January update, and my 4th Granddaughter, Ruth

I 'm surprised to find there are but two days left in January.   I have not been well and I have written nothing since I told you about the great party we had when all seventeen of us assembled in York to celebrate the 93rd birthday of my Jane.    I have not managed to acknowledge the Christmas cards we received although they were only a fraction of the numbers we used to get while I was in practice and meeting people.   Sadly the great majority of our  friends have passed away and we now know very few who are older than we are.   We are delighted that our closest --Sean P. Kennan  -- is enjoying good health in Dublin.   He is our Nuala's dear Dad.    We are also pleased that my brother Owen has adapted to life in the Clontarf nursing home and having excellent care from the Little Sisters of the Poor.
I feel better today because the 3 inches of snow that covered our streets for four days has vanished.
I must tell you about the card I had  from a very special client called Les Fowler.   There was a £20 note  with it.  Although this was a rare finding it caused me no great surprise.    I could never forget Les or his equally kind wife Gwen.   They really did love their greyhounds.   They never kept more than two but provided them with luxurious accomodation.   They f irst consulted me in 1961 and remained loyal clients for 31 years.  Even when I could offer them no cure they always appreciated my advice.  They were never in my debt but they knew of many who were.   Their sympathy probably explains the score.

 At 93 Les and his wonderul wife Gwen still live in the same tidy house in Luton.   They had gardens around it and usually brought us fruit and flowers on visits with an injured greyhound.     Les was a brave and true Brit who was prepared to die for his country.     He was proud of the medals he was awarded for his distinguished service under Field Marshall Montgomery in the Desert War.    He told me he got to like sleeping on a blanket on the sand.    The hardship he disliked most was the shortage of water.   Troops often had to wait six months for a bath.

We enjoyed a visit today from Ruth one of our seven lovely granddaughters.   She was saying good bye to us for 3 months while she is gaining experience working in the Art Gallery in Berlin.   At 23 she is the younger of Simon and Lyn's two girls.   Judith is at Newcastle University studying Spanish and Politics.






Ruth with Grandma

 Their younger brother Neil who has been teaching kids and kayaking in Costa Rica last Summer now has a job in York controlling the lighting in the Theatre Royal.    Good Bye for now  Keep well.   Paddy

Grandma's 93rd - The Party

This is Saturday the 5th of January 2013 - a very special day for our family.     Jill our adopted daughter and retired teacher has arrived from Leicester.    We helped to rear her with our own three boys.  Warwick and Fiona have come from London with their girls Eleanor and Rebecca and their terrier Binker - Charley's sister.   This afternoon we will all be going to York with Walter and Nuala and their three younger but equally lovely Shevaun, Lucy and Hannah.  There we are looking forward to meeting Simon and Lyn from Sheriff Hutton with their two other lovelies Judith and Ruth and Neil our only grandson from Costa Rica.   We are looking forward to a jolly feast at the Mama Mia followed by the Pantomine at the Theatre Royal.   I feel very happy and lucky that we have all lived to celebrate this milestone in the life of Jane my wonderful wife – her ninety third birthday.

Jane

I have had my One & Only Jane since May '48 when we were married in a registry office in London.   My dear Mama was a very devout catholic.  She did not consider me properly married so we attended another service by a priest in a catholic church in Gloucester where I was working.  I worked in other practices until the Spring.  Then I thought I had enough experience to start on my own.  We moved to Dublin and rented a house with out- buildings and ten acres of land outside Clondalkin.  We converted one shed into kennels and another into stables.  We then bought two bull terrier pups, four greyhound pups and two shetland ponies.   The name of the house "Wheatfield " was on the gate.  I put another plate beside it with "Vet Surgeon".   I gradually collected a fair share of clients but times were hard and most of those who used me had no spare money.   In fact some of them came to me because they owed fees to other vets. However for almost two years we earned enough to survive on we met some nice friendly people all over Ireland and we enjoyed every every day of it. 

Jane's 93rd Birthday

It is Saturday the 5th of January 2013 - a very special day for our family.  

Jill our adopted girl and retired teacher has arived from Leicester.     We helped to rear her with our own three boys. Warwick and Fiona have come from London with their lovely girls Eleanor and Rebecca and their terrier Binker - Charley's sister.   This afternoon we will all be going with Walter and Nuala and their three younger but equally lovely girls to York.  There we are looking forward to meeting Simon and Lyn, our only grandson Neil and their two other lovelies Judith and Ruth from Sheriff Hutton.   We are looking forward to a jolly feast at the Mama Mia followed by the Pantomine at the Theatre Royal.   I feel very happy and lucky that we have all lived to celebrate this ninety third birthday of Jane my wonderful wife.

A picture of Jane at about 30

Video on YouTube

Click on this link to watch the YouTube video my son, Warwick, uploaded. "Drumnatinny"

If you see this video of me on Drumnatinny Strand you will see the beautiful legs I have. That is why I am so glad that I have passed them on to all of my 7 lovely granddaughters. Every time I go back to Donegal, I like to take off my shoes and socks and walk on the strand between Ballyness Pier and the Ray (pronounced "Rye") River. It is a good 2 miles. My feet feel good after it. Then walking away from the strand, I always look forward to a cup of tea at the home of one of the Doohan family. On the way to Falcarragh I have to pass Josie and his friendly wife Theresa. A little further on, I pass the home of Alfie and Pat. Josie and Alfie are two of the boys who were sons of my cousin Bridget. When I was a child, we called her Birdie, a term of endearment common in Donegal. Birdie was ten years older than me and she used to wheel me in my pram along the Strand.

I hope you enjoy the video. More tomorrow, Paddy

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

Our Walter's Big Day

To morrow is election day for Police Commissioners.

Our eldest son  standing as an independent  is at a disadvantage against the candidates supported by the major parties.   If he causes a surprise and wins he will give the public honesty and truth.  During his five years as an M.P. he voted against the whip 57 times  because he did not consider the proposal was fair.

     With good wishes to all our friends and to all good people  from    Paddy & Jane Sweeney