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, which teacher was mean or funny, Manchester United and the football card we were hoping to get in our next purchase filled our childish minds. The final hurdle, a damaged, trampled fence and then into St Columba’s Boys National School. This was 1980’s Ireland.
The sun seemed younger then, and when it weakened and ebbed away I knew summer was leaving. With each leaf that fell winter was closer. September was made palatable by the treasure trove of acorns and conkers I collected in my jumper. Bringing them home to treat them so they would be triumphant in the next morning’s battle on the way to school.
Oh Autumn, your heavens cracked and let fall golden shards that soon turned black. I’d kick through those golden leaves and down the muddy path, searching for your gifts. Like that muddy path, long gone, so are those days of childhood. What a magical time of innocence.
Shamrock Lawn and St Columba’s are in County Cork. https://www.stcolumbasbns.ie/
Dr Richard Hogan is a systemically trained Family Psychotherapist registered with The Family Therapy Association of Ireland. He writes every Thursday for the Irish Examiner. His column ‘Learning Points’ explores his progressive approaches to mental health promotion. He is the author of the best-selling book ‘Parenting the Screenager’. This book is a practical and accessible guide for parents of the modern child. The book received critical acclaim from The Irish Times as a ‘must buy for any parent of a teenager’. His recent publication, ‘Home is where the Start is’ was a national bestseller and shortlisted for an Irish book award. He is the clinical director of the award-winning psychotherapy and counselling service Therapy Institute. Trinity College Dublin invited Richard, in 2017, to undertake a PhD with the university to explore how his paper, ‘systemic practices in education’ could be introduced into the Irish educational system. Richard was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for his work in 2020 and travelled to America in 2021 to carry out research in a leading American University on how to better promote inclusion in Irish and American Schools. Richard is the leading contributor RTÉ ‘Raised by the village’. Richard is also expert contributor on Virgin media’s most successful launch of an original programme, ‘Eating With The Enemy’. He is also a regular contributor on shows such as, Drivetime RTÉ Radio 1, The Hard Shoulder Newstalk, The Today Show RTÉ, Ireland AM Virgin Media, The Tonight Show with Claire Brock, and he is a regular contributor The Brendan O’Connor show where he offers his expertise and progressive strategies for better mental health promotion.
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.
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