Maghera Heritage Centre
MHS Heritage & Culture Ltd to host their 2019 AGM.
The meeting will take place on Monday 9th December at their Coleraine road premises.
The AGM will commence at 8pm, MHS 17 Coleraine road Maghera.
Everyone Welcome!
RSVP or enquiries t: 02879642677
info@maghera-heritage.org.uk
An open meeting took place last night of a number of representatives from local businesses in the town of Maghera. Facilitators for the meeting were John Burns and James Armour who welcomed all those who attended in particular Jimmy McCabe from the Magherafelt Chamber of Commerce. A very enthusiastic discussion ensued stating the advantages & disadvantages of having such a representative body giving a voice to the business community in the town.Β After much debate it was unanimously agreed that the formation of a Chamber of Commerce for the town should take place.
A follow up meeting has been arranged for the 11th November at 8pm in Walshβs. The purpose of this meeting is to officially form a Chamber and appoint a chair, secretary, treasurer & committee.Β If you are a business in the town or surrounding district, whether large or small please come along to the meeting on the 11th, have your voice heard and be part of the establishing of another first for Maghera.
Full details and further information t:02879642677Β or email info@maghera-heritage.org.uk
It has been suggested that a Chamber of Commerce be formed in Maghera to advance the interests of businesses in the town. To discuss this possibility, and investigate the advantages of establishing a Chamber of Commerce, you are invited to attend an open discussion meeting on:
Monday 21st October 2019 @8pm
The Function Room, Walsh’s Hotel Maghera
Guest Speaker from Northern Ireland Chamber.
Enquiries & RSVP: t: 02879642677 e: info@maghera-heritage.org.uk
The December edition of the Maghera Times will be available to buy from next week!! . This beautifully produced, full-colour, magazine is not only a great read Β – but would be a very welcome Christmas gift for friends and relations at home and abroad. With its wide range of articles, all based on Maghera and its surroundings, there is sure to be something to interest everyone. Articles range from a nostalgic look at shops and shopping in Maghera in the ’50s and ’60s to a description of the meticulous restoration of the Station Master’s House.Β Going back further, the archaeological work carried out on Tirnony Dolmen is explained together with some fascinating information on the building methods and rituals carried on by our ancestors 6,000 years ago. Closer to the present, local people who gave a great deal to the town are fondly remembered. Old buildings, such as Victoria House, although long gone are brought to life again in these pages. The surprising and Β exotic adventures of two local men who fought slavery far away in Sierra Leone are uncovered and, in an amazing piece of research, the location of fox-hunt described in an ancient manuscript, has been found to be based in this area.
With all this and more, we have managed to keep the price of the magazine at Β£5 – which everyone who has seen our previous issues will have to say – is amazing value.
The Maghera Times will be available to buy from Monday 28th December in the Heritage and Cultural Centre at 17 Coleraine Road, from our websiteΒ http://www.maghera-heritage.org.uk/Β and from local shops.
The launch of the magazine takes place in the Heritage Centre on the 1st December after the MHS Annual General Meeting and all are welcome to attend.
An Entrepreneur born on the streets of Maghera.
When I was around 5 years old my dad had a joinery workshop on Glen Road. There were always a few trimmings and cut-offs lying around from the various wooden products he’d make. From these, myself and my friends would make bows and arrows and toy guns. We’d also steal a few sheets and planks to make tree houses and huts. If anyone was to dig up around what is now Fairhill Park they’d find the remnants of these old huts. This used to be a field in which we spent our summer months play fighting around the ruins of the old Fairhill school.
One day the entrepreneur in me kicked in and we discovered a wonderful use for the left-overs from my Dad’s work. At this time central heating was only for a few futuristic people. Everyone else had a fire and used sticks and coal to heat their homes. Myself and my neighbour filled turf bags with sticks. We got my dad to lift them onto a wheelbarrow and off we went on our trade mission along the houses of Glen close and Glen road.
Our customers were more than happy to hand over Β£1 for a turf bag of fire-lighting wonder. In a day’s work it wasn’t uncommon to get Β£10 – Β£15 between us. Although our entrepreneurial skills were working overtime at this young age, our savings and investments’ strategies needed some work. We’d take our sales for that day and make our way straight to Patsy Cassidy’s shop. (Now Kelly’s Eurospar). In those days Β£5 or Β£10 would buy enough sweets, ice lollies and lucky bags to cater for a party of around 30 children.
I loved my early days in Maghera. It was a wonderful, friendly town where everyone felt like family. I owe my current business skills and bad teeth to the story above
Maghera Roots
The Heritage and Cultural Centre has begun a new and exciting project based on farming in Maghera and the surrounding districts during the β40s, β50s and β60s. This area has been predominantly agricultural for generations with a strong tradition of small family farms, which were generally less than thirty acres in size.
The links between the town and the countryside were very strong during those years. Shopping was much more local and the farmers did the majority of their business in Maghera through the local merchants. In addition, Maghera had a thriving weekly market drawing in people from a wide radius outside the town.
These were the years, the 1940s to the 1960s, that saw huge changes in farming methods. The tractor took over from the horse as the mainstay of the farm, and customs, skills and techniques going back hundreds of years were set aside for the new practices based on increasing mechanisation.
We set up this project in the Centre to capture the memories and experiences of farmers who lived and worked through this period of change. To put a structure on the whole project, six farmers have volunteered to take part and will work with the Centre to record and document their farms and describe in detail the routines and practices in the mid-twentieth century.
