From the pages of the Down Recorder, October 12, 1976

From the pages of the Down Recorder, October 12, 1976

12 October 2016

DOWNPATRICK — A mother who had lost a child and a wife who had lost a husband were only two of the people who broke down with emotion at Saturday’s Peace People rally in Downpatrick.

They were two of at least 5,000 people who came from all parts of Northern Ireland to dedicate themselves to hard work — months, even years of hard work to restore peace, respect for the individual and respect for each other’s traditions.

Clergy, councillors and community leaders were there too, but none of them was asked to take any formal part in the rally. Although it took more than half an hour for the thousands to file into Dunleath Park for a simple, but very positive rally that lasted 45 minutes, those who were present still talk about the effect it had on them.

The purpose of the rally was best summed up by Kieran McKeown, one of the Peace People. He spoke of the role of men and women in building peace and of what people had to do when all the rallies were over. It was their job to translate hope into hard work that would bring results.

“We have to be just as determined, just as dedicated and just as courageous as any of the paramilitary organisations have been in theirs,” he said. “We need their kind of dedication when it comes to building a society in which their kind of war is no longer a way of answering questions.

“The Peace People’s message has been called Utopian, but it means hard work that must be made to bring results,” he added amid tremendous applause.

BALLYNAHINCH — A Ballynahinch couple whose ten year-old daughter has not been to school since June are living under a threat of prosecution unless she starts immediately.

But Mr Samuel Drury and his wife, who live at Ballylone Road, are prepared to go go jail rather than send their daughter Gillan to the new primary school in Saintfield. They are determined that Gillian will go to the smaller Ballycloughan school where they feel she will receive more attention.

The South Eastern Education and Library Board are equally determined that if her parents cannot provide transport to Ballycloughan, then Gillian will have to go school in Saintfield. They run a bus service to the Saintfield school and are unable to carry Gillian as the sole passenger to Ballymacarmery, which is further away.

Mrs Drury said: “It is not us who are keeping Gillian out of school, but the Education Board. It is ridiculous that they won’t give in.”

Mrs Drury stressed that she and her husband would not give in on what to them is a matter of principle.

CROSSGAR — Six families in a Crossgar housing estate, who have been withholding rent from the Housing Executive, have decided to pay up — exactly one year later.

The families, from Morningside in the Westlands estate, began the rent strike to highlight the fact that they had no roadway in front of their homes. But now, 12 months later, their protests have been answered.

This week the controversial 30-yard strip of undeveloped land — half top soil and stones, half grass and weeds — was cleared and the laying of the tarmac began. Accordingly, the resents ended their protests and a year’s rent, totalling more than £1,000, was forwarded to the Housing Executive.

Mr Bobby Greer, one of the the residents involved, said: “It was not a case of us refusing to pay our rent — just a case of withholding it until our pleas were held. All we wanted was a road to be built and nothing else. The road was something to which we were entitled.

The total amount repaid is £1,084 and includes an extra £34 — the interest received by the residents from a bank account into which they had paid their weekly rent.

Mr Greer added: “The rent belonged to them, so any interest that we accumulated should go to them too.”

NEWCASTLE — A recent bakery competition has revealed something which Newcastle housewives have known for years — that Newcastle’s home bakeries are among the best in the province.

Bakeries from as far away as Coleraine and Derry took part in the competition which was sponsored by the NI Bakers’ Union and the National Union of Small Shopkeepers.

Top of the list in Newcastle was the Cookie Jar which won first place for its morning baps, sultana fruit loaf and its Dundee and Genoa cakes. It was also highly commended on its crusty loaves, soda and wheaten farls and cherry and madeira cakes.

If its sausage rolls you want then the Strand Bakery is the place to go, for theirs were highly recommended in the competition. The Strand’s Swiss and chocolate rolls won third place in those sections and their soda farls and crusty loaves were commended.

The other Newcastle winner was Nugent’s, who got second place in the sultana fruit loaf section and third in the pancake section.

BALLYGOWAN — A big programme of expansion has been carried out at the Belfast Ropeworks factory in Ballygowan. Later this year the whole company will transfer from their old East Belfast premises to the Ballygowan factory, which is some 150,000 square feet.

Although the exact number has not been worked out yet, it is expected that the move will mean some redundancies for the Belfast workforce because of rationalisation.

It is hoped the move may restore some of the former glory of the Ropeworks which was credited with being the biggest world, employing 2,000 people. However, this dominant position was gradually whittled away by a fall off in demand and a rise in foreign competition.

DRUMAROAD — Drumaroad Community Centre is the setting tomorrow night for the ‘Miss County Down’ beauty contest — the official heat for the ‘Miss Ireland’ contest in a fortnight’s time.

Judging is based on facial beauty, figure, deportment and general conversational ability. The chief adjudicator is Brian McSherry, of Downtown Radio.

The winner will go forward to the ‘Miss Ireland’ final in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, on October 30 when the lucky winner can look forward to handsome prizes such as £250 cash, a wardrobe of clothes and all-expensed paid trips to Miss World in London, Miss Universe, Miss Europe and Miss International contests.

CASTLEWELLAN — A new pheasant season got underway at the beginning of the month — and one of the biggest centres for pheasant shooting is Castlewellan Forest Park. The 1,200-acre forest park is reported to have a record of birds for the hunters — some 3,000 pheasants in all.

Shooting rights in the park are still the exclusive right of the Annesley family and fees to hunt the birds are in the region of five of six hundred pounds a year, plus expenses of around £10 a day.

PORTAFERRY — The annual meeting of the Portaferry branchof the SDLP was held at the weekend when the guest speakers were Mr Cathal O’Boyle and Mr Eamonn O’Neill. Branch members were told of a highly successful year, crowned by the establishment of a new branch in Bangor and many speakers looked forward to a bright future for the party in the area.

COMBER — Second Presbyterian Church, Comber, held a festival of flowers at the weekend with the proceeds going towards their property fund. The festival was opened by the Hon Mrs Osborne King, of Rademon, Crossgar, and altogether there were 14 arrangements depicting the theme ‘The Earth is the Lords’s and the fullness thereof.’

Apart from the flower arrangements, the pulpit, pillars, gallery and baptismal font were beautifully decorated in accordance with the festival’s theme.

CARRYDUFF Gaelic Football Club held their annual meeting on Sunday and elected the committee to guide the next year. Former Down and Ulster star Dan McCartan has been appointed team manager and sole selector for the coming year.