For many, if not most, purposes a content summary is all that may be needed--particularly if one has a large set of tapes, little time resources to go any further with transcription and no good theoretical reason for investing the time. Still, on the principle that something might turn out to be useful in the taped event that may not be predictable, it is useful to spend a minimum amount of time, summarizing the content of a tape. This is a kind of extended index (and could of course easily be indexed, both for subject and persons mentioned). Should some part of the tape be later found to be useful, then the time may come to move on to a more detailed kind of transcript.
Note, on the left column, numbers taken from the tape counter--imprecise but useful enough for such purposes. On the right column are paraphrases of what was said. (You can see the "Rough" and a "Literal" versions of the same tape)
a-20 how Ireland gained politic but not economic freedom
from England and how the Africans are wiser now
a-67 how the Irish people adopt foreign forms uncritically
a-108 how people like the old religious forms because they
were mysterious. Now, they have to face reality
a-155 [Fr. B. notices the tape recorder is running.
A new beginning]
how the bishop says he has to be careful when talking
where there are recorders on because of what the media
can do to him.
a-155 [cups are set on the table, another beginning]
a-254 confirmation and how the women from the National
Housewife Association resented the involvement of
'faith friends' coming to their homes to prepare their
children for the sacrament. How they are soon going
to discuss the question "Does the Church and the
School interfere in family life." How this will lead
to a discussion of contraception.
a-385 how the 'National Schools' are really Catholic schools
managed by the priests of the parish. How Fr. B.
manages the girls' school but is chaplain of the boys'
school so that the two roles are not confused.
a-470 how the parents have no power on the school board
because there are only two parents on the board while
there are two teachers, four persons Fr. B. appoints,
plus himself.
a-514 [tea is poured; another beginning]
a-528 Fr. B. tells us about his father--a civil servant who
worked into the organization of local government after
independence--, and his mother--the daughter of a
school teacher in Connemara. How he was born and
raised in North Dublin and Drumcondra, went to the
Irish Christian Brothers. How his parents would not
have sent him to the Jesuits because they are too
Anglo and above. How his sisters went to school with
the Dominican because that's where her mother had
gone.
a-698 how Fr. B. had always wanted to be a priest, perhaps
his father and mother went quietly to mass every day.
How he didn't announce his decision until a month
before going into the seminary, after he had finished
his Leaving Certificate.
a-758 He went to Clonliffe and got a B.A. because Dr.
McQuaid, the archbishop of Dublin at the time,
insisted that all his priests be qualified to teach
according to state regulations.
a-793 How he then went to Maynooth and met men from all over
the country that were different from him and how that
was his real education. How the priests from
Clonliffe were too well polished. How he found in
Maynooth that participating in ceremonies with the
archbishop at the Pro Cathedral didn't matter at all
a-922 how one out of three of his seminary class did not
finish; how they came from the country, were mostly
interested in the free education and how they are now
politicians in government.
a-990 how things are changing again: ten years ago priests
showed up in jeans and spikes, how they were knocking
around being in touch with the people, and how it was
a false thing that people saw through. In the last
two or three years young priests are going back into
the sacristy. How Fr. B.'s generation was a happy
medium: they didn't take off their collar because it's
no use pretending one's is not a priest but they went
everywhere.
a-1133 the recent change may have to do with the
secularization of the society and the young priests
wanting to stand out but they are afraid of the
harassment they get when they mix a lot.
a-1184 how Fr. B. has knocked on all the door in the estate;
how people say they are disaffected and pretend not to
be interested.
a-1124 how the young priests react be building small prayer
groups with the committed ones, and how they think
this is more important than going to mass on Sunday.
How he thinks those who are disaffected can be brought
back as they grow old. How some of the young priests
would even refuse to marry or baptize the children of
couples who do not come to church.
a-1310 how some parishes require parents to attend classes
before their children are baptized. How St.
