Dear Mrs Sheridan,

THIS is a letter I wish I could have written to you. I remember the first time I laid eyes on you. It was April 2, 1970. We were introduced by a prison officer, whom I am sure filled you in on my background. Why you took me in as a lodger in the first place is a question I was often tempted to ask you as we got to know each other a little better.

I was just 19 years old, having spent the first 16 years of my life in institutional care. My only crime was that I was born illegitimate on November 1, 1950. Upon discharge from St Joseph’s Industrial School, Tralee, Co Kerry, on January 10, 1967, I was employed as a labourer. I subsequently was arrested for robbery and sentenced to St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders in Dublin on November 14, 1969.

You always showed me kindness, which unnerved me very much in the beginning. I was not used to being treated as anything other than an object of derision and pity. Nothing much was expected of me, so I did not really care where my life was leading me. It did upset you very much when I mentioned that I had tried to kill myself in 1967 in the playground of St Joseph’s. You never made a distinction between me and your nuclear family, especially at the dinner table.

It always amused you that I loved to read The Irish Times which I could only afford to buy Mondays and Thursdays. When helping you with the dishes after dinner, I tended to let my guard down a little. I did talk to you about the physical abuse and the starvation that went on there, but I was very careful never to even hint at the sexual abuse I endured over the eight years I spent there.

One week, I lost my pay packet and was very upset at the possibility that you would throw me out of my lodgings. When I did tell you what happened, I was very surprised at your reaction. You just laughed heartily and warned me to say nothing more about it. Then one evening a few weeks later, you brought me to Marino Tech and enrolled me in night classes. I still have a clear recollection of you handing over the fee with a twinkle in your eye. That was the beginning of my educational adventure, which saw me get my Leaving Cert, become an undergraduate at Trinity College, become a psychiatric nurse, obtain a degree in Applied Human Physiology and eventually end up a lecturer in Biological Sciences.

None of the above would have been possible without you. I am sure you would blush to be reminded of such generosity. I believe that you are now enjoying Heaven with the Lord who Himself can never be outdone in generosity.

You helped a little bird with broken wings to fly high over the skies of Seville Place, and I have been flying high ever since. There are no words sufficient to express my appreciation and gratitude for your kindness towards me. Thank you. Michael Clemenger, Co Meath