From the pages of the Down Recorder, August 20, 1974

From the pages of the Down Recorder, August 20, 1974

20 August 2014

NEWCASTLE — A UDR patrol almost certainly prevented massive destruction to property and possible serious human injury when they foiled a terrorist proxy bomb attack in Newcastle in the early hours of Sunday morning.

When the patrol stopped a Ford Escort van on the main Castlewellan Road, the driver told them he was carrying a bomb meant for the Arlington Hotel.

Earlier, the van had been hijacked at Bunker’s Hill, Castlewellan, by two armed and masked men. They held the driver’s girlfriend hostage and 200lb. of explosives, packed into an oil drum, was put in the van. The driver was then ordered to take it to Newcastle and park outside the Arlington Hotel.

He was on his way to the hotel when he was stopped. An army technical officer was called in and there was a controlled explosion at the scene some time later.

Meanwhile, the gunmen were holding the girl at the lane. They were forced to jump for cover when a car pulled up and some of the girl’s friends got out to see what was wrong. When the gunmen re-emerged from the bushes the girl’s friends said they would stay with her until the gunmen released her.

After about twenty minutes the party was released and told they could go anywhere, but were warned not to contact the police for at least two hours. The gunmen then ran off.

BALLYNAHINCH — A 150lb. bomb, which exploded outside the White Horse Hotel in High Street, Ballynahinch, was at first thought to have been also a proxy bomb. Early reports said that a motorist and his family had been hijacked by gunmen and forced to take a beer keg packed with explosives into the town centre.

The car was driven into the town shortly before 4pm and abandoned outside the White Horse. A man jumped out of the car shouting a warning to Saturday shoppers and immediately the police evacuated the area. The bomb exploded a short time later, causing slight structural damage to the hotel and shattering windows in shops up and down the street. No-one was injured.

CASTLEWELLAN — In Castlewellan two homes were raked by gunfire in separate incidents just after midnight on Monday.

The first attack came at 12.10am at the house on the Drumee Road. A number of shots were fired through the living room window, but fortunately the occupants were upstairs at the time.

The second attack came five minutes later at a house in St. Malachy’s Avenue. Shots were fired through the front door, but again no-one was injured.

STRANGFORD — The Strangford ferry will be out of commission for at least two weeks at the end of next month when the craft goes to Belfast for its annual refit. The boat will be replaced by a small passenger only boat. Cars and commercial vehicles will have to make the long detour by land.

Recently Assembly representatives for the district have been pressing for a second craft.

DOWNPATRICK — Work is expected to begin within the next fortnight on the building of a £30,000 extension to Downe Hospital, Downpatrick — and it’s all part of a phased programme aimed at the construction of a new general hospital in the town.

The Department of Health and Social Services have already indicated the need for a new hospital in Downpatrick and a site has been set aside at the Downshire Hospital grounds on the Ardglass Road.

Mr. George Flinn, district administrative officer, stressed to the Recorder this week that even if the new hospital was ready within a week there would still be a need for the Downe Hospital to complement the work of the other units.

The new hospital will be arrived at in a number of stages. The first stage, Lecale House, has already been completed and is at present being used as a geriatric unit. The next stage is a new maternity unit of 34 beds and work on this is expected to begin next spring.

The third and final stage involves the general hospital itself and, because work on this is not expected to begin for several years, the present extension to Downe Hospital is necessary.

KILLOUGH — You might well wonder why a 15 year-old American boy, who has never been to Ireland before, should be staying in Killough for a fortnight. Timothy Searle has close connections with the area. His mother emigrated from the village over 25 years ago and many of his relatives still live there. He is at present staying with his aunt, Mrs. Gertrude Rogan.

Tim likes Killough, although he says that the lifestyle is so much slower than back home. But it has plenty of advantages, such as leaving him plenty of time to enjoy his hobbies.

Although this is his first time in the country, Tim says that nothing has surprised him. “The people are just as I expected them to be and the countryside is as green as I thought it would be. Back home the grass is a kind of brown.”

DERRYBOYE — Four people sustained injuries after a Ford Cortina and a Morris Marina collided on the Derryboye Road, Crossgar, on Friday night. They were the driver of the Cortina, Graham Ritchie, of Lindsay Cottages, Derryboye, his two passengers, Robert Gaw, of Calvert’s Row, Shrigley, and David Davidson, of Killyleagh Road, Derryboye, and the passenger in the Marina, Robert Smyth, of Derryboye Road, Crossgar.

The driver of the Marina was William John Morrison, Beach Grove, Omagh.

INCH — To celebrate their 21st birthday this year Inch Scout troop are holding a dinner for past scouts and scouters on September 20 in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle. All ex-scouts who are interested are asked to contact A. Magowan, Craig Road, Downpatrick, as soon as possible.

The troop camped this year at the Scottish training centre, near Dunfermline. A total of 31 enjoyed a most successful camp. They visited Edinburgh and Stirling castles, climbed to the top of the Wallace Monument in Stirling — all 252 steps — swam in the Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, explored ships and submarines of the UN Fleet during an open day at Rosythe naval base and, of course, went shopping in Princes Street, Edinburgh.

KILLYLEAGH — A garden fete organised by the Killyleagh and Shrigley Town Committee and held in the grounds of Killyleagh Castle (by kind permission of Col. and Mrs. Rowan-Hamilton, attracted a record number of people. A grand total of £760 was raised to help swell funds for the community hall.

The scouts, who raised about £60 of the total, sold ice-cream and minerals, etc. Teas were available in the castle hall and tours of the castle were in operation. Music was to the fore and many selections were given by the First Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh Royal Regiment and by the pipes and drums of the Third UDR.

CROSSGAR — A successful coffee party and bring and buy sale organised by Crossgar and District Community Association means that almost £300 will be added to the funds for the new ‘super ambulance’ for Downe Hospital.

The man largely responsible for the conception of the ambulance, Mr. John Boyd, consultant surgeon, attended the party to offer his thanks to the association for their support.

Mr. W. J. Cochrane, chairman of the community association, said the new ambulance would be beneficial to the community.

SPELGA — Spelga Dam, which provides the Portadown/Banbridge areas with water, is to be raised by three feet. This will mean that water from this sources in the Mournes will be increased by up to 20 per cent.

Work has already started on the scheme and a spokesman for the Department of Environment Water Service Branch said it was hoped to have the job completed by the end of the year.

DRUMANESS — Pacesetting Drumaness cricketers chalked up yet another victory when they decisively beat Greenisland by 107 runs. Scoring 181, their highest tally of the season, the locals had no trouble dismissing their opponents well short of the target.