Hi Everyone.

Who can give us some memory's of some great Lisburn character's of the past and present.
And maybe some info on how they are going today or what they did in the past.
Here's one to start off with Dirty Dick or was called Filthy Richard on a Sunday, never new his real name but always used to hang about Lisburn square...any tails about Richard...

his name was mc comisky i think, and lived in hill street?

Hi John .

I wonder would you mean George Mc Comiskey , I never have known him to be called the names you have given. He lived with his family of two brother's and sister's at the top end of church street and hill street . The family had an upholstery business, repairing chair's and sofa's , George travelled about with his brother , collecting job's on a small pony and cart, they also had a BILLIE GOAT and other livestock in the back yard .
Do anyone remember Blind Charley Dougherty.

Hi John
I was brought up in the Plantation Lane and accros the road lived little Billy Dalziel. He was well known around the Bridge Street area where he did Bookies runner going from pub to pub. His nick name was Grizzle.
One day he told my mother that he was expecting a very important visitor, a Lady Clanwilliam. Billy asked if he could borrow a couple of cups as he was going to make her tea.
My Mother made up a tray with cups and saucers also some biscuits and wee buns.
Billy also brought a basin out into his garden and proceeded to have a stand up wash in full view of all us kids.
He then put on a suit that he had borrowed from someone a lot thinner than he was and also put on a top hat.
We all thought he was codding but around the corner came a big Rolls Royce complete with driver dressed in black.
The Lady got out and Grizzle bowed and took her down to the house where they had tea at the front door.
We all got told off by the driver for trying to see inside the car.
On her departure Billy was the toast of the Lane and we never doubted any of the stories he told.

Thankyou John for your story i never new Billy but they were the great times mate.
Anymore stories please make another post.

Hi Tom
Thankyou for your post, i only new dirty dick by nic name told to me by others many years ago, all i know is, he always hung about the square near the bus stops and things never seen a pony and cart with him... but could have had one.
Anymore stories please make another post.
John

Hi all
Another one must be the great Davey Jones what a character he was, he used to say i know one thing i can do but you can't, and you would say what's that Davey, and he'd say i can walk between your legs but you can't walk between mine.
Yes you got me Davey......

Hi John and John,

We had another character in the Co.Down,we referred to him as "Smelly Harry". Harry Chapman was his name, I think he was a farm labourer out Hillhall way.He used to befriend us kids, I remember my Mother telling me to stay away from that Harry Chapman as there have been some bad stories, I never did find out what the stories were.

Beano

john
i remember charlie doherty as i suppose do others reading this forum bob finlay? bill irwin? he used to spend a lot of time around antrim street mckeown street area. i believe he used to sleep in a bushy sheltered little space adjacent hilden bridge?
beano i also ran across harry chapman a lot of us talked to him in wee park i think and saw the outside of his little humpy close to the lagan in county down but your mother was right i think? we all stayed instinctively together and having viewed the residence movedon up the lagan bank
all memories good luck tom

Charlie Dougherty slept also in the " buildings ", that was the covered seats, used at lunchtime by the workers and on Saturday by the punters who placed their bets with Pete Rickard who was a bookie,s runner beside the front gate at Hilden mill where the dining room was. He walked down the front street every evening , knocking the doors in passing with his cane and shouted up the hallways, " How are you all doing tonight ?" Then he lay down on the narrow wooden wooden bench with nothing to cover him only his greatcoat which he wore winter and summer. He was knocked down crossing the street in Belfast about fifty years ago, a few locals , including Billy McKitterick from Hilden went to Belfast for the funeral.
Donald

Hi there John, I lived at young st.one day when my uncle was home on leave from the royal navy he was walking up bridge st. with my younger brother when grizzle stopped them and complained to my uncle that my brother had taken a rotten tomato from Harry Marks fruit stand at the bottem of the hill and threw it at him,then he stood waiting for justice, my uncle then asked my brother if the tomato had hit grizzle,when he replied no he only came close my uncle hit my brother a pretend clip on the ear and said the next time you throw a tomato at him make sure you hit him. grizzle wasn't to happy! What about auld hand?ken.

John Would you recall a character called Galloper Thompson who collected refuse for feeding the pigs he drove a horse and cart the horse youse to kick hell out of the cart with its back legs. Galloper sometimes sold a few fowl to Elmores would get the money for the fowl leave the horse and cart in the yard and drink the money in Neesons then when he came back Felix would have the cart and the bins washed with Jeys Fluid it killed the smell for a day or so and then you wouldn't see him for a month or so.
John there is some blasts from the past surfaceing now it seems another world. Regards Ted

Does another remember a man by the name of, I think McCormack. He used to be a ventriologist and he would perform at many of the shows around Lisburn. I remember when I danced with Mildred Kindred (she had a dance school over the Co. Down in the wee park right beside the Lagan) he would perform at the recitals. I believe my cousin told me that he went on to be a minister. Does anyone remember him?

Hi .
Thank's all for info on Charley Dougherty, I remember Davy Jones delivering coal brick assisted by Paddy Stoop's driving a small lorry with only one arm. And also i was told that Davy Jones used to go into the pub's , and for a bet would sit on an upturned pint beer glass. Regarding the ventriloquist's name would it be BOB Mc Cormack or Charley Mc Carthy.
Regard's .

Tommy

Tom: It was Bob McCormick.

