By Diarmaid Doherty
FOR someone who loves a chat, and the company of her many friends, it’s probably just as well that Annie Shaw lives just a short walk from the shops and busy spots around Letterkenny.
The Ros Suilighe resident admits that she’s not as quick on her feet now as she once was, but she has never lost that lovely smile and genuine warmth that endears her to so many.
And her memory, even after 84 years, is as sharp as ever.
She recalls happy times of growing up in her hometown; memories of school days, her teenage years and all these years later, she has a brilliant ability to recount family connections and local events – a memory that is perhaps why she is such a valued member of the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group.
She’s involved in other local organisations too – like the Drum Bar Golf Society where she is such a popular member.
She played bowls too, and during Folk Festival time, always participated in the skittles competitions at Skittle Alley.
The golf and bowls were important outlets for Annie after her dear husband Frank passed away in August 2014.
She was just a teenager when she first met the Galway man. Annie and a group of friends were gathered over a plate of chips in the Dolphin cafe. Frank was a soldier at Rockhill Army Camp and he had gone to the Dolphin with a few of his army colleagues. The pair would run into each other a few nights later at the cinema when they found themselves sitting just rows apart.
Eventually Annie got word that Frank was looking to take her out.
“I sent the message back that if he wanted fixed up with me, he has a tongue in his head,” Annie laughed.
“I think he might have been just a bit shy.
“We ended up going to the pictures and that’s how it all started. Frank didn’t dance, so he used to leave me off at the Devlin Hall any time there was a dance on.”
The romance blossomed and in November, 1960, the young couple got married in St. Eunan’s Cathedral. The wedding reception was held in her parents’ front room at Ros Suilighe and Annie remembers her aunt Annie looking after the catering.
Pointing to a wedding photograph which hangs on the sitting room wall in her home, Annie recalls how her veil was the same veil worn by her younger sister Bridie on her First Communion Day.
Annie Shaw with her late husband Frank on their wedding day in 1960.
Annie was one of eight children born to Joe and Maggie Higgins. The family was raised at Sallaghagraine in Letterkenny.
She was the second eldest after Kay (McCafferty) of Iona Road and there were two other sisters, Margaret Harkin (RIP) and Bridie (Whoriskey) who lives at College Park.
Two of her brothers, John and Peadar, are deceased while Donal (Dolie) lives at Sliabh Sneacht Road and Francis is a neighbour at Ros Suilighe.
After finishing school, Annie began working in the Bacon Factory where the work was tough “but the craic was good”. Some of her colleagues included Brid O’Donnell, Agnes Duffy and Sheila McDermott.
She also worked on and off at Gaeltex and as a cleaner at St. Conal’s Hospital.
Shortly after they got married, Frank and Annie celebrated the birth of their only daughter Maria. In later life, Maria would spend over 11 years in the American Army and is still living in the US in Tennessee.
The rest of the Shaw family members – four sons – all live locally and they include Eamonn, Michael, Willie and Mark.
There are grandchildren and great-grandchildren too and as Annie points out, a big family connection.
There’s no doubt that family is very important to Annie but she also speaks with great fondness for her neighbours and many friends. She still misses her good friend Maureen Deehan who passed away in March, 2021.
“She was my best friend for 40 years,” Annie said.
“We went around that road walking every day and we never fell out. We were there for each other during hard times and good times.
“I’m so lucky to have so many good friends and neighbours.”
She also had a close friendship with Mary Gallagher who ran a Bed and Breakfast business from her home at Lower Main Street opposite Clarke’s Newsagents.
There are many, Annie included, who will remember Bella Clarke behind the counter in the shop before her nephew Paddy Delap took over.
“I had some great times and sure Paddy is such a good person. The times I spent up with Mary and then across the road in the shop – it was great.”
Annie helped to look after Mary when she first took sick and she remembers caring for Con and Agnes Harvey as well as Paddy Kelly of Ballymacool.
She cared for her husband Frank too when he fell ill and recalls how his final two years before he died were very tough.
“You still miss him and the older you get, you probably miss him even more because you’re thinking back and remembering times together,” Annie said.
She underwent surgery herself back in February and is feeling much better now.
“I’m a bit slow on it yet,” she points out.
“But it’s still nice to get out and about. I go up to the chapel, or to Dunnes Stores or I can go up the town to the chemist.
“It’s a very close knit community here in the Oldtown so you’ll always get a wee chat with someone.”
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