Ray ‘finds the music’ with stunning new memoir

The autobiography of renowned Derry music teacher Ray McGinley has just been released.

‘Finding the Music’, a heartfelt and humorous memoir recounting the personal and professional life of the popular teacher, examiner and adjudicator, was written in collaboration with her husband Michael.

Now in her eightieth year, Ray told The Derry News she felt the time was right to commit her fascinating life story to print – from her idyllic childhood in Buncrana, Donegal, to raising a family in Derry at the height of the Troubles, and, of course, helping generation after generation of young music pupils reach their full potential.

Ray with husband Michael and daughters Ruth, Tanya and Rachel.

“I had all these memories in my head and, at the end of Covid, I decided to write them all down. I never really thought about a book but it just evolved into one with Michael. He has crafted what I have written into this beautiful manuscript,” said Ray.

“Collaborating with him on this project has brought so much joy to both of us – to be honest, I think I am more happy for him than I am for myself,” she added.

The early chapters of the memoir, which recount Ray’s childhood and teenage years in her native Buncrana, capture a time, place and way of life that is all but gone now: sneaking contraband over the border on the Lough Swilly bus, wrapping up shop ham with brown paper and string, and dancing to the showbands in the iconic Plaza Ballroom.

Ray’s move to Derry following her marriage to Michael coincided with the onset of the Troubles. Living in the thick of the chaos in Abercorn Road while raising daughters Rachel, Tanya and Ruth, this section of the book is an invaluable social chronicle of one of Derry’s most turbulent periods.

But it is her love of music – and her love of teaching young people – where the true heart of this engaging memoir lies.

Ray’s favourite place  – at the piano keyboard.

It would be impossible to count the number of hopeful young boys and girls who have walked through the famous double doors of 16, Northland Road since Ray started up the McGinley School of Music in the early eighties. This was alongside the annual Foyle Summer School, which ran for 12 hugely successful years and is remembered for giving a platform to a wealth of budding young musicians – not least Ray’s own talented daughters.

Explaining the book’s title, Ray said: “I have always felt a very strong sense of duty in my role as teacher, examiner and adjudicator. Obviously, you have pupils of varying abilities but I have always felt it has been my responsibility to each and every one of them to help them reach their full potential.

“When someone is sitting at a piano, it is important that they play the right notes, at the right time, but the most special feeling in the world is when they get to the point where they ‘find the music’. And by this I mean, that magical moment when they don’t just play the notes, but really feel them.

Ray’s favourite place  – at the piano keyboard.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to nurture all the young musicians who have come through my door over the years. They have given my life a purpose and, in many ways, are the reason I have written this book. I am absolutely delighted to finally see it in print. Michael and I are so excited by it all – we keep looking at one another and saying, ‘Is this really happening?’ We are so happy.”

Ray will be signing copies of her book this Easter week during the Derry Feis in St Columb’s Hall, with the official book launch taking place on Thursday, April 16th in The Playhouse, at 7.30pm.