“The story told here is pre-Partition and I have tried to use the terminology of the time but in such a way that it does not confuse the reader. Ulster, one of the four provinces that make up Ireland, comprises nine counties, three of which—Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan—are now part of the Republic of Ireland. At that time, however, anyone from the island of Ireland was Irish, and Ulster Protestants had no difficulty in calling Londonderry ‘Derry’, although the sensitivities over Home Rule were beginning to force changes.”