Cabra History.Com

This is probably one of my favourite photographs of meself at the beach wearing the older sister’s nickers. They’re wrapped around me little skinny waist and tied with a nappy pin to keep them in place. My sister Anne’s little swimsuit was made from one of the Ma’s old tablecloths. There were three beaches we used to go to. Sometimes the Ma’ would say ‘Come on, we’re going for a walk to the beach’ and we’d end up on a little sandbank at the side of the Tolka River up at Cardiffsbridge. Then of course there was Dollymount where she would take us during the week when we were off school and it didn’t matter about the weather, we might get the bus into town and walk the rest of the way out. Now sometimes the Da’ might be feeling a bit posh and take us on the bus out to Portmarnock. The Da’ knew all the bus conductors from when he did a couple of months on the buses himself back in the year dot, so he never had to pay anything. That’s the big sister Chrissie who was always a great hand at sewing and that’s the brother Brendan running out of the water having got up to some devilment or other no doubt…