My Father's Life

My father was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, but as the son of a Garda Sergeant he lived all over Ireland. In the 1950's he emigrated to Scotland, settling in Paisley. He subsequently married my mother and found work in St Margarets Convent as a gardener. The family lived in the small gatehouse and when four children had arrived it was time to move on. The family returned to Donegal in Ireland, where they settled in Burnfoot, near the border with Northern Ireland. However, Ireland was very poor and times were hard, so in 1968 the family moved again, this time to Rosemount in Derry. However, later that same year violence broke out in Ulster and within a year there were riots in the streets. Eventually the family had to move again when their home was burned down. They came to England as refugees and settled in Manchester. In 1994 my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and returned to Donegal. He survived two years after diagnosis and died in February 1996. He had six children, eleven grand-children and three great grandchildren.

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