'To this day I remember those coats one was a pale blue which she got married in and the other a mustard colour which she went away in. I don't think she was cut out to be a farmer's wife'

'To this day I remember those coats one was a pale blue which she got married in and the other a mustard colour which she went away in. I don't think she was cut out to be a farmer's wife'

Margaret remembers her next-door neighbour Mona and her unusual taste in clothes.

Margaret McLoughlin

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Margaret McLoughlin

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Dromahair, Co. Sligo

1920s

Our next door neighbours were the Kelly's and they had a big shop which sold clothes and footwear. I still remember the oil heater which stood in the centre of the shop and Mona the last one of the family would stand around it trying to keep warm. The double doors had a little bell which would ring when a customer arrived. When Mona went to get married her trousseau was the talk of the village. She had two new coats for the occasion. Now very few could boast getting one not alone two. To this day I remember those coats one was a pale blue which she got married in and the other a mustard colour which she went away in. I don't think she was cut out to be a farmer's wife. She lived in the house a while after getting married and I'm afraid Vera and myself would be her messenger to go to O'Brien's to get the Baby Power filled. Of course it was to relieve the sickness or so she told us. We loved to play the harmonium which they had in the little sitting room.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)