Joe has happy memories of carnivals and sports day in Offaly village

I was born in 1942, my parents were Joe Plunkett from Quarrymount and my Brigid Lynam from Killurin. I have two sisters, Carmel married to Brendan Ward in Durrow and Dolores married to Joe Lee in Tullamore. My late wife’s Brigid’s family the Phelans came to live in the village when she was six years old so we grew up together, went to school together and sometimes went to work together.

Pat Mitchell who worked in Cloonans Hardware, Tullamore was great for a lift as he had a new Ford Anglia car at the time and for us it was like going on a private jet these days. Back then I was working in the North Offaly Co Op and Brigid was working across the road in Toohey’s chemist, the only other option was to cycle to work so we preferred the luxury option of Pat’s car.

My job in the Co Op finished in 1967 on a Sunday morning, I was over playing a handball tournament in the Handball Alley when I was called home to find my mother, aged 6,2 had died suddenly so from being a shop assistant on that Saturday I became a postmaster on the Monday.

Myself and Brigid got married in 1969 and had four children, Tony married to Harriet in Tullamore, Derek married to Imelda in New York, Linda married to Adnan in Dublin and Alan imarried to Elizabeth who also lives in Tullamore. I’m blessed to have 9 grandchildren.

We both ran the post office together until it closed in 2014. In the early days of running the post office I also worked part-time with Brigid’s father Frank doing a fruit and fish round delivering to shops. . I worked too as a meter reader for some years as well.

In the beginning there were two postmen, Mick Kearns and Jimmy Moran at the post office and when Jimmy retired I got the job. Delivering the post started on a bicycle and then later a Honda 50 and then moved on to a van when I worked in the sorting office in Tullamore Post Office until I retired in 2007. I also spent some lovely Friday mornings covering Walsh Island Post Office. Over the years it was a most enjoyable and satisfying job that I could only wish for.

One of the perks as a youngster when my mother had the Post Office, I got great enjoyment from listening to the phone calls that came through on the switchboard, I’d be listening as my mother would make the connections trying not to make a sound. My mother started in the Post Office in 1940 taking over from her two aunts, the Lynams so the Killeigh Post Office was in the Lynam/ Plunkett families for almost 100 years until its closure.

Great memories I recall of the times when Offaly GAA came to fame in the 80’s and 90’s I ran a bus to Croke Park for all the matches , the fare was £2.50 return back then. The bus company and bus driver did well out of it and I didn’t do too bad myself either!. I recall on the journeys home there would always be a pit stop under a tree on the Naas road when the men would have to stop for pee with no worries but the women had to hold out until they got back to Killeigh. What great days they were.

Other memories of Killeigh, include the dances and the carnivals, seven nights a week dancing to top bands Donie Collins, Joe Dolan, Gallowglass ceile band to name but a few. Dancing went on from 9pm to 2am and no relief bands then, dancing and music. In hindsight which you wouldn’t get away with today, five striands of barbed wire ran around the marquee to stop people getting in without paying, luckily it never had to be evacuated or God knows what could have happened. I remember one local fella one night in particular, he had a bit of a swanky look about him and a new trousers was bought for the occasion anyway he climbed the fence to avoid paying and tore the “arse” out of the trousers and had to go home . Needless to say he didn’t try that again.

Annual sports day was also a massive occasion people came back to Killeigh to meet up with a great gathering of friends and school pals and many stories were told and possibly a few lies thrown in too of how they were getting on but great times.

Then when we got the Macra hall it was hype of activity, for dances, quiz nights and badminton and the youth club for the younger ones in the village was all held there. Hurling was of course the number one sport back then and after several years of trying to win a final the team I was on finally won the Junior county final in 1967 and celebrations went on for many a day after.

My first drink was at the age of 20 after drinking orange for many years in McEnroes bar, one evening I went outside and came back in and my drink tasted a bit different from what I was use to and my good friend Billy was after putting something stronger into it. Different times back then I went home to my mother to confess and then on to the parish priest to tell him I broke my pledge. He replied “don’t worry Joseph I’ll sign you up again” That was November and I replied “Fr Donohue you couldn’t leave it until after Christmas? “ But little did he know I didn’t say which Christmas!!!!

Anyway to the great loves of my life, my family and my grandchildren but finally I would like to add the two most important ladies throughout my life were my mother and my wife , both called the same name Brigid Plunkett.

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