The Way We Were

Baltimore Industrial School, which was closed by the government in 1950, was notorious for its record of cruelty and neglect. Alfred O'Mahony spent six years in the school, having been transferred there at the age of 10 from an orphanage in Kilkenny. In The Way We Were he gives a vivid account of life in the school—a life dominated by hunger, neglect, and abuse, but where the spirit of many of the boys remained indomitable in coping with the harsh reality that authority had ordained for them. It is above all a story of courage, hope and survival—and, ultimately, forgiveness.

Alfred O'Mahony left Baltimore in 1947 at the age of 16, living and working with a local farming family before emigrating to England, where he spent the rest of his working life. He returned to Ireland on retirement and now lives in Skibbereen, Co. Cork. He has contributed frequently to The Southern Star and to the Journal of the Skibbereen and District Historical Society, and gives talks regularly on historical topics.

The author's royalties from this book will go towards Barnardos, Ireland's leading independent children's charity.

Listen to the interview with the author on C103

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