I was born in a very rural area far from any convent. God blessed me with very prayerful parents and I have very happy memories of home to this day. Prayer seemed to be the key to all troubles. Whether one of us was not well or an animal was not well the Holy Water was the answer while waiting for the doctor or vet, which took some time with no modern transport available then.

When a person entered the house the greeting usually was, ”God bless all here” and the reply “You too.” And the departing greeting was, “God bless ye now.” And the reply was “Safe home, God be with you.” We had the Rosary and trimmings every night. If anyone came while it was being said they joined us. We travelled four miles to Mass on Sunday. We met all the neighbours. Greetings were always prayerful. This was an accepted way of life in those days now over 60 years ago. People were concerned about one another. There were no motor cars or cycles. People were relaxed and there was time for chat.

When I went to school we were introduced to “Black baby cards”. These had the drawing of Rosary Beads, which had 60 beads to be pricked for at least a penny each. When full we returned it to the teacher who told us stories about Black babies. He made it very interesting for us and we received holy pictures or little medals for our efforts. That was the start of my missionary effort. The teacher encouraged us from time to time and more cards came.

When I went to Secondary school (lay teachers, not the convent) we had excellent teachers also. One especially said a prayer to the Holy Spirit every day before class and she impressed us all, as she was very kind and patient with us. Some girls from a senior class entered and five in my own class entered having finished Leaving Cert. For health reasons I was late going on mission where I spent 20 years approx. teaching mostly. There were some extra curricular activities also. I went with the students whom I needed as interpreters for Legion of Mary work. I enjoyed my years and would have returned but it wasn’t to be except for memory flights.