From the pages of the Down Recorder, May 28, 1974

From the pages of the Down Recorder, May 28, 1974

28 May 2014

STRIKE — Shops with low food stocks, garages with no fuel, pubs running out beer — that’s the grim picture this morning throughout strike-hit Northern Ireland.

In Down the pattern is the same as anywhere in the province. Most concern during a troubled week has centred around adequate provisions for the elderly, the sick and the disabled and the hope that enough is being done to ensure their welfare.

All children going to school may have to take packed lunches unless the crisis allows improvements to the school meals service, a spokesman for the education board said. Principals of rural schools have found difficulty in giving their daily requirements to central meals kitchens with the result that meals are arriving for children who had brought packed lunches.

Those schools with their own kitchens are coping remarkably well and although perishable foods are in short supply, stocks of tinned food, potatoes and, in some cases, meat and vegetables should last for a few days.

Farmers are among the hardest hit. Stoppage of feed supplies has led to an enforced massacre of poultry and pigs. Thousands of eggs have been left rotting because of distribution problems and fresh vegetables have been conspicuous by their absence at markets.

As petrol stations close down one after another, so more and more people who travel to work are becoming isolated in their homes. Several garage proprietors have blamed panic buying and greet for petrol supplies running out quickly.

Before rationing was introduced at filling stations people were coming from as far as Bangor and Belfast to Downpatrick. One customer boasted that he had driven 80 miles to get a tank full.

BALLYNAHINCH — Shortly after midnight on Monday five buses were hijacked from the Ulsterbus station in Ballynahinch and placed across main roads leading out of the town. They were not immobilised or set on fire and were moved a short time later by police, who returned them to the depot. Only one vehicle was slightly dented in the operation.

A tree blocked the main Belfast-Newcastle road at Temple on Tuesday morning. Several old cars and vans were included in the barricade. Ballynahinch firemen spent six hours while an elaborate hoax bomb in a hijacked bus was dealt with at Temple crossroads.

On Wednesday morning a 15-ton lorry was parked across the Belfast road in Ballynahinch and a group of masked men armed with cudgels stood by. When police arrived they reversed the lorry and re-opened the road and then dispersed.

STRANGFORD — Down District Council is to send representatives to Stormont in support of improving communication between Strangford and Portaferry, but the members are not in agreement on the best means of achieving a permanent solution.

At Monday night’s meeting the Council agreed to join Ards councillors in trying to convince the Minister that the first priority should be the provision of a road link by either bridge or barrage, with the purchase of a second ferry vessel as the alternative.

The discussion re-opened an argument that raged 16 years ago when the county council suggested the building of a barrage as the cheapest and best means of improving communications across Strangford Lough.

Mr. John Ritchie hotly opposed the construction of a road link. He said that by preparing a case in support it the council would be holding themselves up to ridicule, for the provincial purse was not bottomless.

“If we get a second ferry we would have a perfect service,” he said. “It’s very good at present, except for occasional breakdowns, and I certainly couldn’t make a case for a road.”

BALLYGOWAN — A Belfast man who accepted a £20 bet to run naked across a Ballygowan street was fined £20 for indecent behaviour when he appeared at Saintfield Court on Monday.

Describing the incident, Chief Inspector David McClintock said the man was seen running out of a pub on March 16 with his clothes under his arm. In defence, the man said he was drunk and only did it for a bet.

The RM, Mr. Martin McBirney, said it was interesting to note the amount of the bet.

CASTLEWELLAN — A recent survey by police indicated that the business people of Castlewellan would gladly consent to the erection of security barrels in Main Street.

Mr. H. Hutchman, chairman of the town committee, said at its annual meeting on Monday night that every foot a bomb was away from a building would considerably lessen the amount of damage it could do.

Barrels could be placed some distance from the footpaths on both sides of the street and although it would not restrict the flow of traffic, it would encourage a greater use of the squares for parking purposes.

The secretary, Mr. Tom King, undertook to write to the Roads Executive asking the squares be marked out so as to ensure more orderly parking.

SHRIGLEY — The new bosses of the former United Chrometanners’ factory at Shrigley are optimistic about the future of the tannery and are already planning big export drives in Europe. The new firm, Ulster Leather Company, is owned by the adjoining Atlantic Tanning Company.

A spokesman said: “We have a total workforce of 78, all jolly good people, and many of them top class craftsmen. We look forward to making a great success of this business with their help.”

DOWNPATRICK — An all-weather pitch at Downpatrick’s Dunleath Park will cost £33,492 and at this week’s district council meeting Mr. Paddy O’Donoghue said he doubted if it was the best way in which to provide playing fields.

He pointed out that for the same price several grass pitches could be provided and thought it an example of bad planning.

Apart from that it was an unnecessary amenity from the council’s point of view when one considered that Enterprise Ulster would be prepared to do the same thing for nothing.

Mr. Edward McVeigh, chairman, agreed that the cost was colossal, but said the council had already agreed to undertake the job. Mr. Cecil Maxwell said that partly due to the nature of the terrain only an all-weather pitch would meet the requirements.

Mr. Owen O’Connor, administrative officer and formerly clerk of Downpatrick Urban Council, said that the Ministry would not grant aid any future pitches in the town until at least one all-weather pitch was provided.

CROSSGAR — The Crossgar junior singers, led by their conductor, Rosemary Killen, and accompanied by Stella King, made a big impact in their first appearances in open competition.

At Holywood Music Festival they obtained second place in the class for children’s choirs and two days later at Portadown Music Festival they won the Banbridge Cup, also for children’s choirs.

Their performance is all the more commendable as they have not had a really settled home since their foundation three years ago and even had to travel to a hall in Saintfield for their pre-festival practices.

SPA — Margaret Campbell, of Spa Young Farmers’ Club, is one of ten finalists in the quest for the YFC Homemaker 1974. She will undergo a full scale cookery test and present a piece of craftwork in the finals at the King’s Hall, Balmoral, in September.

DOWNPATRICK — Ten Downpatrick teenagers will attempt to break a world record in Downpatrick Technical College.The boys are from the Downpatrick Youth Movement and the record they seek to shatter is the five-a-side indoor football marathon, which stands at 63 hours and 22 minutes.

No substitutes are permitted, but breaks of five minutes every two hours is allowed. They hope to manage at least 64 hours. The Knights of Malta will be in attendance to offer first aid and several of the mothers will be there to provide refreshments. Mr. Willie Murphy, of Murphy Jewellers, will act as timekeeper.