'A doctor to whom my mother took me, told her that he had never seen feet as flat as mine'

'A doctor to whom my mother took me, told her that he had never seen feet as flat as mine'

Harry Browne recalls his flat feet as a child which effected his walking.

Harry Browne

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Harry Browne

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

North Strand, Dublin

1940's

I was born with flat feet or fallen arches as it is also known. This meant that my walking gait was always slightly awkward. My uncle Jack who had a tendency to be somewhat cruel dubbed me with the nickname of 'footy'. This tag stuck with me for many years afterwards, sometimes altered to 'futch'. A doctor to whom my mother took me, told her that he had never seen feet as flat as mine and that installing lifts would be more painful than to leave me as I was. Nevertheless whenever I got new shoes I was despatched to the shoemaker for him to fit lifts to the heels in order to correct the tendency to walk wrongly. Despite many years of this and internal lifts in later years my feet are as flat as they ever were. In my declining years I now suffer from gout to add to my foot woes. Ce La Vie.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)