Tom Cleary
April 1931 Tom was born in Athenry in April 1931 10 years after his sister ten years after his sister. his father had been involved in the Struggle for Irish freedom all his life had worked in England and in America and been on the run for many years during the period of the civil war and after
Tom went to primary school for a period of time in the Schoolhouse next door to the house at Athenry and from there went to secondary school in Loughrea. School time was short but his education in building work and Irish freedom fighting came early. He was always fit and strong and could handle the building trade easily.
Cycling was a mode of transport but also a sport. It also facilitated getting to work and School at a time when cars were scarce and Horses were old fashioned.
1936 Grandmother Mary died in the house next door - grandfather was very old and lonely
1937 Uncle Jimmy was living and working in London and this went on until the start of WW2. This meant that Tom's father Johnny was working alone in the family business in Athenry
1939- 45 School years were also War years .
1946 Grandfather died next door . This must have been a major loss for everyone but particularly the first grandson Living next door . This was a time that brought all the uncles and Aunts together and cousins Kennedys and Kathleen Byrne ( from London )
1949 Uncle Joe had a Brain Haemorrhage in New York . Uncle Jimmy travelled to NY city to help him and his wife
Tom and his father visited London and would have met Ciss and Sid . Tom was 17 .
1950 Toms father Johnny died suddenly of a heart attack - Tom was 18. This must have been overwhelming and a great challenge to anyone of that age to see a future .
This must have been life changing for Jimmy who had now lost his 3 brothers and parents in such a short period . Jimmy had been through trauma after trauma - uprising - world wars - struggles constantly for work - pressure in every aspect of his life - not least because of politics - maybe seeing ambitions crushed repeatedly - moving in and out of family members' issues and trying to help all on the way. And now they were gone - Jimmy was nearly 50 and needed to manage his own life. Taking responsibility for Tom may have been a step too far ? Ena was setting up her own life and a house needed building .
1954 Tom and his friend Paddy Lally from Derrydonnell travelled from Galway through England and did a major tour of France following some of the Tour de France routes. This was a big undertaking at the time but obviously opened up his eyes to possibilities for the future as a young man in the changing Europe. It must have been a pretty revealing tour; this was still less than 10 years after World War Two and all of the impacts of the war must certainly have been visible.
1955 Tom was involved in a motor accident with his own car in tullamore in 1955 and hit the headlines in the case because of the injuries caused ( see attached headlines)
1956 /7 married in 1956 to Mary Quinn from Old Church Street. The couple knew each other as children growing up and obviously developed a relationship from an early age Sean was born in October 1957. Tom was working in the building business with his uncle Jimmy and learning his trade as he went along. Much of the work must have been roofing and plastering but also general building work having built a house for his sister in the early 1950s with Jimmy after she married Christy O Grady.
1959 Teresa was born in 1959 and with the family developing and maybe strained relations with Jimmy, Tom took the option to move to London to set up independently. Obviously a big move with limited resources at the time but the one supporting Direction was his Aunt Ciss and her husband Sid who lived in London for many years and it helped other members of the family at various times over the Decades were now available to Tom to help him get established in the new city.
1960 initially in London Tom was a plasterer and possibly roofer on various jobs but developed into a foreman for the contractors he was working for and worked on nuclear power station construction as a Foreman screeder. These jobs were all over southern England and around the Midlands and obviously would have been very difficult to do have the family been in England at the time.
1961 Geraldine was born in 1961 and somehow the decision was made to move the family to London. Tom had bought a house at 27 Horace Road Barkingside Ilford - probably with a lone from his mother - And certainly with the help of Sid. at the time his wife was managing three young children in a small house in Abbey Row Athenry with Tom's mother and a tenant living in the house. These were cramped conditions. Minnie had little knowledge or involvement in the process of buying the house or the decisions being made regarding borrowing and funding the property. The man was the breadwinner and the decision maker for the family in relation to financial survival. Minnie saw nothing strange in this and her trust in the relationship was absolute . The house cost £3000 Stg
The day arrived to move to London. The family were flying from Dublin to Heathrow and neighbour Mattie McNamara loaded up Minnie with her three children, one of them a young baby and the lady who was renting in the house in Abbey Row travelled to help with the baby and to get established in the new house in London. Mattie drove the family to Dublin Airport.
