Joe as you know we both had experience of "Mickey", he was a great man, teacher and Irishman but so to was"hat and coat" ould Bill another great teacher, you would have to wonder with all the great teachers we had at St John`s we didn`t turn out smarter than we did, I remember Bill saying to us one time,"why do St pauls and St galls have all the smart ones and I have all the jail birds?" he was joking of course at least I think he was.

Ach I don't think wee St. John's school done too bad Tommy sure look at you and me conversing here on the internet across the continents and I can not only spell Jam...but Marmalade .

I have nothing but the nicest memories of having been taught by Michael McLaverty,he was one of lofe's gentlemen. I only knew him from St.John's Scool Colinward Street .

I was passing through Ballyhornan a few weeks ago and I saw a big house overlooking the beach with a blue plaque on the wall stating that Michael McLaverty lived there and that he did a lot of his writing from there.
I also remember him as my headmaster at St.Thomas's School on the Whiterock Road in Belfast in the early 60s,a very fair and kind person.

Yes, I remember Michael McLaverty from my days in St Thomas's Secondary. He retired in 1963. He used to go round the first year classes reading some of his short stories.