From the pages of the Down Recorder, June 9, 1993

From the pages of the Down Recorder, June 9, 1993

7 June 2023

CASTLEWELLAN – Police believe the gunmen who attacked a Sinn Fein worker’s house in Castlewellan on Monday night were from the same gang which attacked a Kilcoo pub last year.

Up to four shots were fired through the bedroom window of the Burrenwood Park house at around 11.30 pm where Sinn Fein election agent John Smyth, his wife and two young children aged nine and five were sleeping.

The Loyalist terrorists tried to break down the front door of the family home, but were unable to gain entry and contented themselves with firing through a front bedroom window before making their escape.

The gang’s car, a blue Volvo 440, had earlier been stolen in the Mountpottinger area of Belfast and was later found abandoned on the Corrigs Road on the outskirts of Newcastle.

Mr Smyth, a former Downpatrick man, served as election agent for Sinn Fein’s South Down representative, Mr Sean Fitzpatrick, at the recent Down Council elections.

Police believe the attack bears a number of similarities with the attack on the Thierafurth Inn last year when local farmer, Mr Peter McCormack, was murdered by UFF terrorists and three other local men injured.

DOWNPATRICK – An 11 year-old girl was the driver of a car which crashed into children playing in a Downpatrick housing estate at the weekend.

The girl, who was accompanied by a middle-aged relative, was driving through the Meadowlands estate on Saturday evening when she lost control of the Vauxhall car which careered into a group of young girls.

One of the girls, aged 13, is in intensive care in the Royal Victoria Hospital suffering from two broken legs and is expected to undergo further surgery later this week. A hospital spokesman has described in condition as ‘stable’.

Two of her friends, aged 13 and 14, were treated in the Downe Hospital, one for neck injuries and the other for cut and bruises.

The car, which also struck a parked vehicle, ended up in the rear garden of a nearby house and neither the young driver, nor her passenger, were badly injured.

The incident happened towards the far end of the Meadowlands estate and while community representatives have accepted this is an unusual, one-off accident, they have nevertheless called for an immediate review of road safety.

Local community worker, Mr Henry Robinson, said the estate has been stunned by the accident, which, he claimed, highlights the urgent need for not only better traffic safety measures, but improved playing facilities for children.

“This incident was no the run-of-the-mill traffic accident but it did occur in a part of the estate where children regularly play on the road,” he said. “They have nowhere else to play in this estate and, with only one carriageway, it makes their ‘playground’ a very hazardous place. 

RAHOLP – Residents of Raholp are being placed in serious jeopardy because of the “extremely dangerous” condition of a local road.

South Down MP Eddie McGrady has called for immediate and urgent work to be carried out on St Patrick’s Road which, he claimed, is in an “unacceptable” condition by modern-day standards.

Mr McGrady has accused the Department of the Environment’s Roads Service of neglect and has demanded that “buck-passing” stop and improvements begin within days.

The MP said the condition of the road, from Loughmoney Road to the Strangford Road, is totally acceptable, given that it is a route heavily used to bypass the congested Downpatrick town centre.

“The condition is extremely dangerous to both vehicles and pedestrians alike,” said Mr McGrady. “The Roads Executive was informed of this some time ago and has not taken any action whatsoever.”

NEWCASTLE – A radical suggestion to move a Down Council executive officer from Downpatrick to Newcastle, along with the power and resources to make instant decisions, has received a warm welcome from local traders.

Proposed by SDLP councillor Michael Boyd, the pilot devolution scheme’s semi-independent office, with a separate budget, would become the ‘public face’ of the council in the town.

On Monday night, Chamber of Commerce members agreed with their president, Mr Peter Law, who said a locally-based officer able to take instant action over peoples’ complaints was an ‘excellent idea’ and “would be brilliant for the town.”

Mr Boyd said: “I intend to discuss my ideas with my party colleagues. If they approve I will seek to have the matter placed on the agenda of the Policy and Resources committee of Down Council”, which is the body that would recommend it to the full council.

Councillor Boyd stressed that the office would have to be able to deal with problems on the spot, instead of the present system of referral to Downpatrick, which frequently meant slow or no action being taken at all.

DARRAGH CROSS – Angry residents at a Darragh Cross housing estate have called on the DoE and the Housing Executive to sort out who is responsible for repairing the road outside their homes.

Widespread disruption was caused in the village when a new sewerage system was put in place recently, but residents are angry that the roads have been left in a terrible state of disrepair.

Mr Jimmy Sweeney who has contacted both Roads Service and Housing Executive officials, says sinking road surfaces and large pot-holes are causing all sorts of problems.

“A number of cars have been damaged because of the pot-holes which fill with water when it rains,” he explained. “The people of Darragh have had enough and want immediate action to make good the damage cause during the laying of new pipes.

“No one wants to take responsibility for the damage and while the Executive and the DoE fight over who should foot the bill, the people in the village are left to put up with the problem,” he declared.

MAGHERADROLL – A double occasion of good fortune for the Parish of Magheradroll on Sunday marked the opening of phase-two of the extension and renovation programme at the historic chapel.

Nearly the whole parish turned out at some stage during the day, to see Very Rev Bishop Francis Brooks in the renovated church and new parish centre, and they got a fine day with some sunshine to see the opening through.

Canon Patrick Smyth PP Fr Aidan Hamill and Fr John Cunningham played gracious hosts, backed up by the assembled team of the parish organisations and assistants, to the entourage of Clergy who gathered to help the parish celebrate.

Remarkable, the whole building programme in the church has been completed in seven short months, since the completion of the integral parish centre.

Fr Hamill, who has been pivotal in organising the work was still slightly disbelieving that it had actually all been finished to such a high standard.

BALLYKINLAR –Where have all the auto-cross drivers gone? That’s the question everyone was asking at Ballykinlar Raceway on Sunday, when for the first time in the Valley Club’s history, no car racing was possible.

Only two cars arrived for the meeting and one of those broke down in practice. In contrast, a total of 23 moto-cross riders turned up and they provided plenty of action to enjoy.

Ballygowan’s Graeme Gibson was the junior rider in form, winning the final and the handicap.

He made all the running in the final where he was chased hard by runner-up Jonathan McMaster, with Mark Graham finishing well to take third.