When I was eleven or twelve I became an altar boy. Mother made my red and white surplice. The mass was all in Latin and I had to learn the correct responses.
Reminiscence
Pearl’s Murder
As the moth is drawn to a flame, every year at this time I feel an inner compulsion to return to the sad story of the murder of young Pearl Gamble …
Big Clock
It was the early 60s. Many working men still wore cloth caps, like the man passing John Temples in the background.
Derrybeg: Bessie Flashes
Yes, in the early years we walked to school. I vividly remember walking down the
No, it wasn’t lightning. It was Bessie, the Bessbrook tram, heading along the meadows towards the terminus at
Mary Kane’s Class
It just struck me! Mary Kane (Rose Mary Kane) – that’s the same moniker as that famous country singer and celebrity panellist from Newry …. well, Meigh, actually, – Rose Marie … and maybe ‘infamous’ is the word.
Anyway, is she any relation?
Maura Maguire is born
We have recently received the memoirs of Maura Maguire. So delighted are we with this gift that we have determined to share instantly with the readership of Newry Journal. We are confident you will love them too.
‘This account is primarily written for my children and their children, so that they might know of the events that shaped the person who is their mother and grandmother.
………………………………….
My name is Mary Bridget (Maguire) Mallon. I was born on 10 September 1936 in my grandparent’s home on Monaghan Street, Newry.
My parents were Joseph Maguire and Anne Elizabeth (Doherty).
Old School Friends
Meeting occasional visitors at the ‘paper’ train that arrived from
The Turkey Trot
Bingo had become popular in Newry and weekly sessions arranged by local parishes and clubs were a lucrative way to enhance their funds. It was also a welcome social event for many of the residents, and better still if you managed to shout, “CHECK!’ and win a cash prize.
Kilmorey St People’s Story
Would our readers abroad please comment on the latest street lists?
The even numbers began at the north end beside the William Street junction. Bridie McClelland, a lovely friendly lady, had a fruit and vegetable store on the corner. Francis and she lived three doors up, after Vincie and Pauline Gorman.
Walter and Margaret Murphy (16; where Gateway is now) had just been allocated the Loughview Park home they still live in today.
Walter and Margaret Murphy (16; where Gateway is now) had just been allocated the Loughview Park home they still live in today.
Referring to the photo that accompanies the previous Kilmorey Street lists, the first house there on the left was the home of Sally Campbell. Gregory Hollywood’s father Austin was just before that. Gregory too moved to the new houses on Barley Lane.
After Sally’s was the home of builder Joe Donnelly. Joe moved to Derrybeg some time after.
The shop on the Quay Street corner belonged to Tommy Byrne. Tommy lived next door to Tommy Rocks. Both (separately) once owned The Satellite restaurant also on Kilmorey Street.
Many’s the match was made in the Satellite. I used to meet two old girlfriends there, Imelda Morgan of Cornmarket being one. The other will remain unnamed (since she’s just appeared on Guestbook!).
It was where we heard the latest records for they had the first jukebox in the town. This is how and where we learned the exciting new music of the Beatles. And when we first discovered that the ‘flip side’ was as good as, sometimes better than the A side. I remember thinking that the Satellite above the shop was real, and wondered how Tommy had got his hands on it!
Tommy Byrne, remembered amongst other things for his training of the Irish Dancers, was an uncle of the McGraths from Cronin Park. Assumpta and her husband Bill Hyland still live in the family home there.
Tommy and Bridget Fearon lived in one of the small houses pictured above, at the spot where the memorial anchor now rests in a tiny park. (Yon’s no anchor! says P J Cunningham. That’s the pick I used to dig England’s motorways!).
We hand further comment on the densely populated Kilmorey Street to our readership!