Hi to all EX - Lisburnites,from Glengormley Norn Ireland. All Good Wishes for a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year, Glad to hear my dear friend's Billy and Doreen are keeping well ,and wish them good health in 2007.

Hiya Thomas
I'm poppin in here while the wife is on the phone to family mambers. They hear enough of me all year
Was Barrack Street the 'back lane', off the old Hill Street? I remember the McCombs.
I am still fascinated by memories of the characters and places of childhood and early adulthood that pop into my ageing head without warning.
Thanks Jim, for this site. My thoughts take in the sad loss of your son a few years ago.
Love and best wishes to everyone who reads or contributes to the forum.
Whatever your religion, or lack of it, we all have SO much in common
Merry Christmas.

Joe

Hi Dabbler ,
Re Barrack St , in was situated at the bottom of Church St , beside Christ church walls leading down to Smithfield Square. We used to play down it on our wheeled guider's. Re , i think the Mc Comb's lived down by Coulson's mill. All best wishes to your self and your family , for Christmas and New Year. and good health, and happiness'

my aunt maggie was masrried to jacky campbell who lived in church street or barrack street he worked in burnhouse. his brother jim was sexton of christ church and another brother norman was ruc. funny how you switch on for a look and memories invade?
merry christmas and good luck tom

just a reflection i was at christ church hall for bugle practice probably with beano and others one night and sexton jim was nailing a notice on the wall to say NO SMOKING and had a cigarette dangling from his mouth? those were the days? no political correctness gone mad lots of humour

Greetings from Tasmania, Australia

Sitting here in Tasmania 12,000 miles away, all your comments bring back the Lisburn of my youth. Keep the thoughts coming and may 2007 be a year when most of what you pray for, eventuates.

All the best foir the next year

Sean

mc combs lived in barrack lane.the back lane was from the top of hill st to the union bridge.barrack lane met the back lane about halfway down. to everyone, a happy and peacefull new year.

Hi, boys and girls
Barrack Lane, yes, of course. I think that what we called the back lane was both Barrack Lane and the left turn down to the bridge, called Laganbank Road. The Adams family lived down there, just up from the gasworks. Jackie, married to my cousin, I think, and elder brother Raith.
I learned to ride a bike in Barrack Lane. Well, sort of. Billy Cree threw me on to the saddle and shoved, he and his lovely mad brother Alan laughing their heads off as I just managed to turn right before hitting that factory. I remember riding back, flushed, flustered, and triumphant.
New Year rapidly approaching, and new memories surfacing.
Thanks, hollah, my friend of shared memories.
Joe

Me again.
Sean - Bertie Fitsimmons, Brendan Fitzpatrick, canes up the chimney? Does that remind you of school?

As youngsters, and even into teens, we used to walk, and walk, and walk.
Magherafelt Road, Magherlave Road, Ballinderry Road, I still can't spell them, and don't remember where they were or to where they led, but, boy, did I walk them. I walked to Derriaghy and back, from Lisburn town centre, and to Dromore and back.
I guess that's how I built the strength to ski into my short pipecleaner legs.

The Gas Works are mentioned and I remember as a young child if you had whopping cough - there was an old wives' tale that if the mother walked the child past the Gas Works that you were cured of Whopping cough. I know my mother did this.

My Aunt told me some mothers actually held the ailing child into the gas tank as a cure for whooping cough. It happened to me or my brother if she told the truth, sometime in the late forties.

I once took a lungful of the steam from the coke, and I'm still here to tell the tale.

Hi DABBLER AND ALL EX-LISBURNITES.
Hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas period. Re, Gaswork's .I used to go down to Gaswork's for Tar for my mother and my aunt's yard wall's.And also some coke for the fire. Alan Cree was in my class at school,wonder were he is now.Change of subject , do you remember Blind Charley Dougherty, Paddy Stoop's who had one arm and assisted Davy Jones on the coalbrick lorry. Also Bobby Griffin , and finally The Character's who used to travel around the street's,Namely the knife sharpener, indian selling american ties,and giving my mother a good luck sea shell.There was also a large gentleman ,wieh ginger hair , wearing a n army greatcoat ,with his chest bare singing with his hand over one ear , the old song's , and he had the most beautifull strong bass voice. A memories, my wife want's to see my birth certificate.

Regard's

Tommy

Bobby Griffen always knew the Lisburn cricket team,s score, " Lisburn 245 all out aul hand! " was his standard greeting. I think the ginger haired tenor entertained the queues for the " second house". He sang into a rolled up newspaper and gave a running commentary on a football match between Rangers and Celtic, rolling up his trouser legs and diving for the ball. Paddy Stoupes attended school I think with my Dad, Eddie Watters, at least they were very good pals. You forgot to mention John Jefferson who attended every funeral in and around Lisburn.
Donald

Hi Donald .

Thank's for info on the Characters of the past , i did not know John Jefferson. Would you be related to a Desmond (Dessie ) Watters who lived in Church Street.
All Best Wishes for the New Year.

Regard's .

Tommy

Hi
Dessie Watters Granda ,John Watters and my Granda Tommy Watters were cousins I think, also faintly related was Adrian Watters from Smithfield, his father was also John,s son I think.
Donald

Hi Donald .
Dessie as i remember was in the building trade . I have the honor of teaching him how to drive , in the day's before driving examination's , could you tell me where he is now. The last time i heard of Dessie he was living down the avenue facing Wallace Park on the Belfast Road side .

