A little bit of Local History

Ciaran Crilly

January 2009 after more than a decade lying derelict and in a bad state of repair this once popular hostelry and popular town pub once owned by Hugh McCann (former Club Committee member and footballer) came under the bucket of the demolition machine and was reduced to rubble in a matter of hours, a sad end to a once thriving family pub where many great stories were told and where many of the old town characters frequented. Coincidently the demolition work commenced on the date Hugh’s son-in-law Turlough O’Hare (O’Hare’s bars and Nightclub Newcastle) was buried following his sudden death on New Year’s Eve. Turlough had been married to Hugh’s eldest daughter Pauline McCann. A few years’ earlier Turlough’s family opened a new restaurant beside O’Hare’s nightclub and bar which they named ‘Hugh McCanns’ after their grandfather Hugh from Castlewellan.



History of Hugh McCann's extract from The Town book. " ...at the corner of Mary Street at what is now the entrance to TS Foods is what once was one of the town’s most popular bars ‘Hugh McCann’s or Rhub’s (short for Rhubarb, the nickname of another brother ‘Ned’) as it was popularly known. Hugh was the son of Tommy McCann and both Hugh and his brother Tom were prominent players and committee members of St Malachy’s GAC during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Their father left the pub to Hugh who later added a Footwear Shop to the business, in the 1950s, and in the 1960’s he opened a lounge to the rear of the pub which he called the ‘Grove Lounge’. It is said that he decided to call it the ‘Grove’ because it was mostly tradesmen from the Burrengrove area of the town that carried out all the renovation work.
Like every other Bar in the town Hugh’s pub was frequented by many of the town characters down through the years. Sadly most of those characters have long since gone to their eternal reward but some stories linger on. One famous story is worth recalling, although there are many more.
On the day Hugh’s youngest daughter Siobhan married Newcastle man Sean O'Rourke about the mid 1970s Hugh returned from the wedding in the evening and ncharacteristically stood all the punters in his pub a round of drinks. This were greatly received by all the town regulars present, and they drank to the health of the newly married couple. When Hugh repeated this rare treat for the second and then a third time, his customers could hardly contain themselves and at last Charlie Keown from Upper Square announced tongue in cheek to the stunned bar that it was very decent of him but that two drinks was more than enough. Charlie had hardly the words out of his mouth when Pat Dorian the clothes man from New Row, a daily tippler in the bar, and a man who rarely spoke two words, lambasted Charlie as he roared out “leave him alone, the man knows what he’s doing in his own house”. A stunned Hugh and Charlie could only look on with bemusement as the bar room erupted in laughter, at Pat’s uncharacteristic outburst.
Whatever was said about Hugh being slow to stand a drink, it was always a bar with a ‘slate’ and no regular was ever turned away because he was short of a few bob, and if a ‘tap’ was needed as was often the case then Hugh was equally quick to oblige. Hugh retired to Newcastle about 1979 and the bar was then run by Sam and Mickey Brannigan (the plasterer) from New Row. The Brannigans were followed by Brendan O’Rourke brother-in-law of Hugh’s daughter Siobhan, then by Seamus Hendry from Newcastle and finally Brendan Gallagher from Upper Clarkhill before the doors finally closed about the mid 1990, and sadly this once vibrant property lay in disuse..."

Lodge and Mission Shop rise from the dust



The 'new' Lodge completed January 2008 will be officially opened in April 2008 (photos - Laurence McAlinden)


The splendid 'new' Lodge at night (photo- Laurence McAlinden)


Work commences at the old Lodge site March 2007 (photo - Brian Cunningham)

As you approach Castlewellan from Bann Road or Dublin Road the first building to catch your eye is the new Euro Spar built in 2005 on the site of the former 'Guest's Garage' that had previously occupied this site at the fork of the two roads since the 1930's.
The next change you will notice to old Castlewellan as you approach st Malachy's Church is that work has commenced on what generations of Castlewellan people have always known as the ‘Lodge’.

Built by the Annesley Estate sometime in the 18th centuary it was owned in turn, by two retired British Army gents as was typical of all ‘big houses’ built by the 'gentry' at that time. It was owned by a Major Phipps and after him came a Captain Moorhead who lived there until the 1960’s until illness and old age forced him to vacate the property. After he passed away in the early seventies the winds of change had begun to blow in the six counties and by then the parish were able to purchase the property.

