post man

[Donal McNamara]

any body rember paddy the post man ;Dchristmas week in ourhouse we would wait for him as mam brother would alwas send mam the dollars from the big apple

[andybrennan]

Donal

Tis well I remember Paddy,

Never remember him taking time off only the official days allotted to him, the elements never deterred him from his round, and he must have been the most popular man in the camp on Fridays

Andy

[kathyo]

hi all just wondering.
about paddy the post-man,and how hard he worked.
imagine. on a friday,he had to call at every house
in the ccrragh.
well done paddy. we would be lost without you
kathyo

[rose5mcdonaghtce]

Hi All,

Paddy the Postman was always in good form, he got a break during the school holidays, as every kid in quarters would be at the top of the block waiting for him to collect the Ma's cheque.

Looking back there was no junk mail coming through our doors, no bank statements, no credit card bills, no electricity/gas bills, no letters from school re: health and safety, parent teacher meetings or closure dates. The only post we ever got was the weekly letter from the grandparents and the cheque on Fridays.

Paddy brought the cheque on Friday, the Da brought home the brown envelope, they lived hand to mouth week to week, the grocery bill was paid and they started all over again. There was no big shop, they just bought what they needed daily. As I was the runner in our house, I spent my Saturday mornings in most of the shops in the Camp, going for the Ma and several of the neighbours, can remember one Saturday, in Maginns Shop no supermarket then, a customer who was the mother of a very large family with her four shopping bags, getting the provisions for that day and Sunday. Pat Maginn RIP is after getting a consigment of fridges, he is doing his best to sell one to her, telling her how the food will stay fresh, and she can shop for a couple of days at a time, Pat had the ability to sell sand to the Arabs as we all know, but he was failing miserably with this lady, as at that time a fridge would have been seen as an un necessary luxury, now its as important an appliance as the cooker. The deal was the usual 5/- down and 1/- a week after that. On and on it went in the end she held up the four bags, which contained a load of bread, butter, jam, corned beef, etc., and said to him, when I get home that won't even get into the press, they usually eat it through the bag, if I had two cows in the back yard I would'nt have enough milk, and as for cold drinks, the drink in my house is tap water and if they run the tap for a while it gets really cold. I have'nt enough room in the kitchen for the kids no mind having an empty fridge taking up space. Pat made no sale that day.

While the money was poor, life was more simple, there were little worries about car payments, interest rates on mortgages did'nt concern them, after they paid their few bills, Sloans or whatever they scraped through the week on the rest.

Indeed when Paddy the Postman stopped bringing the cheque it caused more hardship for some as in a house where drink/gambling was god, the wives were left with wondering what Friday would bring if anything.

Just on the subject of the cheque, Mam died in '67 the cheque was still in operation, Dad had to appoint a female guardian for us the cheque was issued to the guardian's address and she had to sign it. Restricitions were tight around ensuring the wife and children got their share.

Don't ever remember Paddy in bad form, twenty or thirty kids around the bike on Friday mornings and the run up to Christmas, each asking the same question any post for us Paddy.

Rose.

[Sean Tracey]

;DHi Rose . It is with great affection that we al remember Paddy the Postman. When he retired his boots we a big and hard set to fill indeed. Met him and his wife in the Rising Sun many timeshe always spoke reverently of the Camp and all the familys that grew up there. Cheers Sean Tracey

[andybrennan]

Hi Rose / Sean,

One of the things I remember about Paddy was, when asked any post Paddy, he handed it over, not only did he know all address's ,but seemed to know all the kids surnames at least, quite a character

Andy