In the 1930’s my great granddad had bought a car which he needed for his job involved in the department of agriculture. It was a car that needed to be cranked up at the front with a handle to start the engine. In that time there were only two cars in his area, swords Dublin, and his family owned one of them.
The rest of the neighbourhood didn’t feel jealous and the children didn’t ask them if they could have a ride because they all had a horse and trap and bicycles which they used to get from one place to another, this is the same way my granddad and his brothers, sister and parents got around before they got the car.This changed things for my granddad. He still had to use his bicycle to get to school but this meant that he and part of his family could go to places such as beaches and go out of there area. He had nine brothers and one sister so you can imagine how hard it was to fit all of them in. It was only a two seater for the eleven children and the two parents (my great granddad and my great grandmother).
My great grandmother didn’t need the car because she worked in a pharmacy about 5 minutes walk from the house. So it was more of a treat to ride in it instead of a daily routine.
This was a change in there lives which didn’t matter on a world wide scale but it was huge for my family and for peoples to know that they had it. Not only did it mark that my great granddad had a good job but that times were changing and it wouldn’t be long until horses and traps get replaced by cars and motorbikes. It was a sign of the future.
By John Bartley