Chapter 6 Dublin

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We moved to Dublin in December 1968, living for a while in a small rented flat near James Joyce's tower at Sandymount Strand.

In the following spring, we made the important decision to buy a house. New homes were being built on the south side of the city and after viewing and organising a mortgage (surprisingly easily) we moved into 69 Clonkeen Estate ( later rename Meadowvale)  in the late spring of 1969.
John outside 69 Clonkeen Estate (later Meadowvale) 1969
Several friends and relatives came over on the ferry that year to visit us. 
We acquired a dog - a Pembrokeshire corgi called Ceri and I joined Bray Sailing Club, a few miles down the coast. 


John  and crew sailing Enterprise 2556 'Ptarmigan', Bray harbour 1970



We had very little furniture or belongings, but gradually built up household necessities by purchase or in several cases making furniture from old packing cases and beach driftwood. 

Our first daughter was born in 1970. 
Ros had a difficult labour, not helped at all by outdated and in some cases indifferent practices and attitudes by the nursing religious Nuns who formed most of the staff. It was a warning of potential difficulties in both health and education in the Republic of Ireland at that time, which was only slowly emerging from the insular policies of the De Valera period and the overwhelming dominance of the Catholic church in most walks of life. The experience was traumatic for Ros and made me question the desirability of staying in Ireland. 
  
In addition, the IRA was making its presence felt in the politics and on the street corners in Dublin and Dun Laoghaire. I had been assigned to the training section of the Posts and Telegraphs after my induction course, largely because of my recent experience of teaching at Wood Norton. The facilities and training were very primitive compared with the BBC and I quickly became very disillusioned with life in Ireland. As part of my duties I was sent to Cork and Dundalk where the P&T recruited and trained young apprentices. It occurred to me that travelling to Dundalk - the main centre of cross-border IRA activity with an English accent and recent employment by the BBC might not be viewed too sympathetically by the hardliners of the IRA. I looked at alternatives for employment, but soon realised that it was time to go! 
  
Ros was more reluctant than I was, particularly when the most likely move was back to the English Midlands. ATV Network had moved to a new studio centre at Paradise Circus in Birmingham in 1969. This was the start of the move into colour television now sweeping across all channels. They were advertising for engineers, so I went for interview and was offered a post at a significantly higher salary than I had been paid up to that point.

I joined ATV in January 1971. At this time, Ros and our daughter were still in Dublin, but I had found a buyer for the house, a colleague at the P&T looking to move from Cork to Dublin. The legal process of the sale moved very slowly and in the meantime I had viewed and decided, with Ros to buy a newly built house in Stourport - on - Severn, 23 miles west of Birmingham.


Margaret with her first granddaughter

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