What was Greystones like when it was a small coastal village where families knew one another, children walked to school and summer meant days at the beach?
For Catherine Neary, these aren't just memories. Her family's connection to Greystones stretches back to around 1912, and generations of her family helped shape the sporting life of the town.
In this episode of Voices of Greystones, Catherine joins Terry at High Tide Studios for a fascinating trip through the past and present of the place she has always called home.
She remembers growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, the steam trains arriving at the station, the sound of church bells and the swimming club that felt almost like another family. Her family had deep connections to both the Greystones Swimming Club and the rugby club, giving her a personal link to the history of the town.
But Catherine's life didn't stay in Greystones.
After training as a nurse in Dublin and completing her midwifery training in Scotland, she found herself unable to get work in Ireland during the recession of the 1970s. In 1976, she left for the United States, beginning a new chapter that took her from Texas to California and Oregon.
She talks about adapting to life abroad, missing the sea, meeting her husband Malcolm and the gradual realisation that, after decades away, she wanted to return to Ireland.
When Catherine finally came home to Greystones in 2016, the town had changed enormously. Fields had become housing estates, new cafΓ©s and restaurants had appeared, and the village she remembered had grown into a busy modern town. Coming home also meant learning to navigate everyday life again after so many years overseas.
Catherine reflects honestly on what Greystones has gained and what she feels it may have lost, particularly the old sense of looking out for one another. Yet she still finds comfort in familiar places, the people she has known for years and the sea that has always been part of her life.
When Terry asks how it feels to stand by the sea in Greystones now, her answer says it all.
βIt feels like heaven.β
This is a warm, thoughtful conversation about family history, emigration, growing older, community and the pull of home. It is also a chance to hear the memories of someone who has seen Greystones change across generations.
ποΈ Voices of Greystones, hosted by Terry and proudly produced at High Tide Studios, Greystones, County Wicklow.
Whether you have lived here all your life or only recently arrived, Catherine's story offers a reminder of how our memories, our relationships and the places we love shape who we are.
Have a story of your own to share?
https://hightidestudios.ie/voices
Every stone has a story. What's yours?
00:00 β Welcome to Voices of Greystones
00:52 β A family connection dating back to 1912
02:09 β Greystones as a small coastal village
04:13 β Family roots in swimming and rugby
05:24 β Growing up in Greystones in the 1950s and 1960s
09:34 β The sounds of the old village
13:18 β The swimming club and a close-knit community
16:26 β Leaving Greystones to forge her own path
17:12 β Nurse training and midwifery
19:00 β Leaving Ireland for a new life in America
20:33 β First impressions of Texas
22:36 β California, Oregon and missing the sea
24:31 β Life abroad and meeting Malcolm
26:08 β Malcolm discovers Ireland
27:18 β Loss, reflection and the decision to return
28:42 β Coming home to a changed Greystones
30:29 β Finding her feet after 40 years abroad
32:07 β Community life, the church and local traditions
36:04 β What Greystones has gained and lost
38:36 β A changing coastline and familiar places
42:52 β Is it the place or the people that make home?
44:20 β βIt feels like heavenβ
45:10 β A memory she hopes never to lose
46:13 β Outro and how to share your story
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