Hi my name is Thomas Mc Kay , and i used to live in Church Street, God's Country. I am now living in Glengormley , so i am not really an EXILE.But as i have purchased a computer , i have entered a new world, And i so enjoy reading the Exiles Website.So all best Wishes to Ex Lisburnites.

Tommy

Hi Thomas,
welcome to the forum.
The only family I knew from Church Street were the Dowlings.
I think I knew most of them.

Welcome, Thomas. Write and enjoy!

Hi LOW ROADER
Thank's very much for you welcome to the Exiles Forum,As i am a new kid on the block , i hope i can keep up with the professional's. Yes i remember the Dowling Family , they lived facing our house. Douglas , Margaret, Sally ,Sammy ,and i think Jimmy who was a jockey in England. We used to torture Mrs DOWLING ,bouncing the ball of her Gable wall.Young and foolish.It is nice to have memories of younger day's ,Playing marbles in the middle of the street,blowing cigarette card's on window sill's.Maybe you are too young to remember these games .By the way my best friend is Beono , and we most enjoy E--Mailing other ,and remembering the old day's

Regard's

Tommy

Hi Dabbler
As i am a new kid on the block, maybe i should have got myself a new Monicker , or Nickname, to start off with. Thank you very much for the very kind welcome to Lisburn Exiles. I have just purchased a computer and as i have said before it has opened up a new world. I am able to send messages to my good friend BEONO( BILLY).And school friend Daphne, All those miles away in moment's. I have also received a kind welcome from LOW ROADER, and i hope i can add a wee bit of info about the old day's in Lisburn,hoping not to make anyone too homesick.

Regard's

Tommy

Welcome to this website.

Hi Robbie.

Thank's very much for the kind welcome to the Forum . I hope i can add some memories to jolt people's , memories of the day's of our childhood.

Regard's .

Tommy

Welcome to join us Tommy. Did you go to the Central School and did you know anyone from Bradbury Buildings?
Liz

Hi Liz or maybe i should address you as Mrs Brandon.
Yes . The only person i knew from Bradbury's Building's , Was Jimmy Spence who was in my class in the Central.At the moment i am looking at a Class photograph , in which Jimmy is standing at the back row, A memories , many happy day's . Do you remember Mrs Donnigan's shop. where we used to go for sweet's and parrafin oil , not at the same time.There was another shop at the other corner , of which i have forgotten the name.Also do you recall Mrs Moore's .And finally THE Mc Comisky family, Upholsterer'

Many Thank's for the kind welcome to The Exiles .

Tom: Do you or anyone know what or where Ted Murphy is? There was another guy "Bustard" who I think ended up moving to Australia - he was a friend of Billy McCullagh. Also there was a guy named Rice that also lived around Smithfield. Also, a guy named Jim McHenry. Where did Alex Elder and George Elder end up living. I know Alex, who went to Central as well, became a soccer player somewhere in England.

I'm afraid I am forgetting a lot of people - 50 years is a long time to be left Lisburn. Let's try and keep this going to see if we can locate people. Tom you mention pictures of classes from Central. I do not have any pictures, as when we left Lisburn, my Uncle was supposed to send our photos on to us and decided to burn them instead so I only have a few, one of which is of the girls that I attended Lisburn Technical with - I have no pictures from Central.

Daphne

Another person I remember was Bobby McCready, who I think went to Toronto. He married Josephine McAlister. I worked with her at the Lilliput but have absolutely no idea of where they are now.

Daphne

Hi Tommy
If it is alright for me to call you Tommy, then it is alright for you to call me Liz. I can tell you are a gentleman Tommy! I remember the Spences, but not in detail though I guess Jimmy would have been around my age, so I bet I did know him. But I went to Largymore, my granny kept an eye on me after school at Bradbury's Buildings until my mum picked us children up when she came home from the mill.

Yes, and the shop at the corner on the left going up, Mrs Donnigans, I have vague recollections of girls going in there and pulling the wool over her eyes, ie shoplifting. I have lots of memories of that area.

Liz

Hi Daphne.
I am only a blow in to the Exiles , and already i have met some nice people, but what else could you say about Ex Lisburn people. Salt of the earth , how's that for crawling. Some names to jog your memory . JIM BUSTARD , AUSTRALIA AS FAR AS I KNOW.Wesley Rice , last seen not too well. I think Ted Murphy is still living in Lisburn.Ken Lockart,Willie Bird,Alan Cree, Jimmy Culbert, Len Mc Leer,Raymond Mc Keown,George Downey,Jack Mc Court,Bill Coates,Ken Watt,Drew Armstrong,Seymour Mathers.Nathaniel Haslam. All men from Ken Lockart on were in MR Thompson's class.Ladies and names to follow later , when remembered.I have one photograph of Central of Mr Thompson's class and my big regret in life is that i had not taken more photograph's of old Lisburn,.


