REGGIE GOODBODY, HAZEL POINT, BALLYCUMMIN

The home of the Goodbodys is situated on a slight incline above Lough Derg, a place dear to Reggie Goodbody’s heart. The interview begins with the family history which can be traced back to 1650, when the Goodbodys first came to Ireland. Because they were of the Quaker tradition records of the family have always been kept, and were not destroyed in the Four Courts during the Troubles, a fate suffered by many other family records. John’s great-great-grandfather Robert had a business in Mountmellick, Co Laois. He had five sons who all achieved great success in their lifetimes, in the milling, jute and tobacco businesses. Some members of the Goodbody family moved to Clara, and established what became the biggest flour business in the country at that time. Reggie’s father was an engineer and worked for the Great Southern Railway for a time. In 1942 he moved to Kilgarven on the shores of Lough Derg. In 1949 Reggie went to boarding school and he returned after one year to live with his parents on the ‘Phoenix’, a boat in Dromineer. He emigrated to England and worked there in a timber yard for 5 years until he returned to Ireland and became Manager for Legge Bros in Dublin. In 1975 he set up a boat-building business in Portumna. This fascinating recording linked up many of the earlier recordings associated with industrial archaeology in Offaly and North Tipperary.