Now the Music Secretary of the famous Derry Feis, the former Panto star is kept constantly busy and gets as much enjoyment as ever from watching another generation take to the stage in St Columb's Hall.

Harking back to his own childhood, the Derry man paints a happy picture of a house in Francis Street overflowing with stars. Colourful anecdotes about singsongs around the famous MacCafferty piano bring a smile to Pat's face and it's a testimony to a life well lived when he uses the phrase 'great, great times' numerous times.

"The music was constant," says the well known Derry man.

"That was the atmosphere I was reared in. Frank Carson -during a later visit - christened it Frantic Street! My father would have been teaching piano and singing, and one of the great vivid memories I have is of my father's group The Ten Columbians. My father was at the piano and my uncle Don was on bass. It was fantastic. They were way ahead of their time.

"It was glorious to hear. They were a self contained concert unit. That set the love of music in the family. There was nothing else in my life but music.

"Those times don't exist anymore. They were simpler days and people weren't as pushed for time. You couldn't possibly have a group like that today because it would cost so much to pay all the individuals."
The eldest in a family of six, the local singer is the first to admit that a life of academia wasn't for him, although his geographical positioning made it difficult to miss school.

"I went to the Wee Nuns, it was only four doors away so there was no excuse for missing class!" says Pat.

"I wasn't all that academic. My interests lay in other fields. I thought at one point I might have been a footballer. My earliest memories were going to the Brandywell with my father to watch the legendary Jimmy Delaney. My father just adored Delaney. He was a real hero and he came to play for Derry. The Brandywell was jammed in those days. I got hooked back then I'm still a season ticket holder to this day."

Pioneer
Far away from headlines about binge drinking, Pat and his contemporaries had little choice when it came to the question of alcohol in his heyday, as he explains.

"My father was a tee-totaller. He never drank. When I was 15, he took me, his eldest son, down to become a pioneer and show a good example but unfortunately it didn't spread to the rest of them! I've never had a drink. Our era was the sixties. Drinking wasn't as important socially as it is now."

Best known for his involvement in Derry Feis, the former Du Pont worker was given his first taste of the famous institution at a very early age, although he admits he had another career in mind at that point.

"The earliest memory I have of the feis was my father and Tony Black playing for the dancers in St Columb's Hall. I remember going up and sitting beside him at the piano. It instilled a real love of traditional music in me.

"I sang in the boys solo and I sang in the choirs in Rosemount. In the early days I was not a good performer! My sister Una was a natural on stage and is still a natural to this day. She was also in the Gaelic singers. My first feis competition was the bass solo. I was the only one in for it! I tried dancing briefly but I discovered I had footballing feet!"

While football occupied the mind of the Derry lad, like most teenage boys he had another major distraction as well.

"In those days we used the feis to choose girls. We were after the dancers! It was about scouting the talent," says Pat.

These expeditions often got a teenage Pat into trouble. One particularly humourous incident has remained with him.
"The top balcony was the place to be," recalls Pat.

"I remember one awful occassion. My father was the accompaniest and we were up chatting up girls. Father Mulvey was the Secretary of the Feis. There was a bit of noise up on the top balcony and out of the middle of the stage Fr. Mulvey shouted 'Is that young MacCafferty up there! Are you causing all that noise.'

"He picked me out and I got such an eating in front of everybody! But I was only 15 at the time and that was what we did!"
New loves

Time moved on and Pat - then becoming a regular at dances held in the nurses quarter in Altnagelvin - met future wife Jean. Together with the Castlederg nurse, Pat settled down and the couple raised four children,Sinead, Peter, Brona. Pat's daughter Niamh sadly passed away in 2007.

Recalling how the musical landscape changed massively here in the early sixties with the arrival of Father Edward Daly, the former Christian Brothers pupil became instantly involved and watched from a perfect viewing point as his father left a permanent mark on the music scene in the city with the creation of the famous McCafferty singers.

Credited with injecting bucketlods of musical energy into Derry in the 1960's, James MacCafferty's singers were described numerous times as world class. The coming together of James and local compere the late Don O'Doherty was sure to leave a strong musical legacy for a young Pat.

"That first choir had the cream of the crop from Derry," recalls the well known singer. "We had to sing as well as doing movement. The Sunday Shows saw so many big artists come here including Jim Reeves and Roy Orbison. They were great, great times.

"We started the pantos in 1964 and went right through to the seventies before The Troubles really finished things for a couple of years. Almost 10 years from 1962-1971 all we did was sing."

Growing in confidence and ability over the years, Pat soon became the headlining act himself as he enjoyed huge success locally, taking leading roles in 'The King and I' as well as widespread success in 'Jesus Christ Superstar.'

The Feis was always close to the MacCafferty heart however, and Pat continued to be actively involved over the years. There's no argument when it comes to the tradition and the now notorious caricature of the 'feis mammy' according to feis expert.

"It's true," he agrees. "There's no question about it. The feis mammy disappeared on a Monday morning. She spent her time at the feis, dressed her children and combed their hair at the feis. Things weren't so commercial back then though and the emphasis wasn't on the wigs and the socks. In those days they wore plain green dresses and the dancing was beautiful.

"I've never known anything at Easter but the Feis," continues Pat. "I never had an Easter holiday in my life. I was either singing or a platform steward. Then I was asked to become a committee member and now I'm Music Secretary."

The former stage star concedes that the once massive event has become slightly relegated but remains adamant that it is as relevant as ever to the community in Derry.

"It doesn't have the same impact in the community it had 40 years ago because back then it was the only platform people have," says Pat.

"People aren't as focused as they were 40 years ago but they still spend their formative years in the Feis. I think the town would be considerably lesser of a place without the Derry Feis."

Determined to pass the MacCafferty legacy to another generation, Pat hopes he will emulate his late father by passing on a passion for local entertainment.

"My father could instil a love of music into people and he had a great way of transmitting that love. It's a rare rare gift," says Pat.
In this sense Pat most certainly is his father's son.