From the pages of the Down Recorder, August 31, 1976

From the pages of the Down Recorder, August 31, 1976

31 August 2016

DOWNPATRICK — With the success of Monday’s Bank Holiday race meeting at Downpatrick behind him, local businessman Mr Joe Rea is looking ahead to bigger and better things for a course already condemned to die. He is busily making plans for an October meeting with one race carrying £800 in prize money.

Monday’s meeting was an outstanding success and with bigger fields expected for October it seems that local businessmen are out to make nonsense of the Government’s decision to stop grants for the Downpatrick course.

It was the business community who made the meeting possible and Mr Rea was warm in his praise for them. “Already I have received many offers of help and sponsorship for the future and it is clear that everyone in this area wants Downpatrick’s course to stay open,” he said.

“This course has great prospects. The public have responded well to the call to back it and we are highly optimistic about the future.”

The meeting was disappointing from only one point of view — only 23 runners altogether in the six races — but it did not detract from being a fun day for a large holiday crowd.

Major William Brownlow addressed the crowd and thanked them for showing by their attendance that racing would not die in Downpatrick. He had a word of praise too for the sponsors and looked forward to a brighter future for the course.

CASTLEWELLAN — A Castlewellan man, Mr Michael Brannigan, has won a prize which will make him the envy of many — a case of whisky every month for a year. His prize, the kind that men often dream about, was presented by Old Bushmills, the Black Bush distillery which is the oldest in the world.

Recently the distillery gave their customers the opportunity to nominating a Northern Ireland man or woman whom they could credit with some outstanding achievement.

The nominations were many and varied, from the worlds of sport, poetry, art, doctors, hotel managers and countless ordinary people were also suggested.

But judges reckoned with Mr Brannigan’s entry was the best. He nominated Mr John Keown, of the Forestry Division, who was responsible for the discovery of the new Irish conifer which is currently a big earner in export markets.

CROSSGAR — Is it or isn’t it? That’s the question facing a group of workmen in Crossgar at the moment. What they are trying to decide is whether or not a lone hawthorne tree standing on the edge of their site is really a fairy tree.

Rumour has it that when the site at Lislea Drive was first cleared some five years ago this tree was allowed to stay because none of the workmen would risk the wrath of the fairies by cutting it down.

Now a group of Enterprise Ulster workmen are building a children’s playground on ground beside the tree and although it does not appear anywhere on the plans, the tree is still standing.

The foreman said that it was left to him whether or not to remove the tree and so he is taking no chances. Until he is told to definitely cut it down, he will leave the tree alone.

“It’s a load or rubbish, but I’m sure none of the boys would be happy about cutting it down and I personally wouldn’t cut it down,” he said.

No one is sure whether this hawthorne is a fairy tree or not, but anyone thinking of volunteering to cut it down would do well to listen to a few tales.

The man who cut down a fairy tree in Downpatrick is rumoured to have met a terrible misfortune and the driver of a bulldozer which uprooted one on the Annacloy Road is said to have died soon after. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

BALLYNAHINCH — Record crowds packed Ballynahinch on Saturday for the traditional ‘Last Saturday’ demonstration by the County Down preceptories of the Royal Black Institution. More than 100 bands led 130 preceptories in what proved to be the biggest of six demonstrations held in the province.

The South Belfast Official Unionist MP, the Rev Robert Bradford, was the special preacher. Thousands of spectators lined the route.

SAINTFIELD — This weekend will have a strong historical flavour for the people of Saintfield, with celebrations being held to mark the bicentenary of the rebuilding of the local Church of Ireland church.

Although a parish church has existed in Saintfield since the 1630s, the present one was not built until 1776 because the old was in poor repair.

To mark the occasion Col M C Perceval-Price has written a book entitled ‘Saintfield Parish Under the Microscope’ and this will be on sale at an exhibition lasting three days at which various articles, including church silver, will be on view.

Col Perceval-Price, president of Saintfield Heritage Society, has also been working on a model of the Saintfield area in 1798 and this will be on view in the hall during the exhibition. It will form part of a display staged by the society to illustrate the historic battle of Saintfield, part of the 1798 rebellion.

NEWCASTLE — An estimated 7,000 crowd poured into Newcastle’s Donard Park on Friday night to see the ‘Super Star’ fireworks display, which made a spectacular finale to what has been hailed as the resort’s most successful entertainment season.

The hour-long shown which included rockets, whirligigs, waterfalls, crescents and thunderbolts, attracted an even bigger crowd than last year’s event.

Thousands of people were making their way into the town long before the display was due to start, having answered an appeal by Mr Frank Cunningham, the assistant recreation/tourist officer of Down district council, who organised and sponsored the display.

DRUMANESS — The unity and co-operation between the different parties in Down district council was again illustrated on Tuesday night when councillors unanimously agreed to elect a new ADLP member.

The new member is Mr James C Magee, a dairy farmer, of Magheratimpany Road, Drumaness, who has been in the Drumaness branch of the SDLP since its formation.

Mr Magee, who will replace the late Mr Dan Rice, was nominated by Mr Paddy O’Donoghue, who said it was essential for the council, which was operating in a rural area, to hear the voice of farmers. The nomination was seconded by Mr John Ritchie.

KILLYLEAGH — Libraries are not just places to rest the voice, Killyleagh schoolchildren have been finding out over the holidays.

About 30 children have been attending the local library club on Fridays. The idea is to each the kids about the workings of a library and how to use one, but not all the time available is spent indoors.

There have been visits to place like Bellevue Zoo, Armagh Planetarium and the Ulster Folk Museum, as well as Bangor and Murlough.

One or the organisers, Mrs Diana Porter, explained: “The idea is give the children something to do. At the same time we encourage them to use the library hoping they will take an interest.”

PORTAFERRY — Portaferry police station was one of the stops for the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Mr Ray Carter, as he went on a tour to meet RUC personnel in the province on Monday. Mr Cater met and talked to officers before moving on to the station at Ballycastle and from there be visited the Ould Lammas Fair.

FIRES — Firemen in the Downpatrick, Ballynahinch and Newcastle areas, who were kept busy again this week, have just completed one of their busiest ever months. The Downpatrick crews answered another 32 calls in the past week to bring their tally for August to a record-breaking 84.

The Ballynahinch men had another busy period, particularly over the weekend, and Newcastle had a similar number of calls.