Lil Monahan (nee O'Connell)
INTERVIEW by Geraldine Greene
on February 25, 2010
Interviewee
Lil Monahan (nee O'Connell)
Gender
Female
Birth Date
1911
Area-Townland
West Clare - Ballyea
Parish-Townland
-
Report Date
December 30, 2015
Time
Description
File 1 – 0:00:00 – 0:02:08
INTRODUCTION -
Lil was born in Ballyea, Tiermaclane in 1911. She will be 99 in Sept 2010. Chat about her relations O’Connells; oldest person in Kilnamona; chat about Mrs Marrinan, Inagh recently 100, now the oldest person in Inagh-Kilnamona parish
Health good, reads big print without glasses, well-looked after by her family; has walking frame; prefers radio to television – she got rid of television to save her sight.
0:02:08 – 0:05:06
SCHOOL DAYS -
School days in Ballyea; walked to school ½ mile away; 4 classrooms - boys & girls separate; teachers; story about a female teacher (name erased) & probable death of a girl as a result of a blow on her head. Loved knitting, sewing & writing; did v. little Irish; teachers sometimes did summer courses to learn Irish – pupils often go longer holidays.
0:05:06 – 0:06:26
FAMILY -
Her 9 siblings – 6 brothers and 3 sisters, Lil second eldest in family; she names the ten of them and other details, 2 alive now – Lil and her sister; her parents from locality “they didn’t go far” then, family life – part of big family.
0:06:26 – 0:07:00
MUSIC & DANCING -
Her father going on cuaird; family dancing to gramophone music; they loved music and dancing.
0:07:00 – 0:08:08
HOUSE, FARMING & FAIRS -
Description of the house, yard and farm; location in the parish – 4 miles from Ennis, O’Connell, her nephew now owns the farm; jobs in the house & farm; fairs in Ennis; family life – part of big family.
0:08:08 – 0:09:32
SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT -
Dancing sets & half-sets; house dances on Sunday nights in Markhams, a local house, gramophone or live music; house dances not held in her own house; walking to houses.
0:09:32 – 0:09:52
TRANSPORT -
Lil talks about bicycles and the ass and car.
0:09:52 – 0:11:10
FAMILY -
Growing up, siblings scattering around Ireland and abroad – England and US, her sister Therese, the eldest left at 18, became a Mercy nun & only came home once; their Mother’s passing away at age 59, their Father died pre-deceased her – age/year not given. Her brother took over the family farm.
0:11:10 – 0:13:05
FARMING & BUTTER-MAKING -
Her brother farmed; farm jobs she did – milked cows & fed calves; descriptions of farming, making & selling butter to Jack O’Keeffe who sold it to people in Cork (taken in packed boxes from Ennis station), buying provisions with their money from butter sales; use of separator.
0:13:05 – 0:13:47
SPORT & GAMES -
Games played, sport, her brother Joe best of family at hurling – played with Clarecastle senior team. Ballyea had Junior team then.
0:13:47 – 0:13:56
TRIPS TO TOWN -
Trips to Ennis four miles away.
0:13:56 – 0:14:33
FAMILY & EMIGRATION -
Relations living abroad and information about them; letters home
She compares life then & now for women.
0:14:34 – 0:16:12
LEAVING SCHOOL, WORKING AT HOME & TRANSPORT -
Lil left school at 14 to help Mother at home; minding younger siblings & story about minding the younger children; ass & car for transport.
0:16:12 – 0:19:17
MARRIAGE & MOVING TO KILNAMONA -
Moving to Kilnamona in 1937 following marriage to Tom Monahan 2 years after her made match at age 24; matches & how couples didn’t know one another before hand; her grandmother came from Kilnamona; the original thatch house – now a shed; relations and neighbours in Kilnamona; names for female neighbours.
0:19:17 – 0:19:50
WAR YEARS -
Few memories of war years; recalled fears of hearing lorries with soldiers in Ballyea.
0:19:50 – 0:20:18
JOYCE FAMILY, NEW HALL -
Memories of the Joyce family in New Hall- names & other information.