Yes Ted i love to here the old stories mate.
I didn't know Gallloper but i can remember a story about him.
He was coming down the Longstone and decided to stop for a quick pint parked the old horse and cart outside of one of the houses which had a long passage way entry remmeber the ones.
A few of his friends dismantled the horse afrom the cart and put it at the end of the passage turned the cart sideways and re connected the cart to the horse.
When Galloper came out and found the horse and cart couldn't beleve his eyes.
He thought the wee folk did it. :-)
Regards
John

Beano
I heard the same tales about Smelly but never came across him..
Was always told keep away from him but never found out why...:-)
Keep em coming..
Regards
John

Hi Everyone,
Just remembered another great spot to visit!!
Anyone remember the Star cinema in the square don't know what is there now.
But had some great nights at the old place, can remember a great character called Mickey Dickie anyone remember him?

In the fifties the cinema was named "The Picture House ", the " pit " entrance was in Grahms Gardens, a tanner entrance, films such as, The Mystery Riders , Bowery Boys, Laurel and Hardy, come to mind . Then later the " first house and "second house", courting in the back row of the stalls. Sometimes when we were queing to get in we would be entertained by "Artists " who would sing through a rolled up "Tele" and afterwards collect. It was replaced by a bank.
Donald

if i did nt share sweets etc, my granny wouid say i was as miserable [miserly] as micky sharkey.any ideas?

Ted
Galloper Thompson was Ronnie Thompson's (Funeral Director) Grandfather.

Jim

Hi Jim
This would suprise me as i remember Ronnie Thompson's Father and the age wouldn't seem right?
I think the Galloper I remember came from out the Moira Road, could there possible be two? maybe some one might confirm it.
Regards Ted

Micky Sharkey, also known as Mick the miser, lived two doors down from us in the back street ( Bridge Street ) Hilden before we had to vacate it as my dad left the mill,s employ around 1960. We lived in Nr 90 , he in 88 or 92. Between us was the Leathem family. Mickey was a bachelor,worked as a clerk in Hilden mill and hated spending money. As boys we used to torture him , knocking his door and running away. Rumor said he inherited a large sum of money from his parents who owned and sold houses or land beside the Catholic church in Chapel Hill. He wore patched clothes , was a devout churchgoer and never did anyone any harm. It was said that when in the church there was a silver collection he once placed a Free State silver threepenny piece on the plate!

At "The Picture House" "pit" entrance in Grahms Gardens there was an adjacent window from the cinema toilets. In the 1940s a film called "The Black Swan" starring Tyrone Power was being shown. Due to lack of funds I found it necessary to squeeze through the very small top opening in the window, assisted by others pushing and shoving. Picking myself off the floor I was confronted by PC CHESSNUT who grabbed my left ear and marched out of the toilet, down the cinema and across the front of the screen and up the middle aisle, out of the cinema (still holding my left ear) and then straight to my home.

I suppose had it happened today it would have meant a court case. I bet there are a million stories about CHEESER.

PC Chessnut, if I remember lived together with his son and daughter at the bottom of Grove St in a huge house possibly owned by Barbour which was demolished, then moving to Longstone, the daughter a very good looking girl attended Hilden school and the son Mervyn I remember joined the Air force and on leave had always duty free ciggies which he distributed to us boys. He ( the father ) was an ex policeman which brings another name to mind McDevitt. I remember him after leaving the force working in Carreras cigarette factory in Iverna St Belfast as head of security. Another police man who comes to mind is Constable Reilly who also acheived fame as a table tennis player.
Almost fifty years ago
Donald

Hi all .

I remember takeing pound size jampot's to Munn's bakery shop , faceing Haslem's Lane in Lisburn centre, and also going to Lagan Sack Mill's with old potato bag's to make a bit of money for entrance to the Pit at the picture house, after queing for a while , it was a mad charge when the the half door opened, and getting crushed in the scramble.And then after the picture's over, slapping our backsides after seeing THE MYSTERY RIDER'S , running around to FUSCO'S or GINESES for a chip . By the way does anyone remember LILLIES chip shop with the twisted
wire fork's for cutlery, And also any memories of
a house in Haslem's lane facing the public toilet's , The lady of this house sold candy apples.

A Hilden couple , Dan and Lizzie Fitzsimmons who lived facing the girl,s entrance to the school also made penny toffee apples on the enamail plate in front of the fire. We ate them and are still living almost 60 years later.
Mrs Bleakley the shopkeeper also made and sold them. Sometimes as a treat they were sprinkled with grated coconut. Funny but I still remember going there with our ration books for sugar and tobacco and her cutting the coupons out using small scissors. Her wee shop window was an Eldorado for us kids with no cash.
Donald

bob donald thomas
i thought constable was chestnut? he lived i think longstone and knew us antrim stret kids very well see bob's finlays s torey but i think he had lots of kid's all very good looking donald mervyn joined the irish guards and came home in uniform with the hat peak touching the nose?

haslems lane we used to go that way from antrim street to christ church and having conned the money a toffee apple was a great treat
good luck tom

Wouldn't you think I had somehing better to do on a Sunday evening, but here I am again, this time to say, hand on heart, although I don't know where Lilies chipshop was, I do remember that the chips tasted awful compared with Ginesi's.
Thanks to whoever drew my attention to that piece from the Star about the Ginesi family.
Does anybody remember a wee man called Billy Logue, unconnected, as far as I know, to the family of that name previously referred to on this forum?
During and shortly after the war, he used to go to the Wee Hall, and dance with either male or female.

Hi Dabbler .
Great to hear you are still on line , do you remember Cairnduff's cafe on Bridge Street , where he served up to us fellow's , after a night's dancing in the Fiesta Ballroom in Belfast , home by train , into Cairnduff's , for a pint of milk , a pie , mushey pea's , how's that for a nightcap , for going to bed,By the way Lillies chipshop was across the street , beside Battisties. I think that was the name .or maybe Battistie's was later .

Keep writing i enjoy your story's.

Tommy .

Hi dab
I can remmber the name Billy Logue slightly will try too find out more about him.
Hung around in corners after the ladies :-)