Background
Michael McLaverty was born in County Monaghan and then moved as a child to the Beechmount area of Belfast He attended Street Gall"s School and then went to Street.Malachy's College and became a school teacher.
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Michael MacLaverty
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Michael McLaverty worked as a teacher, firstly at Saint John"s Primary School Colinward Street for many years. On marrying he moved to Deramore Drive in the Malone area of Belfast. Joe Graham in his book, Belfast Born Bred And Buttered speaks fondly of having been taught by Mr McLaverty both at Street John"s and Street Thomas"s schools.
Foreign a short period he lived on Rathlin Island, off the County Antrim coast, where he gained much of the inspiration for his short stories.
In the 1950s-60s he was the principal of Saint Thomas" Secondary School on the Whiterock Road in the upper Falls Road area of West Belfast. During his tenure there Seamus Heaney was one of his staff
Heaney recalls McLaverty"s enthusiasm for teaching but also for literature. He introduced Heaney to the work of Patrick Kavanagh.
Hillal suggests that McLaverty was like a foster father to the younger Belfast poet.
