My grandparents, their neighbour Truman Capote, and how a couple who left Ireland with next to nothing ended up in the Hamptons

The article recounts the author's childhood memories of traveling from Dublin to New York during summers in the 1980s, facilitated by her American mother’s hard work as a waitress in the Hamptons. Her grandparents, who emigrated from Ireland and settled in New York, played a significant role in these experiences. The author reflects on how the standby travel process, often requiring late-night calls, shaped their adventurous summers filled with family bonding and New York's offerings, contrasting it with the modern travel conveniences.

Growing up in Dublin in the 1980s with an American mother meant my sister and I got far-flung holidays every summer, even though to us, these Long Island summers weren't particularly exotic.

Mum, a schoolteacher, spent her summers waitressing in the Hamptons - at The Lobster Inn in Bridgehampton - to make these trips possible.

Read at Independent