Ag éirí gach maidin le breacadh an lae chun an bus a fháil – ní raibh sé éasca! Is as an Lorgain mise ach d’fhreastail mé ar Ghaelscoil i gCathair Ard Mhacha agus ciallaíonn sin gur fhág a bus ag 7:30a.m gach lá. Éiríonn tú cleachta leis, ach mar dhéagóir leisciúil, tá sé dúshlánach!Ar an bhus a chuaigh mé, gach lá, agus shuigh mé ar na trí shuíochán in aice le mo bheirt chara is fearr. Is iad na cairde is fearr atá agam go dtí seo, agus is dócha go bhfuil ceangal domhain eadrainn ó na maidineacha ar fad ag dul síos an bóthar chomh luath sin. D’éist muid le ceol ar ár iPodanna le chéile agus bhí go leor ama againn le linn an turais 40-nóiméad sin chun roinnt obair bhaile a dhéanamh sa nóiméad deireanach (úps!) Bhí gáirí iontacha againn le chéile. In ainneoin na tuirse, is cuid de na cuimhní is áille i mo shaol iad! B’fhiú i gcónaí an strus agus an obair chrua sna laethanta scoile do na turais bus spraíúla sin chun na scoile agus ar ais abhaile arís.
Waking up every morning at the crack of dawn to make the bus – it wasn’t easy! I’m from Lurgan, but attended a Gaelscoil in Armagh City, meaning the bus left Lurgan at 7:30 each day. You get used to it, but as a lazy teenager, it’s challenging! On to the bus I went, every day, and I sat on the three-seater beside my two best friends. They are still my best friends to this day, probably emotionally bonded from all our mornings heading down the road so early. We listened to music on our iPods together, had enough time on the 40-minute drive sometimes to do some last minute homework we may have forgotten about (oops!) and just had great laughs together. Despite the tiredness, they are some of the loveliest memories of my life! School days were always worth the stress and hard work for those fun bus journeys to school and back home again.
Aoife Ní Chorráin
Is as Contae Ard Mhacha d’Aoife Ní Chorráin. Ag fás aníos, d’fhreastail sí ar bhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge, agus d’fhorbair paisean ollmhór dá teanga dúchas ó am s’aici ag foghlaim ann agus í óg. I ndiaidh di freastal ar mheánscoil, bhain sí céim céadonóracha amach sa Ghaeilge ar Ollscoil na Banríona i mBéal Feirste, agus ó shin, chuaigh sí ar aghaidh le bheith ag obair le TG4 mar chomhordaitheoir na meáin sóisialta le Cúla4. Chinn sí obair a thosú le NI Screen, ag foghlaim gach rud faoi na meáin Gaeilge. Anois, tá sí ag glacadh sos ón méid sin, í ag obair do pháirtí polaitíochta anois agus ag baint an-sult as. Tá sí chomh sásta bheith páirteach leis an eagraíocht seo fosta, Músaem Óige na hÉireann, agus ag súil go mór leis an fhás agus forbairt a fheiceáil.
Aoife Curran is from County Armagh. Growing up, she attending an Irish medium primary school, and a huge passion for her native tongue grew as a result of learning in that environment in her youth. After secondary school, she got a first class honours degree in Irish at Queens University, Belfast, and from that, went on to work with TG4 as a social media coordinator for Cúla4. She then worked with NI Screen, learning everything there is to know about Irish language media. She is now taking a break from it, working for a political party and really enjoying that. Aoife is delighted to be involved with the Museum of Childhood Ireland, witnessing its growth and development.
Thar ceann Mhúsaem na hÓige Éireann agus Robert Burns, ba mhaith linn ár mbuíochas ó chroí a ghabháil lenár rannpháirtithe iontacha go léir as a gcuid ama agus a gcuid scéalta. Tá an-áthas orainn an tionscadal seo a chur i láthair agus tá súil againn go mbainfidh tú taitneamh as leanúint linn sna seachtainí atá romhainn.
An bhfuil scéal agat ar an ábhar seo agus ar mhaith leat páirt a ghlacadh? Déan teagmháil linn ar ár suíomhanna meán sóisialta, nó seol ríomhphost chugainn ag cbrowne@museumofchildhood.ie – ba bhreá linn cloisteáil uait!
On behalf of the Museum of Childhood Ireland and Robert Burns, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of our wonderful participants for their time and their stories. We are thrilled to be presenting this project and we hope you will enjoy following along with us in the coming weeks.
Have a story on this topic and want to get involved? Contact us on our social media sites, or email us at cbrowne@museumofchildhood.ie – we would love to hear from you!