Willie Hayes (aged 84)

I visited the home of the Hayeses, a house built in 1911 by the local council. I spoke to Willie Hayes and his wife Maura, and recorded many stories about the house itself, where Sinn Féin courts used to sit. In the early 1940s, Willie moved up to north Offaly and Kildare to work for the Turf Development Board, during the months of February to October. Here he met many contemporaries from all over the country. We also spoke about emigration from the local area, and Willie’s time in the Labour Party, which he joined at the age of 16.