Tag: Our Generation Stories
John Gray
Bernard Conlon talks to John Gray about his work as a social historian, an activist in the civil rights movement, and former Librarian of the Linen Hall Library in Belfast. John’s parents left England for Northern ...
Tommy Wilson
Tommy Wilson grew up on the Donegall Road in the Village area of Belfast. “We had nowhere to go, we had to run the streets. The place where I lived was just housing and there were no green spots whatsoever to play gam...
Fergus O Hare
Part One of an extended interview. This personal story is subtitled. The movement for civil rights across the world in the late 1960s acted as a catalyst for Fergus whilst at University College Dublin to think more...
Albert Fry
Albert was born during the Second World War and grew up in a family of five in North Queen Street, close to Belfast City Centre. “My main memory is soldiers, soldiers, soldiers. Another main memory is prisoners from G...
Martine Madden
Marie Breen-Smyth the Associated Dean International at the University of Surrey talks to Martine Madden about the injury she suffered, how her family responded to it and how her life has been affected. Martine was ...
Paul Gallagher
Marie Breen-Smyth the Associated Dean International at the University of Surrey talks to Paul Gallagher about his injury and it affected his life and future and how he has came to terms with it. On the 6th January ...
Mina Wardle
Mina’s father was an engineer on RMS Queen Mary, her mother suffered from arthritis. Mina passed her 11+ and was awarded a place at Grammar School but at 15 years, her parents could no longer afford to keep her at the...
Darren Ferguson
Darren grew up in Glengormley. He recalls a time when bomb scares were common. “Me and my brother were fascinated when they brought out the robots to defuse these bombs. I have very clear memories of the police com...
Joseph Ricketts
Born and raised in Jamaica, Joseph’s father was a contractor who believed his sons should be responsible for their own land and be able to manage work on a farm. When they came of age, Joseph and his three brothers ha...
Nelson McCausland
Born in 1951 in north Belfast Nelson grew up on the Ballysillan Road. He remembers attending the Belfast Royal Academy. “I did find it somewhat strange, because most of the children going to the Academy were from a mo...
Mike Maloney
Mike was brought up in Australia. His family, which is of Irish extraction, moved many times and he recalls going to nine different schools and living in seven different houses. His father’s love of writing and journa...
John McNally
John was born in the Pound Loney, West Belfast in 1932. He remembers a close, friendly community: “The people were great, they all looked after each other, there were no locks on doors, people just walked in and out,...