Our family

  My dearest Jane and I feel lucky to have lived beyond ninety and to still have all of our loving family.       We enjoy life in Beverley with our eldest son Walter, his wife Nuala and their girls Siobhán, Lucy and Hannah.   Warwick and Fiona live in London with their girls Eleanor and Rebecca and we look forward to meeting them as often as possible.    We regulary see Simon and Lyn, their girls Judith and Ruth and Neil our sole grandson as they are within forty miles of us at Sheriff Hutton.   All of them have made repeated visits to North Donegal for the friendship of the people and the wildness, beauty and serenity of the scenery in which I grew up.   Jane's Dad, Dr Dent travelled from London with her mother to walk for thirty miles along the rugged coast before Jane was born.
       The old house in Drumnatinney where I was reared is still there.  The land which my Dad farmed is separated from the sea by sand dunes.   The scene today is as peaceful as it was when I learned to swim there.   Unlike Bundoran the resort in the south of the county, development  is non-existent.  There is still no changing room, tea-room or ice cream van.   The only amenity I can remember being added was a pair of life-buoys that were tied to fencing posts about forty years ago so that they might be thrown to anyone in difficulty or in deep water.
          I always find walking the three miles of clean white sand between Ballyness Pier and the Errarooey rocks an uplifting experience.  Afterwards there is always refreshment and welcome from some of the Doohan family whose mother was a cousin of mine.   All of them have inherited her kindness.  She was ten years older than me and wheeled me in my pram along that shore.  The saddest of my visits was in '66.  This very special mother was dying when she had so much to give to her large family - some of whom were still young.
This lovely beach is split by the Ray river on its way down from the mountains to enter the Atlantic ocean.   The only depressing
aspect of my holidays there is the number of relatives and friends who have passed away.   During my most recent visit I heard good news of only two who went to school with me  - Mary and Maurice Sweeney are still there.   Though unrelated to me their greetings were always warm.   From her quality tweed clothing shop Mary supplied us with several items at moderate prices.  
I remember cycling 150 miles with Maurice in 1936 to see a Gaelic football match in Bundoran between Cavan and Donegal.   In the following summer his brother John joined me on a longer ride to the All Ireland final between Cavan and Kerry in Dublin.  We carried puncture repair-kit, boiled eggs, home -made bread and a tin-can for water  in a bag on the handle bars.   We slept in hay-barns for a few hours on the nights of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and arrived home before the dawn on Wednesday morning.  I'm sad to say poor John died before reaching 47.
  When I first played on the Falcarragh team we did not have any bus or cars for away games.  We had to cycle to away fixtures at Dunfanaghy, Downings, Creeslough, Dunglow,  Maheragallon and Mullaghderg.   It seems unfair that stronger lads than me like Kieran Kelly, Danny McGee, Denis Ferry, Eddie Mickey Ned and Neil Sean Jack are no longer around. 
At St Eunans I knew Colum McDyer who was to be one of our county's greatest players.  He became a teacher in Cavan.   While in the Vet college I was in digs with Paddy Smith.   He and Colum were at midfield in the team that beat Kerry in the '47 final in the New York Polo Grounds.   The Cavan captain that day was Mick Higgins with whom I was to share a few greyhounds.
In our Vet college team as well as Paddy Smith we had Jarlath Canavan, Weeshie Murphy and Nicki Rackard.  These names will never be forgotten in G.A.A. history and Nicki was equally expert at hurling. 
In September I was delighted that Donegal won a second All Ireland title.  Thanks to the Irish Centre in Leeds, I saw the exciting game on television with Jane and Simon.   I would like to congratulate the Mayo team and supporters on the sporting way they accepted their narrow defeat.
      Our Walter is contesting the Humberside election tomorrow.   When he was an M.P. he voted against his party 57 times because he did not consider proposals were fair.   As an Independent  he is now at a disadvantage against candidates who are supported by the bigger parties.      But if he should cause a surprise and become  Police Commissioner he would perform his duties with truth, honesty and fairness.            


Paddy Sweeney