Inverbrena 1993 to 1994 by Flixx Graphics

"For the older memories fast are flying from us Oh! that some kind hand would come And bind them in a garland ere ~he present hardens And the past grows cold and dumb".

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INVERBRENA LOCAL HISTORY GROUP has met for two winters and much research has been carried out by the members . The following is the result of their enthusiasti c efforts which I am sure many local people will enioy.

JVlaureen Donnell v

ACROSS THE "PADS TO SCHOOL

The start of our journey to school was down the loney which led to, what was then, the last field on our farm, at the far corner of this field we crossed over the river by a stone built foot bridge. The river itself, in official circles is called the Legnegoppack Drain, but as it is too wide to jump across and too-deep to wade across, I think it deserves to be called a river! The single arch bridge is about 4 feet wide and about 10ft above the river, it was originally built by local landlords to facilitate those people who attended Ballyculter Church, and late it was used by children who attended Ballyculter School. A few yards north of the Bridge, the mill race from Ballyculter mill entered the river on its way to the sea at Blackcauseway, and we followed the course of the mill race practically the whole way to school, its waters f70wed along the edge of the first fiidd trickling merrily among the stones, but sometimes it was a raging muddy torrent and we knew that Robert Keaghey was grinding meal that day. Near the top of the field our path entered "Bud's" Loney, the river was culverted with flag-stones under the entrance to this loney and we would often lie on our stomachs on the flagstones, trying to catch "the sprickley-backs" in the water below. "SprickleyBacks" were the only fish we knew of in the river, except on one occasion on our way to school when we found a fish about 12 " long lying in the field about 4 feet away from the river with a wound in its neck. Bob McDowell kept it for us until we came home from school and the Conway cats had a pleasant meal that evening. A thorn hedge separated us now from the river at the start of Bud's Loney, but when its course turned towards the walls which were over mill-workers houses it was on the side of the loney again. "Bud Orr" lived in one of these houses when they were inhabited in earlier times. She was a noted character, who used to castigate all and sundry from the rocky knowe in front of "Millars Row", alas Bud's loney is no more so her name will sadly be forgotten also. The natural course of the mill race appears to have been diverted, when it was constructed - first to provide water for livestock in the adjoining fields, but also by making the water flow along an embankment, presumably, to provide a sufficient "head" to operate whatever machinery was installed in the now tumbledown walls, just below Armstrong's farmyard and opposite the high brick chimney which is all that remains of the scutch mill. At the end of the embankment a massive flag stone made a useful bridge into Mrs. Stockdales garden, and then there was a watering place with access from the farm lane, and also a stone covered well which was used for drinking water by the local residents. At the end of Buds loney was the corn mill, which, when it was grinding meal, was the most exciting part of our journey. We would watch the water turning the massive water wheel and the noise of the gear wheels and grindstones would be deafening. But Robert Keaghey, did not look to kindly on inquisitive children, and he would chase us on our way concerned as much for our safety as anything else. We were now out on the road which led to school.

Sometimes we would not use Buds loney at all, but would go up through the farmyard, which in our earlier days was owned by Adam Porter, later it was owned by Robert Bailie and then by James McKibben. Bill McKeating worked for Adam Porter, and liked to gather the children around him and tell us stories. On one occasion, he was making " staples" which involved drawing the long strands of straw which were then fastened together at one end and tied in bundles, in preparation for thatching corn stacks, the waste straw from this process (called ''Brock'') made a lovely snug place to lie, and we listened to his stories, some of which were quite "scary" until he had to leave us over the stone bridge on our way home.

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In the next house along the farm lived Mrs Stockdale, who was a sister of Robert Keaghey. At the top of the hill Billy and Kitty Magee and their family and opposite the end of the lane along the roadside lived Bob McDowell and his mother, their door was always open, and we called in most evenings on our way home. Bob had a "wooden" leg and on one particular evening he was outside, gouging a hollow in the end of a tree branch. He said he was making a new leg, which looked like a major operation even to us children, and Father Mac Gowen the local Parish Priest must have had the same opinion when he stopped the next day, for he made arrangements to bring Bob to Belfast where he was fitted with a new artificial leg. He tool great delight in displaying his new acquisition, particularly the locking device, which enabled him to bend his knee when was seated. Alongside the road just before the entrance to Keaghey's mill, in the tiny house (which is still there), lived Johnny Mc Ilheron, stonemason, thatcher and sometimes well-sinker. Further up the road was the mill dam, there was a path along the top of the embankment, at the end nearest the road was the overflow which allowed the water to run to the river when the dam was full. Near the far end was the sluice which was opened manually for the water to flow along the channel, which led to the big mill wheel. Above the dam was the Kiln house, with its conical ridge ventilator, where the grain was dried in preparation for grinding. The Dam was a great place for skimming stones, especially when it was full, as the water was nearly level with the road, we also had fun watching the water- hens building their nests in the reeds just above water-level, and hoping 路we would think they were hidden, when only their heads were out of sight (silly coots!). Opposite the Dam lived the Cleland family - the one most of you will remember is Dorothy - who was later Mrs Lunn and who died last year, she told George McKibben that Bud Orr was a sister of Mrs Portland (Fendleton) whom I remember lived at the Alms Houses Ballyculter. From the upper end of the Dam the river flowed a fields width from the road then past the back of the church graveyard, through John Orr's farmyard through the middle of John Orr's lawn and under the road at the schoolhouse. This was journeysend for us . The river carried on to its source at Tullyratty Dam where there was another sluice gate which Robert Keaghey had to open to replenish the water in the small dam at his mill. Copy right 1995 Con way. Legnegoppack

George Conway, Spring 1995

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FIELD N.1U'lES

1 4 5 6 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 18

18A 19 20 21 25 54 58

62 70 71 72 79 82 114 126 133 158

JOE FITZSIMMONS HANNAS HANNAS THE MILL FIELD THE ROWE THE REA KNOL<1E THE MILL POND THE MILL HILL REA KNOltJE THE MEADOW THE HARBOUR FIELDS THE MULLAGH MULLAGH hlHI TE ROCK DOG 'S KNm'>JE 0 BRI Et'IS THE [VlEADmll FOGDEN (A LUMP OR HILLOCK. A BIG POTATO) THE HATCHET FIELD (SHAPE) TEGGARTS BACK OF MURPHYS COTTAGE DOUGLAS FIELD CASTLE? THE YELLOW ROCKS CLOUGHANMORE THE YELLOW ROCK THE MOUNT FIELD BODEN'S FIELDS }xnvif i>l-i q h b:j I

FARMING IN THE LATE TWENTIES & EARLY THIRTIES

The crop rotation was : grass for four years approximately, corn , potatoes or turnips then wheat or corn and 'left' down to grass again.

PLOUGHING WITH HORSES

The directions were ' Hop ' or 'Wynd' which when spoken to the horses, meant they would veer or turn right or to the left. To make a 'Back ' was to begin ploughing by turning one furrow against one in the opposite direction.

This 'back' was in the

depression made in the ' finish' or ' hint' at the previous ploughing .

Head rigs round the field were ploughed and were

either ' scattered' or ploughed towards the hedges or 'gathered ' in towards the already ploughed land.

The oats or

wheat were sowed by hand out of a 'bed sheet' formed round the sowers shoulders to carry the grain .

WEEDS

Thistles were the main weeds with docks coming next.

These

were removed by pulling them individually with long handled tongs like wooden pullers.

The thistles melted away but the

docks were carried to the hedge .

HARVEST

The head rigs were cut all around the field with a scythe and

sheaves tied by hand - the sheaf strap made out of grain stalks.

I have seen the complete field cut by scythe but more

common in the 1920 ' s was the horse-drawn reaper with someone 'putting off' the grain in sheaves which , of course, had to be tied by hand . The sheaves were built into 'stooks' for drying - stooks comprising four, eight or twelve sheaves propped against each other.

Stooks after four days would be re-

stocked to loosen them up and allow wind penetration.

STACKS

When dry , stooks were either made into hand ricks or carted into the Haggard to be built into stacks on Havels - which were bases for the grain on 'legs ' of stone, sometimes metal, to keep the grain off the ground and to prevent rats entering and destroying the grain.

The base on legs comprised branches

of trees laced with whins.

THATCHING

Staples made during the summer out of the previous year 's straw, drawn by hand so that short straws, chaff or rubbish was removed to leave a clean staple.

The head of the staple

made into a point was tied with a band of straw then tied into bundles.

These were made during wet days.

Ropes were made

out of straw to keep the staples on the stack.

These rope s

were twisted with a 'thra hook' 20 - 30 yards long, rolled into a ball then another two or three lengths added to it. The complete ball might be 2 feet in diameter.

The staples

would be thatched onto the stacks , tucked into the base of the sheaves , and the ropes would be wound round the stacks from the bottom up , about 6 inches apart until the top.

NEEDLES

Needles were also twisted straw rolled into shapes lik e a rugby ball , five or six were necessary for a 'bart' or rectangular stack.

A round stack would take three or four.

These needles were plaited vertically up and down t he horizontal ropes to' keep them in place. were thickly strawed and plaited.

The top of the stacks

It was a common sight on

winter nights to see owls catching mice in the thatch - the whins were never successful in keeping them all out.

BARN MACHINE

A swinging arm 10 - 12 feet long pulled in a circle by two horses round the ' horse walk ' geared to a shaft running underground into the barn, powered the threshing mechanism. Sheaves were carted into the barn and ' fed ' into the drum of the machine .

