Cabra History.Com

Isn’t this a lovely Cabra West  Hall Door all the same. It’s a far cry from the original Hall Doors of years ago when the Corporation Painters used to come around and varnish every door on the road. Do you remember that? They used to put up a great big corrugated shed on  the compound on Lower Killala Road. It was like something out of a film, you know the kind of places the RAF pilots used to run out of in the War Films years ago, the roof was roundy looking. Now I remember there used to be gangs of us kids hanging around the door of this shed and especially when the men were having their tea break because they used to give us any sambos they didn’t want and we’d devour them in seconds and it didn’t matter if they were stale or not, we’d still eat them. You’d see the painters in their white overalls at the shed at about half past eight in the morning and they getting their orders from the Foreman of which hall doors they were to varnish. I always remember the painter who had to do our hall door and he bringing a small little stool with him to sit on. He had his cap hanging over one side of his head, a fag in the corner of his mouth and he chatting away to the Ma’. ‘Good morning Misses Coffey, it’s a grand morning all the same’. ‘Ah how are yeah Dominic…‘? says the Ma’. ‘…how’s your mother’s lumbago’? ‘ Ah no sure she’s grand a long as she doesn’t stand for too long, you know what I’m saying’. Then of course we had to come out to see who the Ma’ was talking to. ‘Stay out of the man’s way you lot and don’t be getting any paint on your clothes’. Now why did the Ma’ always have to say that because as sure as anything I was bound to be the only one who would. You see, I think that if she didn’t say it that it wouldn’t have happened. But there you are. I wish we’d a had a door like that one in the picture with the lovely coloured glass and all. I don’t think I would have been big enough to reach up all to them number and the Lions face…