"I have five brothers and sisters. Two brothers are in England and the rest live locally. I was born in Saint Finbarr's Hospital during the 1960s, the only ones to be born at home were the twins.
"My dad came from Blackpool, he was the Lord Mayor of Blackpool a few years ago. My mother is from the southside. When I was young she kept my hair very clean and short and dressed me in trouser suits. In summer, I wore hot pants. I went to Blackpool School and we got buns there that tasted great. They were strict though. If you were late, the teachers had the stick waiting for you.
"We used to play rounders in the schoolyard and in the terrace where I was from and skip to rhymes like: There's a boy over there and he's winking his eye. He tells me he loves me and he's telling no lie. His hair is curled and his shoes do shine. But he ain't got no money so he won't be mine.
Folklore, so the popular perception goes, is something to be found only in rural Ireland. However urban folklore comes from a different, evolving context but it is no less relevant. Wherever they come from, everyone has a story.
A new book, Life Journeys, is an interesting glimpse into the lives of urban dwellers north of the Lee in Cork. The same stories could be told no doubt by those from an equally rich tradition who inhabit the other side of the river, but this collection of tales from a living folk tradition - history on the move, you might say - is available now and deserves attention.
The book is published by the Northside Folklore Project in Cork. It has been aided by the Heritage Council under the 1999 Publication Grant Scheme.
The Department of Folklore and Ethnology at University College Cork was instrumental in setting up the project and establishing an archive for the material gleaned during interviews carried out by the folklore staff when they collected "naturally told" stories. The UCC department has recently received a Higher Education grant to establish a research centre of excellence to help further the work of the Northside Project.
The book, which will be available in the new year at £8.99, includes interviews with 27 people. "The stories remain faithful to the language and spirit of those interviewed. The book includes interviews with a retired train driver, an award-winning author, a professional musician, sports people, a clergyman, a museum curator/UCC academic, a filmmaker and a resident of one of the area's big houses," according to UCC.
Ms Tina Noonan, in her account, continued as follows: "Then there was Hallowe'en; Snap Apple Night we used to call it when we were young. Someone got dressed up and knocked at our door - I think it was Chrissy Cochrane. She frightened the living daylights out of the whole lot of us. I'll never forget it. We were screaming around the house!
"She had a black bag on her and had her face all black. We had snaps and barm brack. When mam would be cutting it we'd all be shouting `we want the ring, we want the ring,' and she'd say: `Whoever gets the ring will be getting married.' We'd reply, `we're not getting married!"'
Ms Noonan went on to give this evocative picture of her own life. "I left school at 14 but I've been back since as a mature student to do my Leaving Cert.
"My first job was at the Sunbeam Wolsey hosiery mill in the underwear department. I was a runner. My sister, who'd worked there before me, warned me about the pranks they'd play on you . . . In the lunch break we'd go into the Sunbeam gardens and `slock' apples, hiding them up our jumpers. Somebody would watch by the gates and if anyone came, they'd yell out `L.O.B.' (look out boys) or `L.O.G.' (look out girls), that was the code.
"Everybody had heard of the `Foxy Lady' who was supposed to haunt the place - I used to pretend not to be frightened of her, I suppose I believe in the supernatural. Really, if you believe in Christianity and a life after death, you'd admit it was a possibility.
"My mam would often talk about the banshee, how when she was a girl she'd be scared. They'd be in bed all huddled together because the grandmother would frighten them saying: `The banshee now will be out tonight.' Mam said they'd be hiding in the corner and all!"
A retired train driver, Mr John Collins, recalled a happy childhood and a happy career on the railway.
" My father was a driver on the Cork/Bandon railway. I had five brothers who worked in various branches of the railways and at the age of 16, I left school and joined the railways as a cleaner .
"The coming of the diesels [diesel engine locomotives] did away with a number of jobs - the fireman was gone for a start. In November 1946 I started working at Courtmacsherry on the West Cork Railway. I grew to love that place.
"They were lovely people who would always look after you - you'd get the bastable cake and want for nothing . . . I think that driving became less of an art after steam went. The steam driver had to be more of an engineer; he had to know the up and down gradients, when to shut off steam, how to regulate the engine. They were great men.
"And different engines had their different quirks; personalities almost. Number 402 was a great engine to be on altogether. I never drove steam as an appointed driver. I became a driver on the run to Cobh in 1993, right near the end of my career.
". . . I'm pleased that our country is a prosperous place and that our people have a better way of life, but I also worry that we are in danger of losing our spiritual values. And I hope that all the people in the north of our country can have peace with justice. Our grandchildren are a great source of enjoyment and pride to us. I have had a happy life, thank God."
"Interviewers and interviewees display an immense pride in their own place and people, and they have ensured that through this publication, the general public is made aware of the oral history and folklore of the north side," says Ms Freda Rountree, chairwoman of the Heritage Council, in the foreword.
The Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, one of the oldest of its kind in the State, was founded in 1891 to preserve and disseminate information about the region's past. Now the venerable society has marked the millennium by putting the first volume of its journal (1892) on CD ROM. Eventually it is hoped to put all its publications on disk.
The CD ROM is available from selected bookshops or from Mr Michael O'Keeffe, the hon treasurer, at Lackenmore, Glanmore Cross, Glanmire, Co Cork.