‘Portrush Tales’ by David Martin – Index of topics

15th September 2023: now, milestone of 100,000 views, 115 episodes, 62,000 viewers in 95 countries – thank you, and thank you for your contributions to this enjoyable social history story of Portrush people !

Portrush Tales – me & my family’s & your stories ; the history of the town and the peninsula, going back to the year dot – Vikings, Normans, Strongbow, Dunluce castle and the two Portrush castles, the O’Cahans, the McQuillans, the MacDonnells ; the ‘Great Institutions’ like the lifeboat, Barry’s, CSSM, the Northern Counties, the Metropole, the Girona, … ; the music scene, from ballrooms to the Kiln-an-oge to the Arcadia ; growing up, & school days at Portrush and Dunluce ; golf, badminton, tennis ; cinemas and Portrush Panto ; Jimmy Molloy and the Harbour Bar; ……. Enjoy!

New!
Three sweet shops:
(1) Ross, the Rock Shop
(2) LV Ross, Lower Main St.
(3) Stockmans, the Seaside Supply Store The summer of ’79 / Best years of our lives

(I) Benvarden: into the Lion’s den
(II) Causeway Coast Safari Park

Portrush, Ramore Head – Siganl Station, WWII

from Croc-na-mac neighbours, the Edgars:
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys on the East Strand
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys (II) on the *West* Strand

Sgt. Fulton – last of RIC, first and last of RUC
Empire builders, Organ grinders, Spanish ladies – it’s Portrush Carnival!

Postcards from Portrush: Landsdowne, the ‘Counties, & The White House

Portrush fishing fleet
@ Portandhu –
(I) ‘No Man’s Land’ at Portandhu – – early years
(II) ‘Nobody’s Child’ at Portandhu – bringing it up to date

@ the harbour –
(3): “Fifty trawlers a week” at Portrush Harbour
(4) “Portrush as new fishing port: History is repeating”
(5) Portrush: HQ for Fishing fleet? Good times, bad times
(6) The Portrush fishing fleet

The Carnalridge sagas:
(I) the Bankhead years – based on Trish Gray stories, 1960s
(II) Bankhead, Revisited – based on Reba Jackson stories, 1950s, and earlier
(III) the McIlgorm years – based on Ian McIlgorm stories
(IV) the Millar Years – David Millar, head 1980 – 2010

The White House Tales, by Gerald McQuilken:
(IV) Socialising, by Gerald
(III) Styling, by Gerald
(II) Skiving, by Gerald
(I) Starting, by Gerald

Blog: “Leadership at The White House“

Development of Croc-na-mac & Rodney Squares, & Hamilton Place
1946 – the Year of the Prefab –
Croc-na-mac: Tin Huts to Steel Pre-fabs to Brick Homes

Portrush Tales: The Two Sheilas – Sheila Kane & Sheila Brown

“Postcards from Portrush” based on the postcard collection from Sheila Brown
(I) The story of Eglinton St.
(II) the West Strand & Harbour
(III) Harbour Tales
(IV) the Recreation Grounds, renewed
(v) Landsdowne, the ‘Counties, & The White House
(VI) Diving at the Blue Pool
(VII) Portraits of Portrush: Patton of the harbour
(viii) Donkeys on the East Strand & the Causeway
(ix) McNaughten & the Causeway

4th July 2023 ( 2 1/2 years): 106 posts, over 91,000 views, 56,000 visitors, 88 countries 🙂
21 Dec 22 (2 years): 84 posts, 71,000 views, 44,000 visitors, in 75 countries !!
25 May22 (1 1/2 years) 53,000 views, 32,500 visitors
04 Dec 21 (1 year): 40,000 views, 62 posts

Cyril Davison – a Tribute
Her Majesty the Queen – Silver Jubilee visit, 1977

The Strand Ballroom in Portstewart:
– Part I – the Ballroom of Romance
– Part II – from Helen Shapiro to Engelbert Humperdinck to Eric Clapton

“Portrush Tales” from Michael White now living in New Zealand – great set of Inst friends, teenagers in Portrush around 1960 – great fun and friendships!
– Part I – from The Other Side of the World – Michael White
– Part II – to The Farthest Shore – Michael White

Readership – almost 100 countries with Portrush connections / interest !

​‘Portrush Tales‘ read mostly in UK of course, but almost 99 other countries – United States, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, France, Netherlands, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Jersey, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Cyprus, Qatar, Norway, Guernsey, Tunisia, Isle of Man, Hong Kong SAR China, Kuwait, Finland, Thailand, Malaysia,Bulgaria, India, Philippines, Czechia, Slovenia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Japan, Zambia, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Romania, Uganda, Dominican Republic, American Samoa, Taiwan, Gibraltar, Somalia, European Union, Brazil, Moldova, Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia, Croatia, Argentina, St. Lucia, Hungary, Maldives, Kenya, Malta, French Polynesia, Ukraine, Algeria, Cayman Islands, Bahrain, Mauritius, Fiji, Angola, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Seychelles, Panama, Israel, Cook Islands, Serbia, Albania, Andorra, Lithuania, Saint Maarten, Iceland, ……

100 years of Badminton at the Kelly Hall

Our Mum: Maud Martin 1926-2022

Rollerskating at Portrush – into the Guinness Book of Records

Dana / The Brown Sisters series:
(I) Dana -Coming to Portrush
– Dana (Rosemary Brown) arrives to the delights of Portrush
(II) Dana – Summer job at Minihan’s, Portrush
– as young teenager, Dana works at Minihan’s shop, signs at Fawcett’s & then the Palladium
(III) The Brown Sisters at the Portrush Palladium !!
– 1964, summer season in the Edwin Heath show – her break into the big time!
(IV): from Portrush Palladium to Eurovision and beyond
– after the Palladium season: school, Eurovision – but with continuing connection with Portrush

Podcasts – Dana / Rosemary & Susan Brown
Dana – Part 1 – Coming to Portrush
Dana – Part II – Summer jobs at Minihan’s
Dana – Part III – the Brown family
Susan – Part I – from the Palladium to Decca Records and 5-year contract
Susan – Part II – Fun at Portrush
Susan – Part III – Music & The Big Nights in Derry

(IIa) Ramore St. development, 1960s
– from Ramore St, Garden Ct, Quarry Ct, ….. to the maisonettes
(IIIa) Portrush Ballrooms: the Palladium & Arcadia
– you know the Arcadia, but do you know the Palladium?

Leander House – “The Leander Girls”
– that house that was next to the Blue Pool – so rich in Portrush history
The Metropole – Ministry of Finance – Portrush’s biggest employer
– the most-read blog!
Portrush cinema (III) the forgotten Film Festival
– 1994, with Stephen Frears – but oh no-one went to it, no-one remembers it!
Portrush floods – August 1960
– the big floods around Dhu Varren
The photographer of Portrush (3) Destruction, 1976 
– that dreadful night in Portrush, August 1976

Great institutions
Jimmy Molloy and the Harbour Bar
Portrush – the Harbour   – amazing history of the harbour
Gregg’s dinghy pool, Portandhu lido – and my summer work with the Council
Leadership at The White House
The Night the ‘Counties Died – the Northern Counties – on the site of the ancient abbey
The Metropole Hotel – Decline and Fall
Landmarks of Portrush: Castle Erin
‘Teas and Ices’ cafe and the Great Train Robbery
Hamilton Place and the Charge of the Light Brigade – rather surprising discovery, with great history of the place!
the Recreation grounds – 100 years
Portrush CSSM – Summer is here!
Kelly Hall: Badminton, Burning, Bullets, Bayonets
“The Croc-na-mac boulevard!” – the development of the best street in town 🙂

My Dad: Sergeant Martin – ten years after his passing, in 2010
My Mum: Maud Martin (in Madelayne Court in Portstewart, celebrated her 95th in October)

The Photographer of Portrush
(1) L’Atelier studio  – the studio on Main St, described by Trish Gray (nee Patricia Lee)
(2) Lee family album, 100 years  – 1880s to 1980s, story richly illustrated with your photographs
(3) Destruction, 1976  – that dreadful night in Portrush, August 1976

School days
I.   Portrush schools – growing pains – the development of schools in Portrush
II.  Portrush Primary School – Infants, downstairs
III. Portrush Primary School – Seniors, upstairs
IV. Portrush Primary School and the West Germany football team
V.  Portrush Primary School – P7 and the School Trip

PODCASTs (in a silly voice though): Episode 1, Episode II, Episode III

Sunday School Excursion to Portrush – coming to Portrush, excursion in 1950s

On the bus to Dunluce School – school days, teachers, activities, badminton successes, sports, ….
Dunluce School plays Billy Liar, 1980 – hilarious stories from Sheila K in Sixth Form !

The 1960s & 70s
the Belfast Telegraph: Portrush and the sizzling ’70s – news through the decade
Portrush floods – August 1960 – the big floods around Dhu Varren
Portrush, 1960s – the Swinging Sixties! – news through the decade
Portrush, 1960s – On the beach! – my toddler years, bliss!

That’s entertainment – Music, Cinema, Theatre, Barry’s
Portrush music: Showbands to Stranglers, ’60s and ’70s – Kelly’s, the Arcadia, Kiln-an-oge, ……

Barry’s –
Portrush, Easter – My Day in Barry’s
“It is the cacophony of noise and the flashing of neon lights and the smells of sickly popcorn and of grease that hits you when you walk in the front door of Barry’s. And the electric sparking of the Speedway. And the excitement. It is Easter Saturday, the opening day of the season…”
Barry’s and the Wall of Death
Barry’s and the Helter Skelter

Portrush cinema –
(I) 125 years – Pavilion, Palace, Picture, Playhouse – the story of cinemas in Portrush
(II) The Playhouse, year 2000 – awesome write-up of the years working at the cinema and cinema-going
(III) the forgotten Film Festival – 1994, with Stephen Frears – but oh noone remembers it!

Portrush Town Hall, theatre, pantomime, musicals, Waterworld –
Act I:   Dramas at the Town Hall, 1870 to 1970 – Town Hall, start and first 100 years
Act II:  Portrush Panto, 1970s and ’80s – the next 25 years until the demise of the Town Hall
Act III: Pantos – Waterworld 1990s, and at Town Hall 2010s
Act IV: Waterworld – The Musicals – late 1990s
(Act V – Performances at the Riverside – well the gap is there, but you will have to write it !)

Causeway Coast
“You must see the Giant’s Causeway” – Portrush development was strongly based on the GC
The Causeway Tram: “It was only a tram”
The Girona: Robert Stenuit in “The Dive”  – finding the Spanish Armada galleas, Girona
Dhu Varren – The town between the ports
Coast path – Tides, Typhoid and Tornado – the walk to Morelli’s and through the stories of the coast path
West Strand and the Boxing Day curse – family stories  and mishaps….
Mishaps on the East Strand – family stories and mishaps….

Golf
the Sandhills and the Triangle – the start of Portrush golf
1100s: Did the Vikings play golf?  with The Open, 2019

The development of Portrush
1850s – The Steam Train Cometh  – & the railway station, quarrying, train line and bridge to the harbour
Portrush – Living on an Island – wow so interesting look at the geography of Portrush!
PODCAST – Living on an island
The 1800s: of Trains, Tram and Tourists – boom times for Portrush and the Empire
The 1700s: of Trials, Tears, and Transport – Portrush impoverished, & big migrations
1600s – a Century of Trouble  – the plantation of Ulster, Bushmills whiskey, MacDonnells & Dunluce wealth, civil war, destruction of Portrush castles, the Girona wreck
1100 – 1600: the Normans are here! – Norman invaders, Strongbow cider, Dunluce castle, Portrush abbey
1100s: Did the Vikings play golf ?     – the Viking era, & war hollow, & the Open Golf, 2019 !

Mayday! Mayday! Portrush lifeboat
(1) Prepare to launch       – 1840s and leading up to the start of Portrush lifeboat; and films of launch, 1960s
(2) Tragedy and Awards, 1889-91 – fatal lifeboat call-out, rewards for quiet herosim
(3) Saving lives, 1900-1980 – rescues and heroism
(4) from A to B: Argo to Bergen   – the BIG call-outs, 1960 & 1965
(5)“What’s It All About?” – other news, buildings, training, developments, rescues

Lifeboat: the Bergen Incident    – the 1965 incident, recounted by Fred Williams
PODCAST (listen): The recording of Robert McMullan’s voice, of his view of the Bergen incident, is here.

With best wishes,
David Martin November 2022
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(2/2) Causeway Coast Safari Park

Caroline D: ‘I remember Judd and Lucy Stephenson came to Carnalridge schol. Their mum brought in lion cubs one day in a huge cardboard box. We were allowed to look at them but not touch – just as well, as even though they were small, they had massive paws with very sharp, scratchy claws!

‘What a day that was! I remember thinking how lucky Judd and Lucy were!’

The Opening day of the Causeway Coast Safari Park was Friday May 17th 1970. Elephants were the main attraction at first, then, a couple of months later, having completed their quarantine period the pride of 22 African lions were released into their parkland on Friday 28th August, and they took their pride of place at the safari park. I wrote about those early days in the first blog, Benvarden: into the Lion’s den… worth reading if you haven’t seen it already.

From Daniel Tietze’s archive of leaflets, Benvarden featured strongly in the attractions for the north coast – it was a great success, a great crowd-puller. Kyra W writes, ‘The safari park was so popular! Every Easter Monday and Tuesday, so many visitors, the cars were grid-locked all down the Portrush line!’