For a time after that in the mid seventies two Catholic curates Fr McStravick and Fr. Toner occupied the lodge, but they eventually had to vacate the building because of its poor state of repair. It remained derelict thereafter and was completely ransacked by the British Army during the 1980’s when they discovered an IRA arms dump under the floorboards of the derelict property.
At the turn of the Millennium, the Parish embarked on a major investment programme in Kilmegan and the Lodge was identified as a prime site for redevelopment. For the next four years feasibility studies were carried out with a view to combining the needs of the Parish, our local Comhaltas group and Castlewellan Regeneration and ambitious grant applications were made to various funders. The unique partnership also won support from a range of local cultural groups as diverse as Feis an Dun, Gaelic League, Annsboro Pipe Band and Castlewellan Accordian Orchestra making this a truly cross community project. After many delays and fraught negotiations with Government, European and other funders, over £800,000 was raised and the appointed contractor, RJ Coulter eventually moved onto site on 16 April 2007 and the main contract was completed on time and budget just before Christmas 2007.

Castlewellan Regeneration Ltd. chairman, Mr. Eamonn O’Neill was delighted with the progress of the building work, which will be the third project carried out by the group. Castlewellan Regeneration has previously redeveloped the Corncrane Centre and Hillyard House. Indeed the Lodge could not have been considered but for the funds raised by the sale of Hillyard House to KMB Contractors in the late 90s and the continued success of that first project as a quality restaurant and guest house.

Newcastle Comhaltas Chairman Mr Jimmy Cowan also hailed the project as a new era for traditional music in the area. For over 30 years Comhaltas have nurtured traditional music talent and have noted that many musicians hail from the Kilmegan Parish. The Lodge will provide a permanent home for Comhaltas which has used many temporary premises from Carnacaville Primary School to Newcastle Parish Centre. The coordinator of the project, Mr Nicholas Mc Crickard confirmed that the Lodge will welcome music to suit all tastes including the sounds of the Accordian Orchestra and aims to encourage young Rock musicians to use the high quality practice and performance space.

The financial sustainability of the project is secured by renting out 6 office spaces to a variety of private businesses completing the dream that the Lodge is now truly a Cultural, Community and Business Centre. The project owes its success to the foresight and hard work of a number of people, not least Fr Sean Cahill and the Kilmegan Parish finance committee for agreeing to lease the property and retain this landmark building for Community use for generations to come. The building will be managed by a committee made up of the main users and can be booked for most community activities by contacting the Corncrane office.

The centre was officially opened on 4th April 2008 by representatives from the funders and supporters of the project including The Department for Social Development, The International Fund for Ireland, The Rural Development Council and Down District Council.

more changes to old Castlewellan



The new Mission Shop(left) opened in January 2008 and the new shop next to it ( where the vet McEvoy's house used to be is rented by mother and daughter team Bridget and Rachel Toner(B & R Heads) as a new hairdressing saloon. photo - Laurence McAlinden


The old mission shop adjacent to St Malachy's RC Church Lower Square, demolished in February 2007. (photo complements of Des Keown)

Immediately to right of photograph is Cannon McGee's house which had been refurbished by the parish about 10 years previously for the then curate Fr Ciaran Feeney. To the rear of the demolished building can be seen the new Primary School built in the early 1980's to replace the old school at Circilar Road (now a community centre).

