1924 – 22 May, 2015. Born in Derry, businessman. Director of the Knights of St Columbanus, chairman of the Housing Executive, nationalist, Doherty Pigmeats, member of the Diocesan Choir. Father of 10. Board member of the International Fund for Ireland. He served as chairman of the Western Education and Library Board and was a member of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive when these were newly created bodies changing the face of education and housing in the 1970s and 1980s and addressing some of the dreadful housing injustices of the past and the evolving nature of education. In all of these responsibilities, he gave of himself most generously. James contribution to the work of the Western Education and Library Board and CCMS was outstanding. His involvement in education did not end with the completion of his term of membership of the Board. Up until relatively shortly before his death, he was very actively involved as a member of the Board of Governors of many schools and was an invaluable contributor to the management of each of those schools. The first Doherty's butcher's shop opened in Derry in 1930, Mr Doherty joining his father in the family-run business in 1945 when the company began a process of expansion and development into processed beef and pork products. At his funeral Mass, Bishop Edward Daly noted that he was very good employer – concerned always for the welfare of his workers and respected by them. “In an area where there is and has been chronic unemployment, James consistently provided steady and worthwhile employment for many people over the years, even in very troubled times. Local people who create and manage business or industry should be specially honoured and respected in any society. They are so important to the common wellbeing. Mr Doherty was also a prominent member of the Civil Rights movement in Derry in the late 1960s. He was a member of the Citizens Action Committee set up in the city following the landmark 5 October 1968 Civil Rights march. A member of the Nationalist Party, he served as a councillor on the Derry Corporation in the 1960s. He was a member of St. Eugene’s Cathedral Choir for more than 60 years. It was fitting that his choir sang at his Requiem Mass. He passed away peacefully at his Baronscourt home and is buried in the City Cemetery.
