Sean Donnelly was born in 1939 in County Mayo, Ireland. This was when the Second World War had begun, and times were extremely hard, with food in short supply. Fortunately, his family had a farm, which helped them get by. He is one of eight siblings, with three brothers and four sisters. When he was a boy, he had a dog and a cat, and lots of other animals on the farm.
Sean said his favourite colour is yellow, not red because red symbolises the blood that was shed in the war. Sean’s father sadly died when he was just eleven years old, and he said this loss forced Sean to grow up quickly and become independent.
Sean attended Richmond National School. His favourite subject in school was maths. He also loved playing handball. When he was young, he thought he would be a farmer because he had a farm. He finished school at fourteen.
In Ireland, Sean first worked for Mayo County Council before moving to Bord na Móna. He then relocated to Northampton in January 1957, where he has lived for sixty-seven years.
His biggest achievement is building a construction company with his friends. The company carried out many projects around Northampton, including work on the court buildings, the Derngate, and the football grounds. They also completed major works in Leicester, such as the court building and the football stadium. In addition, they undertook numerous projects across the West Midlands, including Walsall Hospital, Redditch Hospital, Walsall Art Gallery, and even Aston Villa’s home ground.
Sean is also well-travelled, and has been to America, Kenya, Barbados, St Lucia and a lot of places in Europe. Sean once hoped to emigrate to Australia. At the time in 1958, it cost only £10 to get guaranteed work in Australia and it was a six-week journey by boat. However, he couldn’t go because he hadn’t completed his National Service in England, which was the mandatory army service that all men were required to do at the time. He applied to move, but since he was likely to be called up for his National Service, his application was refused. In the end, Sean was never called up for National Service, and conscription was abolished for those born after 1940 shortly afterwards.
Sean married Bridie, who was from County Cavan, Ireland. They were blessed with 5 children; Mick, Anne, Susan, Sean, and Amos. Sean also has ten grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. Sadly, Bridie passed away in 2003, leaving Sean heartbroken. Grief affected him deeply, and he withdrew for a while, finding it difficult to face the world. It was only through the steady support of his brothers and friends that he gradually found the strength to go out again and rebuild his confidence.
Sean retired in 2005 after building a successful company with his friends.
Through all he has experienced, he remains proud of what he’s achieved and continues to be a happy, positive person. He never focuses on the dark side of life, even in the face of hardship. Instead, Sean chooses to look forward with optimism, grateful for all he has accomplished and for the people around him.
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