Dírbheathaisnéis: 1
I don't remember anything about where I was born, because we moved to Dublin when I was just a child. My father left his job as a teacher at Coláiste Naomh Muredach in Ballina in County Mayo after taking up a new position at Marian College on Lansdowne Road in Dublin. He bought a house in Clontarf and we started a new life there.
Pencil
I attended 'Holy Faith' primary school in Clontarf, which the famous presenter Gerry Ryan also attended at the same time, but I didn't know him. I had a wonderful teacher in the 'low babies' class called Sister Paula, and I was not afraid of being at school. Once, when we had a break, I took my pencil sharpener and started sharpening every pencil in the class. There was a small hole in the floor, and I was sitting over it, throwing the filings into the hole, and I was very happy with myself. I was so happy that I stopped sharpening each pencil until all that was left was stubs. I didn't know I shouldn't do that. Sister Paula stopped this important work, and put me back in my seat – she didn't have a harsh word for me, but I learned that I shouldn't do that either.
Pneumonia
I was hit with pneumonia badly when I was in the 'low babies' class. I remember being in the car with my mother bundled up in a blanket, as we rushed to the children's hospital on Temple Street. On Pearse Street, there was a billboard on a railway bridge, and a man with two heads looking out from the advertisement. Isn't it strange the memories that stay with you!
I almost died in the hospital, because I had double viral pneumonia. I didn't eat anything for a month, I was so sick. Around Easter, my parents gave me an Easter egg, and for the first time in hospital I ate a little. Gradually I improved. There was a little girl in the ward next to me, and we started playing a little together. I couldn't walk after being so sick, and I had to relearn it, with the help of my nurse. Finally I was ready to go home. On the way home, my brother was not happy that I was back, because he had my parents' full attention and did not want to share it with me.
Shame
I went back to school and all was well. The next thing I remember was being in a 'high babies' class with a new teacher who I didn't really like. I did something wrong in class (I don't know what), and I had to sit next to a girl in the first class until the end of the class. I was very embarrassed and the girl too more than likely, and I still don't know why this was done to me. I was against any kind of punishment after that. I can still feel that painful shame!
Danger outside
A girl older than me lived nearby, and she walked to school with me in the morning and back home with me in the evening. I was able to go out on my own sometimes, though, but my parents told me to stay close to home. Despite that, I went down a good distance on my tricycle to 'Furlong's' shop on the corner of the main road from time to time without them knowing. One time, a man jumped out of his car, and told me he would give me a ride home. My parents had warned me about strangers, telling me not to talk to them at all. Fortunately, I followed their advice and jumped on my tricycle and hurried home. There is no doubt in my mind that I was in great danger and I was very lucky to escape.
Another time, I ran out onto the road without looking at all. The car stopped quickly with a squeal of tires, and luckily it didn't hit me. I learned road sense instantly, and it's a miracle I survived.
Ba bheag nach bhfuair mé bás cúpla uair agus mé i mo leaidín beag, ach níor chuir sé isteach orm ar chor ar bith mar níor thuig mé i gceart beatha nó bás ag an am!
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