Mr. James McKinney

JIMMY McKinney, who has died, was born in Loughinisland in 1921, the third of six children.

He was a man of many talents who had a lot of interests, including all things military. He had a fascination for cannons and restored quite a few of them.

He loved poetry, music and was an accomplished painter. He also taught himself to play at the bagpipes at the age of 62.

His main passion in life was speed. he owned a number of motorbikes, including a Manx Norton which thundered around the quiet roads of Loughinisland at 100mph in the 1950s, much to the dismay of the local constabulary.

Jimmy was a great storyteller and had an amazing memory for dates and facts.

Over the years he made many friends on his travels, but the one special person in his life was his wife, Maureen, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2006. He will be sadly missed.