Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
This 30-minute piece was recorded by chance in the car of Pay Lyne one damp wet evening in June 2026. Pat was wanting to show me the house he was reared in and when we were in the car he took me on a bit of a ramble.
The chat is loose and turns like the road and in one instance Pat would be talking about old neighbours and the next talking about The Stations and death customs. Loevly loose chat and one story that stuck with me was about his neighbour Mick Neal (O'Neill).
Mick died in 1987 and lived here in this remote part of the island without electricity. Pat told me that Mick loved a bit of news and when they come home from the pub, at any hour of the morning, they’d call to Mick who’d be waiting up to hear what the boys heard in the pub. They could call at one in the morning and Mick would have the fire lighting and they’d sit around and talk. There was only one thing, the boys would be be making up lies too to entertain Mick and most importantly themselves, but he’d grab them and put his nose up to their face and look them in the eye and say “tell me the truth now”. And sure if they laughed, he knew it was all a codd but that didn’t stop the boys from doing it and or for Mick, for wanting to hear a news from the island and the wider world.
And the funny thing is - although the island was the hub for international and global communications - it took neighbours like Pat to hear a bit of news in the local pub and walk by shanks mare to Mick's house and physically deliver him the news via chat and conversation and entertainment. And if there was one take-away I got from this drive around the island, this was it.
News can travel in so many different ways and you can't beat the human touch or connection.
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
This 30-minute piece was recorded by chance in the car of Pay Lyne one damp wet evening in June 2026. Pat was wanting to show me the house he was reared in and when we were in the car he took me on a bit of a ramble.
The chat is loose and turns like the road and in one instance Pat would be talking about old neighbours and the next talking about The Stations and death customs. Loevly loose chat and one story that stuck with me was about his neighbour Mick Neal (O'Neill).
Mick died in 1987 and lived here in this remote part of the island without electricity. Pat told me that Mick loved a bit of news and when they come home from the pub, at any hour of the morning, they’d call to Mick who’d be waiting up to hear what the boys heard in the pub. They could call at one in the morning and Mick would have the fire lighting and they’d sit around and talk. There was only one thing, the boys would be be making up lies too to entertain Mick and most importantly themselves, but he’d grab them and put his nose up to their face and look them in the eye and say “tell me the truth now”. And sure if they laughed, he knew it was all a codd but that didn’t stop the boys from doing it and or for Mick, for wanting to hear a news from the island and the wider world.
And the funny thing is - although the island was the hub for international and global communications - it took neighbours like Pat to hear a bit of news in the local pub and walk by shanks mare to Mick's house and physically deliver him the news via chat and conversation and entertainment. And if there was one take-away I got from this drive around the island, this was it.
News can travel in so many different ways and you can't beat the human touch or connection.
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
