An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 19 FRIENDSHIPS & MEMORIES IN CUSTUME BARRACKS BY CPL LEE COYLE A n Cosantóir recently received an invitation to come along to Cus- tume Barracks, Athlone to meet some of the female civilian workers in the barracks. This invitation had something that stood out and it was this '369 Years Service'. If you are like me, you probably read that twice, and yes it is not a typo. This amazing feat was completed by only ten members of the barracks and from civil- ian members at that. These women serve in different appointments from around the barracks, most of them being typists, but also included a seamstress, a switchboard operator and the head of 'front of house' in the officer's mess. It is an incredible achievement for anyone to serve an organisation for such lengthy periods and they should be com- mended for their service. Two of them (Betty and Pauline) who are typists started working for the DF in 1971 and are the longest serving amongst the group. They started when they were only 17 years-of- age and they have 47 years service each. Between the group of women they have worked for many units in Custume Bks and from the Western Command and 1 Bde, some of which have been disbanded for some years. Sitting and chatting with the ladies, it was really humbling to hear them talk of the old days and how they reminisced with stories of the characters they have met throughout the years. It was re- ally interesting to hear them talk of the changes that have seen the DF go from an old army to a modern defence force, which even included changes to their working life. Some of the changes have been with technology, with some of them start- ing their journey as typists with manual typewriters then to electric typewriters and then on to computers. Betty told a very funny story of the day a computer first landed on her desk, stating that she had only seen one of them in use in a bank and only from the back of the screen. They also had a minimal time for training on these new jumps in technology, but they always had help from serving soldiers who knew more. Back before the computer the work was hard with having to manually type out documents, with them normally being typed out to produce nine copies for distribution around the bks. It was also nice to hear them talk of when they first joined they looked up to all the older soldiers, and now it is them that all the soldiers look up to, with them being like a motherly figure in the barracks. They spoke of how good the Defence Forces and all the personnel have been to them, and they also get to see its personnel grow up, even getting to see young officers become generals. The seamstress Teresa told us of a lesser known fact, that they produced the Defence Forces Tricolour flags, which most would assume were bought. She also pro- duced some of the National Colours that are in use across the DF and have been marched on parades for some of the high- est dignitaries that have visited Ireland and some are probably still in use today. We also spoke with Sgt Amy O'Connor, who has worked with these ladies for a number of years, she told us, "These ladies have given more than their typing skills, they have given their time, friendly advice, friendships, memories of people and times, unwavering confidence and a true sounding board for many a serving soldier." Apart from doing their daily tasks from around the barracks, these ladies have also stepped out and took part in Defence Forces Women's Network (DFWN) meet- ings and initiatives. It is only right that we recognise their work ethic and never end- ing helping hand to everyone in uniform. On the morning of the 13th December 2018, the DFWN in conjunction with then OC 6 Inf Bn and OC Custume Bks Lt Col Johnny Whittaker, officially recognised these civilian ladies for their service to the DF. The morning was supported by members of each of their units and mem- bers of the DFWN within the barracks. Thank you for your service ladies. Elizabeth Regan and Pauline Mannion L/R: Aishling Holt (19 years service), Maeve Begley (38 years service), Teresa Kenny (35 years service), Elizabeth Regan (47 years service), Pauline Mannion (47 years service), Patricia Macken (44 years service) and Mary Kavanagh (39 years service).

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