Important teams

Click to enlarge photos





 I came to Coventry at age 18 the year previous to the football photograph below. Stayed first in Birmingham at the home of Mrs Eaves, school secretary at Our Lady's school (see school photo to right) where I was a temporary teacher. I then moved to Coventry to stay with my aunt Alice (RIP) . I travelled to Birmingham by bus and train daily up until July 1961. Headmaster at the school was a Mr Murray(from Armagh) and the deputy head was Gerry Dudgeon (from Tyrone). The school staff and Four Masters gaelic football were the first teams I joined after leaving school at the Rainey Endowed School in Magherafelt.

Teams are important in the whole process of growing up - I was never a great team player, some of this a failure of the system, some self inflicted. While at the Rainey School I was starting to become shortsighted (I was not aware of this, but it should have been spotted by the school health checks) With hindsight I now remember sitting at the back of the class at school and not being able to read the blackboard.

This obviously affected my ability at sports like rugby and gaelic football as I seemed to deteriorate in both sports from roughly age 15. I remember playing for the Rainey 1st fifteen at 15 but not being able to get in the team 2 years later. The same short sightedness must also have influenced my academic studies as I always tended to sit at the rear of the class in most subjects. What a great thing hindsight would be if it could be activated in the present.


Good day to start Friday the 13th?