one of twelve children, Kathleen was always the big sister, the one her siblings turned to when her mother was working and her father drinking. Born into one room in a tenement in Dublin, before moving to Crumlin, life for Kathleen was tough. Her mother was the backbone, the who kept them together as a family, just about keeping their heads above water. But through all the poverty, Kathleen and her siblings always managed to have a laugh-turning their kitchen into a swimming pool on a hot summer's day or trying to hide a stolen pig's carcass in the bath.
And the Kathleen grew up, met and married Alan, and raised her own family of three in difficult times. From a shed in her back garden, she started cutting hair for her neighbours, eventually becoming the owner of three hairdressing salons.