Sliver of light always shines brightest through the dark

A Different View with Dave O’Connell This time exactly 50 years ago, there was a cement strike in Ireland – and, for 22 weeks, workers at Irish Cement closed the doors on their plants in Drogheda and Limerick and the construction sector ground to a complete halt. My late father ran a small business, making concrete blocks from a sandpit in Ower, close to his original home place, in Killannin – but without cement, there were no blocks and no work. It must have been an awful time but I’ve no recollection of it, although he was stuck at home for months on end with nothing to do, no income and no idea when all of this would end – or if, indeed, a solution would come too late to save his small business. But that anxiety and uncertainty never permeated down to our level; we were just delighted to have him at home, because he was otherwise at work five days a week and half a day on Saturday. He wasn’t even there in the evenings, because he was on every committee going in Oughterard – with the understandably exception of the ICA. And my mother was there anyway. We had another reason to be happy too, because exactly 50 years ago this week also saw the arrival into the world of the apple of his eye – our baby sister, who was to wipe the floor with her two older brothers from thereon in. Like most Irish fathers of that era, ours wasn’t much of a domestic master. He worked all day and went to meetings at night – for the new Community Centre, the Agricultural Show, Muintir na Tíre and the local branch of a political party, which shall remain nameless other than to say they were synonymous with blue shirts. But now he was stuck at home with no work – and this little bundle of joy called Greta arrived home from the Regional. For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune. Get the Connacht Tribune Live app The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.