'TB in that period was rampant and everyone was terrified of it'

'TB in that period was rampant and everyone was terrified of it'

Margaret remembers some aspects of village life.

Margaret McLoughlin

Trinity College Dublin

1946

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Margaret McLoughlin

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Galway

1950s

There was a great sense of neighbourliness in the village. Patrick Oates who used to run a hackney service got a stroke and was sick for quite a while. Mammy used to take turns with other women to sit up all night with him. She would arrive in the kitchen when Daddy had got our breakfast and the I think she went to bed for a few hours when we went to school. TB in that period was rampant and everyone was terrified of it. One family lost three children all in their teens I think. They were the Mc Garry's of Market Street. It was a very sad time. For years there was no wireless so one made your own fun. There was always someone visiting in our house and maybe they would do a bit of knitting while chatting. There were no locked doors - people would just walk in. When we children went to bed we made up our own games. One such game was 'I'm going to a house tomorrow' and there's so many children and a mother and father maybe a granny or a dog and the other person had to say what house it was. Of course being in a village one could do that.

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

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)