I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls

The rent of 3s.6d a week in the Dublin Artisans' Dwelling Company flats was relatively high in the early 1920's when the author's grandparents moved in. Built to house artisans the tenancies were beyond the means of labourer's who earned about a £1 a week.On the death of her mother in 1947 she moved from nearby Upper Rutland St. to live in the Dwellings with her grandparents and remembers it as a matriarchal enclave where the women castigated and cursed each other's children and minded...
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The rent of 3s.6d a week in the Dublin Artisans' Dwelling Company flats was relatively high in the early 1920's when the author's grandparents moved in. Built to house artisans the tenancies were beyond the means of labourer's who earned about a £1 a week.On the death of her mother in 1947 she moved from nearby Upper Rutland St. to live in the Dwellings with her grandparents and remembers it as a matriarchal enclave where the women castigated and cursed each other's children and minded them when necessary. They criticized one another, supported one another through the 'nagers', delivered babies when a 'Bona Fide' midwife wasn't available or couldn't be afforded, borrowed and lent finery, often taken out of the Pawn for the occasion, and laid out and waked the dead. The Memoir is rich in humour and historical lore for those who remember Summerhill, the Dwellings, the nearby Streets, the Tin Church, and the choice of schools like the Red Brick Slaughter House, the Sado Brothers or the love 'em or hate 'em Nuns in North William Street. It will lead you down a path of nostalgia you cannot fail to enjoy. For others it's a series of glimpses of North Dublin communal life that for once does not include vermin, abuse, neglect or a granny who was a dealer. It also encompasses vignettes of family members bringing them to life to be remembered fondly with wry recognition of their faults and foibles. We are introduced to characters like Annie Lawlor, Nick Colgan and the Grant and Breslin families and will meet some of them again in 'Thrown on Life's Surge'.