Growing up in an Irish housing estate had many pleasures.

Everything was close to you, there were bus stops and shops just around the corner… but then, there were the rival estates too and God forbid they stepped on your turf.

Here, we look at ten memories you'll have if you grew up in an Irish housing estate:

1. The green was where errrr'thang went down

From when you were small to when you grew into a young teen, everything happened on the green. Drama, drama, drama.

And if there was more than one green in your estate, you definitely had a preference… that was, before some other group came along and took it…

 

2. Rival estates

Odds are, there was at least one other estate close by to yours, and it caused fierce rivalry. 

So much so, you wouldn't even look at them when they passed you in the school hall… and if the lads took a fancy to the other group, well… let's just say there was war.

 

3. All your BFFs literally lived two houses away

Drive to your best friend's gaff? What a notion. We were all next door neighbours and had plans to make secret passages in the walls so all our houses connected.

It came with its down points too though, because with just one glance out the window, you knew all your neighbours' business.

 

4. Texting? What is this sorcery?!

Because you were all so close together, there was no need for texting to see if your mates wanted to go out.

'Coming out to play?' in the early years followed with 'Wanna hang out on the green?' in your teen years.

 

5. The shop

There was always a half decent shop a few minutes away from your estate.

BUT, you had to cross a main road to get to it and as if your mammy would let you (you did it anyway).

 

6. Tip the can

We played this for hours on end, every single day. How we all didn't get bored of it, we don't know…

It was replaced by water fights in the summer months though… and hell, were they fun.

 

7. The ice cream van

The minute you heard Teddy Bear's Picnic blaring from the ice cream van, kids ran in every direction and plagued parents to give them €2 so they could get a Screwball.

And once €2 was firmly in hand, there was chaos to make it back to the ice cream van in time.

 

8. Walls

For some reason, the lads in the estate were obsessed with walls. They climbed them, bashed balls against them, hopped them to get out of the estate quicker.

However, whenever we attempted to climb the wall, we were shouted at by the… older generations of the estate… 

 

9. Hiding places

You roamed around the estate since you were a small child, so you definitely had a good hiding place or two.

Whether it was behind the beloved walls, or in the corner of the green; it was your den and nobody could take it away from you.

 

10. Kiss, kiss

If you didn't have your first kiss in the local GAA disco, then you definitely had it in your estate.

Saying that, you probably had many a kiss in your hiding place throughout the years.