Dinner lady Rosemary retires after 45 years in St Patrick’s Pennyburn
Family, friends, colleagues and former colleagues gathered in St Patrick’s PS, Pennyburn for a tea party to celebrate the retirement of Rosemary Doherty, one of the school’s most popular dinner ladies.
After 45 years in school meals, Rosemary left on a wave of the warmest good wishes.
Laughing, she recalled how she started work in St Patrick’s in the 1980s, just to cover for another dinner lady who was off with appendicitis.
“At that time it was the old school building and we had the separate Infants’, Girls’ and Boys’ Schools, each with their own principal. We also had the wee canteen and the big canteen. I was asked to come in for a couple of weeks, and here I am 45 years later,” said Rosemary.
“One of the things I will miss most about St Patrick’s will be the boss - Monica [Nixon]. She is brilliant, absolutely first class, amazing. I will also miss the rest of the girls I work with. I have made some great friends over the years,” she added.
“I was a catering assistant, and I usually worked part-time but if Monica needed an extra hand I was always happy to come in and help, maybe that wee bit earlier in the morning.
“We had many’s the laugh in the canteen, not to mention the times the electricity went off and there was a whole panic but we just worked around things and the children got their dinners.
“One thing I enjoyed was, coming into the summer months, when we got the children fed, we would go outside and eat our own lunches, in between a spot of sunbathing. The craic was always good.
“I remember one of the most famous people we cooked for was showband legend Dickie Rock. He was performing at a concert in the old school before it closed down and we got our new building,” said Rosemary.
“Another thing I loved was during the Derry Jazz Festival every year when The Jive Aces would come and perform in St Patrick’s, and afterwards we would give them their dinner.
“We also had Derry singer and actor Damian McGinty here when he was taking part in RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars. Damian is a former pupil.
“Michael Duffy and Brian Maher from Derry City FC visited the school this morning. The children are really enjoying the build-up to the FAI Cup final. The excitement today was amazing.
“I have really enjoyed my career in school meals and I would thoroughly recommend the job, especially because of the family-friendly hours,” said Rosemary.
Paying tribute to Rosemary, Monica said Rosemary had been like her second mother.
“I will definitely miss her. You could talk to her at any time. She was always there for you. You could confide in Rosemary and you would know it was in complete confidence.
“She always brought in the buns and she is the most glamorous dinner lady ever.”