In Our Day

Book excerpt: For over fifty years, historian Kevin C. Kearns trekked the rough-and-tumble streets of the heart of Dublin, hoping to record and preserve the city's vanishing oral history. Armed only with a Sony tape recorder, the ordinary people he encountered – street traders, dockers, factory workers, tram drivers, midwives, mothers, grandparents, publicans, jarveys – shared private stories of hardship, joy, sorrow, survival and triumph – with humour and whimsy. In Our Day is the culmination of a life's work – a treasure trove bursting with whispers from the past – 450 vignettes, memories and recollections gathered to present an evocative, poignant portrait of a forgotten Dublin. 'Those of us who know and love Dublin owe Kearns a huge debt.' Roddy Doyle 'Without Kevin, the lives of ordinary decent Dubliners would be forgotten. This book is a celebration of them.' Joe Duffy