The demolished building was at the turn of the centuary (1900)
Hall’s ‘Boot, Shoe and Clog Factory’ managed by a man called Bustard. Patsy Mullen recalls in his book, “about forty people were employed by Bustard at the turn of the century and every market day a glass case, containing samples of the footwear they made, was carried to the Main Street and locked to an iron post on top of the wall surrounding the corn crane. Mr. Bustard was a small lightly built man fond of shooting. When he retired he bred pointer gun dogs for sale. He also made and sold a herbal concoction, which he swore would cure any form of rheumatism. “
“Two men who had worked for Bustard, carried out boot and shoe repairs in the old factory in 1935 / 40 but later continued this business in their little home next door. They were John Tumelty and Willie Kearney. Another man P.F. McCabe, who had served his apprenticeship as a clogger in the factory before becoming an Insurance Man, returned and carried on a part-time clogging business in the 1940's. However this style of footwear was out-dated so P.F. closed in 1950.”
P.F. McCabe was Treasurer of St Malachy’s GAC from 1948 to 1966 and was a great Club stalwart all his life. His sons all played football for the town and his son ‘Chum’ was a member of the SFC winning side of 1965. P.F.’s grandchildren also played football and hurling for the town with grandson Ciaran winning an All-Ireland winners medal with Down in 1994.
Leitrim vet Brian McEvoy known locally as the ‘Vet McEvoy’ and his family lived in the dwelling house next to the shop from the 1940’s right through to the death of Brian McEvoy in the 1990’s and later his wife in 2002/3. Peter Greenan opened a vegetable and grocery business in the shop where the old clog factory used to be in the Lower Square and Mena Ward (daughter of former Club Committee man Tom Ward) ran the shop on his behalf until Peter closed down the business in the 1960’s. The shop then lay empty until 1986 when it was taken over by Don Corrigan from Newcastle for the sale of knitting wool and accessories. He named his shop "The Knitters Knook", but later added ice cream and confectionery before retiring in the 1990’s.

After Don’s retirement a “Mission Shop’ was set up in the premises by a group of Castlewellan ladies who sold second hand clothing to raise money for the foreign missions. However the building and Vet McEvoy’s house had by the new millenium fallen into bad disrepair and on 20 February 2007 were demolished along with Brian Boden’s house just around the corner beside the primary school to make way for new parish buildings.



entrance to new parochial centre adjoining and above the mission shop officially blessed and opened by Fr Sean Cahill PP 1st January 2008) with entrance via Church yard (primary school to the rear where scout hall and church orchard once stood)
Photo - Laurence McAlinden

Burrenwood and the Magennis connection

News that the secluded 52 acre estate of Burrenwood has been sold this week (20 Sept 07) to a Co Down businessman for £1.04 million has prompted me to investigate the origins of this historic woodland estate.

Situated on the Burrenbridge Road just outside Castlewellan the estate and 6,170sq ft dilapidated two storey dwelling has for generations of local people been known as the ‘Meade Estate’ or simply as Burrenwood.

Known in it's time as Burrenwood Lodge, Burrenwood House or Burrenwood Cottage the dwelling house is hidden from public view by a dense woodland of mature larch trees, laurels and rhododendrons which today is home to herds of deer and an abundance of other wildlife. It eludes an eerie and haunted presences that would make it an ideal setting for a film or murder mystery drama or tales of the occult. But it also has a interesting historic link going back in time more that 300 years to when it formed part of the Magennis dynasty in south Down before that family were dispossessed of their lands following the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the subsequent Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

The Uprising of 1641 was a long-term result of the "Plantation" policy of Tudor and Stuart monarchs under which Ireland was colonised by Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. In 1607, leading Irish noblemen fled abroad to escape arrest by the English government. The "Flight of the Earls" in 1607 was followed by the aggressive colonisation of Ulster (1609-13), and of Leinster and Leitrim (1610-20). Land speculators displaced the native Gaelic Irish; the rights of the Anglo-Norman "Old English" aristocracy that had existed in Ireland since medieval times were also threatened. Ireland was predominantly Roman Catholic, so the plantations brought religious conflict as well as territorial disputes.

However the 'Plantation' so important in most parts of Ulster, seems to have had little effect in and around the Mournes. A census of Ireland made about 1659 gives the number of Irish, English and Scots, in each townland. The results show, that in the Mourne region after the ‘Plantation’ the English and Scots predominated from about Ballymartin northwards, and in the costal townlands from Kilkeel to Greencastle. The most thickly peopled and most completely Irish townlands were those along the shores of Mill Bay. Elsewhere in the Mournes the English and Scots were strong at Rostrevor and Newcastle, but the Irish were also there in strength; and away from the coast, along the back side of the mountain the population was returned as overwhelmingly Irish.

This included Castlewellan one of the principal strongholds of the Magennis, Before the 17th century the Magennis’s were the ancient Irish proprietors of virtually all of south Down from the Mourne Mountains through to Newry with imposing castles in Rathfriland and Dundrum..