Tommy

Sorry Thomas
I never heard from him after he left Hilden school about 50 years ago. His younger sister owned a hairdressing saloon somewhere around Lisburn. He used to go for lunch to his great Aunt Brigit Watters who lived in the little yellow houses beside East Down View where the forty ones used to emerge onto the Lowroad before the new houses were built
Donald

Hi DONALD .
Thanks again for info we are like ship's that pass in the night . And everyone moves on .

Regard's .

Tommy

Sorry Tommy
After I wrote I remembered seeing Dessie once more, it was during my apprenticeship in Mackies early sixties, he was working for a glazing firm repairing a glass roof there. I think most of the family were glaziers, also the Granda old John. He had a limp and used a stick when walking , the result of a accident, falling from a roof while working. His sons were good sportsmen, Ginger was a very good boxer and Francie played football for Distillery..
By the way who was Lulu?
Donald

Tommy and Donald
I have a faint memory of most of the characters mentioned.
I'm not sure if ANYBODY knew who or what Lulu was. She was a big girl, and knew where to kick a man

Hi Donald , Dabbler .
I vaguely remember Lulu,around Lisburn , She was a loud spoken lady , with a hearty laugh.I am not sure , but i think she was of east indian origin , with a mop of dark curleyhair and as most polititian's say don't quote me . Donald it is a small world .I worked in Mackies Foundry for 17 yrs in the Transport Dept, And enjoyed every moment. Where a about's did you work .

Regard's .

Tommy.

Hi All,

Didn't Lulu live in one of the old houses in Haslam's Lane?. One thing, she sure could sing, her speciality in the 50s was "St Teresa of the Roses". I was in a talent competition in the Legion during a "Dave Glover" night, Lulu was in it, so was Patsy Taggert,both of them should have won it on talent. However it was audience participation,all our football team and the girls they were "chasin" were there,so.... I got the 30 shillings, so much for talent.

I worked in Mackies, Boystown then the Jute drawing 1960 - 65.
Can,t say I remember Lulu, although I remember Houses in Haslems Lane and I have recollections of a small man playing music on a saw on market day there. He held the wooden handle under his chin and stroked it with a violin bow. He actually brought music out .
Donald

Beano
That was interesting about the talent show. Jimmy Taggart, who would now be about sixtynine, told me that his uncle, a tenor, won a number of such contests. Jimmy's dad, Frank, a bus conductor, once came second to his brother. Several of that family, including Jimmy, were very good harmonica players.
Joe

Donald,

I worked in Mackies (57/64) in the "Stores Accounts" office responsible for Foundry maintenance supplies.My brother Bobby served his apprenticeship there 54/59 and I think the dept was called "Drawing Erection" I do remember his foreman was called "Big Lockey",Bobby worked in Mackies for 39 years.

Dabbler,

The Patsy Taggert I refer to, would now be in his early eighties,his sister Maureen married Sambo Hanna, he was an excellent tenor, not the kind of voice for a Legion dance. By the way, the following week the talent contest was won by Tom (Squaw)Troughton's skiffle group. Those were the days.

Beano

Hi Billy .

Whenyou are speaking to Bobby , tell him that his ex foreman BIG Lockey , William Loughlin , is now a widower and living in Fold on the Doagh Road at Ballyclare . I have a friend who does home help for him . A memories of the day's we left behind , Misty water colored memories of the job's we left behind.
O Happy Day's .
Regard's .

Tommy

Dabbler, Brendan Fitzpatrick never taught me but Bertie did. Mr ? Cavanagh was my teacher. Canes up the chimney to cook them so they lasted longer, or was it to make them harder like conkers? One of the less attractive tasks was when you were sent down to Mrs Blacks wee shop to buy some new canes to get a few. I guess it didn't do us any damage in the long run. Sean

Beano
I'm having a great time with the grandchildren. Hope you are too. When you get back, I wonder if you could clarify something for me? I read here that Patsy Taggart's sister, Maureen, married Sambo Hanna. I could have sworn that Sambo married a girl called Teresa, who worked as a spinner in Stewarts Mill in 1950.
Joe

Tommy, I'm sorry to tell you that Alan Cree died some years ago. His brother, Billy, I was told, was still alive last year. Don't know about Betty or Derek.
I heard too, that Frankie Taggart is dead, but older brother Jimmy is/was alive. I have written previously about the Taggarts, whose mother used to make, and sell for pennies, toffee apples, and lollipops, when they lived at the corner of the old Hill Street and the 'Back Lane'. Their little old house is shown on one of the Lisburn of Old photographs. There were a couple of sisters, wee Rosaleen, and Annie, who, God bless her, wore calipers on her legs. Brother Jimmy used to encourage me to pretend I was going to give her a kiss, and she would 'dash' indoors as fast as she could move. It makes me feel... sort of sad... yet pleased in a way, thinking about that.

Hi Dabbler.
Thank you for the very sad new's , about Alan Cree's death , we sometimes think that we go on forever . Alan was a good looking likable schoolmate . We never know what illness or which way we are to end our day's . The name Frankie Taggart is familier , but like yourself it is hard to remember everyone .The only shop's i can think of in hill street were Donegan's and Moore's , there was one across from Donegan's , but memory fail's me . Do you ever wonder should we have written our past memories on to paper .
I was just relating to my wife today , about how , and when i started work . These thing's are soon forgotten . All good health and take care.

Tommy