Regard's

Tommy

Tom, what happened to Jimmy Spence?

Hi Dabbler.
Thank's for interest, sorry i do not know what or were Jimmy Spence is , i suppose he is happy married and a family. It is strange when we are younger we see older folk , reminising about schoolday's and now it our turn.Jimmy was in my class at THE Central,i think at the end of our term at school.I am hoping to go to the school if i can pluck up courage and time to enquire about date's and some detail's of my earlier day's, maybe they will keep me in for another course second time around .

Regard's

Tommy

Hi Liz,

Many thank's for the kind word's Re - A Gentleman, but sure all Lisburn Men are Gentlemen, maybe you married one from Lisburn. It is nice to have happy memories of Lisburn and our childhood , Wallace park on Sunday night's , Fly side ,Montgomery's ice cream,Fusco's , Ginesi's, Lilies Bridge Street.Cairnduff's pie and pea's,Corner House Cafe.Did you ever buy Toffie Apples from a house in Haslam's Lane facing the toilet's,

Regard's


Tommy

Tommy
The Jimmy Spence to whom you refer would now be about seventy. He was from Bradbury’s Buildings, and had at least two brothers, one older and one younger, and a sister, older, I believe.
I would guess that many would consider it odd to be interested in people one hasn’t seen for fifty years, That’s me alright.

Is that Jimmy Spence a tall lanky fellow? I think I knew him , he was an oiler in Nr 3 Winding in Hilden mill in the fifties.
Donald

Didn,t he have a sister called Maisie?
Donald

Donald
SPOT ON! You know EVERYBODY.

I would really love to know what happened to Gordon Mercer. I believe he moved to central Lisburn from The Maze. I don’t know exactly where he lived, but he was often in the company of lads from the Linenhall Street area, myself included. He moved to North London in the late fifties,/early sixties, did his National Service; RAF, I think; and it looked to me like he was very likely going to marry a North London girl called Sylvia. He lived for a time at Wynford Road, Islington, now non-existent, and I have a strong feeling that Sylvia lived in Cross Street.

Hi Dabbler.
I would say you are on the ball , Jimmy would be the same age as myself 69 give or take a few day's. And in regard's to Donald's comment's about Jimmy being slim built, he was of slight build as we all were at school ,

Regard's .

Tommy

P S

My Dear Friend Beono is a bit curtailed at the computer at the moment ,Re- garding his recent operation , and i am sure everyone wishes him well and soon back on the Forum.

Tommy,
Perhaps you could ask Jim to put your Central pic online?

Hi Tom.
I would really appreciate it if you could email me a copy of your photograph of Central School and I will put it one the photograph page.

This also goes to anyone who has any photographs of their schooldays or of Lisburn in early days.

By the way Seymour Mathers passed away about 3 years ago.

Jim

Hi Jim.

Sorry not replying to your E-MAIL sooner. I do not have a scanner at moment to send Photograph. But i will send as soon as possible.

Best Wishes.

Tommy.

Dear Tom:

I have returned from Ontario and had a wonderful visit with Beano and Fraser. They were all very good to me. My, how we have all changed in 50 years.

Hi Daphne.
Glad to hear you both enjoyed yourselves, in the Hanna household. I was sure you would receive a good old homely reception , after all these years. You did mention how people have changed , over the years,did you see any features , from the schoolday's . I met a man who was in my class , and i did not reconise him at all.

All Good Health

Tommy

Hi Tom
Like you I'm new to the forum but enjoy the crack and am familar with some of the respondants.
Talking about change over the years. I have a story to relate which says that some of us have left home a number of years, in my case thirty four years.
I was back home in 1983 for a period of a year and during a lunchtime was caught out by the banks closing for lunch.
As I lived out of town I decided to go into Mc Kinneys bar and wait till the bank opened again.
There was only one other customer in the bar and he came up to me and asked my name, he said he thought he reconised me. We had a good conversation and he turned out to be Maurice (Deekie) Clarke who was at Sloan Street school with me.
He said I must have been away as he had not seen me around lately.I asked him about the bag he was carrying and he said his Daughter was getting married in the morning and he had picked up his suit.
The last time I remember seeing him was at school in 1953-54 and we had an argument over the price he wanted to pay me for a pidgeon.
I think when you leave home your memories stand still.
Regards
John

John,
Thanks for that wee story about my old friend Maurice, who gave me a boxing lesson down at the quay.
Joe