St Attracta - Lena's Life Story

I was born in knock Fadden in 1927. My father was Michael Mc Loughlin and my mother was Ellen Kelly before she got married... my dad was from Knock Fadden and my mother was from Attymass...as far as I can remember they met at a ball room dance, and some time later got married...had two kids me and my sister, but my sister died in 1925 she died from cot death.

When I was about 4 I went to Carrowmore  School, I was educated there till I was 14..I didn’t go to secondary school, as we didn’t have the money and the school was some distance from where we lived and we didn’t have much transport back in them days...

I helped my mother a lot with house work and we did some farm work as my father would be out working, he worked as an electrician , I also worked in the bog...everything was done by hand, it was hard work, but we had no choice but just to carry on doing it....and looking back now I can say I would do it all over again..

When I was 18 I went to England and I worked in a sweet factory,(Mars factory) I worked there for 13 years..I loved been in England but I came back home when I was 33 and that’s when I met Tommy, I met him at a dance and we got married in 1965, we often went to dances in Enniscrone and the dance hall in Foxford...  we had 2 children, I stayed at home as my husband was out working , he worked as an electrician...my mother and father died some time after my kids were born but I cant remember the year...

My children went to secondary school, and now one of them is a nurse and the other one working in a bank in Dublin...my husband died 9 years ago, I found it really lonely after him...found it hard on my own, even though I know I had my daughter beside she helped me a lot...she would bring me in and out from town on a Friday, I would get my pension do some shopping and meet some of  my friends and go to cafe for tea...

About two years ago I fell in the my house, since then my mobility has not been good...my mobility was not good even before I fell. My legs gave in... I found it hard to move around...so I ended up haven a frame with wheels which I thought was great, but I also found it hard to walk around the town with the frame as the ground surface was rough...it was hard to push...then it got to the stage where i couldn’t cope at home anymore...so I  ended in the nursing home.  I found it lonely at first but my daughter works here now as a nurse the staff are nice and I am happy here,  I love playing bingo on a Tuesday and Thursday, and I love going on outings to Horkans  Garden Centre, Knock Shrine  and love going for meals down the town to the riverside restaurant which the nursing home organises for us  ...There is always something to do and look forward to. I can call this my home now  I’ve made loads of friends and I am happy...