Hard Knocks & Soft Spots by Paddy Doherty

Author:Paddy Doherty [Doherty, Paddy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448117819
Publisher: Random House UK
Published: 2012-05-09T22:00:00+00:00

13

Fists of Fury

THINGS HAD STARTED to change for travellers by the 1990s. It was harder for us to move around, there were big sites provided for us to settle on so more travellers were staying in one place, but there were more opportunities for our children. The underlying prejudices were still there. Most country folk still barely gave us the time of day but the ‘no travellers allowed’ signs that I had seen in my youth had mostly come down and our children were encouraged to go to school. Not many travellers took advantage of this and many of those that did still removed their children from school before they finished their education.

I had been acutely aware all my life of the disadvantages of not having an education. I still struggled with reading and writing so I made sure all my children went to school. I wanted them to have all the things I never had and to be able to take advantage of all the opportunities. So, although it was unusual at the time, the Doherty children left the site each morning in their school uniforms and went to school. I’m not being disrespectful here, but a lot of travellers were thick and ignorant and they didn’t agree with me sending my children to school where they would mix with a lot of country people, but I didn’t care what they thought of me as long as my children were getting educated.

There is a saying that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind and that’s how I approached schooling my children. They didn’t want to go. Of course they didn’t, what child does? And it was equally hard for them because many of the children they knew didn’t go to school. However, they knew what awaited them at home if they didn’t go. Me! And it was hard for me too. The education system welcomed them and encouraged them to attend classes but once they were there, the old prejudices were still just as apparent in the playground as they were in my school days. I sent my kids to school knowing they would get picked on and bullied because of what they were. When I thought about the way I suffered during my schooldays it broke my heart to think my children might be suffering in the same way. But in my mind we all had to make sacrifices for the greater good. There were no if and buts – even if they were bullied, if they didn’t go to school they were not going to be able to read or write and to me that wasn’t acceptable. I always made sure I took them to school and picked them up. And on the occasions when we went travelling, tutors would come out to the sites to carry on their education.

I made sure I was always around for my children. They had the best of everything. Each of my sons were enrolled in boxing clubs at 11, just as I had been, and Patrick and Simey would spar together.

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