And Kyra continues, ‘I worked as a zoo keeper there for ten years. Great times, and so many great stories from there! Like, one of the times that Peter the chimp escaped, he used a green plastic tray as a trampette. He sprinted from the opposite side of his enclosure onto the tray and bounced up the wall lol. He got over the fence, and then chased a young fella Mark from Coleraine across the car park. My granny Mcmullan was sitting in the kiosk said his feet never touched the ground as he was running so fast! 
‘No-one was injured, and Peter was quickly darted and off to sleep he went.’

And an advert of 1972, ‘THERE IS MORE AT THE LION PARK THAN JUST LIONS’ – with a little train ride, amusements, picnic areas, cafe, like in the photos from Stuart W above, and Sean S remembers, ‘And a bounce inside “Lunar Land”! .’

Patricia G: ‘I was staying at Benvarden that summer and woke to the sound of lions roaring every morning – that was a bit bizarre, in the middle of Dervock!’

And Nan P says, ‘I remember it well! One time we were there, a lion climbed on the bonnet of our car, the ranger had to get it away – scary!’

Allison C: ‘A good read again! We used to go to lion park with Sunday school trip or with aunt for a day out
I loved the train and seeing all the animals it was very exciting for us 
‘I remember one trip, an ostrich put its head in through the small opening in the car window: I thought my mum was going to faint lol ‘

Between the Stephensons and Mr. Boyd, the vet, Benvarden proved to be an important breeding ground for endangered animals. The first birth, of five African lion cubs, came in 1972 – the first of many cubs from Henry the lusty lion. Henry had come to Benvarden to retire after his circus career, but who bred like a rabbit.

And the safari park developed beyond elephants and lions: other animals came in two by two hurrah hurrah: baboons in 1972, though they had the tendency to rip off your windscreen wipers in the search for peanuts. Sheila K remembers going to Benvarden ‘on a couple of bus tours – as my dad would never have taken his good car through where it might have got damaged by a curious baboon !’

A puma, though it made the headlines in 1973 by escaping.

And in 1978, Bengal tigers are introduced, although at first they were cagey and cowered up close to the fence, being unused to such open space!

And in 1981, the park made history with the first baby llama to be bred in captivity in Ireland.

Benvarden was a great wildlife reserve, and timely in an era of consciousness of the worldwide loss of natural habitats. The park was world-class, but it opened to the background of the troubles and the world didn’t come to N. Ireland any more. Bombs and troubles and protests, and people avoiding crowds and nervousness of the chance of an explosion at the park that would release all the animals into the Antrim countryide. Power cuts in 1972 did result in the monkey cages opening, as in the newspaper article above. But other news that same day were of the troubles – bombs, IRA, burnt out factories, a russian submarine surfacing and calling for the end of internment – and the monkeys thought it safer to stay within their cages in Dervock.

Left, Gareth R: ‘Photo of me and my brothers with a lion cub at Benvarden, about 1974’;
Right, Stuart Walker: Benvarden 1982

Left, Lisa A: ‘This photo was at the safari park, 1980s – great hair! I look about 9 there, I vaguely remember that we met up with the others that day, and we went on a ride that really didn’t feel very safe! ‘
Centre, Gareth R: ‘Photo of me and my brothers with a lion cub at Benvarden, about 1974’
Right, Stuart W, Benvarden, 1982;

Kyra W: ‘I remember, a big fella full of confidence went in to fix the electric fence of the 17-strong crab-eating Macaque monkeys. Well, we warned him not to look at the monkeys or provoke them – but he went on in and acted inappropriately, strutting his stuff.
‘It wasn’t very long before we heard him screaming, Get me out of here! lol. They had chased him into the moat and pinned him up against the electric fence.
‘He came out very embarrassed and soaked to the skin.
‘That put the big strong man out of him ‘

Kyra I started 1988 aged 17 or 18, just out of Tech.’ Left, photo, 1994; and right, ‘That was me holding the cub, I was 22 lol’

Benvarden was privately-owned by Pat and Louise and they built it up to have 102 animals, of which 52 were lions, many Henry-ettas. But with the collapse of tourists from overseas, in 1982 it is up for sale.
The Stephensons were pleased to announce a new responsible buyer, reportedly with big development plans, but I don’t think the ideas of shark pool with dolphins came to anything.

Me, I visited the lion park during the 1970s; I went off to uni in the 1980s. I had scottish buddies come to visit but Benvarden didn’t feature on my places-to-see list. I guess I was never too keen on zoos, even spacious ones like at Benvarden, and like all visitor attractions they needs ongoing big investment to renew and refresh their attractivenes; my feeling was that the park was declining, conditions deteriorating, maybe better suited for kiddies, and I didn’t visit there again.

Lion cubs, photos courtesy Kyra. ‘He was a heavy weight boxer. Can’t remember his name for the life of me lol. Oh found him – Ray Close. He went up against Chris Eubanks.’

It was up for sale again in 1986. The number of animals had been reduced to 34, but financial difficulties and surviving reportedly only with donations of food from Crazy Prices supermarket. There are tax payment troubles and bankruptcy.

A decline, those last days at Benvarden. Visitors amused themselves by throwing in packets of cigarettes or sweets into the monkey enclosure, and Peter the chimp’s party tricks were to open the packet and chain-smoke the cigarettes, and to unwrap and eat the sweets.

Caroline D says above that when the Stephensons brought the lion cubs to school, they were warned of sharp claws and not to touch; the camel that broke the lion’s back for Benvarden was the girl inside the tiger’s cage, taking selfies. It was too much for the USPCA and in 1997 they intervened to take over the site, converting it to a cats shelter.

The smoking chimp Pete and his companion Freddie had just been re-housed to a Welsh zoo. Re-housing the other animals was challenging but a success was one of the pride of lions, 19 of them, moved to a zoo at sunny Marbella, by the end of that year, 1997.

Photos courtesy Kyra. Chimps, with Peter celebrating his 25th birthday. ‘Yes, Peter the smoking chimp, and Freddie the ejit, oh he always tried to copy Peter.’

Mixed years, under USPCA stewardship. There were lurid tabloid stories of animal husbandry, of headless corpses being found: putting elderly animals to sleep may or may not have been appropriate but sentiment had turned against the park, and 2006 seems like the complete end of the nature reserve.
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Looking back over the years, I am dead impressed that the Stephensons really seem to have a tremendous animal husbandry program, with Benvarden established as a world-class breeding reserve for African lions, and under the supervision of curator-vet James Boyd. The 1970s seem to me to be its heydey, with not so good years at the end.

Kyra thinks over her ten years there too, from 1986 with the Duncans from Kells and through to the first year with the USPCA, and thinks about the end of each day:

‘Closing time was at 6pm, and the crowds left and the gates were closed. The animals enjoyed the quiet at the end of the day, as their keeper-friends came into their runs for supper time feed and clean up.

‘Dusk, and the lights were dimmed, and the animals settled down into their houses or favourite sleeping places.

‘Me, I worked there for ten years. It was exciting, exhilirating, moving, precious, such fun being there. It was the best job that I ever had.’

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Other info –
With thanks to Roger McCallum, for Benvarden brochures of 1970 and letter from the family attic, and Daniel Tietze with his wonderful archive of Portrush photos and leaflets from his years here.
Overview of latter years of Benvarden – !!warning – not so nice!!
Other Facebook site, Remembering the Causeway Safari Park

Related blogs –
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys (II) on the West Strand
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys (I) on the East Strand
Sgt. Fulton – last of RIC, first and last of RUC
Empire builders, Organ grinders, Spanish ladies – it’s Portrush Carnival!
The Girona: Robert Stenuit in “The Dive”, 1968
On the bus to Dunluce School, 1970s

‘Portrush Tales’ by David Martin – Index of topics

(1/2) Benvarden: into the Lion’s den…

About 1974. My eldest brother spends his weekends sanding and tackling rust holes and painting his first car, a purple-y Ford Anglia estate, out on the back lane.
It is a grey, miserable, damp Sunday afternoon.
‘Who wants to go to the Lion Park?’ he says. ‘Rain? It is only a sun-shower!’, he says. ‘Let’s go!’
Where’s the sun? I said.

So, outing to Benvarden, with 3 or 4 of us in the back of the estate.
Sunshine, after the shower?
No, it was grey and rainy all afternoon.

The damp weather affecting the car electrics. A lasting memory of that trip? Car, broken down in the lion enclosure, with the monkeys leaping on the car bonnet pulling the windscreen wipers off in their search for peanuts, and of lions sitting quietly, watchfully, looking at us, drooling, licking their lips hungrily, waiting to pounce if you thought to get out or even to open the car window to shout for assistance….

Stepping back…… 18th November 1969. It is coming soon! The Belfast Telegraph announces that the Stephensons / Trufellis are setting up a 50-acre reserve at Benvarden. Those great circus families, top animal trainers, and their sister Lucy will join after her tour with the Barnum circus.

Excitement is building, looking forward to the new lion park…..

Sheila Kane writes, “My first inkling of what was going to be set up was one summer’s day when I was out for a run with my grandparents. We were having a picnic, sitting against the estate wall along Benvarden Rd. and my grandfather said, ‘This time next year there will be lions right behind us.’
Well! you can imagine how my imagination went wild after that! Thinking about safaris and jungle adventures that I loved reading about in my dad’s old Boys’ Own annuals … oh the adventures I was going to have at this Safari Park! “

23rd February 1970, and Sgt. Fulton writes a birthday thank you letter to his grandchildren, written on ‘Wild Game Reserve’ -headed notepaper – Sgt. Fulton was good friends with the Stephensons and the Trufellis – and he says, ‘I am sending you a brochure of the wild life [Benvarden park] which will be open at Easter ….. you will be able to see it, if you are all good runners when the lions get going.’

His grandson Roger finds that letter in the attic while searching for memorabilia of him, and laughs that The Sergeant signs off as ‘Man’ – Roger’s name for him, his first words as a toddler, pet name used here even in Roger’s teenage years.

April 1970 and the Belfast Telegraph announces that an Indian elephant has packed his trunk and arrives at Portrush’s Causeway Coast Safari park, in time for the Opening day, Friday May 17th 1970

The elephants were the main attraction at first as the pride of lions are still in quarantine. Karen Monteith writes, ‘I remember going there with my dad. He had sweets in his pocket and the elephant snuffled his big long trunk in and stole all the sweets! ‘

Other features and adventures developed in the play park alongside the animals. Daniel Tietze’s memorabilia of the early 1970s includes photos of his family trips, including being on the little train at Benvarden.

Sheila K, “The wee train was great fun … and the African hut style shops… I remember one selling plants and another ‘African’ souvenirs. Most of all, I remember the smell… the earthy, animal (probably dung??) smell on warm sunny day trips there.”

And then, a few months later, the lions big release day. On Friday 28th August 1970, 11am, the 22 African lions, ranging from yearlings to fully-maned seven-year olds, were released to roam on the range, and take their pride of place at the safari park.

Daniel’s carefuly archived Portrush folders are a treasure trove of tourist leaflets and information of the sizzling 1970s. It shows the big tourism push by the council and Tourist Board, with the lion park featuring strongly, up there alongside Royal Portrush golf course – Benvarden was a great crowd-puller.

Me at Dunluce School, Mr Binnie English class in Form 3, about 1976. Every year he took that group to the film studio at the university for an afternoon, I guess it was for practice of team work, script-writing and things. My celebrity moment was as guest interviewee, talking about animal security at Benvarden – I guess I had just visited there, but otherwise I have no idea why thattopic. My breakthrough to fame and stardom? Well, almost fifty years later – I still shrivel up in my chair thinking of it, it was so unforgettable, embarassing.

Barbara S remembers, “My dad was the vet at the Safari park in the 70’s. We were living in a caravan at the park while our new house was being built. Barry’s helter skelter was wintering at the park beside our caravan. During a storm one night, the helter skelter blew down on top of the caravan! We got a shock, but no injuries.”

George Lavery; “Ah yes I knew Barbara then as Boyd. She was a gorgeous looking young woman, as I remember! She may remember me with this story:

“It was my first day reporting to Benvarden Lion Park: I worked in Barry’s Amusements and they loaned me out as the Lion Park needed more staff. On arrival Mr Boyd informed me that before gates open to the public, all litter in the car park to be lifted and binned! Easy enough job I thought; what they didn’t tell me was that before the doors opened to the public, the ostriches are allowed to roam around the car park freely.

“Now I’m standing picking up litter in the middle of a large area when out of the corner of my eye I noticed this rather large bird making it’s way towards me, slowly at first. It looked quite comical, the way it walked, the head nodding back and forward as it seemed to pick up pace. At this point I realized that things in the distance seem small, but were now getting much much bigger and very quickly. Dropping everything and getting a head start on this overgrown turkey I began to run at full pelt. Mr Boyd saw what was happening and jumped on what could only be described as a motorbike for a dwarf, and give chase after the ostrich, with one hand steering and the other with a brush shaft.

“I’m sorry that I don’t have a video of this Benny Hill type frolic but your imagination should suffice!”

I will do the second part of this story next week, do you have memories of Benvarden and photos and stories that you would like to share, that I can include?

