Apr 09 2015
Barred from the Kitchen…
‘The Ma’ had gone over to England with all of the gang and left meself and the Da’ at home on our own. I was 15 and working out in Santry at the time. I arrived home on the bike this day and there was the Corpo fellas outside our house turning off the water. ‘You want to fill up a basin or something…’ one of them said to me. So in I went and filled up the basin in the sink with water. Then I put on the chip pan to heat up and went upstairs to change my clothes as I was playing a gig later on. I remember walking into the front bedroom where all the boys slept and picking up my guitar to practise for later on. Well there I was standing in front of the mirror on the press door and singing away thinking I was Elvis. Then I got this strange smell…’A jaysus the chip pan…’ says I to meself. Down the stairs I went three steps at a time and burst into the kitchen.
Now I have to tell you that the Da’ had just wallpapered and painted the kitchen a few days before and he put up these new blue and white plastic tiles on the wall at the back of the gas stove. Well there were the flames from the chip pan shooting up the wall and melting all the plastic tiles, Straight across the ceiling the flames went and melted the good plastic lampshade that was dripping down onto the Ma’s good oil cloth that she bought in Thomas Street. The whole place was in flames.
I grabbed the chip pan and opening the back door flung it out into the back yard but the hot cooking fat splashed up onto the good net curtain on the door and caught fire. I threw half of the water from the basin onto the door and the other half onto the table. The next thing was Dykie Barry from two doors down arrived on the scene and came to my rescue. I was covered from head to toe in black greasy soot. I needn’t tell you what the Da’ called me when he got home and saw the state of the place’.
Now it has a happy ending because Dykie Barry and his good wife Caroline (Who is a Lalor from Lower Carnlough Road) told the Da’ that I could go in to their house for me dinner in future until the Ma’ got home. So ever since I was barred from the gas stove and cooking of any kind. But I still love me home-made chips…