The Magennis family like many of the Anglo-Irish (Gaelic) aristocracy had remained after the ‘flight of the earls’ and when the rebellion erupted in Ulster on 22 October 1641 the Magennis clan played a prominent role. Key castles and strongholds were captured or besieged by the insurgents. Protestant settlers were evicted from their lands, farms were burnt, cattle stolen. Many Protestants were murdered. Within a few days, large parts of Tyrone, Armagh and South Down were in rebel hands. Sir Phelim O'Neill seized Charlemont; and soon afterwards Dungannon, Castlecaulfield, Newry and Lurgan were captured too. Sir Conn Magennis besieged Lisburn, and most of the castles in Fermanagh fell; (the exception was Enniskillen). By November, Leinster had risen and Drogheda was besieged. King Charles appointed the commander of government forces in Ireland, but troops sent to relieve Drogheda were defeated by Rory O'More at Julianstown, County Meath, on 29th November.

The rebellion had spread through the whole of Ireland by the Spring of 1642 and resulted in violent chaos in Ireland before the Irish Catholic upper classes and clergy formed the "Catholic Confederation" in the summer of 1642. The Confederation was a de facto government of Ireland, loosely aligned with the Royalist side in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. These wars were the outcome of tensions between king and subjects over religious and civil issues in Scotland England and Ireland. The subsequent war continued in Ireland until the 1650s, when Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army decisively defeated the Irish Catholics and Royalists and re-conquered the country in what begame known as the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53). He passed a very harsh series of Penal laws against Roman Catholics and confiscated almost all of their land.

The Magennis land forfeited by the Crown, became ‘available' for plantation in 1649. The Barony of Mourne and part of the Lordship of Newry fell to Robert Needham (Richard Needham who was Minister for the Environment in Northern Ireland during the 1980’s was a descendant of Robert Needham).. The Mageennis land around Rostrevor had passed to the Trevors, who became Viscounts Dungannon, in the early seventeenth century. The older name of the settlement , Castle Rory, was derived from a Magennis stronghold, which preceded Trevor’s Castle built by the Trevor family. Rathfriland was another strong point of Magennis, and Hugh Magennis' castle & estate in Rathfriland was granted by King Charles 2nd to Alderman William Hawkins of London who demolished the castle & laid out the town plans in 1668. He was granted many Magennis lands in Newry, Drumgath, Kilbroney, Clonduff & Clonallan areas. His son John Hawkins. held 14 townlands in these parishes from the Magennis & O'Roneys in 1681.

The Countess (Theodosia) Magill, 1st Countess of Clanwilliam (died 1817) daughter and heiress of Sir John Hawkins of Gill Hall was one of the great heiresses of the time who benefited from the forfeiture of Magennis lands. As well as inheriting vast estates around Rathfriland and Gill Hall in the Gilford/Dromore areas of County Down, she also inherited the Burrenwood Estate outside Castlewellan where she built the east wing of Burrenwood House in the late 18th century. It was reputedly built in 6 weeks, as a stopping place on the road south from Gill Hall, when there was an outbreak of disease at Rathfriland, where she normally stayed. Much work was done in the wood in 1830, and in 1834 some thousands of larches and other trees were planted, also 100 laurels and 20 rhododendrons. Herds of deer were introduced to the woods and still roam the woods today.

On her death in 1817 she left her property at Rathfriland and Burrenwood to her son General Robert Meade. He left the army in the same year and built the present house at Burrenwood about 1820. However, he lived mainly in London and used Burrenwood solely as a summer cottage until his death in 1852.

Burrenwood house first appears on the 1835 OS map called Wood House demesne – and listed as the residense of the Reverend Mr Hume. After General Robert Meade’s death in 1852 no Meade lived in the house for 80 years, although a son John Meade of Burrenwood, Castlewellan is listed in the 1861 Belfast Street Directory as a Deputy Lieutenant for County Down. (It is interesting to note that other Deputy Lieutenants listed in the 1861 Directory included the Earls Annesley (Castlewellan Cottage) and Roden (Tollymore Park) and Lieut-Col Ford (Seaforde)) Burrenwood cottage was also listed in the 1886 Down Directory as the residence of John Meade and it remained in the ownership of the Meades, although virtually unoccupied except for staff until the 1930’s when the general’s great grandson Major John Windham and his wife made it a base for the family’s summer holidays right up to the 1960’s. The house was thatched until the second world war, when the thatch was taken off temporarily and replaced by the present corrugated iron. Some of the furniture still in the house in the 1970s, including hooped four-poster beds, was brought from Gill Hall at the beginning of the l9th century. Local man James McAlarney (uncle of former Castlewellan and Down star Colm McAlarney) and his wife lived in Burrenwood Lodge as caretakers right up to their reirement in the 1990’s . Thereafter the building rapidly deteriorated and became vandilised with its ornate late-Georgian mantelpieces and some nice brass drop handles to the doors and many other items removed from the building.