George Lavery tells me, “One story right off the top of my head is about the photo, above! Many years after Benvarden closed, when I was much older, I was staying at a B&B just outside Banbridge. One evening there I was sitting in the lounge talking to the owners and the lion park came up in conversation, and that I had worked there. The owner showed me a photo album, with the photo below of his young daughter in the cart – and it is me with the donkey!!

Sheila: “PS …. I’m a little envious of your trip and the excitement of breaking down under the watchful eyes of the lions and the terror of the monkey attack …. What a chance for David the Intrepid Explorer to save the day and lead his tribe to safety. “

==============================
Other info –
With thanks to Roger McCallum, for Benvarden brochures of 1970 and letter from the family attic, and Daniel Tietze with his wonderful archive of Portrush photos and leaflets from his years here.
Overview of latter years of Benvarden – !!warning – not so nice!!
Other Facebook site, Remembering the Causeway Safari Park

Related blogs –
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys (II) on the West Strand
Postcards from Portrush: Donkeys (I) on the East Strand
Sgt. Fulton – last of RIC, first and last of RUC
Empire builders, Organ grinders, Spanish ladies – it’s Portrush Carnival!
The Girona: Robert Stenuit in “The Dive”, 1968
On the bus to Dunluce School, 1970s

‘Portrush Tales’ by David Martin – Index of topics

Portandhu (2) ‘Nobody’s Child’

Amazing story of Portandhu, the little harbour of Portrush. Of if being owned by – Antrim County Council – or was it PUDC, or did it belong to the government in Ireland?? Who pays for its upkeep?? And Gregg’s dinghy pool, and Coke Beach Club, and boat trips to the skerries, and Sea Angling Club activities, regattas, and displays of traditional sailing boats.

So, this is Portandhu, the Black Port, or Port-an-too, the Port of the Waves, from where maybe a dozen boats of the fisher folk of Portrush fished and pulled their boats up onto the slipway and shore, like in the 1900 photo below.

“Looking south from along the front of Lansdowne Terrace c.1900” (photo source: History of Portrush FB)

We left the story at the end of Portrush fishing fleet (I) ‘No Man’s Land’ at Portandhu, with Antrim County Council, Portrush Urban Ditrict Council, and the Department of Agriculture in Dublin playing Pass the Parcel of Portandhu, hoping that the music did NOT stop with them and they would be declared as the owner and be responsible for its renewal and be landed with paying maintenance for it.

Postcard, 1924 (courtesy Sheila), and Lily does her duty by sending the usual fob-off postcard, with the usual promise to write a letter another time, which will never happen.

In that unhappy limbo, the harbour continued to decline. Later the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Dublin government did big repair work in 1920. The ‘new harbour’ survived its ‘baptism of fire’ of big storms in November 1920.

Lansdowne & Portandhu, photo courtesy Ian King, about 1967

I assume that after the big renovation work that the Dublin government expected to hand over ownership to Antrim CC, and responsibility for upkeep to PUDC; but Ireland partition come along shortly afterwards, and the handover of ownership was not resolved.

1964 – Kerry Gregg: “Me and my brother Willie, on the Islander, one of many of that name my family have owned over the years (my own boat is called Islander). Dad was a boat builder and he built that boat to carry passengers to the Skerries, Dunluce castle and Portballintrae in the summer months,” (photo source: George L)

Things weren’t any better for Portandhu after partition though. The state of Ulster harbours appeared before a NI Development Committee in 1924. Their Mr Steven reported that the building of Portandhu harbour had been good – but only for a post-war employment activity, a MakeWork scheme, but that the harbour (and also Portballintrae’s) was not much used and he recommended scrapping them.

Portandhu, all seems bliss and tranquility for the nice touristy postcard, 1926

So, no support coming from the NI government then.The matter of ownership of Portandhu ad of its upkeep, or even if it should be supported at all or just left to rot, was still not resolved, and the Portandhu Problem festered for two generations more.

In 1929, PUDC meeting, the local fishermen raise the matter of the state of Portandhu harbour again. The outcome?
Well just for variety, the matter of the harbour for fishing facilities is referred to…….. PUDC Bathing Committee.

Looking over the history over the years, ever since 1889, everyone had understood that the Antrim County Council was the owner and was responsible for harbour upkeep – hence the big lobbying over the years of the County Council. However…..

..this revelation appears in 1933, a shock, that the harbour was NEVER transferred to Antrim CC, they did NOT accept it, and they are NOT in charge!! Antrim CC breathe a big sigh of relief as they realise that they have no obligation for the harbur upkeep.

So, Portandhu harbour – Nobody’s Child. Mr. Knox, the PUDC chairman, puts his head down on the desk and sobs,

Otherwise, times are good in the 1930s though, and Portrush is developing. There is a BIG influx of fishing boats and trawlers coming into the main harbour, and big vsits with the naval fleet. Here, 1934, a PUDC group visited sites around Britian and they come back with big plans for Portrush. There is a proposal to construct a large swimming pool at Portandhu, with boxes and seats and sun beds on top of the shelter next door.

Checking again who is responsible for Portandhu and and who would put in the funds to develop it? At PUDC meeting in 1938, Antrim County Council reiterate that they have NO responsibility for Portandoo, but generously that they are willing to chip in a few bob for its repair, but no other obligation.

So, who owns the harbour, who is responsible for its upkeep? Not me, ‘gov.

Portandhu, described as ‘No Man’s Land’. Mr Knox puts his head on his desk again and wails.

But overall these years are getting ready for war, with priority on defence; indeed the same day as this article are big agreements between UK and Eire on coastal defence. I think the topic of Portandhu is quiet through war-time and then austerity years.

Portandhu Pool – Opening day, 16th July 1966. A lot of local kids in the photo: there’s Kerry on the right of the tall lad, and his brother William with matching jumper on the left (photo from Kerry Gregg)
Trish: “We got an afternoon off school from Carnalridge when Billy Gregg opened Portandoo! Total delight!”

Ian K in the photo, and Emma M: “That’s my mum Pamela M in the black swim suit in the front  “

The Portandhu Question has bugged PUDC since the 1890s, for sixty years. The council team, and the stalwart Mr Knox – him who moaned in 1933 that Portandhu was ‘Nobody’s Child’ and who wailed in 1938 that it was ‘No Man’s Land’, has persevered manfully to resolve, but unsuccessfully. It is quiet on this topic, but it comes before PUDC again in 1959:

The stalwart Mr Knox has to admit that Portandhu is not part of Portrush at all, that it is actually owned by the Free State of Ireland.
Well, how can we get it repaired? someone asks.
Well, we can ask the Eire government! wails Mr Knox.

Mr Knox is led, sobbing hysterically, from the council chamber.

Lansdowne, 1954

There is an appeal to Lord Glentoran, the Commerce minister, to exercise the ‘wisom of Solomon’ to resolve the ownership impasse:

Whether it was his Solomonic wisdom, or PUDC perseverance, Antrim CC, Lord Antrim, the Eire government, or …….. anyway, things seem to improve pretty quickly. In July 1960, the NI Ministry is agreeable to PUDC subsiding a scheme for the acquisition and restoration of Portandoo, with the Ministry of Commerce giving some funding.

Mr Billy Gregg bought the harbour:

1968, Mr Billy and Mrs Joan Gregg, at the opening of the crazy golf course which he designed and built himself (photo courtesy Kerry

….and there are hopes as that being a first step for something bigger to come:

Liam McC: “My late young brother Kieran rowed one of Gregg’s boat from the harbour to-and-from Portandhu every day. I travelled with him one evening – “We’re OK if we keep between those two rocks !” – in a constant state of prayer. Round Ramore Head he had to pull hard to keep us ‘on track’. My unsteady gait when disembarked wasn’t entirely a matter of ‘sea legs’.

1964 – Kerry Gregg: “The boat in the picture is called the Islander, one of many of that name my family have owned over the years (my own boat is called Islander). Dad was a boat builder and he built that boat to carry passengers to the Skerries, Dunluce castle and Portballintrae in the summer months, for the droves of Scottish visitors we used to get (photo courtesy Kerry).

And July 1966, is the opening of Gregg’s pool, Portandhu pool. A couple of my brothers and cousin in the photo above in 1967, but me, I am too wee to go on the dinghies. My cousin Heather says: “That’s Carol, my sister, on the dinghy, I don’t think I was ever on them. We did take the boat out to the Skerries out from Portandhu a few times, I think a friend of your Dad’s [that’s Mr. Gregg] took us. I loved it just the sound of the sea and birds such a feeling of freedom away from the rat race.”

(source: George L) Michael H: That’s me, Paddy B, Duck Mcd and Alan H in the dinghies! One of my birthday parties at Billy Gregg’s pool!”

Anne R: “I remember these, it was brill!“
Andy H: “Many a lovely sunny day spent at Potandhu.“
Claire H: “Thank you for sharing this . Greggs pool was amazing remember this so well. My brother D tied a string around my dinghy in case I would float out to sea! Fantastic place to spend my childhood.” 

and Dawn R C: “Many a time I spent there as a child. Never brave enough to paddle too deep. I remember the tide coming across the wall. And a special treat of playing crazy golf. Thank you for this article.”

Of Portandhu and Lansdowne, our own family album, I see one of my mum, next door at the Lansdowne shelter, her and Dad visiting Portrush with a Kesh tennis club excursion, in 1947. And I guess happier days for the army in Northern Ireland, them putting on an open day on Lansdowne green, me and my brothers in 1965.

So, Mr Gregg’s ventures – the development of Portandhu harbour, dinghy pool, crazy golf, BOAT TRIPS TO SKERRIES, fishing. My family photos above, brothers and cousin out in the dinghies. Happy days with the army too, with me sitting on the tank on Lansdowne green. The show of boats, like the advert below, 1966.

Joanne Redmond. “I love this story!    here’s photo below of me and my Dad at the paddling pool at Portandhu, in July 1976.”

Traumatic memories too, so close to the sea! Karen Monteith writes, “Oh, I have the clearest memory all my life of being at an outside pool where it met the ocean. I must have been very small and it was so terrifying to me! But years after, I could never place where i was. I thought it was the one at the Arcadia or maybe at Portstewart, but looking at your photos, it was clearly there!!!”

I remember the paddling pool as being deep, wonder how peoplepaddled there! Kery Greg writes, “The shape of the actual pool was deep, 4 foot deep at one seaward end, and shallow at the other side for wee kids to paddle.”

But – all was to disappear once the Troubles got into full swing.

The hordes of scots folks who used to come – all stopped, and the collapse of tourism, Mr Gregg sold the harbour on to the government in 1975. Kerry Gregg writes that there was a few years when it lay empty, then the Council took over running of the Portandhu site. I remember interviewing for a summer job with the Parks & Gardens department in 1980, that would include working at the dinghy pool.

The council secured sponsorship from Coke for a Coke Beach Club, at Portandhu and other places around the coast, beginning in 1982 – many of you remember tha Club (though no-one has photographs of it 😦 ):

Caroline Craig takes up the story: “Ah brilliant, David! I have very fond memories of Billy Gregg’s swimming pool, as we called it. My granda would take us down and we just thought it was the best thing ever! An outdoor swimming pool complete with pedaloes! This was late 70’s, early 80’s. There was the small, sandy beach complete with changing huts. I also remember the crazy golf course beside it. You could spend the day down there.

“The Coke Beach Club was also down here and we also played games on the green opposite the pool. It the weather was bad (more often than not) there were activities in the old Lifeboat House which is now a lovely cafe/restaurant. We also loved to scramble over the rocks and gaze in wonder at all the fossils. We’d try and count them but would lose count as there were so many.

“The excitement! Many a happy day was spent down at Portandhu. I still have the happy, happy memories of fun times spent here on many a summer’s day.”

Coke Beach Club – What’s On ads, 1982 & 1983 (oh and Talks & Tours at the Countryside Centre too, I remember those)

Kerry Mce: “Coke beach club – best summer job ever  . I remember a great bunch of kids who came everyday twice a day! Brilliant craic with the kids and staff. Fishing conger eels out of the pool before the kids got there in the morning was always a challenge “

Jonny D: “Loved it. Twice a day every day in the summer. Crazy golf and target bucket.“

Victoria McG: “We all went to the Coke Beach Club. I remember the wee boats, going up into the where the Shanty is now if it rained. I also remember getting yo-yos to play with! We loved them. They were branded with Coca Cola, Fanta etc!”

Glynis A: “Gosh I’d forgotten all about the wee Coke club in the summer months. Loved that! And I remember them giving us coke yo-yos to play with inside the old boat house (now shanty) if the weather was bad! Best bit was getting out on the wee boats and being right next to the waves in the sea! Happy memories  thank you for sharing.“

Freddie Fleming: “Traditional boat festival at Lansdowne. I shot this one in the early nineties just after the Northern Counties was destroyed by fire.”

Sheila K: “Wow! What a lot of information in that, David! Why would there not be interest in it?? All generations will have their own memories of the various stages of Port an Dhu through the decades. Poor Mr Knox – flogging a dead horse … and how was it ever declared part of the free state? Also, the pic of the children at it – that tall lad – reminds me of an Only Fools and Horses episode where Del enters Rodney’s art in a children’s competition and he wins and Rodney (an adult in his 20s) has to spend a week in Spain doing Kids’ Club activities “

2005 – photo above, and Portandhu is derelict (photo courtesy Maureen). There’s the shop, that hired out the golf clubs and the dinghies and sold ice cream and seaside stuff, and there’s the crazy golf course.

