I GREW UP only a few doors away from the Convent of Mercy School in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal and had the dubious honour of starting there at the age of three. Starting school at that age meant that I remained the youngest in my class throughout my school career and sat my Leaving Cert when I was only 16.
The convent was one of the biggest schools in the area with over 600 pupils. The primary school was co-educational, while at second-level it was girls only. The convent was the mother house of the Sisters of Mercy and, as a result, I was taught by some of the same nuns who had taught my parents. This gave me a great sense of continuity.
When I was eight I went into second class at the De La Salle School on the other side of town and entered the secondary school when I was 11. I liked school and my favourite subjects included maths, science and English. I took an active part in school sports - in football and hurling in particular.
We used to play in the Ulster Colleges Championship and in other school tournaments as far away as Tuam in Co Galwny. I also played on the town team, St Joseph's, and on the county team.
After the Leaving Cert I was too young to get a job so I attended the local vocational school where I did typing, bookkeeping, wood-work, metal-work and agricultural science. As a result of my liking for this latter subject I became involved in the founding of Macra na Tuaithe.
At the vocational school we had a very good teacher of agricultural science, Paddy Gallagher, who helped get us off the ground. We took on practical projects ... we reared pigs, fed them, weighed them, kept records and eventually accompanied them to the factory in Sligo. That was a terrible experience. It was years before I would eat rashers again!
The vocational school had a very good gymnastics team which I joined. We used to give demonstrations over a wide area. Sport and gymnastics are tremendous for self-discipline and for promoting both competitiveness and teamwork.
My involvement in Macra na Tuaithe gave me leadership experience and a sense of responsibility. I helped to found other branches around the country for which we obtained sponsorship from Kelloggs.
I joined Aer Lingus straight from school in 1962. On my eighteenth birthday I was promoted to the position of supervisor - I was the youngest person to hold that job.
