Newry News and Irish Fun
Fabian Boyle takes up the story of the Derrybeg Estate.
‘In addition to the men already named, I feel it necessary to include Mickey McCaul, Davey Morley, Billy Scott, Jim Gorman, Tommy McKeown, Oliver Markey, Jim Morgan, Derek O’Brien, Bobby McAleavey, Dominic McKevitt and Jack McKenna in the ‘Beg roll-of-honour.
In the early Sixties the green fields to the north-west of our home in The Meadow became a building site and the new housing estate of Derrybeg grew up.
The timber boat men were there along with Micky and Francie McGuirk, Robbie McKee, Martin Havern, Artie Green (RIP) and one great worker Smigsey Smith (RIP). As this was my first time Francie McGuirk told me what would happen.
By the third boat we learned that they wanted it unloaded as quickly as possible so we began to slow down, wanting it to last longer than three days because, from what I can now remember it was not really worth all the hassle!
I remember in the early 60’s on a Monday morning Hughie Green called at our door in Drumalane and asked me if I wanted a couple of days work unloading a timber boat. I had never done it before but being broke, I decided to give it a go.
One of the major changes in more recent years was the conversion of some three-bedroom houses to two-bedroom dwellings. It was wrong, Geordie, insists.
The floors in The Meadow were of a bitumen type that you weren’t allowed to cover. It was supposed to be polished. But, says Geordie, the floors were soft.
Our busiest and happiest times along the Derrybeg River (really a tiny stream) was in the summer months for it was then that the sprickleys were running, the hawthorn was in bloom and strongly perfumed and Corr’s field was awash with buttercups.
Occasionally town boys who were not afraid of horses could earn a penny or two for looking after the animals for farmers whose stay in the town of Kilkeel would be brief, or who wished to retire to the nearest hostelry.