The grain dropped onto the floor with the chaff,

the straw came out at the end onto the floor.

This straw was

made into bundles about 4 - 5 feet in diameter tied with 'thumb ' ropes also made out of straw and stored in the ba rn for fodder.

The grain and chaff, still mixed, was put through the 'barn fanner',

the grain and chaff dropped through a blast of air

created by the big wooden fan turned by a handle .

The grain

was now clean and was used for feeding the horses - whole.

carted grain to Mill Quarter Mill operated by a Tommy McCormick.

There the grain was dried on the kiln and ground

in the mill stones.

The choice of payment was either with

money or by ' moutering' ie taking some o f the meal in lieu of payment. place!

Even with payment I think some moutering still took The meal was used to mix with boiled potatoes, ie

'refuse ' potatoes, which were damaged and unsalable .

I can

remember ' yellow meal' maze coming onto the market at 5/= per bag , which was dear.

WHEAT

I can remember seed wheat being covered with hot tar and mixed on a floor.

This heap had to be kept moving unto dry to

prevent it going solid. the tar. predators?

Sometimes lime was used to dry off

I never knew the real reason for this treatment Disease?

Slugs?

The wheat seed was ploughed in

with shallow furrows following a potato crop.

POTATOES

After oats this was the cleaning crop with large smothering tops and summer grubbing and 'dirty furring'. applied to the field before ploughing.

The F. Y. M. was

A midden was made

during the winter, built up with F.Y.M. and wrack wrack or seaweed carted from Ballyhornan.

This midden could be 6 - 7

feet high and maybe 25 feet square.

Good farming practise was

1 to turn this midden in mid winter.

This meant taking it down

and rebuilding it - allowing air to get in and speed up the decaying process.

This manure was usually spread down the

open drill and the seed potatoes planted in it.

'Bone' manure

was sown along the drill and eventually artificial fertilizer of phosphate, potash and sulphate of amonia came onto the market in two-cwt bags.

HARVESTING

The drills were burst open with a plough and gatherers had to 'clat' the potatoes, ie , dig them out of the loose soil by hand into baskets and ultimately into bags for storage either in a house or stored in pits in the field - conical shaped long heaps about 4 - 5 feet high - covered with straw, then covered with soil which resulted in a trench made around the pit to drain away the rain water.

can remember potatoes

being sold for 5p per cwt.

FLAT

I have no experience of this crop but can remember seeing and smelling flax retting in Ballynarry's Murder Bog.

WINTER WORK

All fields were cleaned round removing briars and whins with hand hooks and forked sticks to hold back the undergrowth. Turnips were 'sne eded ' by pulling them up with one hand and

cutting the root and top off with a hook.

They wer e carted

into the farmyard and covered with straw to keep out the frost .

They were thrown into a turnip cutter turned by a

handle providing ' fingers ' or ' slices ' according to the model and were much relished by the animals.

A basket of turnips

usually fed two cows , about 28 lbs each plus hay and, or straw.

Water was carried tot hem in buckets twice a day.

TURNIPS

The seed was sowed in drills towards the end of May , even later , to avoid the May fly .

When 3 - 4 inches high they had

to be thinned, leaving one plant 9 - 10 inches from it's neighbour .

This meant crawling up between the drills and

pulling away the surplus plants .

Jute sacks were tied round

each knee to ease the discomfort.

The drills were hoed by

'Hunter Hoe ' prior to thinning.

POTATOES

The drills were saddle-harrowed - this was a harrow which was called ' saddle' because it sat on top of the drills and was pulled by one horse with one man guiding it. height of the drills and removed weeds.

It reduced the

Sometimes they had to

be hand weeded , crawling up the drills , but a plough and two horses was most commonly used.

The soil was ploughed away

from close beside the potatoes and then ploughed back again. This smothered the seeds and was called ' dirty furring ' .

SEAWEED OR WRACK

Gathering of seaweed was very much practised at Ballyhornan. The quantity depended on gale force winds from S . E., E, or N.E., tearing the seaweed from the seabed around Port-na-Coo and Guns Island and depositing it on the beach at high waater at Ballyhornan and Killard.

Because of the steep cart-way up

from the beach to the road, half loads were brought up at half-to-low tide and banked at the roadside, then carted away to the fields sometimes up to two miles away.

Spread on

grass, the salty-flavoured grass was very palatable.

I have

seen seaweed on fields on both sides of the road from killard to Strangford especially at Cloughey, brought to the road at Murnins the boat builders.

BLACKSMITHS

He was an important factor of the countryside.

Horses had to

be shod, gates were made and wheels (cart) re 'hooped'. springtime the 'coulter' of the sharpened by heat.

plough had to be frequently

This coulter or 'cooter' as the name

became very important, as this was the knife which cut the sod in front of the plough board.

A good sharp 'cooter' reduced

the draft in the plough, did a great job and reduced the work load of the two horses.

Harrow pins had to be removed from

the frame and sharpened by heating in the blacksmith's furnace and then hammered to a point.

There could be 30 - 40 teeth in

a harrow, which might have to be sharpened in the evening for the next morning's harrowing.

These pins were secured in the

harrow frame holes by metal wedges,

'miniature pins' really.

Wheels were 'hooped ' by making the rim

to fit the wooden

wheel , when still hot it was placed around the circumference of the wheel, then on cooling by water it contracted and tightened onto the 'staves' sufficiently to keep them in position.

CARPENTER

travelled around farms, making and repairing carts,

putting in new shafts, new floors.

New carts and wheels were

made in his workshop.

PIGS

The pig butcher travelled to the farm.

Prior notice had to be

given so that boiling water would be ready for him. boiled in a

This was

40-gallon metal boiler built over a fire-place in

the boiling-house.

This boiler normally cooked the potatoes,

the 'refuse' for feeding the pigs plus corn . day the boiler was converted to water boiling.

On butchering When the pigs

were slaughtered and gutted, the boiling water was necessary to scald the pigs and scrape the hair off the pigs with knives.

They were then hung to roof rafters for a period of

days before going to market. down for cooking.

Buckets of fat were rendered

Usually one pig was kept for the

household's winter consumption.

This meant salting down and

standing in brine for a period before hanging to the kitchen ceiling.

There were usually heavy feasts of pork in the

household for a few weeks and very often it was shared with the neighbours .

The bladder was dried ' blown up' and given to

the children as a very tough balloon.

WILLIE CREA

COUNTRY TIMES

Gone are the days of the hand-milking and butter-making in the country , when the farm kept a few cows for milk for the house , churning and butter-making.

How nice it was to see the cow eating her meal and the sound of the milk being milked into the can by the milker, sitting on a stool and the lovely froth that came to the top of the milk .

These milk cans used , were generally white enamel with blue or red rims.

Then there were the quart tin and gallon can

and the little pint can with it ' s lid or a lid with a handle on the side to make a cup for drinking out of.

It was not unusual to see the man coming home from his day's work on the farm with his can of sweet milk for his family.

These cans are not to be seen anymore .

The Tinkers or Tin-

smiths as they were called made these, and sold them out through the country (Plastic did away with their trade) .

When the milking was done the cows went out to graze ln the summer or to have their fodder fed to them in winter.

The milk was brought in while it was warm to the dairy to be

put through the separator.

It was strained through a fine meshed strainer into a container on top of the machine, which delivered it into a cone-shaped separator bowl which divided the cream from the skim milk.

The skim milk was fed to older calves and the

cream was kept for butter-making.

In the days before the Separators, the milk was strained into large cream bowls and let sit to next morning and the cream was skimmed off with a wooden spoon into a crock. These were black or brown glazed on the inside and unglazed on the outside.

The cream was gathered for five to seven days before being churned for butter.

In the Summer the cream ripened quicker.

In the Winter the cream had to be encouraged by taking it out of the Dairy to a warmer place (usually beside the fire) .

Up to the mid sixties and early fifties this part of Co Down had no electricity or mains water, no fridges, butter or milk.

to cool

Then in agriculture there was a charge to the Dairy Industry.

The milk went by bulk to the creameries and the

butter came back to the shops in neat little 1/2 lbs pks wrapped in foil paper.

So the churning days drew to a

close .

CHURNING DAY

The making of Country Butter was an art.

I dedicated this

article on Churning and Butter-making to my mother who was a lovely Butter-maker.

On Churning day you were up early to get ready f o r churning . The water had to be carried from the well , and the cool spring water was the best.

The churn and the butter

utensils had to be washed in hot

(scalding ) water and then

cooled in cold water.

The first make of churn was called a splash churn with a lid with a hole where the staff came through and a round wooden plate with holes which splashed or churned the milk when the staff was drawn up and down.

Then there was an end-over-end churn on a wooden stand, you turned a handle and the churn turned over and over.

To the churn there was added enough warm water at 45.55 FH.

The cream was poured from the Crock and churning started.

with the splash churn you drew the staff up and down until the cream became butter.

In the summer time when the weather was warm the Butter broke early.

In the winter it was slow or (slept) and had

to be encouraged with a little more warm water.

In the end-over-end churn the cream was poured in and the lid fastened down.

After a few turns you pressed a valve in

the lid to let out steam and there was a glass also in the lid to let you see when the butter was breaking, that is before it gathered a solid lump.

BUTTER-MAKING

The churn was left to cool down.

In the meantime the

Kimlin, Butter Dish , Butter Cap and Butter Cards were in cold water.

