Andrew:

County Dublin, Ireland

I was playing in a band called The Tropical. Playing Country and Western – they loved Country and Western.

(If Paul McCartney had found me, I wouldn't have been playing Country and Western…)

So this here is a master's degree

It would be compiled together

in my master's degree

in 1976.

And that's the study notes

that I prepared..

Handwritten, yes.

Study notes.

Look at that.

The psychosocial therapies.

****

Double bind.

Double bind

is how we get out of conflict.

I tell you I really love you,

but I don't really love you at all.

So you go away thinking,

what's that guy up to?

Double bind.

****

The reason I bring it along is this:

how our cognition can stretch from our imaginations.

This is the reason I brought this along:

it took up an awful lot of my life.

It's a big, heavy, heavy tome.

But what a lovely writer I was.

****

This is a heavy tome.

There's another side to me.

Music paid for psychology.

There's another side to me. I was a very keen musician, playing guitar, trying to write our own stuff. I was in several bands.

I started learning when I was about seven, took formal lessons then, from age 12 and onwards.

Then, I joined any band that would have me – any that had the money. I needed the money.

A band called Amory and the Teen Beats and Sunny Knowls; I was a lead guitarist in that band, travelling the country. There was another band called Teen Beats. They were up in Morganstown. Teen Beats. Second edition. They had a very good manager. I was in that for a while.

If you were a musician like I was, a travelling musician, playing with any bands, you'd have slots. You'd meet on O'Connell bridge at four o'clock in the afternoon. You were picked up and they said "we're going to Galway." We needed to do 40 songs, or 20 songs or whatever, and we'd rehearse in the big van we were in.

And then I would come back. It'd be three in the morning. We'd arrive back on O'Connell bridge. I would get out of the van with my guitar, which was worth probably about 200 quid at the time, a Fender Stratocaster, top of the range stuff. I would walk to Sandymount where I had a bedsit. I was glad to get back to Dublin. Hail rain or snow, I'd walk all the way home to Sandymount. No fear. You'd meet nobody at that time. No taxis. No buses. No street lighting. No problems whatsoever.

I was thrilled. I was delighted. In the morning, I'd walk into UCD with my head held high. It was a good day at work.

Carmel:

County Dublin, Ireland

I had been working for a solicitor, that was my first job. I didn't like the solicitor's job. I don't know, he'd lose his temper all the time, you know, and then he'd be apologising and he might have a box of sweets. You know, it was nerve-wracking. Yeah. Find yourself walking on eggshells.

The crochet top pattern

I made that, yes,

I taught myself,

I bought a pattern,

and followed the pattern.

48 squares to do all that

4 hours to do each square.

I made it 40 years ago

The Irish Countrywomen's Association

I learnt a lot of crafts when I was in the ICA, the Irish Country Women's Association.

When my youngest was seven. I decided, "this is it, now I'll go." I wanted to do crafts. We'd moved around a few places. It was in the school here on one street. And then, the school behind us here. And then I went to Kimmage Manor.

There were some very good teachers. I enjoyed that.

Crochet I learned on my own, then there in the ICA, I learnt the leatherwork. And the stained glass, the shades, during a craft day. It was all ready for you to just do your work. You had to... Put a copper tape on every bit of glass. And then you had to solder it and all the rest. But it was just a small piece we did on the day. And I loved that. So, then I went to a college at night, where they did a course. I went there for the glasswork; I went for two sessions. In the end I gave that up because my hands were in a bad way. So, I had done enough of that. Back to the needlework.

After the ICA, we had a group with seven women. Each week we met in each other's houses. You did your knitting and your sewing and the chat, that's all we did. But then, five of them died. Because we were all in the same age group, I think. Two only died in the last year. It's hard to believe, you know, the ball just dropped off. I used to joke about killing them all. And then I said, I'd better stop that joke.

Naomi

County Dublin, Ireland

You're not going to get out of the situation. You're not going to be someone who doesn't have this... You have it. So find the gleaming lights in there. Use them, I suppose.

I was playing pool, I took a shot

- like that - behind my back.

I potted the ball, she was walking by.

She said, good shot.

I said, do you speak English?

And she said, yeah. I said, sit.

30 years later, she passed.

***

I got Parkinson's in August. And I got Lewy. I was the centre,

everybody was concerned about me. And then she got cancer.

All of a sudden, the Parkinson's thing, the Lewy thing

Parkinson's, Lewy, it's nothing. You are still yourself. You are still.

You will find in the depths of yourself, this being; in the depths,

how much you are still yourself. You are completely yourself.

And when push comes to shove, and you have to be the person

in the ambulance to transfer your friend from A to B, you can do it.

***

She had beautiful things, she was that sort of person.

And this was always something that we both loved

all the depth and the layers and the centering

earlier on, she said to me, whatever happens

this is for you.

And one of the last things she told me

was where this was in the house.

This will be the only thing

in the world

that anyone owns

that I would want.

Because we both loved it.

