Bridie Moynihan (b. 1923)

Track 1: Bridie Moynihan grew up outside Killarney, was educated at Lisivigeen National School and at the Technical School in Killarney, and she explains that she began her employment at the Lake Hotel in 1947 as a bedroom maid. She recalls the manageress and the proprietor, Miss Hilda Huggard. The farm which supplied produce to the hotel is described, as is the horse-drawn coach which brought visitors to the Gap of Dunloe. Also recalled are the boatmen who worked for the hotel, the British visitors who arrived to stay and their mode of transport, along with her own duties and the staff quarters at the hotel. Track 2: Socialising and dancing at Killarney Town Hall are fondly remembered, and the trips by hackney car to dances in Millstreet are also recalled. The uniform Bridie wore in the hotel is described, and the weekend visits to the hotel by Martin and Mary Huggard are remembered. Track 3: The gathering by Hilda Huggard of all the hotel staff in the kitchen for the recitation of the Rosary each evening at 6.10 pm is remembered, as are the many guests who stayed at the hotel specifically for the fishing. She gives a detailed description of the meals provided at the Lake Hotel. Track 4: Bridie Moynihan worked and lived at the Lake Hotel for fifty years, and she describes the enormous changes which occurred at the hotel over all of these years. She also mentions by name many of the staff there and the positions they held.