A Zoo memory

Driving past the Dublin Zoo the other day, I was reminded of a story about my Dad, Jim Byrne.

Himself and the late PV Boland, founder of the solicitor firm in Newbridge, were good friends growing up.

Indeed, the friendship must have been sound, because it endured even after Dad 'wiped PV's eye' one September in Lisdoonvarna, stealing the girl PV was chatting up in the Post Office during a wartime outing to the famous matchmaking town in Clare.

As it happened, Dad and PV eventually got engaged on the same day, Dad to that same girl who was to be my mother, and to celebrate they decided the foursome would go for a day at the Zoo.

The only thing was, they had the price of just two tickets with them, apart from the essential money for celebration drinks. So the two lads sent the girls through with the tickets, and went down around the corner and climbed in over the fence themselves.

Trying anything like that in the Phoenix Park these days would likely have armed gardai rushing in to prevent a possible attack by animal rights protestors!