The following extracts from reports to Mrs Meade (Meade Estates Burrenreagh) by one G.W Young Land Agent to the Meade Estates Office Newcastle dated 16 November 1921 illustrates the unease felt locally by the wealthy landowners and their suspicions of their Catholic tennants following the War of Independence and the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 which led to partition and the formation of Northern Ireland.

“ One night recently two of the Burrenreagh tenants (Messrs Keenan and McCartan) came here about 8 o’clock and asked to see me with reference to the above (note - Burrenreagh Schoolhouse). Keenan is the Sinn Feinn Rural District Councillor for the district. I brought them into the office and found that the object of their visit was to get permission to use the schoolhouse for a Gaelic class they had got up. This was rather a difficult proposition to deal with on the spur of the moment; it was not a case of doing what one wished but what was expedient and prudent. I saw at once there were possibilities both ways. There were dozens of reasons (into which I need not go, as many of them are obvious) for declining to let them have the school, more especially after we have gone to the expense of repairing it. On the other hand if we refused it it might create bad feeling between the tenantry and the estate; in fact in times like these it might mean the cessation of the good feeling towards the landlord that has lingered on especially at Burrenreagh since the General’s time (note -General Meade of Burrenwood House). Well I don’t want that. All the Burrenreagh tenants are now ardent Sinn Feinners - - possibly they have to be so – its just up to them. I think that’s about the way of it. Anyhow they are declared Sinn Feinners and some of them, the younger ones, are a bit fanatical. You will gather from this that if I made any mistake in a thing like the above with Sinn Fein principles rampant and dominating the crowd I might endanger the feeling of goodwill and respect for the landlord that I have all along the line endeavoured to preserve. I am leaving out of the reckoning the effect which might result this feeling of goodwill being changed to one of resentment especially among the younger men who of course, know nothing of the past history of the estate except what they hear or have heard from their fathers or grandparents. So I made up my mind at once (I hope without showing any trace of what my own personal feelings were)that I would meet theirviews and subject to your and captain Meade’s sanction) let them have the use of the school. After all Irish is already taught to the children attending the school and it might look churlish if I refused the use of the building to their elders and it might look revengefull as they are Sinn Feiners. I have arranged that there shall be no dancing and no meetings of a political nature. “

“ Having settled with them about the school, the conversation turned to Estate matters and then to matters connected with the past history of this neighbourhood and its residents and from that we went on to the ancient Irish Chiefs or Kings ! !. Probably you may think this rather dangerous ground but it really wasn’t. I reminded them that in the penal times when the McCartan clan was disposed of their patrimony in Loughinisland it was the Meade family which give them asylum and hospitality in Burrenreagh L. I also reminded them that when other landlords raised their rents the Meades did not and that the rents of the Meade Estate were generally recognised as being lower than those of surrounding estates. To all of this they asserted. I told them that the late Capt Meade always took the the very greatest interest in the tenantry and that my orders from him were to mete out even handed justice alike irrespective of creed or politics and that Capt. Windham wished me to do the same”

On a more humerous note the Land Agent reported on recent dealings he had with another tenant Cornelius Magenis although undoubtedly the Land Agent found it to be anything other than humerous..

“There is another awkward matter with which I have had to deal and still have on hand. Cornelius Magenis and prior to him his father Bernard have been in possession of a holding of some 31 acres inBurrenreagh for over 120 years; indeed as far back as our go this holding was originally merely a few acres but from time to time before the passing of the Land Act of 1881 various parcels of land portions of other holdings were added to it. The Magenises pose as the only representatives of the old Magenis clan in this part of the country and Cornelius who is now an old man, declares he is the head of the clan. This is probably nonsense and fancy the other tenants rather smile at the vanity of the man. Anyhow he has hitherto been a prominent Nationalist under the old regime and acted as agent for them locally in the Revision Courts and elsewhere. I have always humoured the old man and pandered to his vanity more especially as he was (so far as the payment of rent was concerned) one of the worse cases in Burrenreagh.”

