Peadar McGovern grew up on his family’s hill farm in Kinawley and is one of seven siblings. He qualified as a pharmacist and has been running his pharmacy in Derrylin since 1997. He explains that his family is Catholic and that they live within a mainly Catholic Nationalist population, though the McGoverns never took any part in IRA activities during the Troubles. In September 1991, Peadar’s brother Kevin, a student in Cookstown College, was walking home after a night out in Cookstown with his friends when he was shot and killed by a police officer. In the ensuing court case, the officer in question was acquitted, and was later promoted. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the McGovern family remained resolute and did not allow the murder of their son to embitter them. Kevin McGovern’s former school keeps his memory alive through a football tournament which is held in his name.
Recordings available via Cavan Co. Library Service
