This is an interview with John Quealy of Cooraclare, county Clare and Roscrea, county Tipperary. The interview was recorded in Roscrea by Cuimhneamh an Chláir Cuairteoir Linda Quinn in 2011 and 2012.
In the interview, John recalls his mother's early death, contracting polio as a child, and he and his brother being adopted out to relatives and friends for some years, until his father remarried.
He recalls his schooldays in Cooraclare, speaks fondly of the Christian Brothers especially their help for him getting into teacher training college. He recalls living in the townland of Tullabrack near Kilrush and describes life in small council cottages with small plots of land. He recalls the shops and businesses and fair days in Kilrush.
John recalls the radio his family listened to news of the war on and other forms of communications, transport on horses and bicycles as opposed to cars, music and dancing, religious traditions, the GAA, interesting local people he remembers growing up, the collapse in Carmody's hotel in Ennis, other shops, businesses and characters in Ennis, similar stories about Kilkee, De Valera in Clare, airplanes in Foynes and the development of Shannon Airport. He also shares memories of the West Clare Railway.
The interview is accompanied by photos of John and abstracts summarising the interview's contents.