Before Ryan s Daughter tilted the scales towards prosperity many people in Dingle experienced poverty and hardship and those at the bottom of the ladder were never allowed forget their place in society, according to John O Connor who casts an eye back on those times in his book Children of the Shore, which is exceptional for not seeing bygone Dingle through rose tinted glasses.
John grew up in the Wood in the 50s and 60s as one of a family of 10 children to Joan and Mikey O Connor, whose earnings from his work as a postman and doing what odd jobs he could get were never enough to lift the family into the comfort zone. Being poor was nothing exceptional at a time when poverty showed its sad face in several streets , such as the Quay, the Colony, the Garraí, Goat Street, Ashmount and parts of John Street. And for those helplessly ensconced in the bosom of poverty hunger and hand-me-down clothes were only some of the consequences.