“…Some weeks ago without telling me a word about it he sold a portion of his holding to another Burrenreagh tenant whose land adjoined. The holding is a judicial one and and he had no right whatever to do anything of the sort. He then went to the principal Sinn Fein solicitor in the district and got him to serve notice upon me, informing me of the sale and asking me to santion it and accept the purchaser as tenant. I wrote back to the solicitors declining to do anything of the sort and there the matter for some time.

“… Besides and before all, the thing was irregular and nobody ever dreams of doing anything so idiotic. My difficulty however was that I knew that “Corney” as he is always called, was heavily in debt and might let his rent run further into arrears and I might have great trouible in getting anything out of him. Then if I got an ejectment decree and attempted to put him out there would be have been a proper row. I actually evicted another Magenis “head of the clan” man in Corrags many years ago and I knew the pandemonium it created, so I ruled this out on the present occasion. When I was thinking it out carefully one day old Magenis turned up here and asked me if I would allow Rice the purchaser’s name, to be registered with his name as a joint owner of the farm. This too is a proposition I always turn down; it is by no means a good thing to do, but this being a difficult and a very special case it occurred to me it would be a very good way out so I said I would consider it. Shortly after this I had a visit from his solicitor on the subject. This man is an ardent Sinn Feiner and has been in gaol for his speeches (note – John Henry King) and is I think the head of the fraternity in these parts but he isn’t a bad fellow and, apart from his politics I don’t dislike him. Anyhow he called about the matter and I told him I intended to do what Maginis asked.”

“ I must tell you about Rice; he is a rapid Sinn Feiner and a coarse and poisonous beast. He has comparatively lately come into portion of his late father’s farm (there are several of them), his brother having come into some others. Rice has plenty of money, is purse proud and suffers badly from swelled head. For several years past this man since he became a “Shinner” when he comes to pay rent, wont remove his cap when coming into the room at the cottage where I receive rent, like all the other tenants invariably do. He pulls the peak of his cap over his ear and transforms himself into an even more despicable “hooligan” than he usually looks and then boasts to the others that indeed he wont demean himself by showing any respect whatever either to the agent or the landlord. I always make it a point to be studiously polite to the gentleman and take no notice. All the same I feel as if I should like to kick the reptile ! I told the bailiff however when he drew my attention to Rice’s demeanour, that I did not care how he came into the room, even if he stood on his head so long as he paid his rent. It is the gentleman I have now agreed to take as joint tenant with Cornelius Magenis, but he has plenty of money and it will be all right from the state point of view and possibly he may some day buy ouy old Magenis”

Changes to the'Back Way'

new apartment building completed in April 2007 at the junction of Castle Avenue and the back way where McCammon’s Yard used to be (remember the old petrol pump for Mccammon's lorries situated here!)

The Back Way (or Pig Street) as it was one called, and which today is known as Claremount Avenue is accessed via Castle Ave and runs parallel to Main Street before emerging at the Lower Square adjacent to St Malachy’s Church. McCammon’s yards disused since their hardwear shop on Main Street closed in the 1990’s lay on both sides of the entrance to the Back Way at Castle Avenue.

Built on the site of McCammon’s Yard at the junction of Castle Avenue and the Back-Way/Claremount Avenue is a large 3 storey modern apartment building. Completed in April 2007 this new building looks completely out of character and out of scale to the attached buildings and seems out of place in this historic Avenue leading to the old Annesley demesne now Castlewellan Forest Park – don’t think the Annesley’s would have approved.

In the 1940’s and 50’s the McCammon brothers made wooden huts of all sizes and shapes as well as hen houses in their yard. There was a whole array of different yards stretching down the Back Way belonging to the businesses along Main Street and the Lower Square, all doing different jobs.

