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Tessie is 92 years of age. She is the oldest resident in Dunouragan. She has one sister alive in Waterfoot at the age of 98. She has 11 brothers and sisters.
Tessie has been living in Dunouragan now for 76 years. She was born in Glenravel in Skerry East, Newtowncrumlin and went to school in Omerbane. She went to school for six years.
The school was heated by a black range (coal fired range)
Tessie walked three miles to get to school.
She had no school dinners, just dry bread.
She didn't wear any kind of uniform, no style
whatsoever, just a knitted skirt and a woollen top.
They were taught cookery at school.
In the summer time they went barefoot to school.
Tessie said they were pleased because
the boots were very heavy and their
feet would very easily get sweated.
On the way home from school they called
with her aunt who made soda bread
for them on the griddle.
Two inspectors came to the school one year.
If the families needed help to dig out crops the children would be allowed to take the day off school. The mother would have to go and help dig out the crops whether they had babies or not. If they did have babies they would take them and make a bed for them at the side of the field and lay them in it.
They played different kinds of game at school like skipping and ball games and they would do a lot of drill exercise.
Dunouragan was a quiet area at times. There were a lot more people in Dunouragan then. At one stage there were 40 people.
All the houses that were built were crowded because the families were larger then. Everyone walked or cycled.
She says it hasn't changed that much. There was a shoemaker and a school in Dunouragan.
The school was thatched and had a number above the door.
Tessie worked in a shop in Belfast for a little while and once owned a shop of her own with a little bit of everything on it.
She also said that there was a mill up at Sharkey's that still stands today.
