Milestone anniversary for talking newspaper project

Milestone anniversary for talking newspaper project

9 December 2015

A TALKING newspaper which has provided visually impaired and blind people in the area with regular updates about who is making the news headlines locally is celebrating its 38th birthday.

Downpatrick Lions Club launched the Downsound talking newspaper in November 1977 and its 1000th edition will be sent out next May, keeping people abreast with the latest developments across the district.

The success of Downsound is due to the dedication of a band of committed volunteers whose words provide an insight into the comings and goings across the district and what the various movers and shakers are up to.

The first tapes were distributed on Armistice Day 38 years ago after some of the volunteers who launched the scheme went to Lisburn to find out about the talking newspaper launched by the city’s Leo Club.

Armed with information about the Lisburn paper, the volunteers returned to Downpatrick to set about creating their own to provide what has become a hugely popular service with the visually impaired and the blind.

Founding members included John Riordan, Margaret Orr, Richard Prytherch and Terry Torney, the latter of whom is still keeping the show on the road every two weeks.

Cecil Johnston was pictured at the tape recording machine in 1981 when the group celebrated sending out Downsound’s 100th edition, while Vincent Murphy also contributed greatly. Former stalwarts of the Downsound team have included Len Edwards, Tom Morrison and Anne Walsh. 

Also heavily involved in the early days were Liam Conlon, Deirdre Curran, Dorothy Johnston, Colin Flinn, Michael Bohill, Brendan Rodgers, Collette Rooney and Kathleen and Peter McKenny. 

The group has involved well over 20 volunteers over the years and has moved its base a number of times. Originally located in the Teachers’ Centre at Mount Crescent, Downsound later moved to Pound Lane, then to the town’s Social Services offices. 

After a spell at St. John’s Nursing Home in Pound Lane, the group finally settled at the Downshire Hospital where it was offered various rooms to record, edit and pack up the tapes for distribution, which is looked after by the Post Office free of charge.

In the early years, monthly music editions and regular interviews were introduced as well as readings from local newspapers including the Down Recorder, with a number of special interviews featuring the keeper of St John’s Point Lighthouse, Mary Peters and Walter Love.

Tapes have been going out to all those who request them every fortnight for the past 38 years with Downsound’s 1000th edition due to be distributed next May.

A number of those early recruits to the Downsound team are still involved and attending regularly to read for the listeners. Margaret Orr, Liam Conlon and Deirdre Curran were joined by Hazel and Roger Dunford, and more recently by Tommy Briggs, Mike King and Anne Miller.

People who live locally who believe they would benefit from the talking newspaper are asked to contact their local Sensory Support Team on (028) 4461 6915.