Welcome to Gerard McGill's Home Page 

                I was born in Antrim where I lived with my mum, dad and older brother Conor in a small estate called Donegore Drive where I attended St. Josephs Primary School. My dad worked to DMC  building the world famous Delorean  cars. My best friend at the time was Martin Wheatly, we attended scouts together and played lots. It was a simpler time when it was just fun being a kid. The no worries freedom that you only get by being young. Then we soon learned the realities in life when we were told that my Granda Mc Auley (my mum's dad) had passed away. I was too young to understand what had happened, all I knew was I missed my grandad. By the time I was eight we moved to Ballycastle where my dads side of the family originally came from, living in a development called Altananam Park where we lived for 2 years before we moved into the house out in Ballinlea that belonged to my great grandfather. It was great being closer to the rest of the family,  we lived right up the road from my grandparents Jim and Brigid McGill and not far from my Aunts and Uncles Hugh, Eileen  McGill, Gerard and Margaret  McGill and Anne and Brian Kelly. I spent a lot of time down at my grandparents house where the whole family would gather, where I would watch Uncle Gerard fix cars and even have a wee go myself.  I would go down to the peat fields with my Granda,  me sitting on Grandas knee driving the tractor and building peat castles after it was all cut, then going back to their house for dinner, I can still remember my Grans cooking, the fresh soda farls and the fry ups, I can almost smell them cooking now. My Cousin Paul and I would hang around together alot, especially as we got older going fishing and when we climbed Knocklayde Paul was my best friend in those days. It is a shame I don't see more of him now. .When I was young I remember , my Uncle Hugh had a baby lamb that's mother had rejected it and he gave it to me to care for. I loved that lamb, I gave it bottles of milk  everyday until it got too big to keep as a pet. We returned poor porkchop to that tyrant  who sent him off to live up to his name! (just kidding Hugh). My little brother Niall came along next in 1987.  it was a big change for Conor and I who had the run of the house to ourselves for so long, a screaming crying baby will quickly remind you where you are if you found you had forgotten. Then in '89 the 4th McGill boy was born a good humoured wee lad my mum named Damian we all grew up together as a close knit family, almost all of our time was spent in each others company. My grandfather Jim McGill was well known for playing the fiddle, in Ballycastle he had many students and was known for playing in the Comhaltas. I used to love listening to him play, he would get together  with some of his friends at the house and would make recordings of them playing. I took up an easier instrument, the tin whistle. My grandfather fell ill and went into hospital but it still didn't stop him from writing a song for me to play on the whistle at school! My grandfather always seemed unstoppable to me, larger than life, but unexpectedly one evening  while getting ready to go teach a lesson he collapsed and died. It was a great loss for all of us and was deeply felt throughout the community. Granny, she found it hard on her own but she was a very strong woman, she managed to keep going. Then we all suffered another unexpected loss, my Uncle Gerard was diagnosed with cancer, then in 1994 at age 40  he passed away leaving my Aunt Margaret and his 6 children Shauna, Connell, Oran, Ciara, Leeanne and Catriona behind. We were all rocked with the tragedy of  losing him so young. At this time I started working for Michael McCallum at the Auto Parts Shop he and his brother Ben had opened. Ben and I became good friends and still talk occasionally. I worked there for a few years but because I had trained to be a mechanic through tech I wanted to get a more hands on experience in the trade so I took up a position with Stuart McLaughlin just outside of Ballycastle town. During this time I also became interested in computers and found I had a knack for them. This is where I met my then soon to be wife and daughter Autumn but we will leave that for the about how we met page shall we? Once I came back from America we got married a few months later our Uncle Sean Mcauley passed away, I am only glad that I got to see him at our wedding or I would most probably not have seen him at all before he passed away. He left my Aunt Mary and his children Insert here) behind. At this point in time I worked to Raymond Todd peeling potatoes, and knew I didn't want to do that forever. That same year my wife became pregnant and gave birth to my daughter Caitlin in December 2002. This is when I received a lucky break. I applied for a position in the Brook garage in Coleraine and was taken on , I loved the work there but found it hard to deal with the pay. I was then offered a position at JKC BMW in Coleraine in 2004 where I still work, and repair computers on the side. Then in March 2006 Granny McGill passed away  joining her husband and son who wait for her. She will be dearly missed by us all. This was then followed by the death of our Granny Mc Auley only 2 months later. It was all so sudden and so much all at once it seemed surreal. We all went to see our Granny off and by the size of the funeral it was easy to see she was loved by many. To those who have passed away before us we wish them well and may they pave the road to heaven for those of us who will follow, and may God let them know they are loved and missed deeply by all of us they left behind. Now I spend my days working, repairing computers, spending time with my family and just enjoying life in general. Life is too short not to live as many moments in happiness as possible!

                                                                                                                              Slainte!           

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