0:20:18 – 0:21:28
SCHOOL DAYS & BRINGING THE TURF -
Memories of school; learning off by heart; often came home at lunchtime; bringing turf to school – by ass load or horse load if her father had a big load of turf & pupils unloading “gabhails”
File 2 0:00:00 – 0:00:56
HOUSES -
Description of the old house in Kilnamona; her home house was the only slated house in Ballyea & was a storey and a half, now unlived in.
0:00:56 – 0:02:38
CHURCH & TRANSPORT -
Recalls crossing fields to Mass in Kilnamona with the neighbours; prayer & religion; she says “30 days prayer” during Lent; she got married in Clarecastle Church; names of priests in Ballyea/Clarecastle & their transport- the curate cycled, the canon had a horse and side-car and had a driver.
0:02:38 – 0:04:59
FAMILY -
Her own family of 5 children- three in Clare (Joe living beside her, Brigid in Quin & Mary) & a son a priest in Sligo & spent 17 years in missions in Argentina; more information about her children; her son Matt died young of cancer; 13 grandchildren & 2 great-grandchildren at Limerick.
0:04:59 – 0:05:45
FAMILY & BUTTER-MAKING COURSE -
Homemaking and bringing up her family, farm work in Kilnamona, milking cows & separating the milk, course in Kilnamona on how to use the churns & make butter (woman paid by the Government provided training
0:05:45 – 0:05:59
CLOTHES -
Often made their own clothes; no parcels from abroad.
0:06:00 – 0:06:30
HOUSES & HEARTH -
Discussing photo of the hearth in “Cuimhneamh an Chláir” brochure, similar to one in her home house but they didn’t have a hob.
File 3 0:00:00 – 0:01:14
CLOTHES -
Lads in her brothers’ young days often wore “skirts” V shorts or pants without underpants. PJ Greene’s story about adult neighbours who wore skirts to save on laundry & when cutting hay in the summer. Lil remembers her the same for her brothers.
0:01:14 – 0:01:34
TRANSPORT & SCHOOL -
Lil asking Geraldine about herself; she never went to the school with or regarding her children V present day. No cars then except for teachers & priests. She didn’t recall first time they got a car.
0:01:34 – 0:02:44
GAMES & SPORT -
Playing games or sport – not much time for play because of hard work, description of skipping.
File 4 0:00:00 – 0:01:00
PLEDGE -
Pledge taken at Confirmation & not broken; Lil never drank “stronger than tea, milk or water”; her brothers had porter.
0:01:23 – 0:02:15
BALLYEA -
No pub in Ballyea; no shop in Ballyea; travelling shop in later years run by Paddy Markham.
0:02:15 – 0:03:45
VISITING NEIGHBOURS, ST. JOHN’S WELL & KILLONE ABBEY -
Recalls visiting neighbouring houses especially for house dances. They did rounds at St. John’s well at Killone Abbey (she knew it well); the annual Mass & crossroad dances were not held in her youth (but have been held since 1990s).
File 5 0:00:00 – 0:00:55
HOUSE DANCES -
She recalls attending a house dance once in Henry Greene’s (Geraldine’s grandfather) in Kilnamona. She didn’t socialise much at night when her family were young.
0:00:55 – 0:02:17
STATIONS & CHURCH RELATED DISCUSSION -
Stations were held at Monahans in the past. Parish now only has one priest for three chapels.
0:02:17 – 0:02:59
TURF CUTTING & FAMILY JOBS -
Turf cutting in Kilmaley in her youth by the males; females did the cooking; Lil and her son Joe remember going to O’Callaghan’s bog in Kilmaley; Kilnamona people went to bogs in Inagh.
0:02:59 – 0:05:00
TRAVEL & LISDOONVARNA -
Little travel outside Clare except a few trips to Lourdes, France on a diocesan pilgrimage; she didn’t mind flying; she recalls trips to Lisdoonvarna in Septembers with local ladies and remembers seeing the morning dances; taking the sulphar water in Spa Wells; her husband didn’t travel much; he enjoyed smoking his pipe.
0:05:00 – 0:06:42
ELECTRIFICATION -
Recalling electricity coming to Kilnamona – she remembers the poles being put down. Comparing life now to past & many changes. People have more money now. 6p in her youth meant lots; 1p worth of sweets!
0:06:42 – 0:09:13
HEALTH & LONGEVITY -
Talking about her longevity, life & health now. Her grandmother lived a long life too; recalls a rhyme she said.