Across the back-way from where the new apartment block has been built there was in the early decades of the last century up until the 1940’s a blacksmith’s forge along the demesne wall that was reached by an entry beside where McCammon's shed was situated before the builders moved in and built new houses on this spot also completed in April 2007

New houses built at junction of the back-way and Castle Avenue on the site of McCammon's shed

Also in what used to be McCammon's or King's garden and long the demense wall where the old Smith’s forge used to be are a further two new dwellings


New houses built on the back-way (Claremount Avenue) to rear of McCammon's and Kings)where the old blacksmith used to be

A Blacksmith by the name of Nathaniel Rodgers was the smithy there until the late 1920's and after him a man called "Ginn” who Patsy Mullen describes in his book as “ the fattest smithy in Ireland”. After he left about 1933 the Kelly brothers from Burrenbridge Paddy (Scotchy's father) and John worked there until they moved to the other Back Way known as Mary Street in 1947.

Mission Shop bites the dust
At the other end of the back-way (Claremount Avenue) adjacent to St Malachy’s Church and directly behind the Corncrane was a row of houses which where later purchased by the parish.

Demolition of RUC and Army Barracks in Castlewellan which has been such a feature of lfe in the town over the past 40 years and more. (photos below compliments of Des Keown)



Going ....



Going .....



Gone.
Copshop reduced to rubble. To the rear can be seen Domimic King's bungalow, Mourne Gardens/Park and the new 'Grange' Housing development at Dublin Road with Mournes in background.

The RUC barracks on Newcastle Road had been built about 1960 on what was an allotment site on the Newcastle Road after the old barracks in Lower Square was vacated.
The old barracks which had been built by the Annesley's about 1830 was completely refurbished and modernised in the 1980's as part of the Castlewellan Regeneration Scheme and now serves as Donard King’s solicitors’ office as well as a number of privately rented apartments.

The new modern RUC barracks on Newcastle Road had a house attached as a dwelling for the Police Sergent and his family who was at that time a man by the name of Joe McComiskey. Less than a decade later as civil unrest became widespread across Northern Ireland a high wire fence was erected around the new barracks.
Following an IRA bomb attack in the early 1970’s the fence was replaced by a blast proof wall and as the troubles escalated the barracks was further fortified with watch towers and spy cameras added, and a British Army battalion was billeted there for the duration of the troubles. Then in 2004 ten years after the IRA ceasefire the barracks was vacated by the newly formed Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) as part of a cost cutting exercise by the authorities and in May 2006 it was eventually demolished and the site sold to developers leaving Castlewellan for the first time in it’s history without a Police Barracks.

1960's St Malachy's GAC Dinner Dance

A Mourne Observer reader submitted the above photograph to the local paper in the hope that readers could identify any or all of the people in the pictures and the event they were attending. She suspects it was taken in the early 1970s and the limited caption details that have survived indicate it was the annual dinner and social of a Castlewellan organisation and that the venue was the Donard Hotel in Newcastle - lets see if we can help.

I can confirm that it was the annual St Malachy's GAC reunion dinner in the Donard Hotel possiby about 1968.
I can also identify or at least guess some of the people in the photos.

Top from left - don't know the first 3 people but the fourth from left is I think the late Teddy Hardy (father of Liam and Paddy), the man beside him is my old friend Charlie Keown (deceased) of Upper Square, father of Mickey Danny and Caha, and grandfather to numerous town players both male and female. Behind Charlie are 3 well known Castlewellan lady supporters of that era, Aggie Hardy (nee Rooney), her mother the late Bessie Rooney(Hall of Fame)and another of Bessie's daughters Dympna. The lady to the right of the photo is Kathleen Keown wife of Charlie.

The middle photo left from right is the late May Steele from Burrengove (Hall of Fame), May O'Neill widow of our late President Johnny O'Neill, - Ruairi O'Neill disagrees and tells me that he thinks this lady is Dympna McAleenan wife of Paddy Newcastle Road, I think you're wrong there R.

In the centre of the middle photo is undoubtedly Jim Rice from Bunker's Hill (brother of the late Pat Rice), Jim hasn't changed one bit in 50 years. Anybody know the remaining two ladies in this row?. Again Ruairi comes to the rescue and suggests tha the last woman on the right is Mrs McCabe Chum's wife from Bunker's Hill.

The bottom photograph features Geraldine Steele (nee Keown) daughter in law of the late May Steele, Patricia Cunningham (nee Steele - daughter of May), Patricia's husband Peter Cunninham from Bryansford, Ita Steele (nee McCartan of Cow Lane) wife of the late Bengy Steele who passed away recently in USA, and finally Ita's cousin, one of the twin McCartan sisters who I think later married a man named Keown from Clarkhill.