Cabra History.Com

‘Do you ever remember this being done to your egg on Easter Sunday morning? Because there was a great big gang of us Coffey’s the Da’ would be up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning to be first into the toilet for his wash and shave. And there he’d be singing at the top of his voice some oul army song or other…‘Bless them all, the long and the short and the tall…‘ and us all trying to stay asleep. Then it’d be down stairs with him and his best Fountain Pen in his hand. He’d go into the little back porch that led out to the backyard for the large pudding bowl full of eggs. He’d start off at the youngest and draw a face on their egg along with their name and on he’d go for the rest of us. I can still see him now and he whistling and singing and laughing at each funny face that he make on the eggs. ‘Now, I think that one with the head of hair looks more like Martin. Oh. I had better put a guitar on the back of it for him…’. This was the only time we ever got a boiled egg for our breakfast unless we were sick that is and then you got a soft boiled egg and bread soldiers. When the eggs were finally put into a great big pot of boiling water to cook the Da’ would rush upstairs and pull all the brothers out of bed. There’d be screaming and roaring like you wouldn’t believe. And there’d be the Ma’ still in bed in the front bedroom with all the sisters in beside her and she telling them some story or other. With the boiled eggs gulped down our necks we had to change out of our dirty shirts that we’d worn all week without ever taking them off since last Sunday and get ready for Ten O’clock Mass.  Then it was home to our real Easter Eggs. We always got one chocolate egg in a box and two small marshmallow one as well. That way we could tell all our pals that we got three Easter Eggs…