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That's the bench where all the great men sat, Fanning, The Saint, Bul Walsh, Paddy

Kearney and Eddie Don. I met them all on that bench from time to time as a child. It was

outside Lawlors but along Morrisey's wall. There was always someone sitting there having a

bottle of stout and smoking Woodbines or Players Navy Cut. Only women smoked tipped

cigarettes in those days, usually Carrolls.

I used to sit there and count the crates of beer

going into the pub for the man on the lorry. He

always bought me an ice lolly when he was

finished. I used to get free crisps and squash

orange from Kevin Power when he worked there as

a barman, for picking up the papers and the bottle

caps. I always brought the bottle caps home to play

with, at one time I had three hundred Guinness

corks.

I remember watching an eclipse of the sun from

that bench with Richie Fanning. Richie reckoned

he'd seen loads of them in his lifetime and wasn't

too excited by it. I got lots of free stuff on that

bench, crisps, ice cream, coke and an education on

the ways of the world from the great men of

Dunmore . You couldn't sit there today unless you

had a big plate of lettuce in front of you and a glass

of wine in your hand and you wouldn't learn much

now either.

Von Rutter

The Bench Outside Morrisey’s Shop