Date of Birth: 1st November 1934

Place of Birth: 4 Lambert Place, Wexford

Date Interviewed: 17th November 2010

Summary: Jean Woolhead’s father came to Wexford from Dublin in 1922 and worked for a dentist. Her parents also rented a shop at 27 South Main Street, Wexford, where they sold fruit and sweets. As a baby Jean was brought to the shop everyday by her mother and put into a banana box! Jean’s memories of the businesses and families of the Main Street are remarkable. The family shop had no window shutters and she remembers her mother having to protect the window on Christmas Eve so the drunks wouldn’t fall through it. Woolworths opened a large store in 1953 right beside Woolheads and Jean worked there for some time. She eventually bought her parents’ shop in 1972. Jean talks in depth about the history of the building and its connection with Oliver Cromwell. During renovations clerical vestments and a chalice were discovered in the basement. Jean also believes that a sealed doorway in that basement was the entrance to a tunnel that led up to the Friary Church! Jean is a founder member of the Wexford Ladies Choir and in November 2010 celebrated twenty two years of singing – and the choir is still going strong.