Down my way

I was born in 1915, one of nine children. We all lived in my grandmother's house at the end of Howth Junction cottages, surrounded by open country. My father was a ship's captain and away a lot. The family shifted to number 10 in 1923 and I moved up and down between the two.

I reported to school in Baldoyle each Monday morning and after roll call, I spent my time running messages for Father Murphy. I got as far as fourth grade and couldn't spell my name. Kilbarrack was in the parish of Baldoyle, which was the biggest in Ireland, taking in Kinsealy, Malahide and The Old Shieling. The Loftus family owned a farm at the back of us and I used to get two shillings a day to help on the farm.

My father got me into the Great Northern Railway at 14 but I never wanted the job and got myself deliberately sacked. I was idle for a while and then went back to work on the railways in the North as an electrical help. I was back working for a local builders' suppliers around the time I got married in 1938 and we became tenants of number 9 Howth Junction Cottages, next door to the house I grew up in.

There were very few pubs in those days, but there was a dance hall at the end of the road, built in 1925 with local labour. People took turns to run dances and sing-songs in each other's houses and we had a great life.

Dublin Corporation took over the cottages and gave tenants the option to buy in 1958 or 1959. I had £26 in my pocket, handed over £24 and bought the house. I was station master at Kilbarrack, and then worked at the Sutton depot. I jumped at an offer to drive the Howth tram. They gave me four hours training on a Saturday morning. I cycled every day to Sutton to drive the tram until Todd Andrews put me and hundreds of others like me out of work.

People from the flats have been moved into the new houses up the road. The Corporation has named the estate after me and they've asked me to open the new road to Redmond's Court when it's finished. The world has changed so fast, it's difficult for me to keep up.