The Kimber was a round wooden tub with two handles.

butter dish was carved out of the trunk of a hard wood tree .

The latter dish came easier to extract the milk from the butter.

Then came the washing of your hands in very warm water and cooled down quickly by dipping into cold water.

This kept

the hands cool and kept the butter from sticking to your hands.

The butter was then gathered to the side of the churn with a wooden butter cup, or lifted by hand in lumps and put into cold water.

Each lump was then put into the butter dish and

washed and pressed with your fingers and flat of your hand till all the milk was taken out.

This was repeated till the water became clear.

Then with a

quick flick of the wrist it was beaten against the side of the butter dish to extract any water left.

If the water was

left this was known as pinholed and did not leave a smooth texture to the butter.

Next came the salt.

The butter was all put together in the

dish and salt added to taste .

The salt used was coarse salt

not like the table salt we know today.

A well-known brand used, was "Stags Head" a blue packet with a stag's head displayed on the front .

The salt was pressed into the butter with the fingers and flat of the hand, turned and repeated till well blended in .

Next the butter was weighed into Pounds and carded into prints on a wooden platter or square of wood.

Every butter-maker had a pattern for their butter . diamond shapes or ridged.

Some had

There were also butter designs

which shaped out a rose or thistle etc, on top of the print.

The 1 lbs or Prints of butter were then put in grease-proof paper and folded over and turned in.

The last bit that did not make the print was rolled into nuggets with the cards.

The Buttermilk baked lovely soda bread and many a family came for a can of it.

How nice and crunchy it was coming off the griddle with the farl cut in two a dent made with the handle of the knife and a knob of butter in it.

You broke off a piece and dipped in

the melted butter and ate it .

Where did the butter go?

How the children loved it!

To the nearest shop Willie John

Shawin ' s to buy the groceries.

ISOBEL MAGEE

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STEAM THRASHER - FCMlLER ENGHJE Fall of 1925 Left to Right - Standing Hugh l'-1ac Rory Nickie Fitzsimmons , Driver James Shields (hat) Char les McEvoy Paddy Shields (no relation) \.-,lilliam Hanna (brother to John) James \.-,latterson , grandfather of Alice l'1ayo vhlliam Grant and C~rald Grant , brothers Patrick Hannah , son of John Bernard McKenny Hugh Kelly (nickname Sugar) r'irst RCNl

Bernard Fitzsimmons (No relation to driver , Blacksmith) John Hanna (father to Patrick) (Blacksmith at Road Houses) David McClain (sister married to Sugar Kelly)

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LOCAL CURES RINGWORM Mr Taylor , jeweller , Downpatrick , cured ringworm between sunrise and sunset. He used a smoking-ash-stick round the affected part. Willie Crea, Ballyculter, tells how as a young man, he had ringworm on his neck which seemed to be resistant to any form of treatment. Willie didn't believe in charms but when told of Mr Taylor he set off on his bike, his neck heavily bandaged, to Downpatrick. Mr Taylor gave him the ash-stick treatment but the bandage was not removed. Cynical of the benefits of the charm, however, he set off on his homeward journey. As he cycled along the ringworm began to ease and after a few days the ringworm cleared away.

SHINGLES Leslie McKibben, Ballyculter, tells of a man from the Spa called Willie Irvine who cured shingles. Willie gave the client a sealed envelope with a string inside - with the instruction to tie it round the waist for 3 consecutive nights. On the 3rd morning, the 'client' personnaly burned the string and the shingles gradually left.

WHOOPING COUGH Eileen Magee's parents were both Magees and it is said that in such circumstances the woman has the charm. Eileen remembers that her mother cut bread into seven stripes which the 'patient' ate.

ERYSIPILAS Wm John Sharvin is reported to have had the 'cure' for erysipilas. He made up a mixture and gave it out in pokes to the 'client'.

STYES It is told Johnny Magee cured styes by pointing ~~ gooseberry thorns at the affected eye and then threw the last one over his shoulder .

BONE SETTER Nelly McDonnel, who lived with her brother in Ballynagross was a famous bone-setter. Surgeon Tait used Nellie's talent on occasions. Brian Denvir, Ballynarry, a noted footballer and hurler dislocated his ankle and went to Nelly to have it set. He was to rest it for a while but could not resist the temptation to stay on the sideline and so did not take advice. He dislocated the other ankle and was again back to Nelly. He recalls Nelly had very long fingers with which she probed for the painful spot saying "Is that where it hurts, big son."

CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD Jimmy Curran, Ballylena, tells of a sure cure for the common cold; go to bed with a bottle of rum and put a hard hat at the bottom of the bed. "Drink the rum until you see two hard hats and you're cured."

BY PEG DENVIR

THE CHRISTMAS RHYMERS The Christmas Rhymers or Mummers as they were also called are reminders of Folk Customs in bye-gone years .

They have been

handed down by our fore-fathers, rituals and beliefs going back hundreds of years of Ancient History.

The origin of this Ritual Ceremony of Folk Lore has long been forgotten.

It is thought that we know of the words used by

the Rhymers were brought to these parts by Planters from England and Scotland.

They brought with them their Cultural

Inheritance.

However before the plantation of these parts it is thought that symbols of Rural Identity did take place in some country communities in Ireland.

To these people the saving of the Harvest was very important, the Symbol of Life and Death, the Passage of Time from Winter to Spring.

These wandering Troupes of Rhymers were supposed to bring good luck to any home stead which admitted them.

They were always

distinguished usually in show costumes, hats, and hob-nailed boots, and acted a made up nonsense play.

Memories of over

fifty years ago described by Jimmy Curran who was a Rhymer in a Ballyculter Troupe whose other members were Jimmy Kearney, Bill and Frank Reid, Ned and Barney Denvir, Johnny McKeating,

John Mcllmurray.

One always looked forward calling at a home

where a Card Party was taking place as the coins would be more plentiful.

Normally the Rhymers just walked in to the homes, but in homes with children their approach was more restrained.

Depending

on the circumstances of the home in payment for their performance they either received food, cake, or biscuits, or a few coins.

The highlight of our Troupe was the visit to the Big House, Castleward which was equivalent of getting into Buckingham Palace.

On one memorable visit we were met at the door by the then Butler, the late John Mcllheron who frowned on our arrival as a large family party was in progress, but luckily for us Lord Bangor came on the scene and the Butler was instructed to admit us.

We carried out our performance much to the approval of Lord and Lady Bangor, their daughters and guests.

I was asked to

sing and gave a rendering of 'Those Old Lavender Trousers' much to everyone's delight and his Lordship insisted I write him out the words.

We were rewarded to the tune of three or

four pounds which was placed in JacJc Funny's money box.

The final event of each evening was the equal divide of Jack Funny's Money Box.

LESLIE McKIBBIN

JOE McGRATH BY WILLIE CREA

The first time that I ever knew of the existence of Joe l\1cGrath was some sixty years ago when my father brought me across the fields, across the Turkish river to BalJywooden to see loe's greyhound race track. Joe was born in Belfast on the Antrim Road in the house where his mother's family lived; soon afterwards they came back to the family fann at Ballykinler. AHer a few years they moved to a larger farm at BalIycruttle, BaUee, where his mother was a teacher in the local ptimary school. He was one of her pupils. From his earliest years he had a passion for machinel}' of all kinds and about 1910 the mechanical age was about to break on the western world, and the intemaI combustion engine was in its early stages . .Toe started at the lowest fOl1n of mechanisation:; he tonnented his parents to buy him a bicycle kit, which he had seen in a catalogue. Money, possihly two or three pounds was sent off to l3imungham and a crate evenhlally al1lved at the D.C.D.R. station DO\vnp:ltrick where it was collected by pony and cart. lIe assembled the machine, which me:lnt putting aU the spokes into both wheels; and within a week he was cycling around J3alIee, p:lssing horses ,lI1d traps at top speeds. In 1914 he moved to Ballywooden fann , which he inhcllted from his Uncle Pat.

Soon after this he bought a much used J3.S.A. motor cycle and sidecar, which he reconditioned. This was rus introduction to the intemaI combustion engine, About 1921 the age of radio was here and .Toe was interested and read up the technicalities. His interest and knowledge became known to Porter & Wylies in Downpaltlck who had a garage and shop which stocked a great number of items, one of which W:lS a crystal-set wireless - hut no one knew how to assemble it! Tom Vlylie brought the kit in his bull nosed Monis out to Joe who, \-vitrun a week, hrought it back to Tom in working order. \Vord got around. Dr Moore, the present Dr. Moore's gr:lndf:lther, commissioned him to build one. He nwde a cabinet out of a tea chest, put shelves in it, and :lssemhled the set Now he Jll:lde a set for himself, making his own condenser, :lnd by now Ballywooden was "on the air". IIis house would be full of neighbours and friends for all the sporting events of the day, horse racing, football, hurley, and he was crowded to capacity for the All Ireland Finals with the odd argument and friendly fights for the earphones. Eat1hing this set was a very vital element for the successfhl reception of the signals, and it had to be positioned in Ihe ground approxinwte1y N - S, a similar positioll for the aeri:ll hung on the trees outside. Thjs eartrung medium was an old copper car radiator bUlled in the garden and wired through the window frame 10 the set. In dry ,veather reception would become faulty, bUI a bucket full of water on the soil over the radiator soon restored reception ag:lin. Now the possibilities of the internal combustion engine had caught Joe's imagination and he purchased a 14 hp Rover car from Sharvin Brothers of Strangford. It was by no means new but in good mechanical order. It had a gate change gearbox, that is, no synchromesh as we

