Fortunately for me, having been taught at home and being already older, I was considered suitable for Senior Infants and after a few weeks with the ‘babies’ I was moved on to Sister Coleman’s. She was a dear and I thrived there. My poor sister Patsy hated school from day one!
I was not long at school before I realised that not all of my classmates were as fortunate as I. Some children were so poor and neglected that they did not have any underwear. Many had neither socks nor shoes. Many, especially the boys, wore ragged hand-me-downs often with elbows out and no seat in their pants. These children were given a school dinner courtesy of the convent and at weekends the Sisters ran a Saturday kitchen where they issued soup, bread and a piece of meat to poorer families.
Writing was an art form in Primary School and the local Education Authority ran writing competitions. As the biro was yet to be invented and fountain pens were much too expensive for classroom use, we completed our bookwork using a nib mounted on a fine rod – somewhat like the shaft of an artist’s brush.