Peggy Was Very Protective

Knowing that he was different from practically everyone in their home and neighborhood, Peggy was quite protective of her ‘adopted’ son. According to Tim, “She would always be spitting on her cuff, rubbing my face, keeping me clean and tidy. She checked my homework every Sunday night, and she often made me rewrite it.” He continued, “One time, when I was little, she caught me peeing in the garden, and she dragged me in and slapped me round the legs. She said she didn’t want white people seeing me doing that.” Yet, she also knew the adversity he faced due to the color of his skin, and when he was teased, she would tell him, “Some people are prejudiced; you just have to learn to rise above it.”

It Was At The Height Of  ‘The Troubles’

Tim also recalls that he was growing up in the middle of a political conflict in Northern Ireland known as ‘The Troubles.’ Peggy’s home was considered a safe place for the IRA to stay, which was short for the Irish Republican Army. Tim explained, “The Troubles were at their height, and there was this sense of excitement: you could feel it in the house; something was happening. We were an IRA safe house. There would be whispers, a knock at the door, and six men would go upstairs to an empty bedroom. Mum would tell us, ‘Don’t be saying anything in the street’.”