Date of Birth: 5th November 1943

Place of Birth: Enniscorthy

Date Interviewed: 9th October 2008

Summary: Mary McGillick was born in Enniscorthy but only lived in the Bree area for the first 6 years of her life before her father’s death led to the family moving to Tramore in Co. Waterford. Those childhood years were full of endless summers spent on the beach and swimming in the sea. However Tramore was a very quiet place in the winter. Mary was sent to a boarding school in Carrick-on-Suir – she remembers the beautiful walks in the area. She went on to Carysfort College in Dublin to train as a teacher. Although she disliked Carysfort she recalls Dublin in the early Sixties as an exciting place to be. When she became a teacher she met Frank, also a teacher, and they got married. They spotted an advertisement offering teaching positions in Canada and they moved there – eventually ending up living on a native reservation. Mary describes Canada as “the best country to live in”. They decided to return to Ireland in 1972 and settled in Roundwood in Co. Wicklow where they lived up to 2004. They both decided that Wexford was the ideal sized town to spend their retirement in and have been happy since they made the move. Mary is currently secretary of the Wexford Active Retirement group.