know it. One had to be very sensitive with the gear lever and accelerator to effect a noiseless change. But tlus vehicle W<lS not for soci<ll, domestic or pleasure purposes, he saw it <IS a me<lns to power his dog training track. This tr<lck W<lS a str<light line, simil<lr to the one <It Dunmore Park in Belfast, and the "hare" was pulled along hy a rope coiling on the rim of the rear wheel of the jacked up car. There were quite a few greyhounds in the country - his brother-in-law Emmet Sharvin had quite a number which he raced <It Dunmore. The tr<lck \V<lS too short but Joe saw the potential and the solution [or his small field. Build a round one!! lIe was again <lhe<ld of his time. IIe built his circular tr<lck <lnd this is what my father brought me to see on that spJing evening so many years ago. There was quite a crown of people there with dogs and stop watches. The appar<lhls holding the "hare" ran on a wooden frame - a skid - about three feet above the ground in a complete circle fenced in with wire netting. The Rover car was jacked up, and the rear wheel, 'tvjth modifications, drove two other \vheels, one coiling the rope pulling the "hare" and the other uncoiling the rope. The car \vas on the outside of the track and he could have two, thl'ee or four circuits without stopping. The news of hjs circular l1'ack quickly got around the greyhound fratemity and they came from considerable distances to time their dogs at the Dallywooden "trials". Joe was never shOlt of ideas and another one was already genni.nating. l\'fechanisation was conling into Calming. ford was already making tractors in Ametica, some of which were already being used on the I<lrger fanns in this country. He cycled to see onc working on the Finllebrogue estate outside DowTJpatlick. IIe came home and eyed the Rover car ,md got to work. lIe Shipped off all the hodywork. lIe cut the chassis of the car and took a piece Ollt to shorten the wheel base and consequently m<lke it more manoeuvTeahle. This was a very lahourious operation and to do so he had to make his own hack-saw. (See sketch I) An ordinary hack-saw frame was, useless as there \vas not enough clearance to cut the chassis, so he made one out of a piece of water pipe \vith enough clearance to do the job. He didn't have many tools ;md he was not a wealthy man: who was in the 30's? IUs other tools were: a blacksmith's forge and anvil, a few sparulers, dies to cut tlu路eads on bolts and drill bits. He had no dfill so he made onc. (See ~krtch 2 ) He used a motor car stuh axle, a car half shan for a spindle, a bicycle gear wheel to tum it and a wonn and pimon out of the car differential. A mattress bolt and nut slowly fed the bit into the metal. The complete <hill was mounted on a strong \vooden frame and bolted to the wall and roof tlUSS . Any welding wruch needed doing, he brought to Porter & Wylie's garage in Downpatrick. To get back to his car conversion. He made new driving wheels out oflony rims, he made traction lugs which he bolted onto the rims to give gtip in the field. All springs were removed. The front axle "vas mounted on a pivot in the centre of the chassis , thus allO\yjng up and down movement of the front wheels. The car gcating \vas of course much too high for field work. J le used a second gear-box mounted hehind the existing one, thus reducing the forward speed. lIe was now ready for fann work!! He modified a single fun'ow horse plough <lnd fitted it behind the tractor. (See sketch 3) He devised a manually 路operated "Iin" to raise and lower the plough. He had no hydraulically controlled depth mechanism, like ferguson who had world patents, nor had he a depth control land wheel, which non- hydraulic makers found necessary, yet he ploughed very satisfactorily for many years and later added a second plough body. The

work was now too heavy for his second gear-box and it disintegrated. He discovered another one which was very successful.. This \V:lS a ge:lr-box from a Samuelson horse drawn re:lper which came from Dick Harma of Turkish. I should explain that in the reaper this gear-box, driven hy the land wheels, was a large gear wheel, about 18inches in diameter dri"ing .1 small gear about 4 inches in diameter which increased the revolutions (about 4.5 times) of the whipstick (hiving the cutter har. .Toe reversed the order of the gear wheels making the smal1 one (hive the hig one, thus reducing the final speed of the (hiving wheels of the tractor. This system was very strong and satisfactory. It was an "open" gear-box llnd had to be oiled by an oil can! (Sce , kdch ,l) He brought the Samuelson gear-hox and the OIiginal car gear-box to a foundry in Bell:1st and instructed them to make an enclosed casing. This type of reduction gear-box was used and still is used by many other tractor manufacturers. The steel rear wheels made travel on the road very slow and dillicult. so he acquired two heavy lony wheels with cleated pneumatic tyres . (See s ketch 5 ) Jle drilled the centres of his "new" wheels to suit the existing "car" hubs and now he could go anywhere - the front \vh eels already had pneumatic tyres and tubes. Now he decided he needed more power. lIe bought a second hand ford 24 H .P.lony engine. He removed the original 14 H.P. engine and installed the Ford - which meant linking it up to his new gear-box and chassis - a vety considerable task demanding much work and ingenuity. The marriage was vety sllccessful. It could plough two futTows with ease. putt a six foot disc harrow and a six foot self-hinder at harvest time. The ford ran on petrol which \vas hecoming more expensive - ahout one shilling and six pence a gallon (7.5p in tdday's money)!!! - so he decided that parafftn should he the fuel- so much cheaper. Now parafTm or T.V.O. as it was eventually called, vaporises at a higher temperature than petrol which vapotises in the cylinders without any treatment; so he had to devise a means of converting the parafftn to vapor hefore it entered the cylinders to be ignited by the ignition sparks. He made a vaporiser and mounted it on the exhaust manifold of the Ford. It worked thus! He started the engine on a small quantity of petrol - about half a gallon -after a few minutes the exhaust manifold and vaporiser became hot. enough to allow the fuel to be s\vitched from petrol to paraffin. The paraIrm was Slicked over the hot manifold and vaporised and as the name suggests became Cl vapour before entering the cylinders. He was now working at half the previous cost. To estimate the tractor temperature he mounted a temperature gauge on the radiator of the "car" cum "t.ractor". Soon aOer this Hany Ferguson converted his petrol tradors to run on 'LV.O. on (he vaporiser principle and Damey Teggart from BaUymurry, who had an engineering and electtical business in Cromac Street, Belfast, saw Cl future in Joe's vapOlising system because there were many fergusons in the countty mnning on expt:nsive petrol.

On Joe's pattem, and with his consent, he made vapotisers, (as castings), and sold them in kit form (early D.I.Y.) to fatmers who were able to convert their 0\\-11 tractors to T.V .O. He was the first to have electtic light in his neighbourhood. He made his own wind powered generator. (See .ketch 6). I-le designed the "propeller" and had it made out of local ash by Joe rvlumin the boat builder at Cloghy. The generator, fitted with this propeller. was mounted on a pole in his garden and connected to a few storage hatteries. lIowever, he had a prohlem. If the wind became loo strong - the vibrations wrecked his generator and propeller. He solved this by alteling the mounting on the pole so that the generator stopped tuming when the wind speed exceeded G knots - .loe's estimated safe limit. He did this by mounting the generator on a spring loaded pivot. When the wind speed exceeded G knots, the tension on the spting increased and released the pin holding the generator horizontal. The generator tilted up on its hack mounting and stopped charging. When the wind speed dropped to below the G knots safety limit the weight of the generator brought it down to the horizontal again - the spting loaded pin notched in and the generator became operation:!1 again. During calm weather he removed the gener:!tor hom the pole and drove it with a belt from the motor cycle engine now removed from its frame. lIe had a hand operated rotalY pump in his ymd to pump w:!ter to an overhead t;101\. for watering livestock. This pump was similar to the type used to hand pump petrol into car tanks at petrol stations or as they were then called "garages" Seeing his nephew Jim Sharvin st:tnding in the yard, pumping hack and f()lward. he decided this was not good enough. lIe took the hody ofT a potato tiddler, thus exposing the crank-shan. I le attached the handle of the rot;lIY pllmp. by a shal)' to the potato tiddler crank-shan, fixed an elect lie motor and drove the llywheel of the riddler and the problem \vas solved. By now mains electricity was available and, needless to say, the potato riddler was driven hereafler, by the electric motor. It would take a long time to record the many mechanical problems whjch he solved for neighbours and friends. In his spare time he fL'{ed clocks, played the violin, was an amateur actor and still remembered as Professor Tim in Paddy McMullans productions in 1944. He could divine water; he used a hazel fork to do this, then being given a silver watch and chain by a relative, he perfected this art to the extent that he was accepted as a water diviner by the Dept. of Agriculture which in those days grant-aided the supply of water from wells for fatm use.

The divining of water by a watch is vety interesting. I have seen it done but unfortunately, not by Joe McGrath. When an underground spling is found, the watch swings back and fonvard , pendulum action of its own accord . .Toe brought this art to great perfection. He went round the district visiting wells already in operation. I le used his watch over these wells, measured the distance of t.he arc of the swinging watch, then measured the depth of the well and aHer many experiments, he was able to perdict, on finding a new spring the depth of the well.

