Margaret Thorpe has lived in the same cottage on Swords Main Street for over half a century and she has no plans to move, despite lucrative inducements from developers with an eye to its prime location.
Now in her 80s and a widow, she helps run the local horticultural society, is an active chairwoman of Swords Community Council and keeps a watchful eye on the town's expansion.
"I came here from the Coollatin Estate in Co Wicklow when I got married 53 years ago. The house was rented from the Church of Ireland for six shillings a week at the time. We saved up a few pounds and bought it about 22 years ago.
Life was lovely then. There were about 400 people here and everybody knew everybody else from the bottom of the town to the top. My kids went to the old Boro school - my grandson Jonjo who lives with me is the fourth generation of Thorpes to go there. All our cooking was done on the Stanley range and we grew everything. I kept hens, cocks and ducks who got water from an old bath sunk into the ground.
Mr Bray's Picture House was where Superquinn is now. It was a wonderful place. His helper was Mrs Woods and sometimes the picture would break down and everyone would shout for Mrs Woods - the fun used to be great. Many's the wedding came from the back seats of that picture house.
There were several pubs in the town - the Harp was there and the Star and the Pound pub. A "bone fide" existed where the lads of the town had to go a mile out of town to drink and people came from outside to the pubs here. They used to walk or cycle. One lad bought a car and they used to drive up to a pub at the back of the airport. They often ended up in the ditch on the way back. Swords has lost itself now. When we had the wide street there were no parking problems, but now people drive through without stopping to do business in the town.
We're told it will take £80,000 to reinstate the crossing lights they took away when they tore up the road - it's very hard to get the crossing back. It's so dangerous now to get across the road and there are a lot of senior citizens and blind people in Swords. I have to congratulate the ESB for the lovely job putting in the street lighting, though.
The Swords people elected me Queen of Fingal a few years ago - they say they'll put me up on a tripod when I die!"
