Childhood
In spite of the old-fashioned nature of her upbringing, Coral had a secure and very happy childhood. At four and a half she followed her older sister to Mount Temple School (not to be confused with the later Dublin comprehensive school of U2 fame). Two years later, the family moved to Glenageary in South Dublin, and Coral was sent to the now vanished Glengara Park Girls’School in Dun Laoghaire.
In retrospect, there were things about it that were slightly dotty. There were dances with no boys, and classes were held in a jumble of buildings – out-buildings and stables in an old house. I don’t know what the education level was like, probably not very good, but there was always an emphasis on stories and poetry. I remember the Irish government issued reading books, which were full of traditional Gaelic legends and tales of Irish martyrs. My parents would certainly not have approved of this fiercely nationalist material, but I loved it.
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Coral with her much loved bear,
Seymour.
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In costume for a St. Patrick's Day
fancy dress hockey match at
Glengara Park School,
about 1956. Coral is in the back
right, as Puck, and her sister,
Tania, in cloak at front left
is Oberon.
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