Summer 1974 at the home Grandma grew up in

In the summer of 1974 my Grandma, Maureen Cassidy, took my cousin and I with her to Ireland. We stayed in the house she grew up in, which her sister, Auntie Delia, still lived in. No electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing, and it was the best summer ever. I was 10, so some of my photographs are not the best.  

My previous story showed my Grandma doing the washing in a big tub outside the back door. Washing up was done in the same place. I don't look to thrilled, but I probably wasn't quite awake yet!

The family home is on a large piece of land. We walked through the cow pasture and we came upon a large boulder with what looked like finger indents in it. Grandma told us of when the giants lived in Ireland. One giant got mad at another and threw the boulder at him and it landed in the pasture. Grandma was full of great information like that.

With no electricity, all the cooking and baking was done on the cookstove in the kitchen. I don't recall what the fuel was - wood or peat - but Grandma and Auntie Delia had cooking down pat! I remember using a long fork to toast my bread, and I think everything was cooked in bacon drippings! The thatch roof had been replaced, I think it was tin. It's a two-story home, nothing fancy, with three bedrooms. We read by candlelight and oil lamps, went to bed not long after sundown and were up at sunrise. The goat in the cover photo had free run of the property. That was his (her?) favorite perch.

We used to walk into town most every day. I'm not sure how far from Swanlinbar town we were, but we had fun walking and exploring along the way. The spring we got our water from was on this same road. Well, it was more like a one-lane dirt road.

We spent alot of our time running around with Uncle Joe's kids, seven boys, three sets of twins! One of them still farms the family land. One of the things I thought was great was how neighbors helped each other out. I remember when it was time to cut the hay. So many people were there, us kids even pitched in. Growing up in New York, this was a new experience and it was so much fun. 

We went and saw some sights. I kissed the Blarney stone. We seemed to have alot of rain. Grandma told us if it rained on this certain day we would have rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Of course it rained on that day, and we seemed to get at least a small rain shower most days after that. It didn't bother us at all. Maybe that's why I love the rain!

Grandma made a trip to Ireland almost every summer until she passed away in 2000. She never said she was going to Ireland, or she was going to visit her family. She always said "I'm going home."  Life there was different, but it sure was fun!

For some reason my other photos won't upload. I'll try those another time.