Sep 01 2012
The Runaway…
(Click on photo to enlarge)
When one of my older brothers was a young boy in the 1940s he was taken into hospital because he was suffering from something or other. The result of which had him ending up in Cheeverstown House in Templeogue out near the Dublin Mountains. My Da’ had to bring him out on the bus and because it was the time of ‘The Emergency’ when all things were scarce my Da’ had to bring out whatever rations my brother was entitled to. Now on the way out on the bus the pair of them sat upstairs and while my Da’ was yapping away my brother was busy taking mental notes of which way the bus was going. After a few days of captivity in Cheeverstown my brother decided he’d had enough and was going to make a break for it. So the first chance he got himself and another young lad darted out the gate and away they went. Now young and all as he was the brother had the good sense to remember which way the bus had travelled out of town.
After several hours and many miles of walking the two boys came to a row of small cottages near Bridgefoot Street were the other lad lived. When the two of them walked into the boys house his mother let out a scream and wanted to know where the hell he’d come from. With that my brother took to his heels and headed off over the bridge crossing the Liffey and into Queens Street. He recognised the area from always being down at the old cattle market and from rambling around that area.
As he made his way up along Manor Street he spotted the Da’ cycling along on his old bike heading in towards town. He quickly ducked into a shop doorway and hid out of the way. He didn’t realise at the time that my father was on his way out to visit him in Cheeverstown. When my brother eventualy made his way onto Killala Road he hid behind the wall of the old compound across from our house. Another brother spotted him but was warned to keep his mouth shut.
When my Da’ eventually arrived back home the game was up. My brother said he didn’t want to go back so my mother told him not to worry about going anywhere. Now in the heel of the hunt the Da’ sat down and thought about the whole situation. Suddenly he was back on his bike and when the Ma’ asked him where he was going he said ‘I’m going out to Cheeverstown to get our rations back’…