From the pages of the Down Recorder, March 1, 1977

From the pages of the Down Recorder, March 1, 1977

1 March 2017

DOWNPATRICK — There were record crowds for the first race meeting of the year at Downpatrick’s condemned course.

So big was the attendance that local draper, Mr Joe Rea, who has been battling to save the course, believes that the Government must now reconsider its decision to end grant aid to the track.

Mr Rea was delighted with the response of racing enthusiasts at the meeting. “Both our car parks were filled to capacity,” he said. “And I saw hundreds of cars parked in places where at previous meetings there have only been one or two.

Indeed much of the credit for the success of the meeting must go to Mr Rea, who has travelled the length of Ireland in a bid to enlist support for the dying course.

But at least it seems his efforts are paying off. Not only has he succeeded in bringing back the crowds, he has also made a lot of new contacts for sponsoring future events.

Already he looks forward with confidence to the big two-day meeting in May. “That is my next target, but although it is an even bigger challenge, I am confident that it will be a success.”

SAINTFIELD — Families who live in Windmill Hollow in Saintfield have got the wind in their sails about a new factory being built beside their homes.

Dorphin Unit Buildings of Castlereagh have received planning permission to go ahead and build a factory, but the half dozen families who live at Windmill Hollow say it will spoil their view of the countryside.

“I came here because I wanted to live in the country,” said one resident. 

A spokesman for Dorphin Unit Buildings said that their new factory will be landscaped and every effort will be made to retain the rural surroundings at Windmill Hollow.

SPELGA — Rumours that there is a crack in the 600 million gallon Spelga Dam have been firmly denied by the Department of the Environment. A spokesman said the stories were “completely untrue” and were only “silly scaremongering.”

At present there is some work being carried out on the face of the dam, but the spokesman explained that this was only a follow-up to an operation carried out two years ago to provide siphon spillways.

So anyone who feared that the dam was about to burst its banks and flood the whole valley can rest easy — it’s just a rumour.

Indeed, safety precautions at Spelga are very good, with regular monthly inspections carried out in a passage up the inside of the dam wall, which is 102 feet thick at its base.

Although the dam is 20 years old this August, it is expected that the 80,000 cubic yards of concrete used to build the 1,132ft x 98ft wall will be safe for a long time to come.

ARDGLASS — A young Ardglass butcher who runs a mobile butchery service for rural housewives is the subject of this Monday’s Land and Larder programme on BBC1.

Twenty-one year-old Leonard Wills, who helps his father run a butchery business in Kildare Street, was photographed on his rounds by a BBC team. Leonard, who was chosen for the programme because he was one of the former students at Belfast College of Business Studies who went straight into a job after attending a course in Meat Technology.

Leonard is quite content with the variety offered to him in his current job and his Saturday afternoon games for Ardglass soccer team.

CASTLEWELLAN — The state of many roads in the Castlewellan area has been condemned by one of the candidates in the forthcoming local government elections.

Mrs Ethel Smuyth, the Official Unionist candidate for area C in Down District, has pledged that if returned she will make a determined bid to rectify the situation.

She said: “When one considers the huge rates that people are being asked to pay, the very least they could expect in return would be decent roads, kept in a reasonable state of repair.”

One of Mrs Smyth’s bitterest complaints is the part of the Whitford Road that runs between Aughlisnafin chapel and Aughlisnafin Orange Hall. She described this road as “deplorable.”

NEWCASTLE — THE newly renovated St Mary’s Parochial Hall in Newcastle was the venue for the stage musical Oliver!. The hall was packed for the four performances put on by St Mary’s amateur Choral Society.

Altogether more than 90 people took part in the musical, which was produced by Angela Bradley. The musical director was John Scullion.

BALLYGOWAN — Football or sewage? — that’s the choice facing Ards Borough councillors in Ballygowan at the moment.

To facilitate their work, contractors engaged in a sewage scheme in Ballygowan have requested the use of a four-metre strip of land along a council-owned football pitch. They say they need the ground to give their vehicles access to the building site.

However, the council are reluctant to part with the land as it would mean taking some 13 feet off their football pitch, making it much too small to play on.

To complicate the problem even more, the council have just recently completed a new pavilion at the ground — a pavilion that would lie empty if the pitch were not being used.

Even though the contractors only need the land for two years, many councillors fell that it would be very unfortunate if the pitch was out of use for that length of time.

SEAFORDE — Miss Lydia de Burgh, the Seaforde artist, received a surprise honour from the Ulster Society of Women Artists when she was presented with a silver salver for the Most Outstanding Picture of the Year.

It is an unexpected but well-earned honour for Miss de Burgh, whose work has long been sought after both here in Northern Ireland and across the water.

One of Miss de Burgh’s Co Down landscapes was recently given to the Secretary of State, Mr Merlyn Rees, as a farewell gift on his retirement from the province.

KILMORE — Fifteen years for service at Kilmore Presbyterian Church by the Rev Dr W D Bailie and his family were marked by a special presentation at the church’s annual congregational meeting.

Members of the congregation presented Dr Bailie with a substantial cheque, his wife with a cameo brooch and his daughter, Rosemary, with a gold bracelet in token of their appreciation of the family’s work since they came to Kilmore in 1962.

Dr Bailie thanked the congregation for their generosity and good wishes and stated some interesting facts and figures about his work in Kilmore since his installation.

“In the past 15 years I have officiated at the weddings of 47 young couples, baptised 85 babies, instructed 58 young people prior to their being admitted to the Lord’s Table and taken part in 120 funerals,” he told the meeting.

PORTAFERRY — A new branch of Action Cancer has been formed in Portaferry. The decision to start the new group was taken on Monday night at a meeting held in the Portaferry Hotel, which was addressed by a top representative from Action Cancer.

Dr G Edelstyn, chief medical officer in the treatment of cancer, showed slides and led a discussion on the disease and the efforts being made to combat it.

CARRYDUFF — A weather balloon, complete with parachute and instrument container, was found near Carryduff on Friday. The balloon, which had been sent up by the Meteorological Office, was found in a field owned by Major R L Hall-Thompson, of Purdysburn Hill, Ballylesson.

KIRCUBBIN — The dedication of a new organ forms part of Kircubbin Presbyterian Church’s bi-centennial celebrations on March 11. A special thanksgiving service will be donated by the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Jack Weir, who will dedicate the new organ.