Mary was born in 1925. She was interviewed by Liz O’Dell
Interview: WCOH0016
The following topics are covered in Kitty’s interview.
Life story, childhood, school, education, family, influences, social change, religion, rural life, agriculture, entertainment, emigration, traditions, folklore, folk belief, superstition, electricity, local characters, family history, and historical events.
Ponies in Ballineen WCOHAS_0001
Mary’s father loved ponies. He used to go to the trotting competitions and the shows. When Mary was at the right weight she used to ride with him. Mary’s sisters came on then. It depended on the weight of the rider. Mary’s father was into the Clonakilty Show. He was on the committee. They had a Shetland pony when they were growing up. Mary drove her sisters to school. There were stables there. First, they were across from Hill’s Mill and then they were up by Mary’s grandfather’s mill.
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Christmas Memories WCOHAS_0002
Mary tells a funny story about her mother at Christmas. About a week or two before Christmas she used to go around to the windows and knock on them. Mary remembers that they were petrified as children. Mary’s mother went to the neighbours, the O’Neill’s, and stuck her head into the half-door, dressed up, and gave the O’Neill’s a fright.
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Father in World War 1 WCOHAS_0003
Mary’s father would have been a young man during World War I (WWI ). He was in the British army but he never spoke much about it. He suffered with his legs all his life. The trenches in WWI were filled with water and they would have wet socks and boots. Mary notes that very few would talk about WWI afterwards. Mary acknowledges how difficult it must have been to have people being shot all around you. Mary remembers her grandfather saying that “it was safer to sleep with the dead than the living”. Mary believes that he might have been a lieutenant. He was with the horses.
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An Accident on the Farm WCOHAS_0004
Mary remembers that her father had a big saw with a big engine. She recalls that one day, something caught in the saw and a bit of the log flew and hit her father in the face. They had no phone. Mary cycled to the doctor. Mary’s father’s mouth and chin was all broken up. Her father didn’t go to hospital as the doctor thought the journey would make him worse. Mary’s father had a nurse at night and Mary and her mother looked after him during the day. Mary’s father healed from his injuries and grew a pointed beard to hide the scars.
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The Eighteenth Cow WCOHAS_0005
After WWII (the Emergency), motor cars became more common. Mary learned how to drive from her sister Harriet. She would practise on the back roads by Rushfield. Mary would sometimes drive the milk to the creamery in Enniskeane. Mary milked the cows by hand. Mary remembers that on one harvest, she milked eighteen cows.
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Ballineen WCOHAS_0034
Kitty was born in the Burns family farmhouse in Teerelton. Kitty’s father joined the RIC. He worked for a year and a half in County Meath “minding a landlord”. He was then sent to County Wexford on regular duties.
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