I am the eldest daughter in my family. I have one older brother, he’s ahead of me, and one younger brother. I did have three sisters, only two now. I remember my childhood, my mam was so loving, a real country woman. My dad was a true Dubliner, a little too fond of the drink, but a very hard-working man. When he was good, he was very good but there were bad times. Being the eldest girl, a lot landed on my shoulders, but in a very strange way it made me the strong person I am today. I started my working life at the age of fifteen to help mam replace the money that dad drank away.
I have always found solace in churches, any church. I once went into a Church of Ireland church because it was close by and found the peace I was looking for and it was the same peace. I am glad I was asked to write this, I’m happy to share it, writing it has made me take the time to think about how I grew up. It wasn’t all hard. Our family always had a lovely Christmas, my mam made sure of that, and Dad loved Christmas, especially Santa. He loved to get involved in our excitement and pleasure.