Sean O’Rourke feels grateful that his six children had their grandad living with them for 10 years.
The radio presenter explained that their grandfather was a “great encourager” of their efforts at school, music and in sport.
He reflected on his own relationship with his grandparents from his childhood.
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Sean explained that his father’s parents had sadly passed before his birth.
He told RSVP Magazine: “My father’s parents died before I was born and my mother’s lived far away in west Cork. We only saw them once a year for a few days. I was about ten when “Mother from Cork,” as she was called, minded us for a week in Galway when Mam was in hospital. She took no nonsense.
“She had five children to mind on her own while “Father” worked in New York. They had another five when he returned after six years away. I was glad when she went back to Cork. I later learned she was a very kind woman.
“Our six children had the benefit of their Grandad living with us for ten years before he died aged 98. He was a great encourager of their efforts at school, music and in sport. They learned to listen to his stories and sometimes had to pretend they were hearing them for the first time.”
Looking back on when he was a child, Sean remembers having great neighbours and how they often visited their house to seek guidance from his mother.
“We had good neighbours. When we moved from Laois to Galway in mid-winter, two local women had lit the fires in the house, to warm it up a bit. My mother was a trusted and sympathetic listener to people’s family problems.
“Neighbours visited each other’s houses much more then, than now. We had one of the first televisions in Newcastle and “the room” was packed for the 1963 All Ireland Final when Galway played Dublin - and lost.”
He added: “Now, we would be friendly with our near neighbours but we don’t go into each other’s houses much. Friendships with other families now are made through schools and sports clubs more than in the neighbourhood. We’ve lived in the same house for nearly 35 years and we only know one family across the road, and nobody more than two doors away on our own side.”
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