Low Tide at Rossbeigh

The Long Day

I was ten and half years old when my father was killed crossing the road in England. This happened on a Friday night the 11^th of 12^th 1976. At the time it was not easy to get in touch with us as we had no phone or neither had the neighbours.

As a family we got up Saturday morning not knowing what had happened to our father. My mother and my sisters went to Tralee to a dancing feis. My Nan was looking after my brother and me.

Myself and my brother met up with two of our neighbours. They were brothers too. We headed off around the bogs and fields with our dogs hunting as we thought.

The news came back from England to the Garda barracks. The Sergeant knew our family and he knew my mothers first cousin quite well.

They headed off to look my mother in Tralee. But we were missing with our friends. As the afternoon was now here we were heading off home to do our jobs. When we were almost home we were passing one of our neighbours’ house laughing and joking like young fellows do.

The lady of the house appeared and said “Have ye any respect for the dead? Have ye any shame?” She had heard us laughing. We still did not know what she was on about.

Then it came “Yer father was killed in London last night.” I remember looking at my brother and he looking straight back at me. He was a year and half older than me.

We headed off home and our Nan told us the news we did not want to hear. We just headed off to do our jobs, which was to milk our Nan’s cows which was by hand. Our Nan joined us.

The three of us started milking in our buckets. None of the three of said anything to each other. But you could hear the three of us crying. I don’t remember the reaction of my mother or my sister at the time.

My next memories are of us heading off to Cork airport by mini bus to collect my father's remains. It was a long day. I sat in the back of the bus on my own thinking “This can’t be true, it has to be somebody else.”

I remember meeting my mother in Cork airport. She was with my aunties and their husbands. We got no time together as a family. As well as all these there was all the neighbours their as well.

So it was back on the bus again alone again with my thoughts. We stopped off in Macroom for something to eat. All I did was look at the coffin in the hearse. All I did was watch it all the way home, cry and think of my Dad. I was in my own little world.

We got back to our church. It was dark and cold. There was a crowd waiting outside it in the yard. As we got out of the bus, we were swarmed by people wanting to offer their sympathies. At the time they thought they were helping us but all they did was separate me from our Mum and brothers and sisters. But this is what I remember next was my headmaster pulling me in to him and cuddling me. I will always remember that kindness. It was the one good thing to happen to me on that long day.

The next day was OK because the Galway crowd, my Dad’s crowd, was there and I was their pet so I was well looked after those days. But nobody asked me was I OK until thirty years later and I was not.

Joe's Story

Joe’s Story

Joe is a 30 year old man in prison for the shooting of a man in Reno. He is serving a life sentence but he has only served 10 years so far and he is finding it difficult in prison waking up every morning to four walls, and when he hears the whistle of the train, he longs for freedom. He is very lonely and sad and jealous of people on the outside. He thinks of the freedom that the train would give him if he was able to get on it and travel far away, see different places and do things he dreamt of doing. He also thinks of how life would have been if he was a free man, like meeting a gorgeous young lady and getting married and rearing a family. Joe also thinks about his parents and brothers and sisters and what he missed out on, he misses his mother’s love as they were very close to each other.

Joe also recalls the day he shot that poor man in Reno for no reason and he regrets it very much and will for the rest of his life as it has ruined his life and those that were close to him.

Joe dreams of freedom and a different way of life but the click of the key on the cell door reminds him of reality and a sad and lonely life.

A Day Out at Crag Cave
In October 2009 we went to Crag Cave. It was a day out for the group Mossie, Mike, Jer and myself, Lucy and Jane came too. We have worked together for 5 months. We travelled from Killorglin to Castleisland by car. We went to the souvenir shop. Then we waited there for 20 minutes. Then we were taken to Crag Cave. Crag Cave is one of the largest caves in Ireland with a total length of 3.81kilometres.

The cave was developed between 1987 and 1989 by building a shaft which is the only man made entrance and putting in pathways, railings, lights and a music system. It was opened to the public on 20th May 1989. After visiting the cave we went to the restaurant for a meal. After the meal we came out and we visited Castleisland. We walked around the shops. We came back to Killorgllin for about 3 o’ clock. It was a very enjoyable day.