Cabra History.Com

What is it about the old cup of tea? Sure didn’t my grandfather work on the docks during the Emergency years and him and his pals made sure that at least one chest of tea accidently fell and burst open. He’d fill his trouser pockets up to the brim with tea leave. The left pocket was for sale to the neighbours, that was the Rent Money and the right pocket was for home. Bejakers every house you go into in Ireland has the kettle on the boil for  the makin’ of a fresh cup of tea and no matter what ails you sure the ould cup of tea will fix it. Now I remember when one of the brothers started working in a wholesale place over off Camden Street he’d often bring home a few empty tea chests. As kids we’d take the silver paper out that lined the chest and give it to the nun’s for the Little Black Babies in Africa. My Ma’ would scoop out any loose tea that was in the bottom of the chest and put it into the ould Tea Caddy, splinters and all. She used to say that the Tea Strainer would catch the splinters.

Mt Da’ would never leave the house of a morning without his cup of tea. ‘An empty sack won’t stand’ he’d always say. I remember one time my sister had a terrible sty in her eye and the Da’ said she got it from peeping through keyholes but the Ma’ took a more sympathetic approach and bathed the eye with cold tea and sure in next to no time at all she was as right as rain.

And do you remember when we were in school and being sent down for the Teacher’s tea at ten o’clock? Some of the lads I knew used to spit in their teacher’s tea and stir it in with their dirtiest finger. Is it any wonder half of the teachers in Cabra were half mad. When I was fifteen I started working in an Iron Works and the men there drank their tea that looked like lumps of black tar. And if you even mentioned cleaning their cups they’d throw something at you and tell you that cleaning the cup would ruin the taste of the tea. Well that’s it for now, I’m off to put the kettle on. Anyone for a nice cup of tea?…