Kerry says: “Love the photos. I remember the little shop well. Dad built it at the same time as the pool, and mum worked in it, very long hours. The council bought it from Dad, but then after the coke sponsorship ran out they abandoned it and let the whole place fall into ruins.

“I often thought it was a waste of a great resource for sailing and water sports (anything that has a shallow draft).”

Digger works, clearing the harbour, 2017

Maureen Kane: “Very good David – I always remember my parents talking about the harbour being owned by the Dublin Government! Tthere was work carried out there before Covid, in 2017, with diggers moving rocks from the harbour and improved slipways, giving much better access to the harbour.

“Then that year there was a Skerries Roads Regatta to celebrate the best harbour, with some sailing done from that harbour.

“Then the area became a good viewing point for the Airshow!!” (these photos, courtesy Maureen)

Kerry Gregg, the son of the Mr Gregg, writes: “The east side is almost impossible to get into now. It was never a great harbour, always dry at very low spring tides and difficult to get into unless you knew exactly what you were doing. It is even worst now since a storm in the 1980’s took away part of the harbour wall and almost blocked the entrance. It would need to be cleared by professional divers and explosives to open it up for anything other than shallow drafted boats.

Ian I:”And the radio one road show was another great attraction, along with the Coke Beach Club..
..and launching from the harbour was so easy,as long as you dodged the submerged rock on way out……Great article.”

“The main Portrush harbour is OK to use, but it is the point of Ramore Head that is the dangerous bit, but any good seafarer should be able to transit it with caution. It is not great though for the cruise ships that have started to use Portrush on their planned stopovers. They have to anchor in the bay and run tender vessels into the harbour, but any swell in the bay puts a stop to that operation, and the ship clears off to a “safer” port. If a floating jetty was put out at the east side (which is sheltered from swell) and into deeper water then yes, it would be a safe place to land passengers but it would take a large investment in a good serviceable jetty / pontoon arrangement, which I doubt the council would want to invest the money into.”

Louis Craig, Jim Doherty harbour-master, and Billy Gregg (source: George L)

Portandhu: always lots of opportunities, lots of possibilities, potential, always practical decisions on scale of investments and levels of usage, and working with local entrepreneurs to enable local enterprise.

David: I felt so honoured to receive this feedback from Willie Gregg: “Thank you so very much, you have made my day. It’s all part of the very best times that Portrush ever had. I well proud of your story , honestly so proud of everything you have put together , Well done David “

The town clerk, Samuel Cunningham, 1960, looked at the pile of documents related to Portandhu harbour, with the pile of papers “beginning from before I was born!”Amazing work and perseverance by the Portrush District Council, years and years of effort. Maybe all local government activity takes time, involves coordination and agreement with lots and lots of other organisations and committees, and always a scrabble for funds and approvals.

Sheila K: “So much interesting history associated with this little spot … all those changes over the years! I’m sure there are generations of Portrush folk who each have memories of what it was like in ‘their time’. Thank you for this, David 

The photo below, courtesy Maureen, of Portandhu today, in gorgeous weather.

It is a happy place. Buffeted by tides and wind and time, ups and downs over the years, hopes for great new developments to see it buzzing, with so many happy memories, of Gregg’s dinghly pool, of Coke Beach Club, of fossils, of the promenade and the delights of the sand and the seaside and the fresh winds and the views out to the East Strand and Rathlin and Scotland. Love it.

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For info:
Portrush fishing fleet (I) ‘No Man’s Land’ at Portandhu
Portrush, fishing fleet (II) ‘Nobody’s Child’ at Portandhu

Newspaper articles, from https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
the Northern Counties – the night the ‘Counties died
Trains arrive a Portrush: 1850s – The Steam Train Cometh
My summer council job, around Gregg’s dinghy pool, Portandhu lido
Jimmy Molloy and the Harbour Bar
Portrush – the Harbour story

Carnalridge Primary School (I) the Bankhead years

Trish Gray writes, “You were asking about Carnalridge school photos. A few years ago, Bryan Caldwell, front row, far right, arranged a copy of this photograph for Miss Rennie and also a copy for me.

“It is of the whole school, Carnalridge Primary School, about 1963. The teachers are Miss Moore, Miss Rennie on the left, and Mr Bankhead the headteacher and Miss Cochrane on the right. I sort of vaguely remember it being taken. I’m sort of in the middle. Look at the front row, a wee boy 5 in from the right with a patterned jumper on, then go up a couple of rows, and you can just see my head, I’m wearing a dark jumper. My brother Martin is on the back row, 4^th from right.

“I don’t remember any other whole school photo, so maybe this was for some sort of anniversary? Miss Rennie reminded me that it said 1875 outside one of the classrooms, so it wasn’t an anniversary of that. Maybe it was related to some publicity around the new classroom /hall /canteen development? Who knows? 

“As you went to the very modern, new build Portrush Primary, you probably had inside toilets! Even today, 60 years on, I can remember how cold those outside toilets were on a winter’s day! Also you had things like a football team, with matching kit. Nothing like that at Carnalridge! 

Photographs, non- uniform day, Actually no school uniforms at all in those days! Photos, 1963 & 1964, of Trish Gray, alias Patricia Lee, & her brother Martin. The precious envelope of precious phoographs in his handwriting says, “..for Granda, Auntie Isobel & Family, Anna and Auntie Lottie”

“But we all felt loved, safe, nurtured etc. A very simple but special atmosphere. On the extremely rare instance that Mr Bankhead’s cane was produced, you were totally shamed, just because he felt he needed to bring the cane out of the cupboard where it lived 99% of the time. He used it to make a point, definitely didn’t need it to keep control, and you felt you had let him down by him having to use it! 

“Far more punishment than a single touch on your palm from the cane!”

Trish, school days living over on Dhu Varren, continues,”Pupils at Carnalridge came from the top end of Portrush, and from surrounding farms and from Islandmore, Craigahulliar, Magherabouy and surrounding towns. We had composite classes – P1/2, P2/3, P4/5, and P6/7. Many of us jumped a year somewhere, P2 I think. At morning assembly before the Assembly hall was built, us ‘tinies’ were assembled along the wall of the P4/5 classroom, where Mr Bankhead conducted Assembly from a door between the P4/5 classroom and the P6/7 room. 

“In P6/7 the highlight was listening to a nature study programme on the radio, on a Wednesday afternoon! School trips certainly didn’t exist in my time (1960-1966) but the nearest we came to it was an afternoon off when Gregg’s pool opened in Lansdowne, in 1966. P6/7 had a free afternoon there – thank you Mr Gregg!!! (Willie & Kerry’s Dad) I suspect it was good publicity though I seem to remember asking for extra pocket money throughout that summer to pay for the dinghies!

Trish mentions of Mr. Bankhead guiding the school children across the road to the buses. A dangerous, fast, dark road I think. I read of two tragedies in the 1930s, including one with Mr Bankhead himself and a friend when out walking along the road.

Trish says, “The original school was two classes, with a third class built in the 1950, and the Assembly Hall. There were about 90  children when I started, three classes. The school photo was taken just before the new houses at Glenmanus – I remember watching them being built – and the school expanded and a fourth class added, so four classes about 30 kids in each. The photo shows 113 children.”

“Then when it was bus time, Mr Bankhead would walk the children across the road to the bus stop, and waited till the bus came and made sure we all got on the bus. No pelican crossing then! And we knew who all the bus drivers and conductors were by name. Mr X, Mr Y… Not only that, they all knew who we were, which school, where we got off, and often our parents. There was zero bad behaviour!! As for travelling on the bus, as everyone will remember, children did not get a seat – Stand up, if an adult needed a seat!! 

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RELATED BLOGS –

School days
I.   Portrush schools – growing pains – the development of schools in Portrush
II.  Portrush Primary School – Infants, downstairs
III. Portrush Primary School – Seniors, upstairs
IV. Portrush Primary School and the West Germany football team
V.  Portrush Primary School – P7 and the School Trip

Sunday School Excursion to Portrush – coming to Portrush, excursion in 1950s

On the bus to Dunluce School – school days, teachers, activities, badminton successes, sports, ….
Dunluce School plays Billy Liar, 1980 – hilarious stories from Sheila K in Sixth Form !

The White House (II) Skiving, by Gerald

Many thanks to Gerald, continuing with his story of his years at The White House…….

“I’ve described my first Furniture delivery trip out in the first blog on this White House topic, with the difficulty of the getting trapped trying to take the wardrobe up the spiral staircase, and having to dismantle it! It is just a coincidence that my stint in the Furniture department was cut short, but I will say that a vacancy arose in the China Department, down that solid oak staircase at the Trocadero side of the store. I was to work under the legend that was Miss White – her name nothing to do with the White House name, as she was often asked.

Left, 1970s, with the big arcades at the front, that were good shelter for the times of summer downpours!
And right, big refurbishment, 1990s, under Dr Moore of Coleraine.
Gerald writes, “One of my tasks was to ensure that the nice tiles in the arcade area were spotless – tasks of scraping off gum – so that customers got a good impression of the store from the start, as demanded by the manager – and a discipline that I have tried to follow ever since.” Photos source: https://www.whitehouseportrush.com/our-history/

David: me, working in the Furniture Dept day time, once or twice a week also in the Menswear Dept on the 7 to 10pm shift. Mum and Dad would sometimes drive up in their orange Austin Allegro car and collect me. One evening, after 10pm closng time, nice the Allegro was there. I crossed the road, opened the back door and got in……. before I realsied it wasn’t our car. Oh dear – it being the bad years, 1977 – must have been an extremely anxious moment for the people in the car, before I mumbled Oh! sorry and got out.

“I was probably one of the last people to ‘serve my time’, learning skills on how to speak to customers, wrapping and posting items around the world etc. At this time the stock for sale was Waterford Crystal, Royal Doulton China and full dinner service sets. My colleagues were Hazel Mcauley and Iris Kane in this department. There was a mixture of hard work and lots of shenanigans. Another colleague Margaret Hamill was always encouraging me to get up to no good. Margaret worked in the Wool Department..- yes there was a wool dept. In fact there was a Tights Department too, and a Haberdashery Department as well – many now would question what that even was!?

“We by this stage had mastered the art of skiving, and of hiding in the lift if we wanted out of a hard task!! The secret was, when in the lift, if you gently tugged the iron gate within, the lift would stop, stuck. We made sure though that we had plenty of sweets for the time that we were ‘stuck’ in the lift, only shouting for help when the sweets were eaten.

David: me, my couple of summers in the Furniture Dept.. Better than trapping yourself in the lift, I think it was the van-driver Isaac who showed me how one can hook string over the inside door of the staff lift mechanism; so when the staff went down in the lift, you could tug the string and the lift would stop, half-way, trapping them.
But I also learned that it was best not to keep them stranded too long though, as they started to kick and the metal link doors made an awful racket…..

“I learnt a lot of valuable skills from the wonderful Miss White but I always found time for messing, around much to Miss Millen’s dismay. She had the patience of a saint.

Sindy S: “Great read, and a good laugh picturing you jump in to that Orange Allegro!  and the disappointment of then having to walk home!
The arcade must have been rather noisy at times, I remember racing round it listening to my own voice echo! Other great memories of the White House were with Granny Mac (McFetridge) taking us to see Santa. The Grotto was like an Igloo I think and was it situated just at the top of the stairs?”

“Kathleen McLean was in the Toy Department and was also up for much frivolity when the boss or manager wasn’t about. My three years in this department were great times. The weekly pay was certainly not great but the memories and friendships we made have lasted a lifetime.

More next time with some ghostly goings on.!! “

White House day trip, 1980s

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Blogs: “Leadership at The White House” – the story of the White House, and of my summer job there! I had a couple of summers, working in the Furniture dept, about 1976 and ’77, as an extra pair of eyes for security, with Peter and Arthur White, and delivering stuff in the van with Isaac, and wee Hughie and Lexie on the front doors.

Postcards from Portrush’ series:
(I) the Story of Eglinton St. <=== includes the effect of the success of White House mail order service on Portrush post office!
(II) the West Strand & Harbour
(III) Harbour Tales
(IV) the Recreation Grounds, renewed
(V) Landsdowne & Lower Main St. <=== not yet
(VI) Diving at the Blue Pool
(VII & VIII): East Strand, to the Causeway <== not yet

Portrush Tales: The Two Sheilas

​In writing and researching and gathering material for the blogs, thank you if you added in a Comments and your own story, I really appreciated that! In particular I especially wanted to thank ‘Team Sheila’ – for their support, all the way through the series of blogs. Sheila Kane was great – I think she read and gave encouraging feedback on every one of my blogs – at times I felt that she was the only one reading them. And we had some hilarious conversations about some of the events – she has great humour I discovered, not the serious straight-laced Head Girl that I remembered. And she did great write-ups and contributions herself, especially on the primary school, on Dunluce School, the Girona and Ramore Head blogs. So, thank you so much Sheila Kane, and here is your Crackerjack pencil.

Sheila K: Aw David! This is so lovely of you to do! I feel like I’m back at school and having the teacher write a report about ME!

(Sheila Kane’s great write-up of her first days as a teacher at Portrush Primary School are in this blog:
II. Portrush Primary School – Infants, downstairs.

