Mairéad was born on 21st December 1949 in the Co. Hospital in Cavan. Peggy was in hospital for a couple of weeks, as was the norm in those days, and Tom and the children had to have Christmas dinner without Peggy in Carrickane House. They spent the rest of Christmas Day in the Co. Hospital, where they contributed to a concert and a sing-song for the elderly residents. A friend of Peggy’s, Mrs Guinan from Athboy, came to help out when Peggy came home and after a few weeks, the children’s grandmother, Sarah O’Brien came from Bandon, as she usually did when a baby was born. Sarah disliked intensely living in the countryside. She was not used to coping without electricity or running water and she hated being away from her friends in Bandon and away from the shops. She was an inveterate gambler and she particularly disliked being unable to place a bet or listen to the horse-racing on the wireless. (The Donlon wireless in 1949 was an electric wireless and as with all other electrical goods, it was unusable in Carrickane House). Peggy could not face a second winter in Carrickane House and thanks to the intervention of the Co. Medical Officer, who was aware of what a hardship it was for her with her eight children to live without water and electricity, the family was allocated a newly built county council house in St. Felim’s Place in Cavan town. It was a small house, not really big enough for a family of ten, but it had electricity and running water and it was warm and comfortable. There were no other houses available for rent in Cavan, and Peggy was very happy in St. Felim’s Place. Her neighbours were hospitable and friendly and Peggy was often consulted for advice when babies and little children were sick. In spite of the high incidence of serious childhood illnesses and a high child mortality rate in Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s, the Donlon household was a healthy one, and Peggy rarely called a doctor – the children’s only memory of a visiting doctor was in July 1951 when the ninth baby, Uinseann, was unexpectedly born at home. It was a hot summer’s Sunday (15th July 1951) and the eight children had been bundled into the car to go to Annagh Lake, about seven miles outside Cavan town, for a picnic. There was a safe bathing spot at the lakeside which was popular for paddling and swimming. The children had finished the picnic and had just got into the water when Tom came down to the water’s edge and told them to get dressed quickly as they had to go home at once. As they passed the County Hospital, Tom asked Peggy if he should go straight there. She replied that she needed to go home for her suitcase. But when she got home it was too late – the baby was on the way and the doctor came to the house where the baby was safely delivered. Uinseann was baby number nine, and before the family left Cavan in 1954, Maeve, Deirdre and Rionach had followed. They were all born in the County Hospital – Maeve on 17th November 1952; Deirdre on 7th April 1954 and Rionach on 7th October 1955. The week Rionach was born, Tom was transferred to Ennis, Co. Clare, as District Inspector. Peggy went into hospital from St. Felim’s Place, Cavan and when she was discharged two weeks later, the family had already moved to Ennis.
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