Before she went to the Irish Times in 1969, Nell McCafferty was briefly an energetic teacher of French. She took the otherwise staid Strabane grammar school by storm, especially as she was from “the other side”, at a very turbulent time in Northern Ireland’s history; a rare event.
My memories of her chimed with those on the school’s alumni Facebook page: “A mini whirlwind; exotic energy; a very short skirt that annoyed Miss T; a stand-up with Mr McK in the dinner queue; she taught us to sing Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da in French” – plus her own recollection of participating in the civil rights movement, with the smell of the riots of the night before in her hair.