Other folks have been great throughout too, adding in to a number of Portrush Tales blogs too – so my thanks to Alan, Alan, Alastair, Alistair, Allison, Allyson, Beatricia, Christopher, Columba, …….and other people all the way through to Victoriana, Whilharmonica, Xanthum, Yulysses and Zechariah. Thank you!

Me as a kid, morning duty was to go round to Blair’s shop, round the corner on Croc na mac, and get the newspapers from Sheila Brown there. I guess everyone in the area passed through that shop and Sheila Brown knows everyone and everything that was going on. She always said how well-brought up and polite I was, so I guess I was on my best behaviour there. Sheila has great memory and with great photos, she has made great contributions to episodes of Portrsuh Tales, particularly to the blogs on the floods of Portrush, on Croc na mac, the L’Atelier studio, the coast walk to Portstewart, and these days especially the Portcards of Portrush series is based on her Collection. So, a Blue Peter badge for Sheila Brown.

With her great memory, Sheila Brown (nee Blair)’s has written up her life experience of Portrush. As well as being her own story, to me it also tells a social history, of the development of Portrush, of being hard-working, of taking opportunities, of community, of care for others. And being Portrush Tales, the memory must be validated by facts – newspapers, documents to support the story.

Sheila is nervous that you may not find it interesting – I am pretty sure that you will, and that you will really enjoy it.

Blair family photos, courtesy Sheila Brown. All early 1960s: Left, “My dad and me at Magilligan beach” 
Right, “My mum painting at the Tides house”

“Hi David, a few notes for your blog: my mum and dad had a farm on the outskirts of Belfast. My mum did the farming, my father did a country run of deliveries with his van. He wanted a change, and when my dad saw the property now ​known as ​The Tides up for sale, he came to the town and bought it at the auction. They sold the farm and moved to the port, my brothers and me, arriving in Portrush in 1943. I was 11 years old.

“The family, a the Tides house. From left to right: Robin, Sheila, Tom, my little sister Molly, and my dad and mum, James & Sarah Blair.
And, do you see the picture there above the fireplace, of a red setter dog and a cat, amde with wool? All my life I loved making things with my hands, and I made that picture.”

“The house and shop had been McLaughlin Stores, and became J. Blair & Sons. I worked in ​the ​shop​, I discovered that I really enjoyed it, it became ​my passion​. Shop-keeping was not easy in those days though, with rationing and coupons for everything. Our parents were good to us though – no frills, but lots of good home-made food. Another passion for me was looking after the family; my little sister Molly was born a few years later, and I loved doing things with her or making things for her.

Left, photo captioned, ‘McLaughlin Stores, Ballyreagh near Portrush’
Right, that house, with the shanty town around, before those were cleared for the caravan park.

“All around the house and shop were huts and caravans, rented out during the summer months. My brother Tom started in the caravan trade, becoming a letting agent for the caravans, and me and mum prepared the caravans for the next visitor. The bus driver would call out the stop as the ‘S-town’, the Shanty town – my mum hated it being called that. There was an outbreak of typhoid in 1959, from one of the other shop-keepers, that led to the site clearances and the development of Glenmanus homes as better accomodation.

“The family business was J. Blair & Sons. As well as the Tides shop, we had a shop in Bushmills and we did a country run with a big mobile shop. My brothers all  worked in it – there was lots of work to do. I helped out there too – they say Variety is the Spice of Life.

“We bought another small shop in Croc-na-mac Street in Portrush, so small, really just the front room of a small house, and I worked there.

Sheila’s Wheels: my first car, in 1964. No driving test in those day, I just bought a licence, it cost 5 shillings, just because my friend had got one, and I am still driving.

“Later I met a friend of a friend, Harold Brown, who was visiting Portrush with his family from Magherafelt; a holiday romance, and we married in 1964​.​ I wanted to stay in Portrush and I renovated the apartment above the shop and initially we lived there. The Croc-na-mac area was still the post-war prefabs – they were replaced by the brick houses we moved into one, in Croc-na-mac Square.

Helena Alcorn Espie: “Mrs. Davies, one of my Primary School teachers, was very partial to McVities Chocolate Digestive biscuits, and I was often sent to Blair’s shop to get them for her.”

Portrush postcard, sent back to Harold’s parents in Magherafelt

“We renovated the shop and extended it to be a supermarket, and my brothers took it over.”

The renovated, extended Croc-na-mac Street shop – Sheila, Harold (Brown), and Tom and my father James Blair

Ray McConaghy: “I have very fond memories of working with Harold Brown on the “delicatessen” counter in the shop after school and during school holidays – a wonderful kind man. Sometimes I would go over to Sheila and Harold’s house in Croc-na-mac Square and help Harold to drill holes for electric cables in glass bottles. which Sheila decorated beautifully with shells and transformed into lamps.”

Helena Alcorn Elspie: “Way back when, we would have used the telephone in the shop, as few people had phones in their homes. I remember going after a job interview, the boss phoning Blair’s shop to tell me I’d got the job. Always someone would have come to the house to tell you thee was a call for you.
“My best friend Sylvia worked in the shop. She lived across the road, so did Sheila and Harold. He was big burly sort of man with gingery hair, always chatty and cheerful. No supermarkets then, it was a busy shop, also over in Rodney Street was Hamill’s shop, and both shops did well.”

Maureen Kane: “Oh so long ago! I only remember as a very small child going into buy sweets with my thruppence when Sheila’s mum was behind the counter, and I had to stretch up to put the money on the counter. The door was inside a porch and when opened the counter was near the door – jars on the shelves behind the counter which was a big high counter – I was very small then. I always have the impression of Sheila’s mum as a tall woman, very friendly with a lovely smile. Then Sheila worked in the shop, I don’t remember much except like her mum she was always very friendly. I remember Harold in a white coat, working in the shop. He had lovely blonde hair.”

Caravans & Transport – the Blair family moved to Tides in 1943, and Tom started in caravan business. A small beginning, I see an advert for sale of a singe caravan in 1945; then in ads in 1947 are to let out a handful of caravans on the Ballyreagh site, around Tides. That caravan business continued with sales as shown in the 1978 advert, on the right.

David: Sheila mentions the mobile van in Bushmills. Me, I guess I was pre-school age, about 4, but I remember the Saturday morning visit by ‘James the Baker’, in his Inglis van. We got white bread from him, with a black burnt crust that I always cut off my sandwiches, and maybe my treat from him was a coconut-y snowball bun. His half-red and half-white van had big long pull-out wooden “drawers.” He had chocolate-covered ginger biscuits, 1/2d, my brother Trevor’s favourite. The upgrading of shops like Sheila’s round the corner, and as car ownership expanded, that buying from mobile vans became unnecessary. I remember my mum feeling obliged to continue to buy bread from James, felt too bad to tell him not to come any more. I see the Blair’s advert in 1968, above centre, selling their two mobile shop vans – I guess that era of the mobile van calling came to an end.

Margaret Mullings: “Love this story, thank you. Memories of shopping for my mum in Blair’s Shop. We lived in Parker Avenue, nine children. A lot to feed but we are all still here. Great memories to last a lifetime.“

“I went down into the town and took over a small shop, the Shell Cove, which is​ now a gallery on ​M​ain St​., near the cinema, it was really a poky, footery wee place. I gathered bags of shells ​from Magilligan,​ ​Portbalintrae ​and Donegal beaches, and in a room out the back of the shop I made all kinds of ornaments to sell in the tourist trade. ​​

“Later I was able to get the larger property next door, across the little lane, and over the years the work expanded so that I had cottage workers making flowerpots covered with shells​, and​ letter racks with the clam shells​.

“There was a clam factory in Glenarm and I went there. My husband Harold was very helpful to drive, and our son Trevor too. We went further afield too: we went on holiday to Tarbot in Scotland to gather Queenie shells ​- ​a type of small clam ​- and ​we came home laden with them​. They cost nothing to collect and ​were ​lovely when varnished​.  I also bought a lot of tropical shell goods from a big shell factory in Bude in Cornwall​,​ where they made shell stuffI​.​ I enjoyed the trips over​.​ It was great to go to Holiday Blackpool, a massive show, a world-wide wholesale for fancy goods. It was held in the Winter Gardens there – later it moved to Birmingham – I loved it, shops were my passion.

Craft fairs, and getting stocked up for the season!

“Later my mum moved from Tides to live in a house on Causeway Street, next to the old Post Office. I move​d​ my business to the shop next door, into what was known as the Bonne Bouche​. ​I did fancy goods, I made a lot of my stock – silk flowers, sea shells – there was plenty of work.

Bonne Bouche location, Causeway St.
Left postcard, from Sheila Brown’s collection. On the far left is the old Post Office (now the library); the building with the bay window will become Sheila’s antique shop; Bonne Bouche, the shop with the large street frontage

“Shops were always my passion – I loved being behind the counter, I loved making things to sell, I loved the products, I loved meeting people. I especially loved antiques – and later when the Bonne Bouche property was sold I moved next door, into a little shop that I called the Victorian Room, and focused on antiques.

Fiona N: “I remember ​The Victorian Room, on Causeway Street, in Portrush – it is where I got my engagement ring, 28 years ago. It was a really lovely shop and Mrs Brown was always so kind. She knew what I liked in jewellery and was the one who showed me the ring which I have now worn for nearly 28 years.”

“My very first purchase of an antique, years and years ago, was of a brass clock set. It must have been 75 years ago. A neighbour had given me a bag of shells that he had collected; I made some products and sold them, and had a few pounds from the sales. There was a man at Ballyreagh selling some old things – my mum had green fingers, she loved flowerpots and she bought flower pots, stands, anything to do with plants – she had green fingers, I have them too. She said, You should buy a few antiques with your money. The clock set was for sale for £10, that was quite a lot but that was the going price. I loved looking at and handling such old things.

​”Those candlesticks are the oldest thing I have – they are my dad’s handiwork, he made them over 100 years ago, in the Sorocco works in Belfast.

Bonne Bouche: 1927, a cafe ; 1975, put up for for sale by Blair family

“I was there in that Antiques shops for the next 25 years, until it was demolished to be replaced by apartments in about 2002.”

End of an Era – closure of the Antiques shop on Causeway St.

Sheila Kane: “Oh I have so loved Sheila Brown’s account … She has such a great memory and always interesting recollections. I have a beautiful rose-gold bracelet and ruby and diamond ring that I bought from her antique shop in Causeway Street – it was like an upmarket Auntie Wainwright’s shop from Last of the Summer Wine … absolutely mesmerising to browse in. I loved her Shell Cove too. I used to have a big conch shell that had been converted to a lamp, and I bought many bags of shells for different little teenager art projects that I’d have been doing at home.”

Sheila you showed me your great collection of Portrush postcards. How did that come about? “Well David, after I retired from the Antiques shop, I was given an old postcard album and I started collecting old postcards of Portrush, about 20 years ago. A man from  Belfast started doing Antique Fairs and he had a shop where Troggs is now. He had a partner who sold postcards in the shop and I got most of the collection from him. I visited the shop quite often and he would keep me local cards. They cost 50p upwards – rare ones at £5 or more below – it all added up but I got a lot of pleasure with them. You can see, they go back in time to early dates of Portrush, like a time machine, and the writing on the back is interesting.

I ask Sheila B, do you remember Sheila Kane /Chambers – was she a trouble-maker? “Hi David”, she replied, “I knew Sheila’s mum, Jean Walker, when in Crocnamac shop. She married Harry Chambers. He was a great radio man. My Harold was always interested in Short Wave radio stuff and he loved Harry’s aerials. I knew Sheila to speak to, a lovely person I think, so many juicy stories t say about her!!” **

“We were in Vancouver four times, including going to my son Trevor’s wedding. Harold is wearing the hat. We saw lots of Craft and Antiques and got stocked up – they were great holidays! The first time we went to Canada though we had 12 different flights, what between breakdowns and going on a holiday as well to San Diego.”

** it case of any uncertainty, I should say that I just made that last bit up.

“Over the years I did talks on Shells & Antiques to all the Women’s Institutes and women’s gatherings untill I retired. I had a very enjoyable life meeting people and making my stock. I loved making things and now 90 years old and I am still crocheting – good for the mind. I made rugs, tapestries, loved baking, shopkeeping, and my pride and joy was making things for my little sister.”

David with Sheila, June 2022; receiving card from the Queen, 2022; & Christmas, 2020

“I have had a wonderful life. I moved eight times all in Portrush – I can’t believe it myself !!! I live now at Dhu Varren in a flat, with still a number of my precious things from over the years. If you are passing by, feel free to pop in and say Hello.

“This is only a few snippets out of my life David, I hope it is of interest to people – delete if no interest, Sheila.”

