“You were born for better things!”Listen to Tony, Bill, Maggie Fimia, Don Moe and Annette share an evening in Garryarthur, up the road from Darragh. in 2004. Transcript below beautifully done by Tony’s Grandson, Keith in June of 2014. Now you can read while you listen!Tony’s mother, Mary Daly, was a close cousin and grew up with John, Margaret, Ellen, Marie, Bridget, Tom and Joe McGrath. Tony passed away in 2008 at the age of 96. Bill Magner is a cousin on Mary Magner’s side and was the first relative I met in Ireland. He graciously offered to meet us in Darragh, take us up to the Church and has spent countless hours humoring me with my research. His good friend and local historian, Maurice O’Reagan is not in on this conversation, but is in the picture. The last person in the picture is John McGrath, brother of Tom. They live next door to each other up the road from the creamery.Tony Hackett and Bill Magner transcript by Keith Maguire- Grandson to Tony HackettBlack writing: Voice of Tony Hackett, born 1911Red writing: Voice of Bill MagnerBlue writing: Voice of Maggie Fimia MoePurple writing: American male voice?Wine writing: Annette Maguire-Youngest daughter of Tony HackettOrange writing: Antonia Maguire- Grand-daughter to Tony Hackett. Daughter to Annette MaguireBrown Writing: Keith Maguire- Grandson to Tony Hackett, Son to Annette maguireBrackets(): some local colloquialisms explained in plain EnglishYou broke your mother’s heart but by Christ you won’t break mine. And he was standing there. And there was one man there and I gave him great merit. When we looked up the road, the crowd of young lads (boys) and dogs at the top and he didn’t do anything, but he went all the way up and he brought them down. Because he said, if he told them to go away, they’d come back again and get shot. That’s right, there could be some one of them shot very handy. (one of them could easily have been shot).Fair dues to him. You broke your mother’s heart but you won’t break mine…. You got 5 rounds in your own time. I got on well at the shooting . Another fella fired, young Rea fired that way. That’s gone, that’s gone I think to the West… Laughing… The wrong direction. Ya , Inaudible… you see, that’s gone to the west. Wrong target. But listen, do you know what I’d often be thinking of… To hand over a rifle and 60 rounds of, of, of, ammunition, ammunition, to a man that never had a gun, twas a woeful laugh (it was ridiculous). Twas a bit of a chance (to take) I’m telling ya, you were lucky you didn’t shoot yourself. And they had another thing, of course, every government, its money that’s governing them. Oh I’d say. You could fire them at your right then but you paid six pence a bullet. Do you understand? I liked all that. I Don’t get that. When you got a gun and sixty rounds of stuffing, if you fired one of the shells, you gave the government six pence for it. You had to pay them? Yes. You couldn’t get away with murder. You were born for better things. Better things, yes. You broke your.. Yes, he’s really with it tonight. (a way of saying that he (Tony) is very sharp minded and full of jokes tonight). You see, you broke your mothers heart but you won’t break mine. But we used to have great gas (good fun). And you know the saying that we used to have the best of… you got two suits of clothes during the year. Oh ya. And a nice set… a nice row of brown boots. Brown boots and… inaudible… the whole thing. And the whole place in Glenroe would be full that night(night out). And the next night you’d be out then, there would be only two or three out. Bed time. They were lying back (staying in for the night). Ya, they’d be there for the boots anyway. Oh… you would see them no more after that then. But ah, twas great ole craic (good fun). Ah sure. And go down the road then. We went to, we went to Limerick then, there was a fire-off there. You ported out your arms (show your gun for inspection), for inspection, you pulled out the lever. Did you ever have a rifle? No. Aren’t they very ignorant in America. A terror (terrible- meant sarcastically). Getting grumpy again… laughing… You ported arms for inspection and pulled back the bolt and you know, the military men when they pulled back the bolt, out of thirty of them, there’d only one be the one quick (in other words, they weren’t well trained). But of course, we were trained only, one fella would come down, and another fella would be… ten seconds later, you can imagine. He’d be a bad man over a grave (not reliable). And you know what he said? Wouldn’t they remind you he said of ducks coming from a pond… one after another. One after the other is right. Oh well, the clean man was well able to do it. Anyway, one guy used only fire anyway. Yes. Twasnt the …. Together either, twas only one live round. It sounded as if they all, went off. We’d all be around Limerick and we were round in a circle and Deebert Ale was giving a speech. Oh Jesus. And he said that we were coming up to