In Our Day : An Oral History of Dublin’s Bygone Days

For over fifty years, Kevin C. Kearns trekked the streets of Dublin recording the city’s vanishing oral history. Armed only with a Sony tape recorder, the ordinary people he encountered shared private stories of hardship, joy, sorrow, suffering, survival and triumph. In Our Day is the culmination of a life’s work – a treasure trove bursting with whispers from the past and a poignant portrait of a forgotten Dublin.

For over fifty years, Kevin C. Kearns trekked the rough-and-tumble streets of the heart of Dublin, hoping to record and preserve the city’s vanishing oral history. Armed only with a Sony tape recorder, the ordinary people he encountered – street traders, dockers, factory workers, tram drivers, housewives and midwives, children and grandparents – shared private stories of hardship, joy, sorrow, suffering, survival and triumph.

In Our Day is the culmination of a life’s work – a treasure trove bursting with whispers from the past – 450 vignettes, memories and recollections gathered to present an evocative, poignant portrait of a forgotten Dublin.

‘Without Kevin, the lives of ordinary decent Dubliners would be forgotten. This book is a celebration of them.’ Joe Duffy