Sheila Brown: “Hi Sheila Kane, well if we were out of the picture David has brought us to light. He is a lovely man and just loves writing about Portrush. I think the book will be closed now but it was great, all the blogs, they keep us young, and we will not be forgotten.
Hope you keep well and look forward to seeing you soon “
David S: “Sheila Brown (‘the Model’) as Harold called her – a beautiful human being, who has a wonderful account of local history..“
Davy McA: “Two diamonds in the rough of Portrush”
Heather W: “You provide a fantastic platform for Portrush people to share memories and photos, David Martin! So lovely to read about the “good old days”! I’m a blow in and as I walk round Portrush I smile remembering the people and places mentioned.”
Bobby Ann: “Two great ladies..”
Lorna G: “Two lovely smiling faces ”
Sheila Kane: “Sheila, David certainly has put an awful lot of hard work into his meticulous research, into encouraging people to send him facts and memories, and he has pulled everything together in a way that his articles always make interesting reading … and let’s not forget the way he punctuates all with his wit and humour “
David B: “Sheila I loved reading your article Aunty, brings back many memories of the summers I spent in Portrush”
Melody B: “Wow! You still have an amazing memory Mum! Great you are able to share all this.”
Sharon C: “Sheila, absolutely loved reading this….so many memories “
Christine H: “Thank you for sharing this!”
Margaret M: “Love this story, thank you. Memories of shopping for my mum in Blair’s Shop. We lived in Parker Avenue, nine children, a lot to feed we are all still here. Great memories to last a lifetime. Always love to hear stories about Portrush, keep them coming”.
Karen L: “Love this!  thank you for sharing.”
Reba J: “Great stories down Memory Lane / thank you both x“
Noleen K: “This is lovely.”
Sindy S: “Another great read bringing back great memories David Martin. My grandparents William & Kathleen McFetridge lived straight across from Blair’s on Croc-na-Mac. We were allowed to cross the road to spend our pocket money think it was only 2 1/2p but it went a long way, bubbly, black jacks & rainbow drops. I loved the shop and Mrs Brown, she knew all us kids. I would then play shop in Grannies kitchen using the cabinet with the drop down top as my counter. Happy days. Thanks for the memories David and the two Sheila’s  ”
Sheila K: “When we lived in Rodney St, Mr and Mrs McFetridge allowed our next door neighbour, John Bacon, and I to play in their back garden as we only had back yards and they had a long, grassy, open stretch at their back. Great fun in what became the Wild West for us with John being the cowboy and me the Red Indian … I can still remember the smell from the cap gun and my rubber-tipped arrows We even had cowboy teas … sausages and beans … on wonderful tin plates from a toy teaset I had (food always looked good on tin plates in the westerns) I remember Sindy too as she would have played with us when at her grandparents’. Also Catherine and Suzanne Quinn from further up Croc na Mac St. All this before Croc na Mac Sq and Rodney Sq were built!”
Sheila Brown: “The stories from Croc na mac are good. I took almost all the kids round those streets to Sunday school in a Bedford van, me and the driver, they rolled about great fun. I certainly know a few generations. “
Elizabeth B: “So fascinating to read all this. My Dad is Sheila’s brother who lives in Vancouver Canada, we had many memories of visits to Portrush when we were children. We heard stories about all of this too. We loved Aunt Sheila and her shops. Thanks for putting this together.”
Lesley McB (nee Blair): “I’m one of Auntie Sheila’s Canadian nieces! Wonderful account of life’s story in Portrush. On our visits over to Ireland I remember our baggage got lost and My Granny Blair took us to Logan’s and bought us new outfits for Sunday, Granny Blair was exceptionally kind and left a legacy of kindness. Auntie Sheila was the same and I love her dearly, she took my two sisters and I and my cousin Kathryn to the Safari Park and we had our photo taken holding the lion cubs. I remember my Dad taking about doing deliveries for the Bushmill’s shop. What Auntie Sheila has said about her life in Portrush and all the lovely comments tells a true picture, she is a wonderful woman! I am now living in Armagh and seen her last on her birthday in May, I will hopefully get up soon again for a visit!!” Beth L: “Thank you for this! I am truly amazed (and jealous) of such a keen memory! It helps me remember my childhood and my wonderful hometown so much better.”

Janetha I: “David Martin I loved reading this and was delighted to spot myself and my classmates in the featured photo of Mrs Chambers’ (now Sheila Kane) P3 class. I loved Portrush Primary school even though I had a few tears most mornings when my mum dropped me off. Mrs Brown and then Miss Chambers always welcomed me with open arms and cuddles until I felt ready to face the day.
I wonder where everyone from my class has ended up.”

<=== oh Janetha, that story sounds so interesting…… Might you be interested in doing a write-up. “My First Day At School” ?

Portraits of Portrush: Patton of the harbour

The same family names pop up, generation after generation, in the story of Portrush, living around the harbour and with their lives based on the quayside and the sea. One such, the Patton family. I see they appear in news articles back in the 1850s, with Samuel Patton being the harbour-master and David Patton as Captain, speaking up for making a ‘Harbour of Refuge’ at Portrush, to create a safe harbour out to the Skerries.

A contact via these blogs is of that family, a David Patton. He grew up in No. 3, the Old Coastguard Station, in the 1950s and ’60s, and remembers scenes of his childhood and now records them in paintings. He kindly let me use his view of Minihan’s shop at the top of the harbour hill, and the image above of the fishing boat coming through the harbour mouth, in this and other blogs.

David Patton now lives in Ballymena. I hear of an expression though, ‘You can take the Man out of the Port but you can’t take the Port out of the Man.’ The richness of his harbour heritage comes through in his art.

Photo about 1960 – David Patton, centre, with David Thomas and his brother Peter.
“The photo was at the Recreation grounds, where the swings used to be, standing on top of the hill which led down to the putting green behind us. To tell you the truth I don’t remember this photo being taken – but I do remember the very jumper I was wearing”
“There were lots of kids around the area to play with – Peter Morrow, Brian Lavery, the Murdocks and the Chambers, Laurence Minihan – naming but a few.”

Now harbour folks as you know are very quiet reserved people but I eventually got some of the story of that painting out of him:

“Well, that painting of the fishing boat arriving at the harbour is based on a photograph that my brother Torney took. He always had his camera with him, he loved taking photographs, and one day he was down at the harbour when that boat was coming in, and he captured that scene.

“The first time that I saw that particular photograph, I loved it for its colours. Later I realised that those boats are no longer there, and that that image is all part of the history of Portrush harbour that I wanted to capture.

“My own family have been associated wih the harbour and the sea and the Portrush lifeboat for generations. I knew that my grandfather, Tom Patton, was a fisherman, and like other sea men he also used his skills to help others on the water as crews on the lifeboat. One of the precious family memories is of him in a photo of a launch of the lifeboat, in the days that it sailed from the old boat house at Landsdowne.

“Later, my grandfather was in the team who built the new lifeboathouse within the harbour.

Above left, 1928, and the construction of the lifeboat house in the harbour is in progress – this view extracted from a family photograph taken by Lee, the ‘Photographer of Portrush’.
Right, “The commemorative photo of the team on the construction of the lifeboathouse, with my grandfather Tom Patton standing just on the left of the hull.”
(Photo left, courtesy Trish Gray; right, photo from David Patton, of a picture in RNLI Portrush lifeboathouse.)

David Patton continues, “I never knew my grandfather though, he passed away in 1948, a handful of years before I was born.” From newspaper search, David Martin has found some astonishing history of him from the local newspaper archives. He is described in 1901 as being coxswain on the lifeboat. Later he took up a new post on the SS Ganiamore in 1912, ferrying between Portrush and Glasgow – ‘he had occupied the [coxswain] post for a number of years and was a efficient and capable coxswain.” All ferries stopped in wartime and Tom became coxswain again in 1916. He led the crew who brought in the new lifeboat to Portrush in 1924. (That lifeboat was given the catchy name, ‘T.B.B.H’, after the initial letters of the key donors. It was the first lifeboat at Portrush to have a motor – all previous ones were oars – me, I would not like to row it all the way from Cowes.) And the new lifeboathouse was built, for better launch location and facilities.

The crew with Tom as coxswain are mentioned in numerous rescues and several awards. His 27 years of faithful service were recognised at his retirement service in 1932.

David Patton comments, “I did not know any of that story of my grandfather.”

Photos: “My grandfather Tom Patton, with my grandmother, Letitia. Right, with his grandson Sydney Watson and my sister Maureen, about 1946.”

People in Portrush in the 1800s were clustered around the harbour. My grandfather was born in Bazaar Street and lived there all his life – that street was re-named to be Ramore St. (His brother David lived at ‘North Street’ – I see a 1900 newspaper with proposal to rename it to Princess Terrace.)

“The previous generation, we reckon that my great-grandfather, Thomas Patton, was born around 1840. We reckon that they were stone masons, living in a small village down a bit from from Glenmanus, before Portrush expanded. They actually built the hall for the Church of Ireland in town. (“There is a funny story about this, maybe for another time.”) The family tree that my sister has built shows he married my great-grandmother Nancy in 1866. Over the next few years my grandfather was born, followed by William James, then David. I am named after that David, my grandfather’s brother. I do remember being told that he drowned, but that was all I knew.

“Great-grandfather passed away in 1875. Nancy re-married, to a Johnny Logan, another long-standing and upright Portrush family – you may know O’Hara Logan, who was the headmaster of Portrush Primary School.

“Christian names were passed down the generations. So my great-grandfather was Thomas Patton, then my grandfather was named Thomas known as Tom. Then my father was Thomas known as Tommy; and my older brother was Thomas, known of course as Torney. And Torney’s son, who lives in Australia, is Thomas too.”

Er, why the name Torney? “Actually, I don’t know why but anyone who knew him called him that.”

From my research (this is David Martin speaking – whew so many David’s in this blog – and Thomas is my middle name!), the ‘David’ name also appears throughout the Patton generations too. We read of the earlier version of David Patton, the captain speaking up for the harbour of refuge in 1858. A generation or two later, a Thomas & David Patton make the news in the 1880s and 90s, doing well in local regattas in their drontheim sailing boats; and David was awarded for a life-saving rescue in the harbour in 1891. But his death was a handful of years later, aged only 26. William had also passed away, a few years earlier, also at the age of 26. Maritime life has many pleasures but risks and hardships too.

(Oh and by the ways, that Samuel Patton (a great-great-uncle?), the Harbourmaster: in the 1850 advert below he is agent for the new iron steam ships sailing to Troon and Fleetwood. And amazing, we ‘hear’ his voice ‘speaking’ – his testimony about the need for a railway line to Portrush is reported word for word in the Chronicle in 1853. He describes himself as being in shipping at Portrush for 20 years – that’s since the early 1830s, the earliest days of Portrush harbour. Later he is a trader, bringing in coal and having shares in the gas corporation in Portrush, and in 1884 he travelled to London to speak up again for the harbour of refuge to Select Commission meetings at the Houses of Parliament. He must have been was a well-respected and learned expert, although in the end the decision of the Commission went against Portrush.
What a story! ..to be there at or shortly after the building of the harbour and for the next 60 years.)

“Oh,” David Patton continues, “my own middle name, Matthew, is named after my grandfather on my mother’s side, Matthew McDowell, who worked in the railway station, Portrush or Coleraine.” There is such a rich heritage in Portrush history.)

Photos above, 1952, “before I was born! My mother Ernestine and father with my two sisters, Maureen and Pat. (The photos are at Coastguard Cottages, their outside appearance of the houses have not changed since I was a baby.)
And below, “my family: my father, Tommy, sisters Pat and Maureen, and brothers Torney and Terry and me, the baby of the family, about 1957.

“My father Tommy Patton was a plumber by trade. He was very creative with his hands and was very good at building models of boats. I remember one that was in a glass case at my granny Patton’s in Ramore Street, a model of the Cutty Sark. But the one I remember the most, as a wee boy I played with it a lot, was a model of the Golden Hinde.

“Those model boats didn’t come in a kit form like you would buy today, rather everything was handmade and put together. I learn that my Father sent away for the detailed plans and worked from those, making the hull from wood and the sails from the skin of an old drum . I remember those models and the details in them so well – that is probably why I love to paint details too in my paintings.

“The Golden Hinde model was on a wooden stand that I could play with. It was really detailed, with railings between the decks, with wooden steps between the lower deck and upper deck, and there were port holes with small cannons poking out on either of the boat, and with cannons on the decks too – I loved playing with those. There were rigging, ropes, a crow’s nest for lookout, even little lanterns here and there on the decks. The sails were cut out in the shape of the sails blowing in the wind – it was all so great for my imagination and fun. I remember there was a Spanish crusader-type cross painted on the main sail of boat. Also the whole boat was painted – and I don’t mean just a splash-on, everything was painted precisely as it should be.

Left, David Patton exhibiting in Antrim along with other artists from the Ballymena Vis Art club, a few months ago.
Right, “The photo of the fishing boat that was the inspiration for my paintings It was taken by my brother Torney in 1968. Torney knew two of the men on that boat, Richard Mc Kay and Jimmy Stewart.

“The photograph and the painting of the four fishing boats, above, is the harbour as I remember it. Looking back at the Dock Head wall with the big billboard, Minihan’s shop and of course part of the old Ramore street. The Harbour Bar, the old wooden shed at the railway crossing bridge that always smelled of tar. Across the bridge there was a pub that belonged to a Kitty Quinn. I can remember as a wee boy looking for my father: I would look in the pub to see if he was there and if he was, he would put me up on a stool and treated me to a glass of Club orange.

“Bringing this narrative right up to date, I have just completed a private commission, a painting of a boat at the harbour. A lady asked me if I could do a painting as a Christmas surprise for her husband. They both had the same warm affection for the harbour, loved coming up to the Port with their boat ‘Freddy’. She wanted me to paint their boat with the harbour background and including another boat, the ‘Sally Ann,’ which they had previously, which berthed on the left hand side of the lifeboat.

“So pleased, he was delighted with the result.

“And for me, I so so loved to paint that particular picture. In the scene there is the lifeboat, and beyond is the lifeboat house. And it got me thinking of when my grandfather was helping to build it. He would never have thought that his grandson would one day in future put the lifeboat house, that he helped to build, in a painting.