However, to round out the project and tie the farmers in with all the other aspects of life at the time we are hoping to involve a much wider range of people sharing their stories. If you have any memories of Maghera during those years β perhaps you too had a farm or βgatheredβ spudsβ as a child or worked in the town during those busy years we would love to hear from you.
We are gathering the information in many different ways. Informal interviews can be arranged and recorded if that is how you would like to contribute your memories. Alternatively, there is a facility on the website where you can write your story or, you might be happier with the tried and tested method of pen and paper. We welcome everybody who wishes to take part in this undertaking. We feel that not only will this project be a useful addition to the history and heritage of the town and district, but also it will strengthen the local community and increase pride in our heritage.
The project will run until December 2016. From January 2017 to April 2017 the material gathered will be edited and assembled to form an exhibition in the Heritage and Cultural Centre This exhibition will include artefacts from the period and will start with an open-day demonstrating traditional farming skills, e.g. ploughing with horses and early tractors, butter-making, scutching etc. It is hoped that the local schools will become involved as well as this will be a great opportunity to reach the next generation and show them the social and practical heritage of their grandparents.
How to take part
You can share your story on lineΒ and tell us of your experiences.
Alternatively call the Heritage and Cultural Centre at 028 79549835 and arrange to call in for a chat or to organise a recording. You can also write down your memories and send them to us at: Maghera Heritage & Cultural Centre, 17 Coleraine Road, Maghera. BT56 5BN
We look forward to hearing from you all and will keep you updated on progress.
MAGHERA TIMES Β Volume 1 No. 2 Β June/July 2016
Articles featured in the magazine include:
Glenshane Pass β Past and Present, by Kevin Daly.
Dramatic Glenshane Pass has a long and chequered past going back hundreds of years to when it was a simple track over the mountains. Kevin Daly explores the legends, facts and people involved in its history.
Who We Are, by Mary Delargy.
Mary Delargy from the Linen Hall Library in Belfast gives us the background and origins of local surnames common in Maghera and its surrounding area.
Elemental Photography: Maghera and the Surrounding Countryside, by Martin McKenna
In this article Martin McKenna describes his passionate interest in observing and studying the night sky and also in recording extreme weather events.Β Here he gives us stunning photographs of the skies over Maghera with explanations of the dramatic phenomena illustrated.
Maghera to the Falkland Islands, by John Burns.
In the 1960s Burns & Co. Estate Agents were appointed by the Falkland Island Trading Co. Ltd. to offer employment to Maghera men on the other side of the world. John Burns includes in his article the original prospectus prepared at the time describing the terms and conditions offered.
Niall of the Exotic Ancestors and the Innumerable Descendants, by Ita Marquess
Professor Dan Bradley, from Maghera, through his work on genome analysis has thrown new light on our early Irish ancestors and their origins. In this interesting and well-researched description of his findings Ita Marquess links us with our distant past.
Nottingham Forrest, by Benny Daly
Ever since he watched Nottingham Forest win the FA cup in 1959, Maghera man Benny Daly has been a loyal supporter of the club β even receiving the great Brian Cloughβs personal badge as a gift when Forest visited Northern Ireland.
Grillagh Water House, by Maeve OβNeill
Patrick Bradley has designed and built this spectacular award-winning house just outside Maghera. The house was featured in the Chanel 4 programme Grand Designs with Kevin McCloud.
Β Gatherinβ Spuds, by Kenneth Murray
In the 1950s farming was much more labour intensive. Kenneth describes how school children were employed on local farms during βthe potato gathering holidaysβ in October every year, remembering the work involved and the pride in earning real money.
Thomas Witherow 1824- 90; The Maghera Connection, by Peter Etherson
Professor Thomas Witherow was a highly respected minister to the Presbyterian Congregation in Maghera who went on to become a renowned author, a professor at Magee College and a senator of the Royal University of Ireland. Peter Etherson focuses on his early years and his links with Maghera.
The Plight of Farmers 2016, by Charlie Convery
The practice of farming is undergoing enormous changes at the moment with many young farmers trying to hold down a job while still keeping the family farm going. Charlie Convery compares this situation with the way farms were run in the recent past.
CΓΊpla Focail, by SΓ©an OβNeill
SΓ©an OβNeill looks at the influence Irish words have had on the language we use every day. He examines too, the connections between the Irish language and the emergence of American slang dating back to the late 19thand early 20th century. These links being due to the number of people who emigrated from here to the U.S.A. during that time
Maghera and the United Irishmen, Part II, by Joseph McCoy
Following on his article in issue 1 of Maghera Times, Joseph McCoy examines the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion in Maghera. He tells us what became of the principal people involved in the events of that troubled year and the legacy it left in the town.
The Market Yard: A Lost Way of Life, by Brendan Convery
With: Jackie Jones, Teresa Logue and Mary McKenna.
Inspired by an old photograph showing residents of the Market Yard over 60 years ago, Brendan Convery has pieced together memories and stories of this close-knit community.
The Beginnings of the Market Yard, by Brendan Convery and Maeve OβNeill
Using information from the Public Records Office Northern Ireland, Griffithβs Valuation and the early Census Returns a picture was put together of the beginnings of the Market Yard and the early residents of, what was then known as, βWilsonβs Squareβ.