Frank Culkin

I was taken into care, at birth, in 1946 in Dublin, because my mother was thought to be dying of Pleurisy. She recovered but was prevented from tracing me. I was raised in homes until I was eight years old and was then fostered by a lady I knew and loved as ‘Gran’ and lived on her small farm.

While on the farm, although I went to school, the farm always came first. This led to me being barely literate when I left school. While on the farm I learnt to live off the land and much about animal husbandry, to the extent that whenever a new animal was purchased, I was always asked for my advice.

At school, I suffered from bullying by both children and a teacher until I learnt how to stand up to them. After leaving school, I had various jobs, becoming a taxi driver for my ‘foster brother’. This led to me driving showbands, a particularly Irish phenomenon, around Ireland, Europe and the USA.

Eventually my mother contacted me and I met her and her family. I married, ran a plastering business and had three sons. I am now a happy divorcee, but still in contact with my ex-wife and all of my mother’s family.