NOSTALGIA ain’t what it used to be, but a Limerick man’s book is a very nostalgic look at Christmases of yore with a very present day mission.
Merry Christmas From Limerick: A Childhood Journey Through the 1960s ad 1970s by Limerick’s Damian Hoban is a wistful, nostalgic look at Christmas in simpler times .
Damian says that this book was born during the Covid-19 era when the nostalgic Limerick man “missed the usual freedom of movement and activities associated with the festive season”.
“New strange requirements like wearing masks, forming queues for the supermarket, and restricted family group numbers led to reminiscences of times past,” he said.
“I remembered things like vinyl records, cassettes, beer at 40p a pint when I worked in the Two Mile Inn, the Ford Capri, 35mm film, George Best, tupperware parties.”
The book is organised as a narrative structured on theme, based around such topics as school, Santa, and presents in times gone by.
“I initially told people I was going to donate the proceeds to TRUMP. The reaction was ‘What? Are you mad?’ he jokes.
“Not that TRUMP – this one: Trocaire, Red Cross, UNICEF, Medicin Sans Frontiers, and the Poor here. Try to help people home and away, with a particular emphasis on Gaza abroad.”
Damian said that “like most people, I have seen the abhorrent scenes from Palestine. I especially remember a young boy in a Barcelona jersey who, I would imagine, only wants to play football with his friends, like I did at that age. Yet there are people trying to kill him every day of his life.”
The Limerick man’s book is a collection of personal anecdotes and reflections of the past, and a concentration on the holiday spirit of the later 20th Century.
The festive walk down memory lane is available in Vincent’s (SVdP) shops in Thomas Street, Roxboro Shopping Centre, Corbally Shopping Centre, and Watch House Cross. While a digital version of the book is available on eBay, Amazon, Adverts.ie and DoneDeal.ie.
