We have recently received the memoirs of Maura Maguire. So delighted are we with this gift that we have determined to share instantly with the readership of Newry Journal. We are confident you will love them too.
‘This account is primarily written for my children and their children, so that they might know of the events that shaped the person who is their mother and grandmother.
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My name is Mary Bridget (Maguire) Mallon. I was born on 10 September 1936 in my grandparent’s home on Monaghan Street, Newry.
My parents were Joseph Maguire and Anne Elizabeth (Doherty).
They had been wed about six years when I made my debut. I was followed in quick succession by four brothers and three sisters (one sister died in infancy).
On the night of my birth my grandmother’s friend was in our house and she used to relate afterwards how she ‘heard my first cry and when she saw me, rejoiced that I was a baby with open hands – the sign of a generous heart!’
When my grandfather heard my given names he promptly named me Maura – too many Marys about the place, he thought!
My sister was born two years later. She proved to be a fractious baby, needing little sleep and ensuring no one else got any, either. After several weeks both of my parents were exhausted while Patsy was still going strong. Then my grandmother made them an offer that they could not refuse! She would look after me until the baby was settled. I was never to live with my parents again.
Being a baby in a house with four aunts, an uncle and doting grandparents, I was a spoiled darling and constantly given individual attention.
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