9 things all Irish primary school kids had in their lunchbox

Isn’t it far from the likes of quinoa crackers, edamame bean salad and cacao bars sweetened with stevia we reared?

Indeed it was. Very far. A few million miles… far.

Back in the day we couldn’t have even begun to imagine the metamorphosis of the Irish child’s lunchbox.

But you know what? Call us nostalgic old fools but we way prefer ours…

1. Luncheon sandwiches

A questionable ‘meat’ stuck between two slices of white bread was a lunchtime staple. Special mention goes to the slices of meat with faces on them and the impossibly luminous ‘luncheon’ which went by the appetising nickname ‘Red Lead’.

2. Touchdown bars

Remember these? They were chocolate wafer bars and came in purple or red wrappers. And although the bar inside was exactly the same we remembering fighting hammer and tongs with our brothers and sisters for the red one.

3. Wagon Wheels

We couldn’t get enough of these back in the day. And when the jam ones came out we couldn’t contain our excitement.

4. Cup-a-soups

Mmm, lukewarm chicken and vegetable soup in a flask. Appetising. Thanks Mam.

5. Warm milk

Even warmer than our soup were the mini cartons of milk we would have every day as part of the School Milk Scheme. And we know we’re being ungrateful, but drinking them felt like a penance, a punishment, and we’re pretty sure we never, ever finished a full carton.

6. A manky banana

We could always tell our mum were trying to get rid of them because they were clearly in bits. “Ah it’ll do for the child’s lunch” we could hear her saying.

7. Ham

Presentation clearly wasn’t a key consideration here. A slice or two of ham wrapped in a piece of cling-film and thrust into our lunchboxes was standard as a ‘little break’ snack.

8. Cheese singles

Either sandwiched unappealingly between some white sliced pan, or popped into our lunchboxes ‘as is’, cheese singles formed an integral part of our daily nourishment.

9. Capri-Sun

Oh how we loved these. When we finally managed to get the straw in (a tricky business) they would be slurped in one gulp.

Are you having a nostalgic moment right now? ‘Cos we are! Call us crazy but we’d give anything for a Wagon Wheel dipped into a cuppa!

What about you mums? Did we think of them all? Or are there are glaring lunchbox omissions? Let us know!

SHARE if you remember munching on all these at ‘little’ and ‘big’ break in primary school!