The Department of Agticulture recognised the irnpo11ance of his accuracy and accepted his water findings on f.1rms. He charged ÂŁJ for finding a \vell plus travelling expenses. His explorations took him aU over County Down.

lIe retired in ] 960 and went to live in Liverpool where his wife JIeJen I'vIcKeating had lived before she met him on holiday in J3<111ywooden. This mcetil1g led to their Illatnage. He died in 1972 and \-vas bUlled in Liverpool but his memory still lingers on in Ballywooden and in Kilclief where his n<1me has been inscribed on the tomb-stone of his uncle, Pat I\kGrath. There are many who still remember .Toe I'vIcGrath with affection as a quiet honest contented man, with a gin for seeing problems and then their solutions, an ability to improvise and a skilful pair of hands to translate his ideas into reality. Ahove all he is remembered as a gentleman, and I would refer you to George Denwrd Shaw's definition of a gentleman as: "One who puts more into the common lot than wh<1t he t<1KeS out"

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All this infonn<1tion and sketches were supplied hy his nephew .Tim Shan路in now living, with his wife Maureen, on the farm at Ballywooden where, as a hoy, he was a witness to .Toe's creations.

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JOE McGRATH WITH HIS WIFE HELEN OUTSIDE THEIR HOUSE IN WEE BALLYWOODEN, KILCLIEF

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DO YE MIND THE TIME?

(CHRISTMAS VERSION)

Now you've eaten all your turkey and finished up that last roast spud And you're all full up with mince pies and lots of Christmas 'pud' You can loosen up your belts, for it's time to now sit back and enjoy a bit of music, some songs and Christmas 'crack' For Christmas is a time for friends and 'familee' And ye talk about the oul' days and how life used to be So I thought I'd remind yez all if you would like to listen About those times gone by - a spot of reminiscin' ! Now this oul' reminiscin can be painful on the brain When ye can't recall the year or put a name to - "what's his name?" So I'm goin' to mention some things to try and ring some bells And help to activate those wee grey memory cells If you're sitting comfortably, I'll carry on my rhyme By asking each and everyone of you if you can "mine the time" Do ye mind the time before the tractor when only horses could be seen And Tom King ran the smithy, where he learnt from Robert Breen On when Murnin's build the boats that sailed the ocean blue And for a Guinness and a candle, they'd make a hurl for you Or when first cars arrived and you could have a ride In Willie Conway's taxi, he'd take you far and wide? "He'd take you to places Like Downpatrick Races Where the 'going' is not very hard An' without too much troublin' He'd take you to Dublin And home by the Banks of Killard." Do ye mine the shops around the village?

(Anon)

Willie John Sharvin used to trade With everything taken out of bags and individually weighed And Dickie Dougherty after that , and Johnny Polly too Anything you wanted , they'd try and get for you. And what about the schools - I'm sure there's stories you recall There were no computers then, just the Blackboard on the wall And these integrated schools you'd think were something strange and new But past pupils in Ballyculter could tell ye a thing or two The Prods and Papists learned together that Three and four make seven And the Parish Priest and Minister taught each their way to Heaven Do ye mind the 'crack ' in those days, all those years ago Ceilis in Kilclief Hall that had once stood in Drumroe The musicians at those ceilis were renowned throughout the land With Tommy Reid as Fear a' Fi and St. Malachy ' s Ceili Band And not far from where we are now, many will recall Dancin ' to the Hawaiian Band in Stella Maris Hall Or watching Strangford Drama Group putting on their plays Yes, may would agree that those were the good old days But of course they weren't all good times and you also might remember The night the chapel burnt down, one Sunday in September Or in 1946 when the landing craft went down And up around Killard, the 'Georgetown Victory' ran aground As well as that, of course there were days of celebration Regatta Days in Strangford, First Communions Confirmations. Ah! All those Regatt~ days when the sun shone bright and fair The children in their fancy dress parading

round the square And the streets were thronged with people as the children walked around And past the oul stone pump - it ' s a shame they took it down Dr Moore helped run the show and they came from near and far And the Regatta Queen was driven round in Eamon McGuigan ' s car. Out in Lough the Flying Fifteens could be seen by one and all

The day finished up in style , with a dance in the Cuan Hall There were other happy days that I could tell to you The opening of the new chapel in 1932 Or that big day in '44 the official opening of the park And ten years later electric came and we were no longer in the dark I could go on much longer, but you ' ve heard enough of me So I ' ll wish yez all a Happy Christmas and good health in '93. Michael Conway 1992

Michael was commissioned, at very short notice to do this for our Senior Citizens ' Christmas Dinner 1992. He adds the footnote.

Peig, I'm sorry I can ' t get down on Monday night, but hope this may be of use - it was bit of a rushed job and doesn ' t 'scan' very well. Michael

BUSINESSES IN

STRru~GFORD

1930'S AND 1940'S

At the "wee slip" Mrs Brownlee had a small shop mostly selling sweets but I remember buying a salt and pepper set for 1/= (= 5p)

in 1941.

It is told that a writer of repute

used to ask for "the usual" which turned out to be a 1/2d (halfpenny)

snowball, obviously a regular customer of Mrs

Brownlees.

At the top of the Quay Lane Willie Polly and Fred Farrow had a garage.

It was a lean-to against the old castle wall.

Fred was the wench man to unload the coal boats and Willie fished for clams in the lough.

At the top of Castle Street,

separated from Fred and Willie by a small ruined house, was Johnny McKeown's.

Johnny had a butcher shop - did his own

slaughtering, stunning the beast with a heavy, pointed hammer.

The floor of his shop was covered in saw dust and

at Christmas I remember calling in for a turkey and the kitchen was knee deep in feathers - Johnny's daughter Betty married Les Peto a sailor on one of the petrol boats stationed on the Lough during the war.

Later he and Betty

came back to Strangford from England and he rebuilt the McKeown home and started to build boats in the yard.

used the line of the Castle as his perpendicular, when engaged in the boat building, as it was perfectly straight. Maurice Hayes later lived in the new house Les built.

Louis Curran - who later married Cassis Kirby lived directly opposite the Castle and was a tailor of a very high quality. I remember being measured for a suit for my confirmation and the room was full of steam and Louis sitting cross-legged on a table hand sewing some piece of a suit in the making. Later Louis and Cassie moved to Tea Pot lane.

Down Castle Street or the Front Street as it was called was my own home where my mother ran a drapery shop.

She fell

out with John Sweetman who had a shop 4 doors down the street and in a fit of pique opened her own shop.

She told

many a tale of the characters and faux pas made in the shop - "Have you got a pair of black women's stockings?" - or the one about the member of the gentry who refused to buy clothing coupons - at first - but finally capitulated and bought the "danmed things" in order to have her new coat. Further down the Front Street was John Sweetman. also a draper and wore a beard.

He was

He would remark on the fact

that a customer had not polished the back of his shoes and was an accomplished carpenter making all his own boxes for shirts and ties etc from wood.

Next door to John was a small pub, Cassie Murphy's. Her brother Hugh was in the RIC retired in 1910 and lived in Strangford till 1942 - a man of leisure.

When Cassie died a family called Whonsbey inherited the pub.

They lived next door to the pub in what they called "the other house".

When John Whonsbey died the pub became

def unct and the house became a shoe maker's shop owned by Johnny Boden whose second wife Rosie Cur ran sang soprano in the choir.

"The other house" was bought by Gertie and John Fitzsimmons. Gertie had a shop in her mother and father ' s house,

Mr &

Mrs Dougherty and sold paper pokes of fried peas , sweets and newspapers - Dougherty's was also a dairy. charge and had a horse and cart.

Thomas took

The horse knew every step

that Thomas made and knew when he got to the top of the street there would be a lush bit of grass opposite the castle - a few mouthfulls - but I digress.

Gertie moved

shop into " the other house" and during the summer sold icecream - the ice came by bus from Belfast wrapped in a barley bag.

During the war that was where I got my sweety ration -

and my copy of the "Beano " and "Dandy" on alternate weeks. Because of the paper shortage they stopped being weekly and became a fortnightly publication.

Then next to Doughertys we had "Williams" - William Conway sold petrol and paraffin oil and ran the town taxi "and in his old Austin - he drives Father Crossin - that's one car that surely is blest" as the words of a local skit told the story.

William is a story for another day.

His wife ' s name

was Stewart and her father fought in the American Civil War.

William also owned the lock-up premises used by the Northern Bank on Monday , Wednesday and Friday morning only.

Skip the house next door and we came to Headley Quayles . Sammy McKeown was bar man for Headley and twas his sharp eye that saw me raid George Wallace ' s one and only apple tree Sergeant Bell made me knock at George's door to exp ress my sorrow for doing such a dastardly deed - the job was made all the more difficult when the door was opened by Diane - a girl of my own age and my stuttered, confused apology was an embarrassment which lasted a long time maybe for both of us. Headley went on holiday one time and my brother, going down the street one day as they neared each other said "Hen, did you enjoy your Headley hodoly" "Hodley Headley " - Headley enjoyed the spoonerism.

George Wallace ran the Post Office - he also had medical supplies , cough medicine , Mrs Cullens powders and Beechams pills , virol and cod liver oil and malt - eugh.

His was the

distinctive voice you heard if you made a phone call tun ards - Down patrick , Port a ferry" .

"New

George was a good

man for a boy to keep in with because if a wire had to be delivered you got 6d for doing the job - after my apple raid I got very few more wire deliveries.

Next to the Post Office was one of the two main Grocery

Shops in the village.

At first,

in my memory, owned by

Browns , then Johnstons , Mrs Smiths and then Paddy Dougherty , later by Dickey his brother , brothers of Thomas and Gertie.

