Mary Rohan (part 2)

Mary Rohan begins this recording by recalling her memories of the beginning of the Great War and up until the mid 1920s. She describes the mood of the people after the events of 1916, and the split after the formation of the Free State. She talks about being sent to Sion Hill Convent in Dublin for her secondary education in 1920 and her experience of going by train to Dublin was traumatic. Her journey by train was curtailed shortly after leaving Cork and she travelled eventually on a ship out of Queenstown to Dublin. When she finished her education in Sion Hill she studied at UCD for her Higher Diploma in Education, boarding in the Dominican Hall, run by the Loreto nuns. While there, she discovered the theatrical movement, which was flourishing in Dublin and Cork city at the time. There still existed a strong difference of opinion among the people in the aftermath of the Civil War. She was very fortunate at this stage of her life to have met Douglas Hyde, her lecturer, whom she described as ‘a treasure’, and she learnt a lot from him. One of her greatest experiences at this time was her attendance at political meetings including De Valera’s speeches and meetings in Dublin.