Just after 5am on July 26, 1910 Constable Shilvey was making his way along Donegall Square North towards the Black Man statue. He was heading to College Square RIC barracks to write his report, as he finished at 6am. Just as he reached the statue he noticed smoke billowing from the Kelvin Hotel in College […]
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Hotel tragedy a tale of luck and bad luck
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Roaring Hugh Hanna, the preacher of hate
In the early hours of Sunday, March 1, 1970, Sean Kelly from the Upper Newtownards Road received a phone call from a taxi driver friend asking for his help to change a wheel. He was astonished by what he saw. It was, literally, the beginning of the end – the removal of the evidence of […]
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Only one Black Man put on a pedestal
I mentioned the statue widely known as The Black Man last week. The title, The Black Man, is a misnomer in more ways than one, not least that the copper edifice has long become a murky green colour. Some historians say that Belfast has, in fact, two black men while others say that at the […]
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Nutts Corner air crash dead largely forgotten
I often pass through Nutts Corner now the site of a Sunday market (I visited it but once on a December day many years ago and I think it is the coldest place in this country.) Other activities such as the Irish Superbike Championships and rally cross were held there but abandoned due to noise […]
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Immortalised in poetry but not by the poets
Few of us associate Glengormley with poetry. Seamus Heaney used one word to describe the place: bleak. Padraic Fiacc lived in Glengormley
Big man of GAA celebrates in style
Veni, Vidi, Vinci . I came, I saw, I conquered, was the powerful message sent back to Rome by Julius Caesar when he won a war in Zela (currently known as Zile in Turkey. After spending two days with the Gaels of Glengormley, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh might well have sent a similar message back to headquarters. Throughout the two days he won the hearts of all who met him as he demonstrated his love and passion for the Irish language and Gaelic games.
