PEGGY FITZGERALD (b. 1920s) AND EILEEN MC ENERY (b. 1920s)

Eileen McEnery talks about Fair Day in Rock Street and the way of life in Tralee, Co Kerry in the early part of the 1900s. This interview starts with Peggy Fitzgerald’s memories of growing up in Ardfert, and continues with her visits to Tralee in the 1920s, the many plays she recalls attending and memories of her father who worked in the Munster Warehouse, Tralee, the main drapery store in Munster at the time, according to Peggy. The story of Peggy’s grandparents emigrating to Australia in the aftermath of the Famine, and their return to take over the farm outside Ardfert is related. A Home Economics teacher by profession, Peggy work in the Technical College in Tralee from the 1940s until her retirement. Other topics covered in the interview included the War of Independence, the ‘Hush-Hush’ dances, local bands, travelling performers during the Emergency (1939-45), the Railway system in North Kerry, the Crosby Estate and the importance of the pawn shop in Tralee.