Ranaghan's pub in my day was a basic premises with a flagstone floor - before it was owned by Hopkins whose son was a priest in Glasgow , I believe , and who visited Strangford often up to the mid forties.

Before that it was

owned by a family called Whan.

The story is told of the little boy who was sent to the shop , when Mr Smith had it, for a half pound of peas, and as Mrs Smith was ill , to ask "how is Mrs Smith" - as he ran down the street he rhymed "Half pound of peas and how's Mrs Smith" "Half pound of peas and how's Mrs Smith" - into the shop and he says "Half pound of peas and how ' s fvlrs Smith", John Smith says " Split or whole " ? the wee boy says

"O~,

hope her didn ' t hurt herself ".

On the Quarry Hill, the next shop was Kitty Quails - no relative of Headlys, the spelling is even different. Although , for such an unusual name to be spelt in different ways in the same village must point to a relationship in the distant past .

Anyway Kitty ran her little drapery shop at

the corner of John's Lane on a part-time basis- she and her sister Rosie lived in the Square - Rosie was a great church goer and at times would serve Mass from outside the altar

rails when no altar boy was available - that was in the days before womens lib . shop.

Opposite Kitty's, Mrs Beatie had a sweet

Her son Paddy later managed Elliot's office.

Laverty later lived there and opened a butcher shop on the corner of the Chapel Hall.

Tommy Duffy later took it over

and then Johnny polly - son of Willie - it changed from butcher to general grocery.

Where Abbeyfield House is now

was an old house in which "Revets" McGreevys had a shoe repair shop.

Next to that was the old police barracks - and

thereby hangs another "tail " or tale. next.

George Lennon was

He was a barber and his son Pat Joe became a writer

while in the army and wrote interesting local takes of the working men on the coal boats.

Lizzie Brickleys was a paper and sweet shop.

She was a

religious and refined lady and it was a source of amusement to us kids to see her discomfort when an old sailor,

forget his name but he lived at the White Houses - anyway he would walk down every night for his paper and if the weather was bad would always comment "Holy J . C. Miss Brickley what an F-ing night".

The 7 o'clock bus would stop at the door

with a bundle of the night's "Tell y".

It was the last bus

on weekdays in or out and a source of employment to Thos McKeown, Joe Polly, Kimmy Givin and Charlie Stewart.

Be路l la

Hinds has another sweet shop just opposite where the new school is and next to her Mrs Curran did hairdressing.

was all right for little children to go to Mrs Curran, you

sat on a board across the arms of her regular cutting chair , later when you became a George Lennon.

" big fellow " you graduated to

The final shop on the Quarry Hall was yet

another sweet shop owned by Mrs Laverty whose son Sean was a TV repair man in Downpatrick.

up the Shore Road at the

White Houses a Miss Seed ran yet another sweet shop - except of war time rationing and the living water from Tullyratty Dam our teeth should not have lasted beyond childhood.

The main stay of the village however was the quay - where the boats came in with coal or left with spuds.

W&A

McMullan, Jas Elliott & Sons and Sharvin Bros were the three businesses engaged in that trade. Elliotts had a coal yard, garage, meal and grain store and potato store at the quay corner.

Joe Kyle ' s was man in charge and Robie Hanna office

manager , John Joe Shields was their lorry driver and many a hungry family was fed on the r esults of unloading the boats . W & A McMullan did not import much coal, mostly they exported potatoes and young boys could earn a bob or two "trading" ie carrying the bags of spuds from store - up a wooden ramp and into the lorry which then took the load to the quay - an inspector used to stand by the boat and inspect a bag at

regular intervals - if one was sprouting

the whole lorry load had to be opened and de-budded - and consternation and bad mouthing would go on between the inspector and Joe Kyles or Hughie McAfee to W & A McMullan's manager.

Sharvins imported and exported and imported in a

smaller way spuds out, coal in.

Although, never in my

memory did the same ship come in full and leave full.

Dutch

boats, grey , diesel driven vessels took the potatoes out and the boats like the wilson, Hollyhead, the Cumbria, The Oak and the Pine all out of Whitehaven - two brothers called Leadbetter owned one of these boats.

Again I digress - as I

was saying , Sharvins ran the bus in and out to Downpatrick before the NIRTB took over, Johnny Curran and Wee Siney Sharvin were drivers and,

I believe, Willie Polly, not the

Quay Lane Willie another Willie from Tea Pot Lane - this Willie was a village hero at the marbles beating all and sundry at the game.

The firm also ran a dairy , a pub ,

grocery shop, garage and petrol pumps, meal store, a farm at Cloughey and an auctioneering business - Old Siney was also the area representative in Down Council and was responsible for a little beach being created between the Newry Quay and the Green, sand being carried from Killard and Kilclief.

diving board was also construction with a men's and women's dressing room (bathing boxes).

A Mr Mills opened the diving

board with a tremendous belly flop in 1932.

Finally the long established ferry route across the "River " was in the hands of the families Quails and McDonalds and at an earlier time the Dummy McDowell also had a boat.

The

McDonalds, as far as I know, started with Mosie, then his nephew Goege and George's two sons George and Johnny - their boats were known as the "May Queen" and the "Marie" - called

after a niece of the family who married Louis Fitzsimmons. Frank and Tommy Quail had two boats the "Elinor" belonging to Frank and the stroke).

Jenny 11 both had sailor engine (one

The "Elinor" became unseaworthy and rotted at the

Watch House in what was then a small harbour now covered by the

Dump 11 and squatted on by Nicholas Cook after the land

had been filled by the local council.

Later Tommy got a new

boat called "Star of the Sea" which used to belong to Tommy Hutton in Portaferry.

There was vicious rivalry on the

ferry and the Strangford men who worked winter and summer called the Portaferry men, who only worked in the summer, the

Cuckoo Men 11

E. J. McMULLAN

Duty on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean as told by Corporal James Curran B.E.M. Ballylena

I joined the Royal Airforce in 1943. One of my tours of duty was to a Nuclear Testing Base on Christmas Island, so named as it was discovered by Captain Cook on Christmas Day 1777. I was involved in the catering trade, which was no mean task, cooking for upwards to 10,000 men at the height of "Operation Grapple" which was its code name. A consignment of 200 tons of potatoes arrived on the island. While inspecting these in the store I recognised two Potato Merchants' labels from Northern Ireland. One was H. J. Barry & Co Ltd and the other was Kevin McCall, Belfast. On further inspection, 10 and behold, I came across the name of J. Elliot & Co Ltd from my native Co Down! Excitement led me to delve further and there I found the name of a number of local farmers I knew personally - John McKeating, Carriff, John Conway, Legnagoppack, John Johnston, Cloughy and Robert McGhie, Ballyalton to name but a few. I picked off the known labels and returned them to J. Elliot and Co as proof of my story. It is indeed a small world - potatoes from Strangford to Christmas Island a distance of approximately 14,000 miles! I just sat down on one of the sacks for my thoughts were far away in my native Co Down. It was a very moving experience and needless to say brought a tear to my eye, which was quite understandable. While on duty at Basseroad, Singapore I was on night duty in the kitchen. The guard was doing his rounds when he enquired "Could I have a cup o'char, mate?" On looking up I recognised a school mate, Adam Hughes of Carnacaw! I said "What are you doing here, Hughes?" In reply he enquired "What are you doin' here, Curran?" Needless to say he got a slap-up meal and we talked most of the night recalling home and our days in the same class at Ballyculter School. We didn't know that each other has joined the Airforce. I was on Christmas Island for both Nuclear Bomb Tests. It was a terrifying experience. Although we wore protective clothing and were well briefed to turn our backs and to press our hands tightly over our eyes we could still see the flash and actually see the bones of our fingers. The shock wave lifted us completely off the ground and back down again. We were then told we could look round and there we saw the actual Giant Mushroom familiar to you all on Television.

The second explosion was not just so terrifying as one knew what to expect. On my return to the UK I was awarded the British Empire Medal for meritorious service. However my sojourn in the Air Force was not without its lighter side. One of the beauties of being stationed on Christmas Island was that one got leave to visit Honolulu, Hawaii. I spent seven days in Hawaii and rubbed shoulders Texas millionaires and Hollywood film stars on the famous Wackey Kiwi Beach. From there one could get a trip from Japan by the American Military Transport who ran shuttle services to Japan. Amongst the 10,000 men on the Island there were, well, I'd class them as "two old dears" in actual fact they were involved in Welfare - domestic troubles with servicemen's marriage breakdown etc. The funny part of it was these two ladies, between 60 and 70 years old had an armed guard for obvious reasons! With 10,000 frustrated troops need I say more!

