Track 1. Tommy Lyons describes his background and the family origins in Spa Road in Tralee. His grandfather, Denis, a tailor, moved to No. 9, Milk Market Lane in the town. Tommy’s father, also names Tommy, went to Cork city to learn the trade and discovered the lucrative business of dealing in second-hand clothes, a business he started in Tralee during the Emergency period. Tommy’s grandfather, Denis, bought a shop across from his home in Milk Market Lane and worked with his son, running a business in clothes and furniture. Tommy had left school at 14 to work in the family business. The location of the Market nearby made the Lane a busy place, he explains, and he details the businesses in the Lane and the proprietors who lived overhead. He remembers that every day brought great activity in the Market with the horse fairs, also because of the various harness makers, the thatching material, turf and the dairy close by. Track 2. In 1971, Tommy took over the business from his father and also the hawking licence, attending the various county fairs. He names his neighbours in Milk Market Lane, known to him all his life, and their deep religious devotion and their simple lives.
Track 3. He recalls how quickly the Lane changed when the Market closed, which meant the end of an era. The dairy moved away and the families died out, the well-known places changed. He mentions the Rock railway station and Brogue Lane. Track 4. He returns to memories of watching his grandfather, Denis, working at his tailoring, packing up and travelling early to fairs, the introduction of the wellington boot, and in conclusion, some interesting anecdotes are told.