getting, that we were very well off in Ireland (getting wealthy), and to keep our eyes open. And when the current (electricity) would come to Ireland, there would be no more tax. Every household would be paying a fiver (five pounds) or six pounds and there would be no more tax. That’s the ESB now you’re on about. (Electricity supply board). Yes, that didn’t hold long though… (didn’t last long). Yes, the more houses, the dearer it went. That’s the thing about it. And they’re going to rise it is it 15 percent again of an increase one of these days. Oh yes, sure tis all money. (it’s all about money) But of course, the old saying was. Money makes the man and the want of it, a fella. You’re only a fella if you have no money. Do you know that? No… Well, you should read into it. I know that now, What? I know that now. Put that in now to your computer, He’s lapping them off here for the last hour. (Tony’s been saying interesting things). Because Bernard Shaw was in London one time and he met a millionaire and they were walking down the street and there was a shilling or two thrown on the street and he took them up and cleaned them, put them on his pocket- “tis a show (a disgrace) to be wasting money like that” And he was a millionaire. Millionaire ya, well that’s why he had it I suppose. Ya that’s true. Ya. There was another man then in Ballylanders when my father was a manager there. And he used be pitching. Oh right. And he went in one day to solo and was in charge of the play. And he got two pennies and he filed them down to say the one. And there was a head on both sides. And when he used be outside in the yard pitching, up she go, I lost the winner, and they never copped him. (never found out he was cheating).Double head, two heads on the one coin. There you are. This woman wouldn’t follow it now I suppose. Oh she would I bet. Would you read that? Two heads.Ya, I would get it right away. Ah, he was always winning, so now! But that’s the way with all the things. But of course, you’d want brains to trick another one. And no conscience. So you… sure there used be a row (fight) long ago at the railways. There was a row below in Knocklong one morning. There did a woman walk in and she put a pound up on the counter and she said Liz Gould. And he gave her back her change and her tack and she cleared out, and John Ryan went up and he said, I’m John Ryan. Where is John going? How well you didn’t ask where Liz Gould where she was going. I’m not answering that question. And Liz Gould is the name of a place. Tis ya, tis (it is).Do you see how you can get caught? Yes. Would she think of that now. A woman passing in and saying iz Gould. And you’re walking in then and tell her your other name. You wouldn’t have that kind of stuff at all. But they were great long yarns (funny stories) long ago. We, hey Tony we were down in the creamery, they let us, we got to go inside the creamery. Oh, keep away from that place. Keep away from that place? All the houses, I had a nice house over in Spittle, tis farther (further) up the road there and they went in and burned it and broke the windows. If you go away out of a place, they’ll destroy it. They burned it down on him. They burned it down. Who did? Three youths, they went in and.. Who did? Three young fellas, they burned down the house. So that’s the position now (so that’s my thoughts on it). But, could you just tell me,am, the original cottage, is the little part in front. The windows are taken out of that, that was the original bar. That was the original bar? Yes. Which, which piece of it? Tis a cottage like with four, with three windows on top of it, the rest of it was only built on there. Ok. That was belonging to John J. McGrath. Right, John J.? And he sold that in 1903, he got £600 for it. And then on above then, Master Rea, where the big house is, he bought the licence for to sell the beer. He gave him 200 for it and cleared off. Reas is there yet sure. You should go up to that public house and have a swig of whiskey. Daly’s. Daly’s, I have done that, I’ve done that. We have been in there the year before last. That was a cousin, Daly was, well, he was a cousin. But the, did the creamery build the back? That’s built by the creamery crowd, that’s not belonging to my Gran at all. Ok. And they had two levels. Yes. And then why did they take out the second level? Oh now, you have me there. Because there’s no second level there any more. Because the first time that they started the creamery in Darragh, twas above in Darragh more house, where you’re staying. Up there one of them, that’s where they first put. That’s where they put the first separator. Really? A separator is for separating milk. Right. Taking the cream off the milk. Right. You know that. Right. Well, that’s where they started. And tis gone now because when I was young and going up there, I had that place taken for calves one time, for grazing. And inside there, there was two floor boards cocking up (sticking up) whe