It means her, you know.

I was 19, it was in the Wembley Arena.

Pat

County Dublin, Ireland

We started on a ship, the MV Meath, a brand-new ship. I got on that with another boy. So there was two of us. And I was on it for four years. The other guy died. He was getting some job done in hospital, for whatever it was, but it went wrong and he died. He was about 15 or 16.

When he was gone another guy came in with me. We used to obviously do the dishes, do everything else, make the cabins' beds for the officers, and the captains obviously got a first look at it. So yeah, that was that, but there would be some days now that you'd go in and you'd be looking at the bedsheets and you'd be saying hmm he made a mistake there…

We lived there, you know. But we used to go out after everything was finished. We'd get dressed and we'd go out uptown, up to Liverpool. I used to love it. Really loved it. I used to go in and get a pint here and there.

And I was only 14 or 15 then, you know. For some reason, we always came back at the same time. We'd walk back out of the pub, and we'd always get sick, all the way at the one time. Yeah, always in the same place.

I got into trouble in Liverpool, yeah.

There was another boy, he was older than me, this fellow was ,about 18, 19.

And I went out with him, you know, I didn't really want to but I went out with him and he brought me off to bars, went from one to the other and then this woman was in there and he was chatting her up and her daughter was there, young girl, so I was trying to get the daughter and he was trying to get the other one. And it wasn't happening.

But anyway, it turned out that we left. Went across the road. I went into where the phone booth was there, picked up the phone and I started to call for the taxi. I had my back to the wall and all of a sudden the door was kicked in! Your man was well on, and he kicked all the glass in. And on the next day, I was in jail, we were in jail, we were locked up, the two of us were locked up.

And I remember sitting on one seat, he was sitting on that side of it and I was sitting on the other. We were in the room on our own. We were in the room on our own. And the next morning we ended up in the courts. My wages were 6 pound and I had to pay the 6 pound; the worst was the police in Dublin were told! The police in Liverpool rang the police in Dublin to find out where I was living (that was Donnycarney )

When I heard about that I knew I was in trouble. The other fella was sacked but they let me off because they knew that wasn't who I was you know. Anyway I started on the boat back to Dublin; I was hanging out over the rails looking over if I could see me father and I couldn't and I was delighted and it was I was trying to get off the boat and then go off to the house; and then I was saying, "well I don't know, would I go there would I go over to me aunty Janey's or somewhere else"

But nothing happened, me da never said anything, but the police in Dublin knocked on me door and my dad would have killed me if he had been there coz I was after getting the guards to the door he'd never had anything like that in Donnycarney.

I didn't have a button

My dad was a permanent man

that meant he worked

and he was on wages.

He didn't need a button.

my uncle Dinnie,

who was at sea,

he worked at sea,

on the sea,

on the boats

going from Dublin to Liverpool

he brought me in

got me on the boat.

started on a ship, the M V Meath.

a brand new ship.

my dad being a permanent man

made sure when you went

you would get your card

give it in

and when you were finished

you got your money out

and you got your card back,

that's the way it worked.

Seamus

County Mayo, Ireland

You had to do your apprenticeship in the old days, On a Sunday there was nothing happening, so the old boys would gather over here in the afternoon, and they would give you a fishing rod; we were taught how to cast, in the middle of the road. There was no traffic. The whole idea was to get you get you right to cast, you know. That's how I learnt as a kid, there was no traffic in those days.

The big salmon

If you ever pass Swinford, I'll show you a salmon. I'll show you a salmon nineteen pounds, I got it stuffed. I used to have a fishing tackle shop, I'm glad I did it now, it's a good few years ago I suppose 20 years.

There's some story about this fish. It was caught near Easky. This guy Skeeter from Dublin caught it. He brought me the fish to weigh. But he says, Seamus, he says, I can't bring the fish back home, my family won't eat salmon.

I never told my own wife, I sent it to get stuffed, to a taxidermist. If I had told her how much it cost she would have ran. I'm not joking, I didn't know what I was getting myself into… Fish like that, they will not be seen again. I won't tell you how much it cost, my wife would have killed me. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I honestly I have no regret.

It was there all our lives

If you look to the river Moy

today the salmon

have nearly gone extinct

it's so sad

there's very little there now,

and if you catch one

you throw it back,

but it's so sad

No grouse in the bogs,

no bird like you always saw –

the lark, it's gone now, the curlew,

it's so sad

It's so sad when I look at all that;

you take Lough Mask, the Corrib,

the river Moy,

it's so sad to see them dying.

Now the hatches aren't in it,

now the birds are gone,

it was there all our lives,

it's so sad

to see the thing

dying in front of us now.

Sheila

County Mayo, Ireland

We lived on a farm. Cows and calves and all kinds of everything. I did not do the milking, I was not farm orientated. I was the youngest girl.

My mother reared 8 children. There were a lot of boys; the boys got the farming. The girls went to America.

