Archive (340 life histories found)
'My wife wanted a wee girl and was disappointed when presented with a little boy '
My only son Thomas was born on New Year's day in Gardner Robbs Maternity unit of the City Hospital in Belfast. My wife wanted a wee girl and was disappointed when presented with a little boy. When he was about 2 years of age Hannah dressed him in…
'We didn't have a honeymoon '
I first met Hannah in a queue waiting to go into the Crumlin Picture House. She was wearing a Linfield scarf and I a Glentoran scarf. Glentoran were beaten. Because Hannah's mother died on the date arranged we had to postpone the wedding for 6…
'We commenced riding at eight o 'clock on the Saturday and arrived in Belfast at six o 'clock the same day '
In 1993 under the influence of a fit of madness Sheila persuaded me that it would be good to take part in a Maracycle for Co - Operation North. This involved a journey to Belfast on a bicycle, a journey of 100 miles followed by the return journey…
Tags: charity, co-operation North, Cycle, fundraising, maracycle
'We had a huge party for our 25th wedding anniversary in 1991 '
We had a huge party for our 25th wedding anniversary in 1991. We hired a marquee which was left over from the visit of Pope John Paul 11 to Ireland in 1979. We continued the marquee motif forward into the invitations which we made to look like an ad…
Tags: 25th Anniversary, Anniversary, circus, marquee, wedding
'As far as we are concerned all our children have been a blessing and a pleasure to us all their lives an there are only one set of total winners in adoption '
Paul was born to us on 29th October 1969, the image of his mother with a shock of dark hair. After almost four years with no more children we decided to adopt Sarah Jane. We applied in April 1973 and got her in June. We adopted Robert after waiting…
'The young lads all carried various forms of ju-jitsu weapons, presumably in case they were attacked by hordes of Ninja warriors on the way home '
Our house was built on the grounds of the old Artane School and some of the residents of the houses on the opposite side of the road, much older houses, resented us building there as they had been accustomed to letting their children play in the…
Tags: associations, committee, Home, neighbours, residents, social
'What we did not know is that Sodium Chloride is very inflammable and our entire garden burst into an inferno '
We had a very large garden due to the fact that the river Wad traverses it underground and no houses could be built on the spot. I was not an enthusiastic gardener and the garden was left to grow wild for a number of years. When we finally decided to…
Tags: fire, garden, Home, Sodium Chloride, weeds
'When entertaining on cold evenings we would draw the sitting room suite round the fire and play poker on the coffee table '
We lived in various places for about a year whilst waiting for our house to be built. We had placed a deposit a year before the wedding but the developer sold our site to a different builder and delays ensued. Our eventual house is in Donnycarney…
'Donnycarney '
'O, it was out by Donnycarney When the bat flew from tree to tree My love and I did walk together; And sweet were the words she said to me. Along with us the summer wind Went murmuring - O, happily! - But softer than the breath of summer Was…
'We had our Honeymoon in Cornwall after spending one night in the Regent Palace Hotel in Leicester Square in London '
On the 14th September 1966 Sheila and I married in Mullaghea Church outside Kells Co Meath. The church is a very small one outside Kells by about two and a half miles and the entrance is on a country lane much frequented by farmers herding their…