Down my way

The Gibson family have been living over their pub on New Street since the late Jack Gibson took over their 17th century hostelry in 1938.

Seven of them lived in the rooms overhead and all five children pitched in to help after school. Jack's three sons now run the business between them and John and his family have moved into the flat above.

"When we were growing up here, Malahide village was a place with lots of horses and very few cars. Across the road, the Dunnes over-wintered cows and sold fresh milk - they still do. Last year they had a calf there, 50 yards from the centre of Malahide.

On Sundays, people came out from Dublin city to go to the beach and pubs had an hour's extra trading. I remember all the Moore Street traders coming here in the 1950s, instead of going to Spain. We used upturned Guinness boxes for tables out in the back yard and I collected the glasses when I was nine or 10. My brothers John and Barry and I had the run of the pub. Between us we have 10 more boys on the way - my sisters Anne and Aideen had girls and we had boys.

Everybody worked after school then, it was no different with any family. When the barrels came in to be bottled, it was all hands on deck and great fun. I grew up in the 1950s when there was high unemployment, so we were glad to have work.

There was so much to do. Everybody would head down to the beach at Low and High Rock for a swim and went boating down by the old slip. Malahide's a great boating town. Lots of us used to get a boat from Mr O'Brien across to the Island Golf club. The Hatch family who built boats would bring the day trippers out. They lived in three little cottages given to them by Lord Talbot. Our young lads go fishing now for crabs and you can smell them when they come in.

It's natural for kids to do this - a cycle of life. I'm president of Malahide United soccer club this year. Our first pitch was at Biscayne. Four of us went up to Lord Talbot and asked for a pitch and to our amazement he gave it to us. Then he moved us to the castle grounds. We've two floodlit pitches now and we're starting work on a new clubhouse.

Some of the people I grew up with emigrated, but many still live in the area. Most who were born here try to get back. It's that kind of town."