Posted by JDP on February 14, 2001 at 10:11:52:
In Reply to: The Monastery posted by UTP on February 13, 2001 at 19:25:40:
I was never invited past the front door of the monastery and never volunteered for anything unless it got me out of the classroom.
I did have adventures on the river at the back of the monastery which got me into big trouble at home. Durcan`s of Chapel St. had a rowing boat moored at the rear. I was about eight and at time when you tended to wander from your home patch in search of further adventure. On a summer evening I ended up in this lovely boat with a group of older kids rowing towards Mulloys bridge. I can remember one of the Grier girls from Tucker St., Cony McAteer`s sister and a lad from Newline with an English accent called Squinty O`Callaghan. A group had gathered on the bridge to watch and of course a concerned citizen contacted the Durcans and so we were apprehended when we returned to the mooring.. red faces, names taken, we could have been drowned and I was ring fenced for a while !
In later years this same boat was moored at the lake in the wooded area by the cemetery and it was appropriated for many enjoyable cruises! It was always returned to it`s mooring and at that time nobody had the bright idea of setting it on fire or inflicting any other act of wanton vandalism.
Squinty O`Callaghan always had the latest gear from England- no cuorduroy pants and jerkin for him. I can recall being terrified while watching Bro. Denis giving him a terrible beating on the stairs in the barracks. Seen through Denis`s eyes squinty was " an English pup". Following his training on the town river he later went on to join the Royal Navy.