Johnny Leahy

I was born the youngest of seven children on 27th January 1932 to my parents Patrick Leahy, a forestry worker, and Mary Leahy. On 22nd April 1938 aged 6 years I was sent to a home in Dublin run by nuns. It was a large bleak home where the living conditions were overcrowded and cramped and food scarce and inadequate. My stay there was difficult and challenging not just for me but for all of us with chilblains on our hands and feet and iricks on our legs in the winter from the cold. For the duration of my 8 year stay there I can only recall travelling home on at most two occasions. As cars and money were very scarce during the war years the only mode of transport was by donkey and cart from Woodford to Portumna. I was put on a bus there and a telegram was then sent to Dublin to let staff at the home know what time I would be arriving in Dublin so they could make arrangements to meet me off the bus. Residents of the home were only allowed remain there until the age of 14 and on 4th June 1946 I was discharged. I returned home not knowing what I wanted in life. I found it very difficult to get to know my parents and to settle back in. My brothers and sisters had mainly left home at that stage. It took me a long time to get to know my mother and father and when I did I found t