Tom and Sid met the flight at Heathrow, picked up everyone and the move was made to Barkingside.
1961-4 Many new things were there for the family, some good, some bad. The house was big and roomy with a garden and lovely trees and plants with a shed at the end of the garden and back access for dad for his tools and van. The house had a Conservatory and three bedrooms and we soon had an attic conversion which was needed as the family expanded with Tom Brian and Paul all born in London. The garden had a lovely lilac tree which bloomed every spring into big pink flowers and many other plants in the garden and all the neighbours Gardens gave the place a lovely peaceful, secure feeling. We had a lawn to play on in the security of the garden which was very different to the streetscape that we had left in Athenry. If the space on the lawn wasn't big enough the borough Recreation Ground right behind the house had swings and slides and a big pathway right around the Field for a cricket patch, soccer games or whatever other sport you are into. “The Rec '' was planted with trees all around the edge of the park and a secure Steel fence closed the whole place. The gates were locked every evening. Everyone knew the security man and of course he kept an eye on the kids who were using the place. He knew everyone that was there all of the time and certainly helped with the babysitting at times I'm sure.
Saint Augustine's Primary School was located beside the Catholic church on the same site less than a mile from the house. This was to be our base for the next five or six years.
1964 Rooney And Cleary building contractors was set up in partnership. Bernard and his wife Joan came from Westmeath and were members of the catholic club on Ilford high road and their kids Aidan Bernard and Siobhan also went to St Augustines Primary school.
Charlie and Meme Murray lived beside the Ford main dealership on the Eastern avenue that Charlie was Foreman /Manager. Their 7 kids went to school with us also . The men were busy at work all week , they met at the Club in the evenings for Pints and Poker . Weekends it was Hainault Golf Club often before dawn to get on the first Tee .
Bernard and Tom were pretty successful . They did many Refurb jobs all around east London and the city. They had 2 Ford transit vans which Charlie kept maintained . The vans were fitted inside with all the shelves needed for the various tools of the trades . Tom at this stage was general building , Plumbing and plastering , Bernard did all the carpentry - finishing and rough . They had a few guys that worked for them for many years but drinking still impacted workers' interest and ability to work . Tom spent many mornings getting guys out of bed for a day's work - Gerry McCann being one such guy .
Tom and Charlie bought a Caravan located at a seaside site at Clacton on Sea - northeast of London. The families used the caravan at different times for trips away. This was never together as space would not allow. What a complete break away from the congestion of London . No buses or underground or crowds - outdoors and of course the sea . The journey was short and Tom always had his car - a Ford Zephyr for many years - which could fit us all between front and back seats and floor !.
1970 Wanstead Golf Club was exclusive hard to get into ( invitation by existing member) and a waiting list for years . Tom and his cronies joined the club in the late sixties - he quickly made his mark by winning the captains prize (his first) . The club was also a place for business and I'm sure many jobs were sourced from this membership . Golf was a big thing at this time . The catholic Club had nets set in the hall area for members to practise their swing . A club member - John Landy - would coach people on how to grip the club and of course how to position and swing the various clubs . Much better than out in the drizzle and rain but also a great activity after dark.
The Zephyr made many trips up the A5 to Holyhead. Our 4-6 weeks in Athenry during the school holiday were a highlight of the year for sure ! The car has a full interior, full boot and full roof rack . The journeys were long and tedious - hours on the motorway - maybe a stop at motorway services - a fight in the back seat and a shout from the front . Once we got to the quay for the ferry excitement grew though . The ferry was always a novelty and a great way to travel and once in Ireland everything changed . The roads and towns and language and accent and food all changed.
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