Q. As a child growing up in Newcastle, Co Down, you were told you were adopted. Was that traumatic?
A. My mother told me, but I can’t remember what age I was when she did so. But she did do it in the only way to do these things, which was to wait until I was old enough to have some cognisance of what she was saying. Of course, I didn’t understand it completely but it was very beautifully put: We chose you. She said all the right sort of things. Just a few months later a friend of my sister came out with: Oh, you’re adopted. I think if I hadn’t been told previously by my mother and I’d had to question it then I think I would have found that very, very difficult. There’s nothing to be gained by keeping any of these things in, it’s better for people just to be honest.
I hope you listen to Radio Three, Ma am, it can be very good for your soul
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Queens of the Castle
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Speaking from their home in Newcastle, where Cassidy was a huge hero as a player in the 1970s, Rosemary says she has chosen this moment to talk about Tommy s Alzheimer s to help raise awareness about the disease.
Last year England World Cup winners Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles passed away with dementia while Sir Bobby Charlton was diagnosed with the condition in November. These cases and others have led to a growing debate about links between football and dementia.
Belfast-born Cassidy won 24 Northern Ireland caps as a strong and gifted midfielder with his final appearance in the green shirt coming as an early second half substitute during the epic 1-0 victory over hosts Spain in the 1982 World Cup finals. Previously he played a key role when Billy Bingham s team won the Home Nations Championship in 1980.