My holidays in Ireland with my dad were special and so looked forward to, not least because it was a chance to visit with friends and family but also because of the fun that was to be had during the late night house gatherings. Friends and family would meet up in the evening at the cottage in Annashanco and sing and tell jokes well into the morning. The last night of our stay was usually the latest so you can imagine the tired looking people travelling back to the port at Dublin, about 100 miles away. I am lucky enough to have a tape from a holiday in 1984 and wanted to share some of it with you. Listening to it now, I realise that among the merry singing and joke telling were snippets of knowledge and history and insight into growing up on a small farm in Ireland in the 1930s/40s.

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Warning: Some explicit content and language not suitable for children so please use discretion.