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70-year-old letter to Santa found in County Donegal

By
DARA MCBRIDE,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Friday, December 25, 2009, 7:51 AM
Updated Friday, December 25, 2009, 8:00 AM

 

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A 70-year-old letter to Santa was found in County Donegal

A pensioner in County Donegal, Ireland got a magical Christmas surprise this week when he was reunited with letters he and his sister had written to Santa almost seventy years ago.

Local workmen replacing an old chimney at Neil Doherty’s family home in Buncrana this week discovered the old letters stuck in the chimney flue. Unbelievably, they had been well preserved and were easy to read. Doherty, now aged 74, was only five years of age when he and his sister Mona wrote their letters to Santa in 1941.

“My younger sister was three and I was five, and my older sister was nine,” Doherty told the press. “What strikes me now is the simplicity of it all. We started all the letters off with, “Dear Santa, Would you please send some of these toys...” And notice that we only expected to get some of them, not all of them! My sister asked for a Christmas stocking, a tea set and a doll and a pram. She didn’t get her doll and pram, and that must have been because her letter never reached Santa.”

The letters were jammed in the chimney for decades where no one could see them, so Santa didn’t know she wanted the doll and pram, Doherty imagined.

“In my letter I asked for a drum, a tool set and a little lorry, and my elder brother wanted a jigsaw puzzle and a target gun. My sister had also totaled up the cost of everything we wanted, and it came to six shillings and six pence – that’s about 33 cents in euros.”

Doherty said the family couldn’t believe the letters had survived virtually intact for over 68 years. This week he told the press he was moved and delighted to be reunited with them for Christmas 2009. “They’re a bit scorched, but the writing is so clear. These letters have brought back so many memories,” he said.

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9 Comments

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Posted by santaclaus on Nov 11, 2010, 02:24 PM EST
This is such a heart-warming little storry. In this day and age kids send emails to me so soon enough no surprise like this will be possible. But email has its advantages I guess http://santaclauschristmasletters.com/
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Posted by Advocate on Aug 06, 2010, 09:03 AM EDT
How did Santa get down the chimney these many years and not hit the letters? Golly, Gee Whizzzz...
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Posted by maureenroy on Jul 25, 2010, 03:19 PM EDT
This story is so cool. I hope that Christmas 1941 was a good one even though they did not get what was on their list. That was a tough year for everyone around the world.
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Posted by eileenraiders on May 21, 2010, 12:15 PM EDT
What a heart warming story. I have grown up with all the old wives tales of Ireland and the Irish people, that is what I miss most about my grandparents and parents. This is why it is important to talk with the older generation.
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Posted by jdfly101 on Mar 17, 2010, 06:37 PM EDT
Loved it, and your site, and all of Ireland. I've been there once in 1995 and have wished, prayed in fact to be back there every day since. God bless Ireland and her people always.
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Posted by oktahoe on Mar 11, 2010, 04:41 PM EST
Fascinating!
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Posted by pmcna1315 on Mar 10, 2010, 12:55 PM EST
Just amazing
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Posted by CelticWoman4 on Feb 19, 2010, 03:49 PM EST
This article warms your heart!
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Posted by IrishEddy on Dec 25, 2009, 11:44 PM EST
SAnta must have slipped them in there on his way out
 


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