Attracta's does this with the effect that parents come
to Ballinteer where they do not have to.
a-1330 how people do not want to be bothered that way; how
things like faith friends might work in Inchicore and
other old parishes because the people are close to
each other there, while it doesn't work in Ballinteer
because people are nouveau riche.
a-1480 how the new movement towards prayer groups and
liturgical reform plays down the importance of the
mass which is a bad word at the moment; how the word
"sacrifice" was dropped when talking about the mass,
and how this has to do with the younger priests not
wanting to offend anyone, particularly the
Protestants; how people will not be fooled
[End of Tape I, Side A]
b-1 Protestantism is not the same
b-11 At the end of the day religion is a personal
relationship between oneself and God.
b-24 young priests and computers /vs./ knowing the people
b-36 prayer and who will teach how to do it
b-57 where Fr. Barnard has served in Dublin
b-67 how things were organized in Crumlin
b-90 how corporation estates (County Council) developed,
and how things develop in Ireland
b-133 how things were organized in Darndale
b-146 how it is to be a Parish Priest, then and now
b-182 the movement towards small prayer groups and Fr.
Hurley
b-220 receiving priests at home and status in the community
b-239 the difference between Ballinteer (Yuppies), and
working class parishes ("the real Dublin man is
honest").
b-250 the relationship between the priests and the business
men in Ballinteer: not much but Fr. Carey would know
them.
b-282 how it seems important to younger priests to know
important people in the parish.
b-302 how those who moved to Ballinteer did it because they
wanted to be in charge of something, and how they
don't want directly to do anything concrete--by
contrast to people in working class parishes.
b-322 [End of Tape I, Side B]
b-334 how people in Ballinteer try to claim that they live
in Rathfarnham or Dundrum, how they moved from estate
to estate (from Broadford to Woodpark to Pine Valley).
b-370 how the priests, pushed by the younger bishops became
lenient about discipline and how this leads to an
absence of parish loyalty; how this is something that
came from America
b-480 how the mass has replaced other devotions after
Vatican II to correct abuses and how this is much
easier for priests to do but how it leads to people to
be quite ignorant.
b-445 what happened when he tried to have masses in people's
homes to build community in new estates: people
invited their friends and not their neighbors.
b-474 how people came to Ballinteer for privacy and why
faith friends would not work; how they do not ask for
practical help from each other: "all the things I
wanted to start would not work here... This is the
words parish I have been in."
b-548 religion is a private thing in Ireland
b-546 how the Church of Ireland people have to be very
close.
b-575 how it's all tied up with politics: the IRA, the
Provos, the use of the Church and its symbols on
television.
b-613 how the people were not well educated about many of
the changes that followed Vatican II. There was
education about the mass but not about such things as
confession.
b-626 how difficult it is to know why people come to Church.
b-647 how people do not understand that saying mass is like
a job.
b-683 [End of Tape II, Side A]
b-683 [a consideration of closing]
b-693 how he may be giving us "only the negative" even
though there is also a positive
b-707 how the parish cannot be so important for people
because they do not work there
b-743 saying mass in the places where people work.
b-821 how useful it is to explain mass or confession
sometimes as it proceeds
b-883 the history of the penance service as it was first
held three years ago, and how it had to involve to
remain within the Church guidelines after some people
complained.
b-962 why "faith friends" will not work given how "country
people" who have settled in Ballinteer resent small
groups and how they haven't worked except for a small
group that is involved in everything.
b-980 how loyalty is to the priest, not to what is being
done and how people drop out when the priest leaves.
b-998 how politicians manipulate this personal loyalty, for
example by showing up at funerals of people they don't
really know in such a way as to be cearly noticed.
b-1024 the politics of announcements at mass
b-1452 [a move to wards a closing]
b-1060 "I am completely disheartened at times" and the
usefulness of visiting people in their houses even
though some people appreciate it. How one must do it
even if one doesn't feel much like it.
b-1190 how the young priests who try to be personable at mass
make a mistake if they think people are very
interested in their troubles.
b-1245 [a move to wards a closing]
b-1258 how priests like Fr. Hurley came from country dioceses
because of the surplus of priests there.
b-1290 how this surplus is related to the fact that it is
viewed like a profession "in the country"
b-1310 how secular priests cannot do the kind of things
regular priests do in places like Gort Muire where
they can be very personal because there are many of
them and they do not have such administrative tasks as
running schools or doing baptisms, etc.
b-1354 how people go to mass to Gort Muire because there are
no such distractions as children and how it is the
elite thing to do. How "by the fruits thou shalt know
them."
b-1390 [the outside door is opened]
b-1452 [another closing]
b-1461 how what we got was "a bit negative" but also positive
b-1466 how he was shaped by the time when was raised, during
WWII while Fr. Hurley was raised in a more pluralistic
time.
b-1521 [another closing]
b-1531 [the door closes, footsteps getting
louder, Susan exclaims "my goodness" and
the recorder is shut off.]