Page 6
Store welcome
THE provision of a new supermarket in
Mayobridge has been welcomed by a local elected
representative. Welcoming the new Eurospar,
Crotlieve SDLP Councillor Sean O’Hare described
it as a multi-purpose asset to the Mayobridge community and to its catchment areas within
Drumgath, Hilltown, Derrylecka and Saval.
“It is a magnificent achievement by the O’Hare
family to provide such a fine building at a time
when the current recession has taken such a grip
across the country,” said Councillor Sean O’Hare.
“It is all the more praiseworthy given that the
outlay is as result of indigenous investors investing
in their own community. It’s not every day that a
local business is established that creates up to 50
full and part-time jobs and with plans to increase
that number, I would call for full support for the
new enterprise.”
Councillor O’Hare’s wife, Josephine, said:
“Local housewives will appreciate the new facility
more than anyone else. To have a fine supermarket
on our doorstep offering such a wide range of produce is absolutely wonderful and apart from that it
will eliminate the hassle associated with travelling
into and parking in the over-crowded streets and
car parks of Newry.”
THE OUTLOOK, WEDNESDAY, 20th April 2011
A million thanks to John Dalzell!
A HEART-WARMING reception has been held for Newry’s
champion fundraiser, John
Dalzell MBE.
John has been a fixture in the city
centre in the week before Christmas
for 19 years, often braving sub-zero
temperatures to raise funds for
Southern Area Hospice Services. His
2010 Christmas Sit-Out alone raised
£70,000.
At a reception in the offices of
Newry and Mourne District Council,
First Citizen Mick Murphy explained
that the reception was being held to
mark John and his volunteers reaching the £1million mark from his
annual Christmas Sit-Out.
“No doubt there have been many
people who have been with you from
the outset and it would be remiss of
me not to acknowledge the wonderful
ongoing support they have given you
throughout this period,” declared the
Mayor.
“Sadly, in these difficult economic
times, the comfort and dignity of
those people in our community who
have to receive nursing care in our
Hospice depends very much on people like you, with the money you raise
going a long way to sustain the wonderful service provided by the staff at
Newry
Hospice,”
continued
Councillor Murphy.
Those present heard that the
Hospice needed to raise £200 every
hour to carry out its work and that
John and his team of volunteers had
played their part in helping to achieve
that figure.
The Mayor expressed the hope that
John would be given good health
to continue his Christmas Sit-Out for
many years to come and that his Newry Hospice champion fundraiser John Dalzell is congratulated by
legacy of generating funds would Mayor Mick Murphy at a civic reception to mark the achievement of
continue.
raising £1million. 16606IHN
Dog collars and air raids
Iveagh pupils act out the area’s connection to the Belfast Blitz
THE primary seven class of Iveagh Primary
School has taken a step back in time to
remember the evacuees who came to the
area during World War Two.
They acted out a drama by respected playwright
and actor, Dan Gordon, which told the stories of the
children who were moved to the Rathfriland area as
the Belfast Blitz took hold.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, the play,
named ‘Scahldies Up The Chimley’ in Ulster Scots,
was acted out by the pupils to an impressed audience
of parents and friends at the school.
It was set in Rathfriland during the early 1940s
against the backdrop of Belfast children seeking
refuge from the bombing raids on their city.
Indeed some of the audience had hosted children
evacuees from Belfast during that time and could
relate to the subject.
The production – sponsored by the Ulster Scots
Agency, The Lyric Theatre and the Arts Council –
took a less invasive approach to the topic, as it was
laced with humour and often punctuated with
moments of laughter from its rich content of familiar
colloquialisms.
The cast had the rare opportunity of benefiting from
the talent of actor Mary Jordan from Belfast’s Lyric
Theatre. She is famously associated with both Red Linen
and Tinderbox Productions - and her insight and support
was evident.
Mary’s expertise was coupled with the talents of primary seven teacher, Michelle Hutchinson, director and
teacher in charge of production. The roles were auditioned for by all the children.
Rebecca Megaw, aged 11, played the role of Mrs King.
She said: “My character is a very strict woman who is also
very posh.
“She plays host to the children when they arrive at
Ballyroney train station. The train station is still there
today. I really enjoyed this role very much.”
