Bay City Roller’s home town tribute

Bay City Roller’s home town tribute

19 March 2014

ONE of Downpatrick’s most famous ever exports has paid a St. Patrick’s Day tribute to his home town in an online message to his fans.

Ian Mitchell left Downpatrick as a teenager to become one of the most popular musicians of his era as guitarist with the Scottish group the Bay City Rollers.

Although he only stayed with the Rollers for less than a year, contributing to their 1976 album Dedication, this whirlwind experience catapulted him onto the world stage and he went on to enjoy a long-lasting and high profile pop career, including massive tours with the Downpatrick band Rosetta Stone.

Ian, who now lives in southern California with his wife Wendy-Ann Antanaitis, reflected on his roots on Monday when he spoke about his pride in his childhood town of Downpatrick where he recalled “playing amongst the ruins that the ancient monks left behind.”

Although he remembers a poor childhood, living at Ardmeen Green, his memories of the small town of Downpatrick are fond.

“Today, many people will make a pilgrimage to St. Patrick’s burial place in my hometown of Downpatrick,” he said.

“When I went there with my wife, the grave was one of the first places that I took her, and being a history nut, she loved it.

“I’m proud to be a part of this city’s heritage. When I was born, it was but a small town, and I was but a poor kid living on Ardmeen Green, playing amongst the ruins that the ancient monks left behind.

“I have climbed many a tree, skinned my knee more than once, got my front teeth knocked in while playing football, roamed the mountains with Paddy, the next door neighbour’s dog, and spent quiet evenings looking over the hill and dreaming of a life beyond what I knew then.

“I have known fame and some fortune. I have travelled the world and made some of the finest friends a man can have, and have had the pleasure of knowing some of the loveliest women around.

“I became an American, a proud one at that, and am still an Irishman at heart, and a very lucky Irishman, indeed. And my life, well, all of it, started in a small place called... Downpatrick.”