Fireworks were banned in Ireland in the 70s and 80s. We regarded them as foreign treasure. Exotic, beautiful and exciting, but always belonging to other luckier countries. Terrorist organisations were using the gunpowder to blow up society in the North of Ireland, so we grew up deprived. Before The Troubles, they were available north… read more →
A quick escape route from The Boulders was over the back wall into the Mullen’s garden by their enormous greenhouse. There was an intricate technique which involved swinging on a tree and scrambling up the protruding rocks over the top of the wall. This came in quite handy one day… read more →
Snow prompted a frenzy of toboggan building to take advantage of the hills around Dundrum. We always went to my grandmother’s house which had a huge garden and lots of slopes. John the gardener was pressganged into action and knocked up a couple of toboggans with spare bits of wood… read more →
We prayed for snow each winter. Snow changed the rules. Snow presented us with lots of new, exciting and sometimes risky activities. A dusting of white on the tops of the Dublin mountains was the first indicator that there was the chance of snow. The anticipation built, and waking up in the morning… read more →
The Harcourt Street line ran from Bray to Dublin, passing through Dundrum. It was closed down in 1958 by Todd Andrews who was the head of CIE. The land was kept free of development which allowed it to be revived as the Luas in 2004. The interim period provided us with a… read more →
Mark got a mobile record player for his fifth birthday. It was made of red and white plastic and it played singles, the centre of the record had to be punched out and fitted over a spindle. He was also given one record, an early Cliff Richard number called ‘Congratulations’. The… read more →
The O’Connors lived in Mopoon Villa beside our house The Boulders on Sydenham Road. Mr O’Connor was a jeweller and had the look of a West Highland Terrier about him. A black and white framed photo of him with a chain of office around his neck talking to the ancient President,… read more →
Free House! was the rallying cry used to broadcast that your parents were out for the evening and that everyone was invited over for a party. There was no food, no drink but plenty of music, dancing and kissing. Myself, Mark and Anna were banished from the parties that Jane and… read more →
Simon Cudworth was one of the funniest people I ever met. He had a huge circle of friends from school and the scouts. He entertained us with his impersonations of Jacques Cousteau and recitals of Monty Python from Jack Cudworth’s huge record collection. He was a wonderful mimic, and the tea… read more →
The Cudworth’s kitchen was always lively. Tea was drunk in massive quantities and necessitated an industrial-sized dispenser which hung on the wall. You pressed a plunger and it deposited a pile of tea into a teapot. Simon Cudworth used stir his tea and then throw his teaspoon from one side… read more →