Peter was born on the 1st of May 1927 in Duncrun, Bellarena, Co Derry. He was the second child of Peter and Mary Ellen McCullagh.

He had an elder brother, James (known as Jim or J.J.) and three younger siblings: Margaret, Terence (known as Terry), and Monica (known as Mona).

His father (also called Peter) died in a tragic accident when Peter was seven years old.

To his family and friends, he was known as "P.A."

Dad (along with his siblings) was taught by his mother in the small local primary school. Dad told us many times that this was not a pleasant experience as his impression was that his mum was much harder on her own kids than she was on the other kids in the school. This was presumably to avoid any hint of favoritism

Dad went to St Columb's College in Derry as a boarder. He received a "classical education", including exposure to Latin and Greek

Other famous alumi of his school include some of my personal heros, John Hume and Seamus Heaney, and also people like Phil Coulter and Martin O'Neill.

I don't think Dad enjoyed the boarding aspect of this experience as he was completely opposed to the idea of sending any of his own kids to boarding school

We only discovered a few years ago (from Dad's older brother, Jim) that Dad went to a seminary for a while. Obviously he decided that the priesthood was not for him. Dad never told us about this

In those days, having a son who became a priest was a source of pride for a family. And having one who left the seminary was the opposite. Perhaps that is why Dad headed for Dublin and Howth after he left

Dad was working in a number of chemists in Dublin around the time he got married. One was at the Five Lamps and other was in Wicklow or Exchequer Street

He became a Medical Representative subsequently for a company called Paines and Byrne. This company was subject to a series of acquisitions and mergers over the years so Dad ended up working for Kabi, Kabi Vitrum, Pharmacia, and finally Pharmacia & Upjohn.

Mum and Dad met when Mum was working in the Cliff Hotel in Howth. They married in January 1958. Dad would have been 30 and Mum had just turned 28

Their first child, Patricia, was born in June 1959.

Their second child, Louise, tragically died when she was just a few days old. As well as being very upset, Mum and Dad were very angry at the time because they felt that the maternity hospital did not take their concerns about the baby seriously enough. The remaining children were born in the Rotunda hospital

They moved to Dean Swift Road in Glasnevin in 1961 and lived there for the rest of their married lives

A son, Peter, arrived in April 1962, followed by Mary in April 1963, Carita in May 1965, and John in August 1971

Mum passed away suddenly on 1st November 1990, aged just 60

Having been in good health all his life, Dad unfortunately suffered a stroke in 1988. The stroke happened while Dad was in a meeting in work. His colleagues acted quickly and got an ambulance for him right away

After a period in hospital, Dad spent time at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire

This stroke left him with limited function in his left leg and arm. The independence of being able to drive was always important to Dad, so he was delighted that he was able to get some conversions to his car and was able to continue to drive for many years (our Mum never learned to drive)

Unfortunately Dad suffered additional strokes over the subsequent years, so that by 2005 we could no longer look after him at home. He moved into a nursing home in Laytown where he remained until his death

Peter passed away on the evening of Friday 9th February 2007. He was in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda. His daughter Patricia and his son John were with him when he passed away peacefully. Mary and Carita had been with him earlier in the day, and all five children gathered together a few hours later

The funeral mass took place a few days later in Our Lady of Victories church on Ballymun Road and Peter was laid to rest with his wife Evelyn in Fingal Cemetery, Balgriffin.

People had come to pay their respects from all over the country and we had a nice celebration of his life in the Grand Hotel in Malahide afterwards