peter
“I grew up with a pair of identical twins, Raymond and Seamus. During our teens, they came up with the idea of ‘borrowing’ their father’s car to drive to Portrane. We were to meet up with these girls that we had met during a recent visit. None of us had a driving license so we decided that, if we were pulled over, whoever was driving at the time would have to give our friend’s older brother’s name to the Gardai. We also discussed the three possible things that could happen that would ruin our trip: The obvious one was the possibility of a crash; a breakdown was number two and the last was being pulled over by the Gardai. Well, as luck would have it, we crashed into a sandbank soon after we arrived in Portrane. Then the car overheated. These two incidents were enough to see us quickly heading for home. We had nearly made it back when, out of the blue, a Garda on foot stopped us. He seemed very nice and asked the driver the usual questions. He then asked the driver, one of the twins, for his name, while shining his torch directly on him. Seamus replied: Dermot Hurley! – as per the plan. He then shone the torch on the three of us in the back and continued onto the front seat passenger, where the other twin was sitting. When asked for his name, he replied: Raymond Pillion! The Garda shone the torch back to the driver. Then he looked back and forth between the twins. We were all ordered out of the car for further inspection. The stop was not going well, to say the least. Seamus had to try to come clean so he explained that their father was a Detective Garda and the car was an old squad car bought from the Garda sales. Thankfully, back in those days, laws were not enforced as strictly as they are today. We were let proceed on our way, after a lengthy dressing down. When we were clear, we howled with laughter. None of us will forget the look on the Garda’s face when he shone his torch back and forth between the twins’ faces. It still brings a smile to my face, even after fifty or so years.”
This series was highlighted by the @SouthDublinLibraries supporting marginalized people living in the South Dublin Council area. Find out more in the Comments section.
Balgaddy is located between Clondalkin and Lucan, it is an area that has experienced a significant transformation over the past 20 years. Social housing accounts for 57% of private households in Blagaddy compare to the national average of 9%. The 2016 census describes the locality as containing areas that are disadvantaged and very disadvantaged, with most of the ED population leaving school at 15 years old. HOD and South Dublin Libraries reached out into this community to bring together a diverse group of people for a weekly storytelling workshop. The legacy of this project is what you are reading. The project will be available in the form of an exhibition and a small book will be published for the participants and their friends and family. The book will also become part of the local history section of Dublin’s libraries.