NEWCASTLE —Two teenage victims of a “ball of flame” bomb explosion at the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle in August 1977 have been awarded damages totalling £42,500.
Peter Toner, of Circular Road, Castlewellan, and Nuala Marie McKeating, from Belfast, who both sustained serious burns in the bomb attack, were awarded damages by Judge Roy Watt at Downpatrick County Court.
Judge Watt was told of the full horror of the explosion in the hotel car park which enveloped Mr Toner and Miss McKeating in flames.
Mr Toner told the court that on the night of the explosion, which occurred beside a gas tank, he had been at a disco in the hotel.
“We had ordered a taxi and later on I went outside to see what was keeping it,” he said. “I turned a corner and then I heard a bang. Suddenly I was lying on the ground face down and I was very hot.
“People told me to lie on the ground and a doctor came later. At first I felt no pain, just shock, and then the pain came and it was terrible.”
Badly burned on the back, neck and hands, Mr Toner was kept in the Downe Hospital for nine weeks. Four skin graft operations were carried out.
“It took me about a week to learn to walk again because my back was very painful,” he said. “Even when I went back to school I had to learn to write again because my hand was badly burned and had to be practically rebuilt.
“I have been told that my burns will hurt again in the hot weather and they already go blue in the cold.”
ST JOHN’S POINT — The industrialist behind the Government-backed De Lorean car may soon be buying a country retreat at St John’s Point, near Killough.
Executive aides of John De Lorean, the man at the centre of the new car to be built in the province, are expected to look at a Georgian mini-mansion that a Belfast estate agents are selling on behalf of leading Ulster barrister Demond Boal.
The property, set in five acres along the coast and with superb views of the Mourne Mountains, is one of the most plush and expensive homes in the province that the aides are likely to examine.
Other quiet country retreats that resemble the style with which Mr De Lorean has been accustomed — all costing more than £100,000 — have come under the eye, but it is through that the St John’s Point property may get the vote.
BALLYNAHINCH — Shocked Down councillors were told this week that the Housing Executive are impotent to deal with the housing waiting list in Ballynahinch, which may not get any new houses until 1984.
Executive officials admitted there is very little land available to them in the town and they face a losing battle with private developers for the few sites that come on the market.
Mr Colin James, of the Executive’s design team, told a meeting on Monday: “There is a waiting list of 90 in Ballynahinch and we feel impotent in our ability to deal with it. It is not a satisfactory situation.
Mr Billy McGivern, the Executive’s area manager, admitted to councillors he was not happy with the situation in Ballynahinch and explained what had gone wrong with the Antrim Road site where 50 new homes were to have been built.
“We did get planning permission for the site,” he said. “We dug trial holes and the ground was satisfactory, but we were overtaken by discussions between the landowner and a private developer. The Housing Executive could not go through with a vesting order where a private developer is going ahead to build low cost housing.
Mr McGivern promised that the Executive would press very strongly for sites in Ballynahinch and would be meeting with local planners in an attempt to come up with an answer.
Ballynahinch councillor Mr Eddie McVeigh agreed there were problems obtaining sites, but he pointed out that the town was not scheduled for any new homes until 1980-84 and he wanted other sites investigated as soon as possible.
Cllr William Brown felt the now abandoned Antrim Road site was not all it was supposed to be anyway and it would have been foolish to proceed with a site which would have flooded, as it had done in the past.
Cllr Francis Laverty wanted to know how the Executive could justify giving houses in Ballynahinch to people from Drumaness.
DOWNPATRICK — Downpatrick firemen had another busy week, during which they attended several gorse fires and a chimney fire.
On Saturday they were called to a gorse fire near Irish Street and the previous day they attended a Gorse Fire at Gallows Hill.
On Thursday they were called out three times. The first was in the morning to St John’s Old People’s Home in Pound Lane, but they were not needed as the fire alarm had gone off accidentally.
KILLOUGH — Killough Village Committee is pressing the Housing Executive to repair extensive storm damage caused to houses during the Christmas period.
Damage caused to several of the new houses in the Castle Street area was one of the main problems discussed at a meeting of the committee recently.
“Serious storm damage to the roofs occurred, especially over the Christmas period, and this has not been fixed,” the committee claims.
“Letters were sent to the Housing Executive and the contractor. The Executive sent a clerk of works to meet the contractor’s men at an arranged time, but they didn’t turn up,” the committee said.
“The occupants are very annoyed about this lack of interest and are now awaiting immediate action before dampness causes more serious damage.”
The committee has also hit out at the delay in truing to prove the ownership of the village harbour. They say it has “gone beyond a joke” and intend sending a delegation to Down Council in a bid of finally resolve the ownership question.
“Nothing can be done to start work on the sadly neglected harbour area until the present owner is contacted and public ownership is established. We firmly intend to pursue this matter until work has begun,” the committee added.
In the evening they attended a gorse fire on the Saul Road and several hours later they attended a chimney fire at Bobbie Hanvey’s photographic shop in Irish Street.
ARDGLASS — Local planners have been asked to keep watch on a dredging operation currently underway at Ardglass harbour.
The call has come from Down Council chairman Eddie McGrady, who is concerned not so much about the dredging but what is happening to the materials being taken from the harbour.
Local councillor Dermot Curran is also concerned. He said that a tipping operation at the rear of the Seaview estate has not been properly maintained — much to the disgust of residents.
DRUMAGHLIS — Three pupils from Drumaghlis Primary School, near Crossgar, have won a Raleigh Boxer bicycle in a national ‘Wheels Project’ open to Tufty Clubs.
The bicycle, which will be used by the Tufty Club members at the school, was the top price in the 6-8 years section of the competition which was organised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
Members of the school’s Tufty Club entered the competition, but it was the entries of Jason McKeown, Paul Beattie and Paul Chambers that clinched the top prize.
COMBER — Comber police are investigating a number of thefts which took place in the town over the past week.
Thieves entered the Rifle Club in Railway Street and took away away a number of bottles of spirits on Wednesday evening. They following day thieves broke into the Gillespie Arms in the Square and took away liquor.
In the same area on Friday thieves entered the Ulster Arms and on this occasion, in addition to taking drink, they also rifled a charity donation box.