.here was one area of waste ground on the corner of
Francis Street and Hanover Lane that the kids made their
own – The Ouler. Many hours were spent playing there and on
the street itself, with games such as Relievio, Simon Says, Red
Rover and playing ball against the wall, a speciality for the
girls, who sang ‘Dashey a packet of Rinso’ as they played.
‘“Vote, vote, vote for de Valera. In comes Charlie at the door” …
Many a great game of skipping was had while singing this
song. But my favourite was Chaney Graves, I loved that game.
We collected all the bits of broken china and pottery, and
arranged them in a lovely pattern in the ground, then we
placed the end of a broken bottle over them and they would
sparkle and shine in the light. When we’d finished, we’d cover
them over with soil – and you had your secret Chaney Grave to
go back to. No such thing as health and safety – all we had was