Love

That's the man in my dreams -

a good picture of us.

this is my first husband,

my one and only.

I knew him before I went to America.

I met him in the dance hall,

or in the bog.

He was cutting turf, down the fields there -

there was something brewing.

I went to America for ten years

and he came to America

I didn't think he would, but he did.

I thought, there's more to it than meets the eye.

He stayed 3 weeks,

he said he would wait for me

and that was that

I said you might meet another quare one when you go home

but he didn't

no he didn't

the best present he gave me was the wedding band.

and the engagement ring-

he said you like that one, you have that one.

I had a great husband

and when I say he's a great husband,

he's a great husband.

I love him to pieces,

he's my whole life

I don't know where I'd be without him

I am happy you know

like when I say that

I still love him to pieces

since the day I met him.

No regrets

Some questions – and answers – about America and Apple Pie

Ten years in America.

I have it all behind me.

Did you eat hot dogs

I did not

Are you a good cook

Reasonably good

I guess

I didn't poison anyone.

Roast beef on Sunday,

Apple Pie.

Is there are secret to apple pie?

there isn't really.

How do you do it?

I roll out the pastry.

What kind of apples?

Green apples.

Did they have apple pie in Boston?

They did when I was there…

Carol Ann

County Louth, Ireland

I was an apprentice to a tailor, in a sewing factory. Every girl my age did, more or less. There wasn't much; you had no education; you went to sixth class, and then if your mother didn't have money for new uniforms and going into secondary school, you just didn't go.

So you went to work for somebody. And normally it was going to work as an apprentice to a tailor, which was mine, or a sewer. Sewing factories were everywhere.

I went into a tailor, to a man who was blind drunk most of the time – the smell of beer off him would knock you over. And I had to sit beside him all day. My job there was to fetch and carry for him.

Because he was a tailor, a good tailor. When the suit came, it was in various pieces. There'd be the back, the front, the sides, the pockets, the cuffs. And there'd be trousers. Now the trouser maker was different to a tailor. The trousers were all made separately by trouser makers. And that's the job I had, the trouser maker.

It was hard work, and we were on piecework. The faster you went, the more you earned. We got a half a crown, which was two and six, for a pair of trousers. Impeccably tailored, of course. It was sent up to the checker, and the checker checked every inch of it. And then it was put to the steam room to be steamed and pressed and ready. We made suits and waistcoats, and that was it – that's what we did all day. I would make maybe eight trousers a day, eight, from beginning to end.

There could be 20 girls, 30 girls in some factories, depending on the size of the premises.

But it wouldn't be all sewing. They would be overlockers. The overlocker is the person that, when you look inside your garment of any description, you see a line with stitching on it, which finished the whole garment inside. No strings and rags hanging out of it. It had to be bang on.

We sang all the time. The radio would go on first thing in the morning, the local radio, that used to play all the songs. As soon as a song came on that we all knew, we'd be shouting, banging and singing. I think it helped us get on with the work. The more we sang, the more we worked.

We'd be singing all the time. They were great days. I know we worked like dogs sometimes, because we'd be there till eight o'clock some nights. If you wanted overtime, you got all you wanted. And you'd be there till eight o'clock at night.

But the money urged us on, you know. The overtime. I was only sixteen, seventeen years of age. The more you made, the more money you'd have. My mother used to love seeing me coming in. I'd bring in as much as my father did. I kept about a fiver.

The beehive

we went dancing, in Parnell Square, in the Olympia Ballroom

It was a Saturday, Sunday, Sunday afternoon in the Corinthian.

The boys all wore tight trousers,

lovely. All wore black shoes.

You got your best gear on

and your makeup and your hair …

you backcombed your hair till it was standing alive,

it would be pulled out like this,

the comb would be brought up and up and up and up

the hair until it was in a bunch, knotted.

And then, it was shaped around on your head,

and it was combed, teased out the top,

the bulk on the inside,

and that was the beehive, pinned in at the back,

plastered in hairspray, stay in all night,

even with the heat, perspiration

pouring off me dancing. I loved it.

Rock and roll kids.

Sylvie:

County Louth, Ireland

And the little stars of Doonagh

Call me home

Many moons ago

it was a long time ago

it was St Peter's choir I was in,

hard to think back

Father Coyle

He loved the music,

I have to think

I sang with Ronny Rafferty

anyway, for one,

he lived near me at home,

we used to go to practices together

with the choir

it was a good period,

I'm trying to tell you

when I go to practices I do

enjoy with the choir, you know

The Little Stream of Doonagh

When I was a little lad

With folly on my lips

Fain was I for journeying

All the seas and ships

Well...

And now across the southern swell

Every dawn I hear

The little stream of Doonagh

Running clear

The little stream of Doonagh

Running clear

I do just sing it at night

When I was a young man

Before my hair turned grey

Sailor ships and sailor lads

They gave my heart away

when I'm just,

I'm weary of the storm to come

I'm weary of the fall

And the little stars of Doonagh

Call me home

you know.