DALKEY HILL. Up Dalkey Ave,first stop the railway bridge,i remember a Celtic cross carved into the stone work of the road bridge.All Dalkey funerals use to proceed by the cross and would stop to pray for the deceased. On a stormy night of lashing rain and utter darkness in October, 1957 this custom as revived when about a 100 men marched down Dalkey Ave carrying the coffin of the grand old man of Dalkey Hill, Micheal Mullen aged 91, RIP. I remember one day approaching the bridge,and there was a group of older lads from the Villace .I was quite shocked as the had my older brother Larry by the ankles hanging over the bridge,this was done to test his bravery. Further up the Ave was what use to be called the Killiney castle hotel,i remember my ma telling us stories about the headless horseman this was to get us home at night.These were the days before tv and all the other electronic gadgets that occupy the present generation,we just loved to be outside playing. Up the flags,With a brief stop for sustenance the apple orchard,well we thought a couple of apple trees was an orchard.I confess, i use to run in grab a few apples and run for it. At the top of the flags we reached the quarry,had a school pal who lived in one of the cottages,cant remember his name.He loaned me a cowboy outfit, vest and gun and holster, wish i could remember his name At the base of the hill,i remember the cliff climbers and all their gear, rope etc.The picture i posted with the water, we would build rafts out of anything we could find and think we were pirates. Climbing up those steps and there was a lot when you are 6/7 years old,there it was the gigantic castle.We thought it an ancient castle, thats when kids use their imagination. Then we reached the pine woods, i dont think it is there anymore This is where we re-enacted what we we saw at the Saturday morning flicks at the Astoria Gladthule, we used to pick sides one side would hide and the other would have to find us.We had no guns it was point a finger and bang bang your dead. Then there was the obelisk or the witches and chair,one of my most favourite spots in the world.I would look out at Killiney bay and my imagination would run wild,the invaders the Norsemen and then the . I remember one day a group of us were playing in the gorse heading towards the vico road,suddenly the ground gave away and there was a hole in the ground.We were so exited,i ran all the way back to the Villace to get a rope. To this day i am still wondering what it was as non of us where game to climb down into the the cave.I met my best friend Gary in 1990 and he said he could find the location. There was also the black berry picking after school, cuts scratches and black berry stains. The first snow, the burma road,i once went down in a McDonaghs pub wooden crate.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 10:26:26 +0000
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