“So, the harbour, the lifeboat, the lifeboat house: it is my own story, and my father’s story, and my grandfather’s and before that too.”

================
Photographs: images of paintings, and family photographs here are private and copyright to the Patton family, please do not reproduce
Newspaper cuttings, from https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

and below, a selection of news on Thomas Patton, coxswain

“Portrush Tales” – to The Farthest Shore – Michael White (Part II)

“I remember Pantomime performances by Rossi Duke and Rodney Byrne. One scene on the final night, the fairy called out for her magic wand, left behind unintentionally in the wings, and was instead handed a toilet seat by Rossi Duke – it was memorable.”

Michael White, now over 50 years in New Zealand, opens up his Pandora’s box of memories and of photographs and writes about his wonderful teenage years in Portrush.
Previously, Part I, Portrush Tales – from The Other Side of the World, describes his family arriving in Portrush and the friends that Michael forms. He continues the story in this episode…

February 1956. Age 13. Dad transfers from Belfast to the old Northern Bank in Portrush. Family moves to No. 2, Strandmore, Portrush…
March 1961. Age 18. Left Portrush for Surrey in England to join the Civil Service…
July 1970. Age 28. Boarded SS Australis at Southampton, bound for Auckland in New Zealand.

Michael writes, “I loved Portrush. The two very long beaches, the harbour, the summer, Dunluce Castle and the Giant’s Causeway in the distance, and time with my friends. Winter, with the wildness of the sea and the chill. And the contrast to the summer, the packed holiday atmosphere of the town, the Arcadia…..

Summer job at the Arcadia
On the outside of the Arcadia dancehall were several kiosks selling all sorts of summertime goodies. There were “American Ices” which served a sugary and creamy dollop, seaside funny hats, plastic toys and buckets and spades. Everyone was on holiday in the summer and the kiosks were all very busy! From 1958, when I was 16, I ran the popcorn and candy floss kiosks, and my friend Maureen McKillop ran the postcards one, next door.

Maureen McKillop from Bushmills who looked after the postcards kiosk at the Arcadia; Michael White at popcorn. 1960

Bert Blundell was the owner of the Arcadia and also of the amusement arcade on Main Street. He would stand on the steps of the Arcadia on summer days, wearing his grey suit and polaroid type glasses, with hand clasped around his very generous midriff, surveying his empire. His silver Rolls Royce car, number plate BB100, would be parked above the steps down to the Arcadia, sitting there no doubt as his symbol of commercial success. I think he was English, sometimes seeming distant and austere and not very approachable, yet affable enough when I got to know him.

Bert added an electric popcorn machine to his fleet of equipment and he offered me the chance to operate it and sell the popcorn. He told me to clean the machine with hot water at the end of the day and so on the first day, I filled the sink up with hot water and dumped it in, little realising the effect on the electrical parts! I did not get sacked but I learned a valuable lesson about water and electricity. Sam Bell, the Portrush electrician was called in to rewire it, and I was shown how to wash it properly and not give the electricals a bath!

Ladies’ Bathing place, on the left; the Arcadia , with my candy floss Kiosk at the top of the steps down to the beach, below the sign “Self Service Cafe”; Maureen McKillop’s postcard Kiosk was to the right of mine.

Pat Moynihan from Portumna in County Galway was the walkabout manager for the kiosks and a ‘bouncer’ for the dancehall in the evenings. He was not very tall, had a shock of curly red hair and always dressed in a checked sports jacket, cavalry twill trousers and what we called brothel creeper shoes. He was a lovely guy with a great Galway accent and when I was working in the popcorn kiosk, he used to call out to me from his position in the middle of the promenade, if he saw a pretty girl, “Michael, an opportunity for you is approaching from the port side.”

Rodney Byrne & Irwin Stewart, Mark Street 1960

I was making candy floss one day with a long queue of people at the window, when there was a bit of a fuss with someone pushing and shoving trying to get to the front, much to the irritation of others. I heard the noise and looked up from my machine to see my mother, elbowing and wrestling her way through the crowd. When she finally reached the front of the queue, she was angry, and I was instructed to get up to the house at once. I declined and carried on working and said I would come up when I was less busy, but she persisted until the people behind her told her in no uncertain terms to “Go away!” She said in front of everyone that she had found my collection of “dirty postcards” under my bed! The crowd roared with laughter, and there were a few cheers and comments from the people gathered around her. I remember being a bit embarrassed. She left when the laughter erupted. I did go up to the house about an hour later and under my bed she had found my postcards with colour cartoon drawings and printed below each drawing was a caption or saying which was usually rude, with some sort of innuendo. They were harmless in a way, and I had amassed a collection of the better ones which I wish I had now as they are worth some money.

Me on the East Strand in 2012, with my house indicated by the arrow over my left shoulder; and me on the steps of 2, Strandmore.

I went back to the candy floss, where the crowd had disappeared and told Maureen about it. She thought it very funny and offered to replace my ‘under the bed’ collection. I did not manage to rescue the postcards from my mother’s clutches though. As my parents spent all their spare and leisure moments at the Royal Portrush Golf Club where they were both good golfers, I suspect the postcards circulated there!

1950s British Railways posters, bringing the crowds to Portrush

CSSM, Sundays, & Church
Summers and the many visitors prompted the ardent preachers in Northern Ireland to come to Portrush. CSSM, Childrens’ Special Service Mission, was one of these, conducted by the large and corpulent Rev. Armstrong who preached his gospel on the East Strand, on the beach opposite our house. I joined for a while during the summer and enjoyed meeting others, helping build Armstong’s sand pulpit on the beach over which he would drape his sashes of ecclesiastical authority. Rev. Armstrong organised many sports activities which were a lot of fun.

We had to go to church on Sundays as it was expected of my father as a Bank official, and he could not take the Monday morning remarks at work about any non-attendance the previous day. Services at the Portrush Presbyterian Church were conducted by the Rev. Kyle Alexander, starting at 11am. After singing a few psalms and hymns and preaching the morning lesson to the under 5’s, they were ushered out to Sunday School. At 12:10pm, the Rev. Alexander would launch into his sermon. Occasionally my mother, much to my father’s gross embarrassment, would ‘slip out’ from the pew just before Rev. Alexander started, explaining that she had “forgotten to turn the oven on for the Sunday joint of meat”, nodding, smiling, and stopping briefly to whisper her excuse to people down the aisle on the way out. After a few Sundays she had to stop this as it was predictable every week, and I heard my father tell her that comments were coming back to him at the Bank.

I reminded my Dad of this many years later in Auckland, and he just nodded and smiled, saying that there were possibly others who wanted to do what she did, but did not have the courage! (Or the “brass neck”!)

Left: “This, I discovered tucked behind the lid of a cardboard box. The back of the photo says, ‘Brother Jeff and me, Arcadia promenade, 1959″. I was 17, Jeff was 12. It may be of interest or use. My brother might enjoy it if he sees the blog. Best, Michael”
Right, West Strand, 1960: Gerald Johnston, Brian Minihan, Brian Cunningham, Derwood Magill, Alan Rainey, Irwin Stewart, Rodney Byrne

One Sunday after church, when having been forbidden to go near the rocks and the beach before lunch, I jumped the rocks at Ladies’ Bay to beat the waves – but slipped and fell in, soaking my shoes and long trousers. I would have been 15. As a punishment when I got home, I was instructed to kneel on the floor and bend over my bed as my father gave me six strong whacks on my backside with a flat piece of wood, saying, “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.” I am not sure that it did, but I was not going to let him see me brought to tears. And he did not. I stood up and stared at him as I held back the tears of pain, but fair enough, I was told not to jump the rocks and I paid the price.

Hard winters in Portrush
In contrast to the summer months, the winter months between November and March were cold and stormy, with the Atlantic roaring in all its fury, whipped up by the strong northeast winds. From the house, which faced northeast and straight out to sea, the scene was often dramatic with huge surf, or ‘Atlantic Rollers’ as we called them, tumbling around as far out as we could see.

I remember sand which had been whipped by the wind being piled up in the little porch to our front door, and my mother sweeping this regularly. Our lounge windows were continually covered with salt from the sea spray carried on the wind, as the house faced into the teeth of any North Easterly gale. Going up the Main Street in winter was a challenge sometimes, as the wind could be fierce, and if you did meet someone coming the other way, it was heads down into the gale. The wind would chill your ears and nose until they were almost numb, and it blew very hard.

the Station, February 1960

We watched television a lot during the dark evenings. ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’ with Bruce Forsyth, ‘Bonanza’, ‘The Cisco Kid’, ‘The Lone Ranger’, and rushing home from school to watch the cartoon show of Yogi Bear! In black and white of course – colour television did not become available until 1970, nine years after I left Northern Ireland.

In the yacht club down by the harbour we played snooker and billiards, and then would go to my friend Irwin Stewart’s house on Mark Street as his mother ran a three-storey boarding house which had a television in a large lounge. Many shops stayed open in the winter, however there were few people on the streets, and it was quiet. There were two cinemas on Main Street, one just up from Forte’s Cafe and the Majestic, further on up, and on the other side. I remember my father took us once around 1957 to see a war film, called ‘The Man Who Never Was’, recently remade into ‘Operation Mincemeat’.

Jack McConaghy at Boggs the Chemist, September 1951, with his new assistant, Sadie Douglas / Jefferson;
Tommy Kane, May 1960, with Ray McConaghy, along Croc-na-mac

Photography was a hobby that developed during those months. It fascinated me, I had read many books on it in the CAI Library, and I put my savings from the Arcadia summer job towards buying a Leica camera – still, the basic model was all I could afford in the shop in Coleraine. Whenever I was out with my friends and at school, the camera came too. It was my dearest possession.

Those days, no instant gratification of photos on your phone, instead I would take my black and white film to Bogg’s the Chemist on Main Street. A week later, the envelope of photographs opened with expectation and trepidation to see what I had produced…. Sometimes I was really pleased, but sometimes disappointment that “it didn’t come out.” Jack would review my photos with me, pointing out where I could have taken something into account, like the sun, shadow, light and contrast. As a young boy I liked Jack very much and appreciated his help and advice, friendship, and welcoming smile and banter when I came to the shop. An affable character, he was always good for a laugh, too! He became a great friend, and later years whenever I was home I popped into see him, as I did with Jean Ross in the confectionery shop across the street.

My interest spread to developing my own films and printing of the photographs. My parents allowed me to convert the “boxroom” at the top of our staircase into my darkroom. For advice, Jack told me where he sent my films and he put me in touch with Tommy Kane.

The Harbour, 1960. Photo taken by me with hand-held Leica camera, to capture the silhouettes with the sun going down over Moville and Donegal, on a summer’s evening. Film processed and printed by me at home in my darkroom.

Daytime, Tommy was on the buses with the Ulster Transport Authority; evenings, I could meet him at his family darkroom premises behind the hotel in Eglinton Street, near the old Catering College. He was a lovely man, with a long neck and a prominent Adam’s apple. Tommy was just as helpful in explaining the development side of photography, and what I needed, what to look out for, and suddenly I was into the world of development tanks, chemicals, enlargers needed to complete the printing process, and then buying the paper on which the film and each photograph was printed. I spent many evenings in the darkroom with Tommy, watching and learning, and like Jack, Tommy too was enormously patient and helpful. Many of my photos are included in this story.

Other technical hobbies, my friend Rodney’s elder brother, Gary, showed me how to build a “crystal set” which was a tiny, primitive radio receiver. I would shop around looking for the parts in Coleraine on the way home from school, and then solder bits and pieces together and connect the wires. It was successful and I listened through an old pair of earphones which I found in a second-hand shop, but the only station I could receive was Radio Luxembourg which broadcast in English from Luxembourg. It broadcast pop music and was supported by commercials, such as:
“The time by my H. Samuel Everite watch is now 10.15 p.m.—precisely!”
I used to listen to it in bed under the bedclothes.

Robinson Crusoe, pantomime, 1961: Alex Diamond and Tony Kane; Rodney Byrne

The streets were quiet in wintertime but local drama and music and other such groups were busy. The annual pantomime was put on by the local Church of Ireland drama group, in December and into the first week or so of the new year, and was a highlight of those winter months. I couldn’t take part as I was not a member of that church but enjoyed helping where I could. I did take a few photographs, and about a year ago posted a photo of three people whose names I couldn’t remember on to a Facebook page on Portrush and replies came from two people saying they were relatives who were amazed at seeing their uncles in panto costume, some 60 years later.

I remember performances by Rossi Duke and Rodney Byrne. One scene on the final night, the fairy called out for her magic wand, left behind unintentionally in the wings, and was instead handed a….. toilet seat, by Rossi Duke – it was memorable.

1960. summer, me at the west strand; right, Christmas

We celebrated a White family Christmas, 1960, at Portrush. My parents and brother Jeff are standing there in front of the tree, a Mr and Mrs. Green, their son Denis and a friend of Jeff’s, and a Matt Gilfillan in the left corner. Me, I had finished school in June 1960, and in limbo had some months helping out in classes at Inst before and after my interview in London for the Civil Service, in November.

In that interview, me with my Senior ‘A’ Levels in languages, I asked to be considered for the the Immigration department. And just before Christmas a very official OHMS envelope arrived, confirming that I was appointed as…. a trainee Tax Inspector with the Inland Revenue! I was 18, and this would be my last carefree family Christmas at home, before I would start work in Surrey, in March 1961.

