Dear Agnes, My problem is in rather doubtful taste but if deemed unsuitable for publication, I’d hope you’d answer privately to my attached email address. Sean Murtagh of Eric Bittles is just a few months deceased, as is his mother who latterly went to a Home: so also is Sean Hillen who lived here for a very long time. He spent his latter years living with a daughter in another part of the district. This night week, at 8 00 pm in the Carroll Gallery of the Hollywood Arts Centre, our regular contributor Sean Maguire will launch his latest book of poetry. He has graciously allowed us to print a few selections here on Newry Journal. This first is called Mind Games. People have varied and many reasons to recall visits to the seaside. When your editor was very young – some fifty years ago – we’d occasionally get a visit – even an extended visit, to our Uncle Frank’s in Kilkeel. There are few enough historic buildings of significance remaining in our area. My late friend Donal Monaghan, who sadly departed this life last week used to reminisce with us on what life was like in the Browsing through a library book on Grosse Isle recently, I unearthed a number of disturbing facts. The reader will by now know that this was the port of entry for immigrants from Let us start with the big fact that will stir the emotions of a few. You sang along To a song on the radio – it was old, vintage stuff nineteen sixties, I presume the melody lingered in my head as I ploughed through City Hall records pruning branches on my family tree. We have written before of the great Ulster Presbyterian migrations from here to For very good reasons, your editor associates the shore and the public baths of Warrenpoint with his childhood friend Vincent McAllister, with whom he often ‘hitched’ a lift there in the bygone days of yore! A number of my friends of long-standing on this site – Carmel, Sally, Jenny, Olwen, Irene, Jim, to name but a few – being aware of my recent bout of ill-health, have offered various prognoses and thankfully, a few tips, as well as copious words of support. When it was first told to me, I believed the story of the man who guiltily buried the savaged body of his neighbour’s cat – on the assumption that the foul deed was done by his own dog, sworn enemy of that same pussy – only to find that Towser unearthed the corpse and delivered the muddy remains to the other’s doorstep. In similar fashion (am I just gullible?) I also believed the man who recounted the following story, alleging it had happened to him. We were walking home from school talking about football, girls and who might be on Top of The Pops later that evening. We heard gunfire and it sounded close. It was coming from the direction of our estate! It was 1974 and gun battles between the IRA and the British Army were a regular occurrence in the estate. We often had to run home to our houses for sanctuary during these battles which were spontaneous and could occur at any time of the day or night.Message in a Bottle
Ballinlare People
Mind Games
Kilkeel Harbour
Mount Caulfield
Bridge Street Memories
Merciless Palmerston
Oasis of Ballinlare Gardens
History Tomorrow
Emigration to American Isles
Warrenpoint Ferry Boat
HCE and how to recognise it!
Keystone Ambulance Men
Gun Battles & Top of the Pops
