Rita O’Mahony

Track 1: Her early years in Callan, Co. Kilkenny. Her training in hotel management and her hotel experience. In 1973, secured a post as Lady Housekeeper in Trinity College Dublin, where she was to remain for twenty-nine years. Recalling the uniform she wore. Track 2: Her office in Number 1 Front Square, her role and responsibilities and her work schedul Track 3: Discusses her responsibilities for purchasing paraphernalia for the rooms and explains the work of the Skips, who were staff employed to attend to students’ requirements. Track 4: Responsibilities included supervision of the regular upkeep of all Trinity interiors. Her meetings in the Boardroom with the Students’ Union, regarding rules for female students. Track 5: Her living accommodation in 21 Westland Row, which was the birthplace of Oscar Wilde. Notes that the title of Lady Housekeeper lapses on her retirement. Track 6: Recalling the gentlemanly old-world courtesies of the professors in her time. Memories of a staff member, Larry Kelly, the first non-academic whose funeral cortège was allowed to depart from Trinity College Chapel through the Front Gate. Track 7: The culture of trade unionism among staff in the College, the strike in the 1970s which necessitated academic staff taking over the management of domestic duties in the College. The day to day challenges of her role, counselling staff, managing a restricted budget, and dealing with internal politics. Track 8: The life skills learned from twenty nine years in her role in Trinity. Track 9: An anecdote about a female trader who occupied a stall close to the Front Gate. Discussion of Skips taking care of students who were experiencing financial difficulties.