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FIVE LOCAL BLACKSMITHS Barney Fitzsimons of Ballynarry John Trainor of Ballywooden Robert Breen - then Tom King of Kilclief Luke Fitzsimons - then James Henry Fitzsimons of Killard Barney Laverty then Leo Laverty of Ballyculter THE BLACKSMITH

Bob Breen he was a man of note , Of credit and renown , A blacksmith he lived and farried, About two miles from Strangford town , In the noted townland of Kilclief, In the Barony of Lecale, No better Blacksmith could you find, Throughout old Innisfail . But now alas , I ' m sad to say, Bob Breen he is now dead, And I his young apprentice , Am Blacksmith in his stead ; And well I do remember , Those days now passed away , That I spend within that smithy, with Bob so old and grey. When Bob he struck the iron , Sure I had to strike it too, One blow upon another fast, We fashioned out the shoe, From break of day to fading eve , We did our daily toil , and fashioned out the old plough-share, To turn the virgin soil. But fast the hours wore on to days, The days wore on to years , My Master BOy began to fail, And took the work in steers; And then at last there came the time, When Bob was rapped in clay, Now in his ancient smithy , It is " I" who hold the sway. Bob (Robert) Breen Blacksmith 1920 Glebe, Kilclief generations of Breens) Photo of Robert Breen taken outside his Forge: (Where Maurice Denvir's Bungalow now is built)

(three

At one time there were five Blacksmiths shops within a three mile radius of Kilclief. The ring of the " smith ' s hammer " striking the anvil and the glow of the forge filled one with a sense of nostalgia that

will rarely be felt , if ever , in the country side here again. A poem written as above by the late Lawrence Breen of Kilcl{~ refers to Tom King as 11 I 11 when Tom took over after the demise of Robert Breen. THIS IS TAKEN FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN IN LECALE MISCELLANY BY GEORGE McKIBBEN, BALLYCULTER

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TOWNLANDS OF KILCLIEF

NAKE

IRISH

MEANING

KILCLIEF

CILL CLEITHE

CHURCH OF THE WATTLES

BALLYCULTER

BAILE UI CHOLTARAIN

COLTRAN'S TOWN

BALLYLENAGH

BALLYNARRY

BAILE AN FHARAIDH

TOWN OF THE FORTH

BALLYNAGARRICK

BAILE NA GCARRAIG

TOWN OF THE ROCKS

BALLYORGAN CARRAVANISH

CEATHRU MHANUIS

MANUS'S QUARTER

CARRIFF (FREAGH)

CEATHRU FRAOICH

HEATHER QUARTER

CARNASHOKE

CEATHRU NA SEABHAC

HAWKS'QUARTER

DRUMROE

DROM RUA

RED RIDGE

)nce known as Spidyel)

(Ceathru an ospuideil)

(Hospital quarter)

quarter) THE FOUR ABOVE TOWNLANDS WERE THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE GLEBE(CHURCH LANDS) CARRINTEGGART

CEATHRU AN tSAGAIRT

THE PRIEST'S QUARTER

CLOGHY

CLOIGHEACH

STONY

CARGAGH

CARRAIGEACH

ROCKY

LEGGANAGOBBECK

LEACHACH NA gCOPOG

FLAT STONY PLACE OF DOCK ENS

LOUGHKEELAN

LOCH CHAELAIN

CAELAN'S LOUGH

TULLYFOYLE

TULLACH AN PHOILL

THE HEIGHT OF THE HOLLOW

BALLYWOODAN

WHITEHTLLS FERRY QUARTER

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CROSSING THE "RIVER"

From long years past there was always a desire or need to cross the Lough at its narrowest point, and to that end the quays and slips of Portaferry and Strangford grew, starting probably with the dug out canoes of our hunter/gatherer forefathers being pulled onto a sloping shore, to a few boulders placed out into the tide as stepping stones to facilitate getting ashore dry shod , and a gradual building of a primitive quay, a more or less permanent structure. The bay on whichStrangford village stands was out of the run of the strong tidal race going in and out of the Lough twice a day, because of that very tidal race , boats depending on oar or sail were restricted, specially by the incoming tide , from access to the Irish Sea .

I suppose

thereby lay the reason for the eclipse of Strangford as a port at a later date by Ardglass which was on the coast and not liable to the tidal effects to such an extent.

In my life time the "toing and froing" across the "River" was in the small ferry boats owned by the McDonald and Quail families.

The village aligned itself as the customers of

Tommy and George and habitually used the services of their chosen ferry man exclusively.

As children we did likewise

and acted as "the uppers and showing offers " just to sail across to the "other side".

Travellers and campers were the

respectable clientele who paid their way.

They never knew

just how much the fare was , the usual answer of the ferryman to a query like "How much do I owe you " being "Oh just whatever you think yourself Sir " .

I never remember giving

more than 6d. for a return fare but then my use of the ferry did not really begin until my teens when I was allowed to go to the pict u res in the cinema in Portaferry, maybe once a week and later to dances where I met my first love Betty . At that age somehow the Portaferry girls were so much prettier than the homegrown variety.

Manys were the nights

when we crossed the ferry in rain , hail and snow, blowing a gale and huddled in the small locker in the bow for shelter or under an old sail kept especially for that purpose. Portaferry had electric light some time advent of the "Ware Room " and the linen stitching industry which at first had its own generator and supplied the town as well as their own factories.

The old single cylinder engines on the ferry

boats had their own distinctive sound and were primed with petrol before changing to T . V . O. when the engine heated up a bit.

Great rivalry existed not only between the Quail and McDonald families but between the Strangford men and the Portaferry men.

Old George McDonald , father of George and

Johnny was credited with referring to the Ards men as "Cuokoo men" - inferring that they were fair weather sailors who only worked in the summer time - the rivaly was carried to great lengths.

The story was told of two ferry men

walking as far as the Quoile to meet the Downpatrick bus in order to get the custom for their boat.

In days past a

family called McDowell had a boat "on the River".

The

father was dumb and as was the custom in those days he was known as The Dummy .

When the son was toating for business a

prospective customer said "No thank you, Dummy ",

I go with the

"But Sir " says the lad " I am the Dummy " .

The horse boat which was a McDonald exclusive was a big broad boat with a removable gunwale .

In the days I'm

talking about the only custom was when McNabbs brought their big stallion on his rounds of Lecale .

It always gathered a

crowd of boys to see the unwilling giant being blind-folded in order to get him aboard and many a "pitch and toss" session was interrupted to watch the fun.

o lder v ersion

of the horse boat lay beside where the ladies ' bathing hut used to be.

As the years went by she rotted and with help

from o u r crow-bars we finally ended up making a raft out of the pieces and navigated from the slip to the quay - a big adventure for a nine or ten year old.

Johnny and George

bought a boat from Watsons - a family who used Strangford as a summer residence.

It had a nice cabin and for a short

wh i le we could travel comfortably in all weathers. her use was short-lived.

However ,

She may have" been too light or

perhaps past her best by the time she came into use as a working boat.

Progress came along in the shape of the diesel engine and the distinctive put-put sound of the single cylinder engine with its distinctive mine shaped cylinder head was replaced by the strong hum of the more efficient modern version.

The

old "Jenny" belonging to Tommy Quail was replaced by the "Star of the Sea" which he bought from Tommy Hutton, one of the " cuckoo" men.

The old "Elinor" also became defunct -

she belonged to Tommy's brother Frank and ended her days rotting in a little used inlet at the Watch House. It was later filled in as a village dump .

I believe that young

George and Johnny McDonald had new engines fitted to their boats and I remember the problem of a propeller being eaten away by electrolosis by improper wiring of the battery. Further progress was made around 1946 when a war surplus landing craft was introduced to take cars and lorries across the narrows .

This ended up in disaster when a light lorry

made the whole thing top heavy and she capsized just off the Salt Pans with at least one loss of life.

After that things

returned to the way it always was and any car transport had to wait for calm weather and high tide and make the crossing on two planks placed across the ordinary ferry boat, a rather undignified and precarious ride for any selfrespecting car.

I often wondered why the horse boat could

not have been used.

I ' m sure some genius could have devised

a way.

Eventually progress took another giant step and Down Council

put on a car ferry and bought all the rights of the ferry men.

Young George McDonald became one of the captains on

the " Strangford " - in a way making the contact between the old and the new.

But at what cost.

The Green was used as a

building site for a monstrosity with neither beauty line or form.

The Royal Rocks disappeared , the Newry Quay - named

after the Newry company who used it as an entry port for time in 19th century , was tarred over.

The little beach ,

bathing boxes and spring board although long o ut of use were prevented from ever reviving by the building of a dry dock and parking lot and the coastal face of Strangford became one of industrial shipping and commerce losing its natural charm .

The town sailing club had to move to Audley's Roads

- picturesque no doubt but not so handy .

E. J. McMULLAN

25 2

TOW ER-j-j 0 USES

in construction to, :lIld distant only G-7 ft. from thc toll'er. There is a straight joint, apparcntly withollt struclura l significance, in the E. cUrLain of thc ball'n; the rcturn o[ the E. curtain, abutting on to the E. facc of thc towcr, survivcs as a foundatiun. Recent (1957) clcarancc on the sitc has revealed a subterranean passagc, 2 ft. 8 in. high, faced in ll1ortared rubblc nlas onry and roofed with stoIle lintels, extending from a point within thc N.E. angle of the b:lwn [or a distance of 52 ft. to thc E. of thc bawn. At the E. cnd, the pass:1ge widens lO forlll a small chamber, \I'itll corbelled Yault, which app:1rcnth' co\"Crs a Eresh-w:ltcr sp ring: acccss to thc \I'ater from the p;lss age is by thrce rough-built stcps . The bawn w;tll is ca rricd over the passagc on threc large stone lintels (plate G6); within thc hawn, the passage has a rounded cnd. Thc cast le is an ancient monument in St:1te charge. ,12:) ·1.

