later he was very sad but didnt show it. He would of died for Shamrock Rovers and always lamented them leaving Milltown. His dad was called "the Gent" he was a chronic alcoholic. He had a top instructors job in Bolton st. but he died when my father was young and they live in abject poverty.
One of his older brothers died in Guinness' of a "strained heart" trying to provide afterwards.

He never met some of his older brothers and sisters. One was a military policeman who just disappeared from their lives, more went to England, some ended up on the game, some got swallowed into the concrete sprawl of big cities. Indeed I know one who was 50 years in Birmingham never saw Ireland again and didnt even have an Irish passport or a Brittish one. He served in the Congo. He told me they were once days without water in 40' heat. He was on duty when an American officer came out of a tent and tossed him a can of cola. The Irish officers had access to same but left them to rot. He said he would never serve with Irish army officers overseas again. Many Dubs left the army later on, he found quite a few living rough in Dublin. He said they were supping Brasso through a cloth. Not long before he died I found a written account of some of his engagements in Africa, he plugged a lot of enemy. This is a wierd one to find out your father has taken the lives of more than a couple of men at several engagements.

He was an atheist up until about 5 years before he died.
two things he held against the church. 1 he felt they watched him starve growing up, Many other familys got hand outs from S.V.De.P. but only the priests favourites time and time again he didnt get a steal heel of anything. 2 His brother got sent to an indrustrial school for stealing a push bike. He was raped solidly for two years. No father to stand up for him, elder brother dead.
The brother went mad after all the raping and never strung two sentences together again. Died a pauper about 20 years ago in Dundrum.


My God I better put some cheery stuf in quickly.
He loved Dublin, the G.A.A (Dubs) dance halls etc. In the country town where he settled in the seventys he would often during a match between Kerry and Dublin open the window when Dublin scored and cheer accross to the Kerry neighbour. The Kerry neighbour would go mental. Thank God Dublin won a few all Irelands back then.he did guard duty in that old abandoned fort in the Phoenix park the Magazine I think. He also did guard in Kildare st. He became a officer in the army had a good life and his funeral was bigger than a Bishops! Thanks for reading.

Edited to include paragraphs, good story but it hurt my eyes trying to read it

RoyMcC

Great stuff time lord. Your family's story illustrates how in the past, for many, life was little more than survival. And also how cruel people could be to one another.

Thanks for taking the time.