Left, Geraldine, Irwin, Angela, Pat and Derek Watson in 1960, with “props” for the occasion!;
right, February 1961,

During those winter months as teenagers, we would gather in various homes listening to the new records. A few experimented with smoking cigarettes but it did not appeal to me and I never did. There was some beer, but I cannot remember any of us getting drunk and certainly any sort of drug had not been heard of. Some of us in our group of about 10, as we got a bit older, started pairing off into couples and it was good fun to find out that “She has dropped him and is now going out with ———-.” The photo above right is February 1961, the month before I went to England, me with Sandra Quigley at the Boathouse in Coleraine.

I left Portrush in March 1961 and went to England to join the Civil Service, visiting back to see family and friends in the summer, and then for Christmas.”

David writes: The BBC has recently been celebrating with Sadie Jefferson on her 71 years, since 1951, of working at the same chemist location on Main St. in Portrush. Looking for photos of her at the chemist for the BBC articles, Jack McConaghy’s son Ray has just found this previously-unseen photo in Jack’s photo albums. Sadie of course on the right; in the centre is the pharmacist, Jack McConaghy.

The young man on the left was unknown to us.

Last week, I received the memorabilia from a Michael White, celebrating his 80th birthday in New Zealand, and writing up his teenage Portrush story. He mentions doing some photography at Bogg’s the Chemist.

Ray looks again at Jack’s photo album. It is meticulously captioned, and says,
‘Dec 1961 [Jack McConaghy] with Sadie & ……..Michael White ‘.

It is amazing!!! Michael had visited the shop to see Jack when home for his first Christmas from England. The photo was taken with Jack’s box Brownie camera, by the then owner of Boggs Chemist, George McCann (‘I seem to remember a shortish baldheaded man, also in the shop’) and it was in Jack’s possession. Now, 61 years later, Michael is seeing this photo for the very first time, and is so delighted, it representing the years of friendship with Jack.

And Sadie remembers: “I so enjoyed reading the blog! Michael worked with us on his summer school holidays. He was a lovely young man. He went to Coleraine Inst. After he left us to go to university [well, Civil Service in England] I lost touch with him. I was amazed that he ended up in NZ !!  I can’t believe he is 80 now. I knew his Dad,  he was in the old Northern bank next door to the shop. He was a gentleman.”

Michael continues: “The next year, 1962, my Dad was transferred back to Belfast and I lost contact with N. Ireland and Portrush for some years. In England in the 1960s, I met Jacqui, my future wife, at a party in her Nurses’ Home at Kingston Hospital in 1966. Her parents had just emigrated to New Zealand and she was under stern orders to follow on completion of her training in 1968. Instead, we married in 1968 and she stayed while I completed my accountancy course at Night School.

Then, after 6 years with the Inland Revenue, after some consideration we set off in pursuit of a huge adventure and the challenge of a new life in a new country. We boarded the SS Australis at Southampton on 3rd July 1970.

Six weeks later, Jacqui and I sailed into Auckland in 1970. I was greeted with some reserve by my new parents in law, who were miffed that I had not asked them for their daughter’s hand in marriage!
Well, I replied, You weren’t there.

Michael White, today, and with six of my 12 grandchildren at “Hobbiton” from ‘Lord of the Rings’, in the northern half of the North Island, about under 2 hours drive south of Auckland; 80th birthday celebrations

There followed for me an interesting and successful career in finance and financial management. Our family grew, four children, until sadly my lovely Jacqui died in 2006 at the age of 59.

“This is “Takapuna Beach,” 5 minutes drive from where I live, 15 minutes drive from the city centre.”
Hmm…. which is better: New Zealand, or the East Strand?

I now look after myself in a very pleasant retirement village near the beach on Auckland’s North Shore.

It may be many years and miles away from Portrush but the ties are still there. I met a couple from Bangor and mentioned that a friend from Portrush, Liz Clarke, had moved to Bangor with her family. They knew her and told me that she was married and living in New Plymouth in New Zealand. We caught up and have been good friends with her and her husband John since about 1972.

I have returned to the ‘Port’ several times over the years from my New Zealand home. Having just celebrated my 80th birthday, I have really enjoyed gathering up my memories and my photographs of teenager years in one of the best places on Earth, one of the best phases of my life, and I hope that you have enjoyed them too.”

Part I – “Portrush Tales” – from The Other Side of the World – Michael White
Part II – “Portrush Tales” – to The Farthest Shore – Michael White

Links to related “Portrush Tales” blogs –
The Swingin’ Sixties!
Portrush, Easter – My Day in Barry’s, Barry’s and the Wall of Death
1600s – a Century of Trouble (about Dunluce castle)
“You must see the Giant’s Causeway”
Sunday School Excursion to Portrush (day trips to Portrush, 1950s)

With thanks to……
Michael refers to Rodney Byrne’s “Vintage Port” with superb descriptions of characters, events, and life in general in and around the Port in the 1950’s
Photographs courtesy Michael White, Ray McConaghy, Pauline Hunt, David Martin
Postcards from Sheila Brown
Archive photographs from History of Portrush Facebook group

Our Mum: Maud Martin 1926-2022

We celebrated Mum’s 95th birthday last year, on 25th October 2021, a great time of celebration and thankfulness, with the family all together.

And some great times over the last year too, with mum doing well after the rubbish Covid years, with hearing better and such great conversations again. Seeing new great-grand children for the first time. She has been thoroughly amazed and enjoyed seeing and hearing these Portrush Tales blogs, and is so tickled that she stars in them. She keeps asking me when I am going to publish – her hopes might be a bit too high!

But age takes its toll, things getting tougher, and to our great sadness our lovely mum, Mrs. Anna Maud Martin, nee Hamilton, passed away on Saturday 25th June 2022.

Seeing the new great-grandchild, early 2022

Thinking back over her wonderful and full life, Mum grew up in Enniskillen, with a great set of friends at school, at tennis clubs and Fermanagh Young Unionists. Her dad worked on the trains, and they went everywhere by train, including to visit an aunt at the Dundarave estate at Bushmills. Wartime, she had to carry and do regular drills wearing a gas mask. Her dad was in the ARP, ensuring blackouts, with them hearing bombers after the blitz on Belfast and on the lookout for them over Enniskillen.

My mum: wonderfully vibrant, beautiful

Her first job in her ‘teens was in the city offices, sorting Food and Petrol ration books. As a special treat one day they were allowed to leave work a little earlier than normal: well it was VE Day. After 6 years in darkness, all the lights came on and they danced in the streets all night.

Courting days – excursions to Portrush, 1947

There was a 12th of July parade through Enniskillen, and there was a young policeman doing duty, standing near her mum’s front door. Her mother told her to take him a cup of tea – and that is how mum and dad met.

1948, Excursions to Portrush, and the Enniskillen tennis club

So many happy photographs of their trips, to Devenish, to Bangor, Portrush, Dad’s family farm in the Mournes. New policemen had to serve 5 years in the force before they could get married, and mum and dad tied the knot in 1949. Mum prepared everything special for their first meal together in their new house. But Dad came back hours late, and clarried head to foot in mud: there had been reports of sheep worrying by dogs, and he had spent hours trying to catch it. I guess that chaos, the demands of the job, set the pattern for their married life.

Kesh, 1952

They moved around with Dad’s postings, Kesh in Fermanagh, then Newtownhamilton in the bandit country of south Armagh, during the 1950s IRA campaign . (Me mam’s folks came from Glaslough, across the border in Monaghan, but they had to move north in the 1920s troubles. (One can’t really write much of northern irish history without that background being there.))

1956, Newtownhamilton

After that 1950s IRA campaign was over they jumped at the chance to move to Portrush, buying the house in Croc-na-mac in 1960 for £2,200.

Me, I was born about the time of the Cuban missile crisis. My school history teacher says about those times, that they didn’t expect to live to see the next week. I ask my mum what does she remember about that time? Nothing really, she says. I am a bit surprised at that, like she was at home, with 5 boys around, what was she doing?

Portrush, mid-60s

Late 1960s, and it is the big Troubles. Policemen are drafted to Derry and Belfast hot spots. My Uncle Jim, another policeman, talks about patrolling at the Divis Flats area and the person next to him is felled by a concrete slab thrown from the top. Dad was away many weekends though only incurred a knee injury, by a brick thrown during the Burntollet Bridge ambush in 1969.

Fermanagh, about 1978; Mum & Dad, some stone structure thing, and visiting us in Plymouth, about 1990

RUC pay was pretty poor in those days, and family holidays were few and not very far. Often with a friend’s caravan, mum and dad and my next brother might go to places like Bangor or Groomsport for a week. Mornings we were often dropped off at the golf course, and that kept us occupied for half the day. With 5 boys I’m sure it was much needed ‘us’ time for mum and dad. Maybe later years, maybe a bit more money, we stayed in a B&B or small hotel. We had a special holiday back to Enniskillen, to see some of their old friends and haunts. It always seemed to me to be a proud city, with the long tradition of the Inniskilling Dragoon, being welcomed home in the patriotic songs. Of course many didn’t come home. We are at the cathedral, looking at the war memorial. To me, they are just names on a list; but they are names of her school friends, or parents or brothers of her friends, and mum is in tears.

As a young lad in Portrush, the Troubles were on the news but in the distance. School summer holidays, Dad is drafted away, I am bored. I play tennis with mum in the back garden. At a break time, I see Dad coming down the new road from the Eglinton St barracks and call out, Dad’s home! like I did every normal day. Mum is so relieved that he is back OK, but I am cheesed off that our tennis game is aborted.

Mum & Dad and our eldest, about 1995; and Mum & me, 2015 (It is pretty touching that several people look at the photos and say, “David, you look very like your mum.”)

As the town Sergeant Dad was often working very long hours to check things were OK in the town, even more so on big days, being responsible for the officers on duty all round the town. I think Mum had the main tasks to bring up the 5 of us. Her and Dad were a great example to us all that helped us all, through school, university in the days of grants not loans and family support, and then getting jobs and married and new homes. One of the things she is proud about, is that “We are all still married, and all to the same woman.”
A bit of an Irish-ism, but I hope you know what it means.

Diamond wedding celebrations, 2009

Middle brother moved back to Portrush about 1986, then married and then the kids. For mum and dad then there was years of child-minding and later of collecting kids from Carnalridge school, with them often the first car in the car park, waiting 30 minutes or more for the kids to come out from school. Then ice cream from the van in Lansdowne on the way home, sandwiches when they got to the house, and the kids got the wee folding table out to do their homework – the same table that I had used for my homework. Mum and Dad were asked to assist a lot with child-minding, too often I reckoned, but Dad said that it kept them young. It is just jealousy really on my part – I was away to uni in 1981, and working and then married life was away from Portrush, and we both regret that our kids didn’t have much time with their grandparents.

So, my nephews and nieces saw the most of mum and dad in those years, and Andrew writes:
“Granny and Granda, I automatically think of together-ness. I only knew them once they retired but my memory of them is their two arm chairs in the living room, each did what they could of a crossword and swapped over. When Granda drove, Granny directed him, she reversed him out of the garage at Crocknamac. Then when they came to a junction Granny was responsible for checking the left side, Granda the right. They were walking partners too, and every day they did a lap of the town, and everyone knew them and greeted them, because of Granda’s status and because they were such a part of the community.

“In their later years, Granny and Granda’s summer holiday was to Newcastle and the Mournes for a week every year, where they would make a point of seeing Aunt Anna. Both Granny and Granda were avid tennis players in their young days, and they would be glued to their screens for Wimbledon every year.

“I have two prevailing memories of childhood with them. Firstly we used to take trips to Portstewart to McIntyre’s toy store to pick up Lego every year, which was accompanied by a trip to Morelli’s for ice cream.

“Another was the annual trip to Barry’s every summer. Granny and Granda would get tokens and take us around the rides, and we would go on and they stood at the barriers and watched us. Going around the cyclone we always tried to touch granny’s hand as we were swirled around. Just that contact, that closeness to them both, that feeling that though we may be a bit away that they were always there, quietly, looking out for us.”

90th birthday celebrations, 2016; centre,golden wedding anniversary, 1999

Mum and Dad were well-known for their twice-daily walks around the prom and round the town. Dad passed away in 2010, and Mum moved over to Abercorn Court on Croc-na-mac.

Later with restricted mobility for the last years, she moved over to Madelayne Court in Portstewart for the extra nursing care. The nurses and carers in both homes were wonderful, caring, and doted on her as if she was their own granny. The Rev. Peter MacDowell supported Dad and Mum kindly and gently on their journeys.

After some bumps and falls over the last few months Mum had been limited to bed or sitting only. In the last few days of illness stillness in her care at Madelayne Court, she would sometimes ask the nurse, “Please, would you help me to get up.” The wonderful nurse would gently ask, “What would you like Maud, what can we do for you?”

Mum replied, “I want to dance.”

Maybe as old age closed in, her mind and spirit soared to the past and to things fresh and new in the future.

So, as mum, Maud, mum-in-law, granny, great-granny, neighbour, friend – however you knew her – a life well lived, and departing in peace to join the dance.

With love to you Mum, and Dad, from Jim, Kenny, Trevor, Ivan, David and the family and all your friends and people who have been touched to have known you xx