ANNIE ALCORN (née McGinley), BORN 1934, HORN HEAD

In the company of Seamus Harkin, Annie Alcorn was recorded at her home at Horn Head. She discusses her own family, the McGinleys, who came from the head of the peninsula. She recalls her youth, the card playing, the house dances and the fine local musicians. Her schooling and her teachers, the fishing and the farming by all the local people, the drawing of seaweed by donkey and cart for use as fertiliser are all subjects discussed. Annie also talks about the Church of Ireland religion to which she belongs and the local community in which she lives. Annie’s son, Moses Alcorn, recalls the older people to whom he used to listen when he was growing up as they traced their families and told wonderful stories. The children’s burial ground, the field names and their meaning, the local diet and cures, and watching the sea for weather signs were all matters discussed in this wide-ranging recording.