1972 was the year I started my first job, voted for the first time in a referendum on the EEC and joined the local drama and musical society. My passions were writing and theatre but I needed a livelihood and a career. Choices were few and there was no money for University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My job was as an apprentice in a Dublin inner city pharmacy, an old-fashioned system involving three years training in the shop and a year at the college of Pharmacy. My boss a woman with eyes like the sea on a stormy day and a tight smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each morning I set out from my home facing a lovely park and the sea, to a dreary inner-city space where families were large and houses were small. I was a quick learner and enjoyed the doing and making \u2013 creams and lotions \u2013 two very different consistencies and mixtures. But the conditions were not good. I was required to be everything from a trainee pharmacist to a cleaner and load carrier. The large front window where we could see the local folk going by had to be cleaned by me in all weathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest shock for me was the poverty and the number of women on Valium, a muscle relaxant. On reflection, I could see it was used to tranquilise people against poverty and against perfection. The state and the Catholic Church placed a burden on women to be mothers of many children, and to be the moral compass of the society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a hard start for me whose family was not wealthy but was comfortable, well fed and clothed. We lived in a bonny area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contraception was only available on prescription and in very restricted circumstance. One customer who had six children, told me she was thirty-two. She had a prescription for the pill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I brought it to her, she said I\u2019ll put this under my pillow. I must have looked alarmed but she smiled, said I know it\u2019s a tablet. She leaned in, whispered \u2018Me mammy says it\u2019s not right!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Submitted by Rona Fitzgerald, 66, Glasgow<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1972 was the year I started my first job, voted for the first time in a referendum on the EEC and joined the local drama and musical society. My passions were writing and theatre but I needed a livelihood and a career. Choices were few and there was no money for University. My job was … Continue reading Your Memoirs \u2013 \u201cMe mammy says it\u2019s not right\u201d<\/span>