Date of Birth: 17th December 1930

Place of Birth: Church Road, Bunclody, Co. Wexford

Date Interviewed: 1st September 2009

Summary: Alice Dunbar’s father died when she was only 6, leaving her mother to bring up 7 children. Alice had a very happy childhood growing up in Bunclody. She recalls her mother cooking over an open fire and placing hot embers on the pot lid to cook the food within. Alice describes the outdoor games and activities she and her friends enjoyed and talks of annual events, such as the August sports day and the Corpus Christi procession. The river was an important part of life but she remembers friends who drowned in it. Alice talks about the “moss houses” and describes their construction. Alice left school at 13 and went to work with her sister in Northern Ireland when she was 15. After a few years she moved to Dublin. Alice eventually returned to her beloved Bunclody and reared a family. She talks emotionally and honestly about some of the grief she has had to bear over the years. Alice treats us to her rendition of If We Only Had Old Ireland Over Here.