I am a lady of 63 and have been searching for my father and his family for years but to no avail. My last hope now is this letter that someone might know of the whereabouts of my father’s family.
My father’s name was Patrick James Derby and he was born January 29 1925 at 99 Millfield, Belfast. His father’s name was Matthew Derby and his mother’s name was Fannie Derby.
I was two years old and my brother was six months old when my father died at the age of 30 and they were living at 67 Wall St, Belfast. Now his mother must have married again because on my father’s death certificate her name is Fannie Coggle.
I know I’m asking a lot of people to go back in time but if they lived in Wall St, Belfast round about the 1950s – my father died on August 15 1955. So if there is anyone who remembers the family it would mean the world to me. I was born and raised in Manchester, England in 1952 and remained here ever since.
My name is Pamela Livingstone and can be contacted at 149 Old Mill St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6FE or phone 0790 8903530
P LIVINGSTONE
Manchester, England
The EU is not only right for peace but for prosperity as well
With less than a month to go until the EU referendum on the June 23, the issue of our membership of the EU has come to dominate discussion and debate in Westminster. Divides on whether or not we stay in Europe has become a kind of ‘politics behind the politics’, with the government benches particularly divided.
However, beneath the high political drama of who’s in and who’s out, in the last number of weeks real details have emerged that can help inform the decision of everyone voting in June.
Some of the details have been practical – for instance, we now know that the voter registration deadline for the referendum will be Tuesday June 7. We know as well that the vote will be open to all Irish citizens living in Britain or Northern Ireland. But we have also seen information begin to be released that gives us an indication of the kind of region we can expect to find ourselves living in should we vote to leave.
The first warning came from a Cabinet Office report published in February, which specifically highlighted that, outside the European Customs Union, ‘it would be necessary to impose custom checks on the movement of goods across the border’.
Anyone living near the border or who relies on cross-border trade to make a living can see how detrimental this would be for our economy and future growth.
More recently, the Treasury has cautioned that there are 50,000 manufacturing jobs in Northern Ireland which are reliant on exports to the European Union, and that even the uncertainty created by negotiating an exit would put these jobs at risk.
Meanwhile in the House Commons, government ministers have consistently denied the DUP claims that leaving the EU would leave more money to be spent on the north.
I still believe in what John Hume told us many years ago – that the European Union is the best example in the world of conflict resolution and reconciliation.
Now, as the date of the referendum draws ever closer, we are seeing more and more evidence that the EU is not just right for peace, but for prosperity as well.
In such circumstances we in the SDLP believe that the best course of action for the people of Northern Ireland in terms of political and economic cohesion is to remain in the European Union.
MARGARET RITCHIE MP
SDLP, South Down
Despite daily barrages SDLP continues to survive
As an SDLP supporter and one that has looked forward to the occasional letters to the editor from now retired MLA John Dallat I sincerely hope that he does not throw his pen away. For as long as one can remember the SDLP has hardly had the benefit of a single supportive journalist commanding a weekly slot in The Irish News.
From Monday to Saturday each contributing journalist almost felt obliged to take a major swipe or a minor side swipe at the still great party and its members. Also regular readers of the paper have to constantly endure even worse as Sinn Féin columnists are afforded space to promote their efforts to rewrite history.
It is about time that The Irish News took a conscientious decision to address its failure in this respect. What was encouraged, allowed, permitted to happen did have an adverse effect, albeit immeasurable, on the fortunes of the SDLP.
The policy does not take into account that many SDLP readers continue to read the paper despite the never-ending snub. It’s a new era and the parties have new mandates so let’s see the positive message here.
The SDLP has survived regardless of the almost daily sniping by Irish News columnists. I accept that some of them are now aged and their present-day thinking is their thinking of yesteryear. Now if John Dallat were to become a weekly Irish News columnist it would see in the introduction of equality and fair play.
John’s letters are always presented as a truthful analysis of the facts. More of the same would not go a miss.
P McKENNA
Armagh
Bluffer needs dragged into 21st century
It was with great disappointment that I read the Bluffer’s Guide to Irish (May 16). The article dealt with the use of, “Tá” and, “Is” in our native language. Quite frankly, the Bluffer needs pulled in to the 21st Century in the examples cited.
Surely the most modest of equality impact assessments on his article would have encouraged the promotion of females to an equivalent professional rank as their male counterparts? Have we not moved away from the stereotypical roles historically dedicated to women?
Yet this article in its linguistic examples, refers to the female as a cleaner (Glantóir) or housewife (bean an tí). Whereas the male is a teacher (múinteoir) or dentist (fiaclóir). Perish the thought that women could be teachers or dentists also, and that is not to detract from the significant roles of cleaners and housewives in society. Perhaps it is time that those became male orientated occupations.
UNA Ni BHAOIL
Portstewart, Co Derry
Homemade is best
I read the article on young parents feeding their children junk food (May 10) and I would like to tell you that my grand-daughter makes every meal her three-year-old gets from scratch.
She won’t buy processed foods and makes chicken nuggets, fish fingers and turkey meat balls using fresh meat and fish. She makes wholemeal bread crumbs and free range egg to coat these before cooking.
She uses whole wheat pasta and makes her own red sauce with no sugar. She uses herbs and garlic and sometimes spices to flavour food instead of salt or sugar. She has a very varied menu so the child doesn’t get bored. For a treat there are homemade lollies and grapes in the fridge.
I think there are young parents out there who care what their family eat and are doing their best when there is so much temptation all around for children to see.
MAUREEN McHUGH
Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh
