Life in Ballycroy, Co. Mayo, Ireland 1975

the planes that stretch north of kill Bay and west of lockcon Rise quickly into the Foothills and mountains of the neffenbag range that stretch from here to the Atlantic its most Bleak and Barren bogland interspersed with intermittent farming the people scattered and isolated farming or working in any way here is not easy and those who must live here often feel the rest of the world has forgotten them many of those who can't get work here have had to leave they are sentimental and family attachments remain behind here in Kina on the slopes of neffenberg this young couple came back from Coventry to the parish to get married one of only three weddings in kenock church in a year but the most important and the saddest part of this Sentimental Journey is that after the photographs the celebrations and the reunion they go back to Coventry more heart and more people gone the story of trying to keep a viable number of people in a place always comes back to children and schools not only in Kenneth but in most areas of scattered population to provide greater facilities here in peanut tree schools were Amalgamated into one of just over 60 pupils this makes it into a three-teacher school with the additional facilities which increased numbers should get but how can it maintain its numbers or 20 years in this area there's been a 20 decrease so keeping up numbers is achieved by bringing pupils from former schools and outlying districts by school bus but the bus will not call to a pickup Point unless there are at least eight pupils and some areas can't produce this number and thereby don't get to school in this Forest Area distances are vast isolated rough and lonely but people still have to live and work here and school is more and more difficult to get to for children like this little girl Mary Kilroy it's five six between five and six miles out to the school the it's a wild Mountain Road as you see you know as you know it's a very very wild place especially in wintertime so we can't defend that just won't come for this this little yellow and there is a few more two or three more you know ready to go to school still they won't come because there isn't enough for the van for the school then how far would she have to walk in either direction to get um to where she could be picked up well uh if she goes to Newport she'd have to walk to two two mile or two mile and a quarter uh the other side tikina she'd have to walk uh a half mile if the banner come there you know to the main by the main road we're here in the forestry and they have to and there's a few Gates on the way but uh we you know bad weather she's too young or too to to get out to the to the van it doesn't seem all that much maybe particularly to an older generation to walk that far well we did walk to school one time but uh we were probably old-fashioned who went to school and we didn't get education I mean we liked education we we couldn't just get there every day because the place is too wild you know bad weather you couldn't hear child in in bad weather you'd have to I'm working then I can if I if I have to go out to meet then would have with this little yellow I have to lose my job I have to knock off my job and I want to you know to type this in I have to keep my week's wages up yeah I mean I depend on my week's wages Mary do you mind not going to school here you don't care hmm would you like she does like because she's always talking and going to school would you like to go she's a she's a bit dashboard oh you lost your tongue would you like to go hmm you would Mrs Kenroy there must be other difficulties when you're as isolated as this how do you find it as somebody who has to mind a house and children well the most famous is the electric light in the neighborhood has it and have electric light and television and kind of fridge and everything we have Mr light very much what I suppose yeah

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Length: 4min 49sec (289 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 30 2022