Culture that made me: Maureen Kennelly on her cultural influences
I’m the youngest of a family of seven. I grew up in Ballylongford, a very small village in north Kerry. The mobile library used to come to the village every fortnight. It was an epic event in my childhood. We lived on a farm. Going to a bookshop wasn’t a matter of course so the mobile library was an incredible treat. I can still remember that feeling of going up the steps and the excitement of seeing it open up in front of you, and getting as many books as you could. It was tiny. The width of it was maybe the span of your arms. It was so cosy. Floor to ceiling, it was full of books, nothing else. The driver would be in the front. You’d be in there on your own or with your mom or whoever else was dipping in that day. It was a complete sweet shop, an Aladdin’s cave territory for me.
