3 minute read
Local Legend - Raymond O’Sullivan
Local Legend
DUHALLOW LOCAL LEGEND - Raymond O’Sullivan
Who are you and where do you hail from?
I’m a Newmarket man, and I’ve lived all my life, more or less, in the house where I was born in New Street. Mag and I got married in the early ‘70’s, we had two children, Eoin and Máiréad, and we ran a small bakery and grocery business there until she sadly passed away in 2010. The children are married now and left the nest, so I live alone. I also did some archaeological work, mostly in planning, but also night classes, school tours, field trips for teachers and community groups, etc. To say I was a substitute teacher of German would be misleading and inaccurate, although I was occasionally called on to hold the fort and try to keep the noise at an acceptable level in the classroom. A time-consuming task that left scant opportunity to instil an appreciation of the beauty and mathematical precision of German grammar in my unruly charges. Music has played a major role in my life, but I have many other interests, including local history, folklore, mythology, and, since retirement, gardening is taking up more and more of my time. An ideal pastime for the older person. You are close to the earth, it’s good exercise, and it encourages optimism and hope. To plant a garden is to believe in a tomorrow. (Such excitement!!!)
Have you witnessed many changes in Duhallow throughout your lifetime?
Huge changes! I was born just after World War II ended and throughout the post war years Duhallow was haemorrhaging its youth. It was well into the ‘60’s before the flow was staunched. We lived in our own little bubble. There was very little travel - matches on Sunday and the odd trip to Ballybunion during the summer. I saw London before I saw Dublin. Children played in the streets, and pigs, calves, and horses were sold there. Every house in town seemed to be a shop, and you woke in the morning to the clip-clop of horses and rut of cart wheels bringing milk to the creamery. If a plane passed over, the whole town would be out looking up at it with their mouths open.
What do you like most about Duhallow?
The variety! In the people and the landscape, from the hill country in the west and north to the rolling pastures of the Blackwater valley. The urban centres are small enough to walk out of in 10 minutes and all the villages have their own unique charm and personality. The proximity to Limerick and Kerry also add to the colour. Duhallow is a big Barony, bigger than Co. Dublin.
What progression in the area would like to see?
Duhallow is one of the least visited places in the country by tourists. With a little planning and marketing we could improve on that. I spent some time in Spain a few years ago in a small town, well off the tourist track, just like Newmarket. I’ve had lots of inquiries since from people who would like to do the same - experience ‘real’ Spain. It is a niche market, but well worth developing. We have the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail in western Duhallow and the Beara/ Breifne Way, which together with the Shannon waterways forms the spine of The Hidden Heartlands, passes right through the Barony. And ,of course, we need industry to keep the young people at home. The exuberance and enthusiasm of youth is vital to keep the breath of life in the old Barony in the future years.
Any advice you would give your 20-year-old self?
I was 20 in the mid ‘60’s, a time of freedom and change. A good time to grow up. Emigration had stopped and the country was rocking. The ‘60’s weren’t just about the Beetles and Rolling Stones. We had the Showband Era. Dance Halls packed with your peers, the ballad boom, lounge bars popping up everywhere. The Fleadh Ceoils of the time are legendary, traditional music was rapidly reviving with a renewed interest in our own background and culture. My advice would be to avoid the old mistakes and make some new ones, and, hopefully, get as much enjoyment out of them as you did out of the old ones.
