Sisters May Redmond, born in 1941, and Susie Cox, born in 1943, were raised in County Wexford, Ireland. They are each one of thirteen siblings (nine girls and four boys). The siblings were all very close growing up, and still are to this day. They lived in a house that had four rooms, and there were usually four to a bed, all sleeping top to tail. By the time the younger children were born, the older ones had already moved out, so they were never all there at the same time.
Both sisters attended the local village school, which would have up to forty children at the most, and almost all the pupils there were related. Susie recalled a story about when their grandfather passed away, and the whole school closed for the day so that everyone could go to the funeral, since everyone was family there. Unlike today, where we can easily stay in touch with friends and meet up on weekends or during the holidays, when the sisters were young they didn’t see their friends outside of school. Instead, they would only see them during school hours. After school, Susie and May went straight home, got on with their day, and played with their siblings out in the fields or down by the beach until their mother called them in for tea.
Growing up, their mum looked after the children and therefore could not work, so they managed off their father’s wages from his job at the Council, which he would get every two weeks. Every day after school, the girls would come home and do the chores, and since May was the oldest she was also in charge of the shopping.
They also went to Mass every Sunday, and always dressed in their best. Their outfits were laid out on Saturday night, and May would polish their shoes, having everything ready for eight o’clock mass the next morning. May and Susie are still incredibly glamourous today, something which they credit their mother for!
The sisters also recalled that at Christmas in the 1940s, children were only given simple gifts, such as oranges and hair slides, or other decorative clips. The family had an orchard and grew their own vegetables, and Christmas treats might include a few sweets and biscuits. They said if they were lucky, they might receive a small book.
Susie and May explained that in the 1940’s, you finished school at fourteen years of age, and then you would find a job straight away. After that, you left home and you had to look after yourself. When the sisters left home, they went to work in Clontarf, Dublin, in the Orthopaedic Hospital with their sister Bridie. Bridie was a cook, May oversaw the dining room, and Susie did whatever she was told!
Towards the end of 1962, May decided to move to Northampton. Meanwhile, Susie and Bridie had begun working for Charlie Haughe (who was the Minister for Justice at the time) and his wife Maureen Haughey, and their family was based in Raheny, Dublin. Susie looked after their children and welcomed visitors to the household, while Bridie did the cooking for the family. There was a great deal of security, and State cars would bring the pair to social events, like dances, and take them home again. The girls found this quite restrictive, and after about a year working for the Haugheys, they followed their sister May to Northampton.
Both May, Susie, Bridie, and their other sister Betty, all lived in Northampton after this. They manufactured Pollard bearings as their first job. Susie then ran various pubs and clubs for years after that, including the Thomas A Beckett, Brampton Halt and The Kings Arms. May, Bridie, and Betty went to work at Church’s Shoe Factory. May stayed there for 12 years, while Bridie and Betty eventually returned to Ireland. May and Susie’s brothers and sisters still live in Ireland, and the two of them are the only members of their family to have settled permanently in Northampton.
Susie was married for fourteen years to a Northampton man, and has two sons. Both boys now live in Ireland, but are married to girls from Northampton, and Susie has three grandchildren. May, on the other hand, has never married and does not have children. As the eldest sibling, she had taken on much of the responsibility of caring for and helping to raise her younger siblings, and she later realised how demanding that had been. This experience influenced her decision not to have children of her own.
Today, both sisters still live in Northampton, and still use any opportunity they can to look glamorous! They love to socialise and attend clubs and other events, and enjoy making the most out of every moment.
Read more of our Intergenerational Stories
