Turning into Peter Bradley writes of Bessbrook long ago. ‘I was born in Newry in 1917 but when I was very young the family moved to Most of our more prominent ancient monuments have a folk story or two attached to them, and none more poignant than that associated with Mr. Charles McCann, a well-known and respected Newry seaman, was one of eleven men drowned when a ship floundered after striking rocks. The crew numbered forty-nine and eleven men are still missing. The crew took to the boats and twenty-seven succeeded in getting to land. Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. The following are – allegedly – the actual words from an ‘accident insurance form’. The assessors had been unhappy with the original application and requested more details. ‘In your form, I put down the cause of my accident as ‘poor planning’. A talented panel of expert doctors and consultants met at The debate that followed was heated. I recently came upon this memoir of an Irish exile from Moortown, Tyrone settled in If not I shall desist after this entry: if so, you can have much more! The former house of Mr Needham Thompson, purchased by Thomas Fegan for the Mercy Nuns, had to be altered and renovated to suit its intended purpose as a home for poor and distressed women and orphans. It was to minister to the sick, the poor and the needy that the Sisters of Mercy came to Newry in 1855. Many charitable people shared their concern. Foremost among them was the unassuming Thomas Fegan. Many of you attended John McCavitt’s ‘Flight of the Earls’ CD launch in the Arts Centre’s auditorium last evening for there was a packed house and indeed, extra temporary seating had to be installed. You were well entertained and informed and many availed of the opportunity to purchase the historical/musical CD. It will shortly be available in the shops but meanwhile it can be purchased from John through his great website (http://www.theflightoftheearls.net/) where too the following article (reproduced here by permission) can be browsed. Why The nineteenth century Parliamentary Gazetter – looking back on the previous century – recorded that in 1766 the first significant building in Hilltown – the Episcopalian Church – was erected near Eight Mile Bridge ‘at the joint expense of Wills, Earl of Hillsborough, and the late Board of First Fruits’. Shibboleth
Bessbrook Mill
Lassara and the minstrel
Charles McCann drowns at sea
Related Tales
Insurance Claim
They rule the world
An exile in Canada
Our Mother of Mercy Home
Thomas Fegan
Gap of the North 1599-1601
Hills Street?
Hilltown, past and present