The cast also included 14 chickens and one rooster who
henpecked the audience as they were taking their seats!
by Anne O’Hare
[email protected]
Robbie Keown played the role of the rooster who
had the responsibility of waking up all the other
chickens every morning.
Jordan Reid played the role of one of the evacuee
children who pretended to be a Spanish matador. In
one scene he improvises with a billy goat and it goes
down a storm.
He said: “It was really funny. I played one of 10
evacuee children and wore a mask letting on I was a
matador and I put on the swagger too.”
Robbie Keown also played a central character in the
play as one of the child evacuees.
He said: “I played the role of a child who struggled
from being away from home.
“My character is a little bit sad and is looking for
someone to look up to, as a result he gets into a little
bit of bother. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Matthew Ferguson played a very convincing clergyman: “I was able to borrow a collar from Rev
First Rathfriland
Thompson [minister of
Presbyterian], but I have to add that the character I
developed is a mixture of different ministers.
“My favourite part was waking up people who had
fallen asleep during my sermons.”
Meanwhile, reflecting on the success of the show
and its role for making the children reflect on a
poignant period of the area’s history, Philip Vance,
principal, said: “We are very grateful to Dan Gordon
for writing this play on a real theme.
“It will help play an important role in keeping the
colloquialisms in our vocabulary.
“The boys and girls are much indebted to the work
of Michelle Hutchinson, Phil Crawford [project director] and Mary Jordan who have been wonderful in
working with the primary sevens and for their great
patience and expertise.”
Some of the pupils who starred in the wartime play. 16100IM, 16101IM
Connolly to step ‘Milestone in council history’
down from politics
INDEPENDENT
councillor
Martin Connolly has announced
he is to step down from politics.
councillor
Mourne
The
became the centre of a political
storm in August 2010 after he
refused to condemn those behind
a booby trap bomb left under the
car of his niece, a serving PSNI
officer, in the Fearon Close area,
off the Scrogg Road in Kilkeel.
At the time, he said he wasn’t
going to “get into the politics of
condemnation - it has done nothing in the past and it will do
nothing in the future”.
Councillor Connolly left Sinn
Fein in 2007 over its support for
the PSNI and became an independent republican councillor.
HIS decision to retire has been
described as “a milestone in the
history of Newry and Mourne
Council”.
Councillor Anthony Williamson
announced he would not be seeking reelection to the council in May 5 elections.
The Independent councillor has represented the Crotlieve electoral ward area
for some time now, having first been
elected to council in 1973, serving until
1981.
He was re-elected again in 1993 and
has served until the present day.
At the monthly meeting of the council
his colleagues paid tribute to his hard
work and long service inside and outside
the council chamber.
His Newry Town counterpart,
Independent Councillor Jackie Patterson
wished Councillor Williamson well in his
retirement.
“I have found him to be a perfect gen-
tleman,” said Councillor Patterson. “I
have known him right from the very first
council meeting in 1973.”
Fellow Crotlieve Councillor Sean
O’Hare also wished him well and
described him as “a tremendous servant
for the people of Crotlieve over the
years”.
“He will be very much missed. He has
been a father figure in the last number of
years,” he said.
DUP Councillor William Burns
wished Councillor Williamson well in his
retirement and congratulated him on “all
the good work” he has done in his council years.
Others who had a good word for
Williamson
included
Councillor
Councillor Michael Carr who described
him as “a sound man offering wise counsel.”
Councillor
Sean
Rogers
said
Councillor Williamson had made a
“major contribution to Crotlieve and
Newry and Mourne.”
Clerk of the Council Tom McCall said
there was “no doubt that your decision
to step down is a milestone in the history
of Newry and Mourne”.
“Your advice was always sound and
your wise counsel was always of the
highest order,” he said.
“Things were not always easy in the
life of a councillor but in those difficult
times you showed just how big a man you
were. I could not hold you in higher
regard than what I do.
“It won’t be the same without you, but
I wish you all the best in the future - you
truly deserve it.”
Deputy Mayor of Newry and Mourne,
Councillor Karen McKevitt also
announced at the meeting that she would
not be seeking re-election to the council
on 5 May.
The SDLP councillor for Crotlieve is
instead running for an Assembly seat in
the upcoming elections.