Portglenone Primary School, on the Townhill Road, is where I spent the first years of my education. This would have been between the late 1960s and June 1976. It was very handy, because mum was a nurse in the clinic next door. Each year, a photographer would visit the school. He would take individual photos of each student. The parents could then choose to buy a copy or not. I’ll maybe...
Here’s a very old local poem from near the beginning of the 20th century. The author, who lives in Belfast, and his friend, R.C. Mackbee, go on an early summer walk in the Portglenone area. Killyless, Lisrodden & Lisnahuncheon The two men, during their day long walk, cover the Cullybackey, Portglenone area, taking in the Maine river, the hills of Lisnahuncheon, Ballyconnolly Diamond...
When it comes to tracing old family names in a region, it’s always nice to find a new unexpected source of information. A few months ago, while perusing old newspapers, I discovered this specially arranged school sports day in Portglenone held on Saturday 19th September 1925. This was a special one-off event, involving many schools in the area. Perhaps some of the names may be of interest...
I was searching through old newspapers recently, trying to discover the earliest local murder (i.e. local meaning in the Portglenone, Kilrea, Maghera area) that was referenced in the media. On the first of July 1773, a Gauger by the name of Edward O’Hagan, from Portglenone, was shot by John Hinds, a bar owner from Killymuck. Killymuck is a townland which is roughly four miles from where...
I put ‘Ballymena’ in the title, because google is probably fed up seeing ‘Portglenone’ in so many of my titles! Ballymena would be the nearest large regional town, about 13 miles away. Magherafelt is of similar distance. Here’s an old family photograph from the summer of 1962. The Mulhollands, along with Hughie Henry and Alfie Brown, are taking a tea break from...
A local Cullybackey man, named Calderwood, in the 1920s, wrote a poem about the essential contribution of the local farmer. The poem was published in a local newspaper (sadly long since gone). Discovering the prose, inspired me to go look through mum’s old photos. She took the following photograph of dad while he was taking a break from kicking hay on the family farm, at Eden, near...
During the second half of the 1800s, ploughing matches became a common event in the North of Ireland. In a search of old newspapers, reports of annual ploughing matches appear frequently across the 1860s, 70s and 80s. [su_note note_color=”#ffc066″]I’m starting to conduct some research into local farming societies, from the second half of the 1800s, and their annual ploughing...
In the 1497 book by Caxton called “History of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland” there is the following quotation: [su_quote]There is a Lake in Ulster and much fish therein, which is 30 miles in length and 15 in breadth. The River Bann runneth out of the Lake into the North Ocean, and men say that this Lake began in this manner — there were men in this country that were of evil living...
Timothy Eaton (March 1834 to 31st January 1907) emigrated and found great fortune in Canada during the second half of the 1800s. There has been much written about his life in Canada, less so about his first twenty years in Ireland. This page focuses on those early years in Ireland. In March 1834, Timothy Eaton was born at Clogher, not far from Ballymena. Clogher is part of the Civil Parish of...
I recently spotted, in an old newspaper, the death notice of a very old lady in Cullybackey. Martha Hanna was a stunning 126 years old when she died in March 1808. 1808 Cullybackey – 126 Year Old Martha Hanna Dies [su_quote cite=””]On Friday last, near Cullybackey, Martha Hanna, aged 126 years. She was born near Dungannon, and remembered to have heard the shots fired in an...
Recently, while researching a different topic linked to the River Bann, I happened upon two old poems written in the late 1800s about this beautiful stretch of water. This late 1875 poem called “To the River Bann” appeared in one of the north coast newspapers at the time. It apparently was originally published in a Belfast newspaper. Unfortunately, the author preferred not to...
A Very Short History of Portglenone Parish Church Located on the corner of the Townhill Road and Cullybackey Road, Portglenone Church of Ireland is one of the oldest churches in the area. It was consecrated in the 1730s by Bishop Francis Hutchinson. This parish, which is within the Diocese of Connor, also includes St Colmanell’s Church of Ireland in Ahoghill. The Ahoghill church opened in...