Nostalgic reunion for the 'Milltown boys'

It seemed appropriate, after 35 years, that I registered my thanks to them collectively for having accepted me into their world, trusted me with their life stories and allowed me to write about them without closing the door on future contact.

It has, of course, been a two-way relationship: the "norm of reciprocity" was instilled in me as a sociological concept in my first year at university. And at times I have been circumspect about revealing some elements of the boys' lives. For example, though they furnished me with a book's worth of ways they have managed to "scam" the system, I chose not to disclose their tactics. It was not as if they were living in splendid luxury. Indeed, the most successful have been those who found their way into legitimate employment and stayed on the right side of the tracks. The others have always struggled to get by in more precarious circumstances.