So that’s my life - Maureen’s story

My name is Maureen. I am 69. I was born on the 3rd of June 1939, born and reared on a farm. I was the oldest of the girls. I had a brother, he was a year older than myself, but I was the oldest of the girls. I had four sisters and four brothers. Nine. And there’s three died at birth. We only had 15 acres of land, nine of us reared on 15 acres of land.

Working at Home

My mother died from cancer. Cancer of the liver. She was only 44 when she died. I was 21. Before she died - Lord have Mercy on her - she had started to make home-made jam. So I finished it off. I made eighty-four pounds worth in olden money. Every kind of jam. I took over the house from her (when) she died. I had an aunt, and my father had four sisters, all nuns. My youngest brother was only 6 years of age when she died. I looked after him and I looked after the rest of my family. I got them out to school and got their dinners ready when they got home from school.

I used to wash creaming cans, thirteen creaming cans twice a day. I made home-made butter on my own. The jam… And I made home-made bread over a baker on a hearth fire. The baker was hanging on a crook and I used to put coals over the fire, on the crook, on the baker, with the lid of the baker to take the bread. After that I used to wash my brothers shirts, in bath pans and a washing board with glass on it and carbolic soap. I used to hang them out on the hedge to dry, or the grass, and the sheets and all that kind of thing. I reared turkeys and chickens. I used to feed them all on me own as well. I done all that at home for 14 years.

Into the service…

My Dad died in 1973. He was about 65. All I know is I was 38 when I came here. Yes, I came in 1974, on 6th April, 1974. Well it broke my heart, after 14 years working at home. I was only 38.

I had no money. I never had money ‘til I came here, and I done all that work for 14 years, got their dinners ready and everything. And I used to make the beds after that. My brother said that he wasn’t going to leave me stay at home if he ever got married. That broke my heart. After doing all that work. I said nothing.

Working

I started working the second day after I came here. I was grand when I came. I was able to walk and do all the work around the house and the Abbey, and do the dishwasher and things like that. I started working in the old dining room. I used to be for a quarter to nine every morning from Monday to Friday. And every second day, I think, we used to scrub the dining room floor with a deck brush. We’d have a cup of tea about ten o’clock.  Then when the floor was dry we used to set up the tables for the dinner.

When we were finished setting the tables for the dinner we used to go around scrubbing all the floors around the main house. A couple of us, three or four of us, along with staff. We’d do the scrubbing and they’d help us, or show us what to do like. And they’d polish the floor when the floor’d be dry.

When we were finished work in the main house I used to go to the café out beside the workshops. We used to bring out buckets of sugar, milk, and boil the geyser. I used to make tea for the ladies for three o’clock and they used to come over from the workshops over to the café. I used to work there then, clean up the floors, and all that, the tables and all that, ‘til about 4 o’clock. Then I’d be finished work after 4. I’d go back over after tea time, do the dishwasher, set up the table for morning and I’d come back when I was finished.

I came down to Granger House when we closed down the main house. It’s a nursing home. I went down there and I worked with a lady. I worked with her for a good while. When she heard I was living out she used to bring me to bingo on a Friday night. She used to bring me up and down in the car, her own car with her husband. She died- Lord have Mercy on her - with a brain tumour. She had to retire, and she didn’t live long to enjoy her retirement, then she died.

I came over to work in the unit until about 4 years ago. Then I fell with the wind, and I fractured my shoulder and I broke my arm in two places.

Getting paid

My family used to send so much money, over to the unit for me, if I wanted to get clothes or anything. I don’t know what my family ever sent now, but my brother that owns the home place and his wife- he got married and I came here than after that - sent money to me until I got my own money.

We didn’t get paid for a long time because (the service) had no money, or they weren’t getting any money. When we did get paid we got a half a crown a month.

A half a crown a month! That was only pocket money, you know. Then I was working with a woman - she was a lay-person and her name was Mrs. McLagan. She used to go to Sister Nuala, and tell her about all the work we’d done, and then she used to rise my money a bit, give me so much money. Maybe about €18 a week, or a month. I’d keep that for myself, and I’d get sweets, or whatever I want out of it.

Out into the community

When I first came here I slept in a place called St. Bertram’s, it’s over across the main hall. It was something like the unit. There was two wards. But I was sleeping with six people. Three people each side. Two people in one side and then three on another side. They have meetings up in the rooms now. I slept up there for a while.

Then they moved me to a place called St. Victor’s. We had a bedroom and our own television room, sitting room. I was sharing with other ladies. Three, six of us. I didn’t mind sharing a bedroom, you know. We were happy, that kind of thing.

In 1989 they bought a house, and they moved me out to the community. I was about 5 ½ years living with ladies and we used to stay on our own. No staff, we used to look after ourselves. I used to help out with the cooking and all that at the weekends. I used to get the vegetables ready and the potatoes ready on a Saturday night in this community house for the ladies that I was living with. I wasn’t long living out there when I had to come back up to the unit. I got a clot in the back of my leg. So the doctor treated me up here, and he put me on Warfin for my blood. My blood was clotting. When I got better they moved me back down.

The hip I broke, now, this year. I fell. That was this year, 14th February that happened. I was up in Super Valu with Mary, there was a few of us up there. We were coming out from the Super Valu and there was this big whirling blast of wind and it knocked me on the ground. I was with Mary, and I was delighted that she didn’t fall along with me, you know? Well they rang up for the community staff and got the community staff up to outside Super Valu. They phoned for the ambulance and the brought me into hospital. I had broken a bone in my hip and my leg was gone crooked as well. They had to pull my leg straight. The doctor said it’d take 6 months, before I’d be able to… I can’t walk on my own now or anything.

Getting the pension

We didn’t get any social welfare money for about a year and a half. Then we got whatever money we got, about £800 or something. We had to send £400 of that for our keep. I was able to keep £400 for myself in my post office saving book. Every week we got our social welfare money. I forget now what it was, but it wasn’t that much anyway. Out of that we used to pay €43.17 for our rent. We were paying rent for a good few years. Then they thought we were paying €43, so they stopped us from paying €43 and then they got us to pay €40. After that Mary Harney said that it was illegal, either her or the Taoiseach said it was illegal for us to be paying rent in the community. So they gave us back €2000 and the staff put it by for me, along with my own pension.

I was at home on holidays with my brother and his wife when I got the pension. I was 66. I don’t know what year it was now, but I got it anyway. I didn’t get any back money or anything. They just sent me a book with all my cheques in it. So we get the pension ever since, but at the moment we’re not paying any rent.

That’s my life

I had a lot of weddings, I have 13 nieces and nephews, and I used to go home and I’d buy a new rig-out for their weddings, that kind of thing. I buy clothes for myself. They’re all new clothes. I’ve have them for a while but all my clothes are good like.

I used to go up to Super Valu for tea on a Friday evening. Then I wasn’t well so this community staff said for me not to go out, to get somebody to stay in with me. So the other ladies go out for theirs, they’d bring me back whatever I wanted, but with my money. We used to go out to Bingo at night, like. We used to go out three or four nights a week and they told me I wasn’t saving any money. They cut me down to two nights, used to save money for me.

I have money now that I never had. I don’t go to the bingo at all now. I don’t mind, because I’m not able to climb up on a bus with my leg, you know. I’m not fully better yet. Ah yes, I spend my money. I spend some if I want minerals or sweets or anything. The staff from here brings it in to me while I’m up here. That is that then. I don’t work any more. I’ve retired now and I’m getting a pension. So that’s my life.

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