STR.·\.'\CFORD C.\STLI:

(fig. 16G; pl:ttes (;'1, 6t;)

D.S. 31 . Grid rd. 5K::i ' I~)7 Tower-housc situa ted in the tow n of Strangford close to the h:1rbour. In its present condition it is probably latc ifitil Celllllr)' but incorporates the re· 1I1:1i1lS o[ all earlier structure, perhaps a century oldcr. In a sUrl'cy of 1540, the cas tic uf Strang[ord \\':1S reportcd ;\s ruinous and brokcn down (D . B. Qui n n, '.-\ nglo·Irish Clster in thc early s ixteenl h cc ntun',' IJ)"oc . Bd fast I\-([t . Hist. ([.nd Phi! . S()(" .. I~r\:\-· I, 77) alld Harris (Slatc of Co. Down ( 17'11), 71 ) refers to a cast le maintained h ere tC1llj). EliiabcLlI. The plan, fig. diG, II";\S prepared frol11 a sun'cv in 19:; 3, sillce II"hen the monumcnt has been taken into State cha rgc. Durillg thc co ursc of conscrvation ,

\\'hen vcgetation \\'as str ippcll from the exterior and thc in sidc clcaned oE numerous coats of limewash, othc r features wcre rcvcaled; th cse arc not indicated on the plan but are 1I0ted in the dcscription which follow s. A revised plan of the IllOlIlllnellt will be pu bl ishecl in the Ulster] all mal of [ / rchneology . The tower·house is built of sp lit-stone rubble, lI"ith SO llle red sandsto ne and occasiona l boulders and retains a few red sandstone dressings. It COIII· prises a structure of three storcys, 25~ Et. by 24-} Et. extemall)", with walls 3~-!1 ft. thick; the walls hare no apprcciable batter although a base-batter W:1S provided on the S.E. The entrance was at ground lc\'cl in the N.E. wall, abol"c which is a IllachicoIation at roof level; thc door was destroyed when a large vchiclc opelling was inscrted in Illodern times. This grounci Iloor entrance has 11011' becn re· storcd, its position being co ll firllled by thc presencc of a draw·bar so cket, the cnd of which \\'as exposcd whclI the S.E. j;llIliJ or the \'chide upen illg \\'as dislllalltled to allow this illlrtlsi\'c feature to bc built up. The intern:ll floors were of limber througho u t, bcam holes su n 'i \'i Ilg ill t h e ='i .E. alld S.\\'. \I'alls at each level , with a SClrCell1Cnt, omittcd on the N. \V., at first liour. There is 110 indicati()1I of a sta ir, which Illust h;l\'e been of timber COI1st rtlction. The ground lioor is lighted only by small loops, t\\·o in each wall, all or which arc lintclled open· ings and all si nglc-spl:tycd sa\'e for a double-splaycd loop in the Cl' 11 tr<.; of the S.E. \\·all. This last is I fl. 3 in. high cxternalll', the others 4-10 in. high ex· ternally :1.nd 1 ft. Gin. - 2 et. Gin . in height within. ,\t first noor, in thc :0I.E . 11":1.11 close to thc N.

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TOWER-HOUSES

angle, is a blocked en Lrance, passi ng ob liq uel y through the wall, wilh a dr;III'-lJar socket on lhe S,£.; lhe jambs hal'e been 1'Cl11ol'ed and lite opening built up to form a spl:tl'ed loop , This entrance is the sole feaLure obl'iousl\' 10 sun'il'e reconSlruction of the lOlVer in lltel:tler l(jth ccntury; daling jloss ibly Lo Ihe 101h century, it: is th e Olti }, ill SI:lllce of a firsL-f1oor entrance Lo a lOlI'cr-house slln' il'ing in Co, Down and, ind ecd , in Ih e nonh or Jreland , excepting the problcmatict! and (proh:lbl y) qth cent ur y gale h ollSe -toll' c r at H:lrr y :\I' er\''s Castle, Ne\\'townstewart, Co, THone, Iflslcr 1, / /rc/tacn/ , 1:1 ( 1950), SI-~')2, :\ firsL flo'o r e ntr:lnce has been identified in the Lower-house, probably of the I ;)th century, :It 13 11 n cr:\I1a, Co, Donegal, il;irl ~ ( I~rlq), I ~(i; but there is an undoubteclly or ig inal groun d fl oor enIrance here and the upper opening, if ind ee d conceil'ed as a door, must be a second:lry feaLure, i/J£r/ 21 ( 19:J ~), SI note ~9, The tower at first and second rIoors h:ld \\'indows, el'i d enil y square-headed and inmost cases of L\\'0 lights, set in large splayed and lintellcd en lbrasul'es with seats , and small, sin gle-spla\'ed lilllell ed loops , There \\'ere windows on the ~,£., S,L and S,IV, at first fl oor ancl on S,£. and S,\\'. :It seco nd floor; all had lost their or iginal dress ings and, with onc except io n , had been rebuilt \\'ith a poinLed head in modern times, The S,IV , window at second rIoor alone retained a single, c hamfered janlb [mm which (\I' it h a single mullion found loose in bllilding debris) the original design of the li ghLs could be inferred , thus se l'l' in g as ~I gllide for recelll res lor:l tion , The positions of these \\'il\(lOIl's arc sho\\-n on lhe accompanying plan, During recent cOllsen':t1 ion , loops have been exposed :It first floor, tll'O in e:l c h 11':tll S:II'e Oil Ihe :\,E" where there is only Ol1e, The loops ill Lhe I\'.IV, wall rIank a large flrephce opening, \\'hich had b een partially blocked in Illoderll lillles , I\'ith an opellillg- ClIt through the !J:lck LO CO;lII1IUnic:tl e \\'illt a now-demolished acldi tion Lo the tower. The fireplace has a keeping-place in the N,E, jamb and a sl\la ll circular Ol'en, mu ch ruined bllt retaining remains of a brick linin g, on the S,I-\', There was no fireplace above a t second rIoor but only a shallow recess (recent ly llnblocked) apparentlv wit.h a pointed head; the back of this recess to a height of 2 ft, was built in brickwork, comprising originally six courses of stretchers with a relieving arch; above, brickwork was used onlY to rorm a thin skin closingthe chimney flue from Ihe'recess, On either side of the recess is a loop and in the N ,E, wall a sll1all sing'le light \\' indow, 1 rt. 9 in, high and 12 in, wide, with chamrered surround, .'\ t roof !cl'el is a wall walk, originall" inter-

rupted on the :-1 ,IV, by a chimney stack, now largely destroyed (on the phn, lhe b:lse of the stack is omitLed; at the Lime of Slln'e\', 110 fireplace could be recogni se d in the LO\\' e r and the slight lraces of the stack at roof lcl'CI Il'ere obsC llred b;' modern rC'hllilding) , The \\,:tll wall-:. is proteCled b\' a par:lpet, o"ersailing th e main I\'all Lices; it is battleIllented, 1\'iLh a \\'eatherecl coping, pierced in places by small loops of bOLh s in gle- and double-splayed form, and has a numbe r of r:lin-II'aLer ou tl els at the base, The machi coiation abol'e the grou nd floor entrance is carr ied out on a linLel supported by dOllble-membered corbels; it has a small loop on the N,£. [ace and on the ~,I\', relllrn is a circular s inkillg conlaining ;1 triske!c ill relief, Tlte pre'ellt roof is modern; the gables o n :\ ,IV, and S,E, ha\'e been largely rebuil t, although the latter r eta ins traces of all orig inal ce nlral open ing, presumably to pro\'ide access la the roo[ [rol11 a stair, the pmp ose which it nOlI' ser\'es , ,p ~p ,

STH,A\'GFORD: TOII'ER (p la te 0 ,5 ,

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:12 , Grid ref, :jSq;jO I

SlIlall tower, situ:t1ecl close 10 the sh ore of Slrang-ford Lough in the grounds o[ Oldcouri', :?;)o \'ards ~, of Strangford Castle (:\0, ,P:\,I ) , Thi s sl ru cture was origin:llh' Lhrec-clllaner-rouIH! in pl:tn :Ind I'::IS perhaps sited at the S,E, an;le o[ :1 nO\I'-I'anished \I'~tllcd enclosure , It is of tl\'O SWITI'S and about ~() ft , ill height to a battlelllentecl par:lpet, built of sma ll spl it-slone rubble nl:lSOI1\'\' Idlich once \\':1$ h:lrlcd ; tlte groun d rIom is f) ft. (j ill , ill inlern:tl diameter \\'ith I\'alls :? 9 in, thick, \\'hich arc redllced 1)1' a I:? in, in ternal ofTs :::t al first rIoor heighl, On lite S, :lI1d £. sid es is :1 l'Oug-hll' ronsll'llCled e xtern:tl IJ:I se-h:lll er. Tlte Low e r :IS huilt was pcrlt:lpS open at the gorge bUlltas been conl'erte c! to a closed str ucLure in modern times, Il'ith square I\', angle con laining an enlrance conslructed in coursed rllbhl e walling; the in lern:tl \\'all Lices I\'ere plastered and paLterned with seashells at the sallle time, There is a splayed and lintelled open ing at grouncl floor on the N, and a smal le r , wider light at first floor on the S,; these are both modern in their present form but th ere is a possible original, blocked, loop at ground rIo o r beneath the upper opening, Short lengths of modern walling' impinge on the tower and perhaps perpetuatc the line of original enclosllre walls,

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860, WALSIIESTO II';\I CASTl.E (fig, I (it: plates G1.6 ;-,) 0 ,5 , 31. Grid ref. 5-f;) ,J9 3 Tower-hou se and bawn, probably late 16th century in date, sit llated in open g round mile from 5 , shore of Strangforcl Lough,

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