Dromore and District Local Historical Group Journal

Volume 1-1991

 

 
 
 
 
 

COPYRIGHT RESERVED
On the cover is a sketch of the Dromore Viaduct
by Jim Hutchinson.
PUBLISHED BY DROMORE & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORICAL GROUP 1991.
Printed by Review Press (Banbridge) Ltd.

FOREWORD

Some twelve months ago, a small group of people decided to republish an out of print book entitled "A Ramble Through Dromore" by J. F. Mulligan. This was a daring venture for what then was a fledgling local historical group and without doubt the project was embarked on with a mixture of fear and optimism.
It was therefore with great relief and much joy that the book completely sold out it's print run of 500 copies and generated a revival in local interest in the town. This revival has seen an increase in the membership of the group not only in terms of numbers but in all age groups.
The educational institutions have over the past few years changed the emphasis of teaching history from a collection of dates to the social aspects of how people lived, worked and enjoyed themselves in past centuries. This has fuelled the quest for knowledge on local history as evidenced by the number of television programmes, books and articles on such events.
The group this year has compiled a publication to meet that need. It has gathered a variety of interesting and informative articles of life in and around Dromore area over the last few centuries. The articles have been picked as much for their diversity as their literary content and I hope they will give a taste of what the group is about. Anyone who becomes interested in the contents of the book is welcome to join the group and details of our meetings are advertised in the following pages. In addition to our monthly lecture round, we have organised historical treasure hunts, children's painting competitions and quizzes so please come along and join us.
Before you finally dash off to enjoy the book there are some people who should be acknowledged. The editorial committee who put in long hours to pull the strings together, the advertisers for their support in producing the publication and finally, the contributors, without whom nothing was possible.

Enjoy the book.
TREVOR MARTIN
Chairman.

DROMORE AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORICAL GROUP


OFFICE BEARERS:
Chairman : Mr. Trevor Martin, 17 Hillsborough Road, Dromore, Co. Down.
Vice-Chairman : Mr. Harold Gibson, 29 Barban Heights, Dromore, Co. Down.
Secretary : Mrs. Ann Pepper, Quilly House, Quilly Road, Dromore, Co. Down. Telephone 692364.
Treasurer : Mr. Will Dewart, 83 Diamond Road, Dromore, Co. Down.

COMMITTEE:
Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and
Mrs. Lynn Fisher, Mrs. Rosemary McMillan, Mrs. Alison Hutchinson, Miss Mary Cardwell,
Messrs. Samuel Carlisle, Mervyn Gamble and Jim Hutchinson.

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:
Mrs. Rosemary McMillan, Messrs. Harold Gibson and Jim Hutchinson.
 

Dromore -
"The morning's beam
Falls here upon no spot unknown to fame;
The very breeze that passeth seems to claim
High reverence, telling of the mighty dead
That once inhaled it."

CONTENTS
Henry Hobart-Dromore Architect 1858-1938 Rosemary M'Millan     5
The Pinnacle Meadow  Jim Hutchinson      7
The Man with the Wee Eye           contributed by John M'Grehan   8
Thomas Stott-Dromore's Forgotten Poet Roy Gamble   11
Recollections of Childhood on a Farm in Co. Down Muriel M'Veigh   13
Some Dromore Clockmakers Will Patterson   15
The Rev. James Rentoul-An Eccentric H. R. Moore   17
The Cock Crow Knowe  Roy Gamble    21
Flax Production in Dromore Trevor Martin   22
The Pictures at Dromore     23
The Jesuits in Dromore, 1884-1888 Henry Murray   24
Gillhall Destroyed by Fire: Has the Ghost Been Laid     40
The Castle of Dromore     42
History of Co. Down-The Local Connection Will Patterson   43
Some Are Gone, But None Are Forgotten Jim Hutchinson   45
Dromore's Golf Club     46
The Racecourse        Gilbert Watson   47
The 'Cave'- Found and Lost Again     49
The War Years in Dromore:      
  The Evacuee Trefor Vaughan   50
  St. John's Ambulance Brigade,      
    Dromore, 1938-1946 Mary Cardwell   52
 Cowan Heron Hospital --      
  A Gift to the People of Dromore  Andrew Doloughan   59

 

 

 

 

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