When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Desmond Morris

WALKING TO SCHOOL When Britain declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939, I was an eleven-year-old schoolboy. I was a day boy at the Swindon High School, and walked there and back each day on my own. It was a distance of about a quarter of a mile. I kept mostly to main streets,… Continue reading When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Desmond Morris

YEATS, Jack B RHA (1871-1957): The Wren Boys

Hand-coloured Cuala Press print. Framed, 62.5 x 33.5cm (24.6 x 13.2in). Size of print 48 x 19cm (18.9 x 7.5in). Scene depicts a traditional December 26th, Saint Stephen’s Day celebration. Four boys carry a bush decorated with ribbons through a village. Footprints suggest snow, and open mouths suggest the boys are singing the traditional rhyme.… Continue reading YEATS, Jack B RHA (1871-1957): The Wren Boys

When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Alan Lambert

The early morning walks to school that I experienced in the late 1970s have never really receded into the past, as they are revived every time I connect with any part of the Metals, the lanes that run parallel to the railway lines from Dalkey to Dun Laoghaire. As we lived near Sallynoggin, at the… Continue reading When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Alan Lambert

Puppet Show, Seó Puipéad and Dominican School

Christmas 2024 The Museum of Childhood Ireland were at Bloomfields Shopping Centre on December 13th for a festive day with McCormick’s Puppets, featuring seasonal performances between 1:00 and 4 pm! Santa had arrived, but where was Rudolph the Reindeer? And what was Crocodile up to? Plus, we all met Cheeky Monkey and snapped a photo… Continue reading Puppet Show, Seó Puipéad and Dominican School

Rediscover Timeless Tales

Rediscovering Timeless Tales: The Enduring Magic of Joan Aiken, Mollie Hunter, and Violet Needham Introduction: An Invitation to Revisit Forgotten Classics I often return to books from my childhood—the kind of stories that offered wonder, excitement, and a hint of danger. It’s like reconnecting with an old friend: comforting, familiar, but always full of surprises. Recently,… Continue reading Rediscover Timeless Tales

When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Dr Martina Devlin

Photo: Steve Humphreys

FINDERS, KEEPERS – Martina Devlin I learned about the concept of turning in lost property as a result of my walk home from school one day. It was a mystifying notion – instinctively, my acquisitive little brain preferred the ‘finders, keepers’ version. Our family lived close to Loreto Convent Primary School in Omagh, at that time based in a clattery old building on top of a hill, while our house was at the bottom. The school journey… Continue reading When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Dr Martina Devlin

When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Peter Keane

Reminiscences of my daily schooldays journey Back in the day (the late 1950’s, many moons ago), I lived on Oliver Plunkett Avenue, Monkstown Farm. I attended pre-primary school in Convent Road and CBS Primary and Secondary on Eblana Avenue, Dun Laoghaire. Every schoolday I walked to Dun Laoghaire with my sisters, and walked back home… Continue reading When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Peter Keane

Snapshots of our Childhood

Joe Jackson, 1960s Glasthule Joe, age 7 on a wall in Glasthule, with Sandycove in the background. Photo by Joe Jackson senior. Memories of Two Cinemas and a Beat Club.  Every time I pass by the Spar shop in Glasthule, I am reminded of that building in three of its previous incarnations – the Astoria… Continue reading Snapshots of our Childhood

A Look to the Future: Researching Childhood and Youth

Now is an exciting time to be researching on the theme of childhood and youth. Across diverse fields such as history, literature, law, education and the sciences, there is a wealth of new research underway by PhD students, senior scholars and independent researchers alike. For Culture Night this year the Museum of Childhood Ireland will… Continue reading A Look to the Future: Researching Childhood and Youth

When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Dr Richard Hogan

I started walking to school with my brothers when I was five years old. Bag wobbling around my back, mother nervously waving us off. Down the muddy patch us adventurers traversed, the morning light breaking over the roofs of grey houses in Shamrock Lawn, friends joining as we slowly moved towards school. Talk of homework,… Continue reading When We Were Kings and Queens of the Road: Dr Richard Hogan