Ray's Abbey Theatre Memories of Gay Byrne

Ray Collins

One of the few acting appearances made by the late TV chatshow host, Gay Byrne was achieved with Athlone actor, Ray Collins, in the Abbey Theatre.

 The performance took place in a unique 1991 production of JM Synge’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, which was broadcast simultaneously on the Gay Byrne morning radio show on RTE Radio 1 and the Abbey, before a packed audience.   Ray played the comic role of Seanie Keogh in the humorous production, in which Gay Byrne and Mike Murphy (another RTE personality from yesteryear) also had roles, in the play which was directed by Gary Hynes.

The play was on the Leaving Certificate curriculum that year, and auditions for the play took place all over the country, including the Prince of Wales Hotel, Athlone.  Ray won his part and spent six weeks rehearsing in Dublin with the production, and Gay Byrne and Mike Murphy joined the actors and crew for the final three weeks, writes David Flynn.

“Gay and Mike played Philly and Jimmy in the play and Gay was a pure gent to work with,” said Ray.  “He was very kind to all us amateurs who were working in the professional production.  He treated everyone very well.  It was a privilege to have worked with him.”

Ray also fondly remembers first seeing Gay Byrne in Athlone in November 1974, when the latter opened Athlone Shopping Centre.

“I always had a great time for Gay, he was part of our mornings and our Saturday nights, and he was like an uncle to us all,” said Ray.  “He was the biggest star in Ireland, and a pure pro.”

 Gay Byrne, who presented the Late Late Show on RTE from 1962 to 1999 died on Monday, November 4^th  after a long illness, aged 85 years.

Final push to raise much needed funds to save The Quiet Man Train Station

One of the world’s most iconic train stations is now at a real risk of collapse if urgent action is not taken, according to conservation experts. An international crowd funding campaign is in its final days in a bid to raise €30,000 which is required to restore the roof on the Ballyglunin Train Station in County Galway.

The Ballyglunin Train Station is famous for its leading role in the John Forde classic The Quiet Man. However, the charity that has been working to save the train station has been advised by conservation experts that the station will collapse if immediate restoration works are not completed.

A number of high profile celebrities have endorsed the campaign including Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and the late Maureen O’Hara.

In 2012, the local community established a charity with the vision of developing the old train station as an international centre for heritage and culture in the west of Ireland. The Ballyglunin Community Development Charity is a not for profit organization which was established to restore the station back to its former splendour.  To date the charity has successfully restored the signal cabin and goods store at the station. A large part of the work of the charity is maintaining the station.

66 years ago Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne arrived at Ballyglunin Train Station for the filming of The Quiet Man. The station was re-named Castletown by director John Ford and was the location for the opening scene and many other scenes of the Oscar winning classic.

Today hundreds from home and abroad come to visit the train station each year to breathe in a piece of Irish movie history. However, unless immediate action is taken the station will be forced to close its gates to the public.

Saw Doctors star, Leo Moran, who is official ambassador to the crowd funding campaign, says “We need everyone’s help to save this iconic building so that future generations can enjoy and understand our past. The Ballyglunin Community Development Charity has huge plans to develop this amazing location however; the roof is now at serious risk of collapse. If nothing is done, we’ll be saying goodbye to an important slice of Irish history.”

As of today €24,000 has been raised.

Issued by: Ballyglunin Community Development Charity, Ballyglunin, Co. Galway

Contacts:

Mark Gibson: +353 (0) 87 2866174 | marktgibson@gmail.com

web: www.ballyglunin.com | f: www.facebook.com/ballygluninrailway | twitter: @ballygluninrail

 

Campaign Rewards

·         €10 – A special edition Lapel pin with the famous Castletown sign

·         €15 – Official Castletown Mug with image of the station printed on it.

·         €20 – Official 2018 Castletown Calendar with beautiful images of the station

·         €40 – A plant or shrub planted in your name at the station with your nametag and a map of where each plant is laid

·         €85 – Quiet Man Slate  -  A slate from the station with image from the movie inscribed on it. 

·         €250  x 6 – A raised flower bed professionally cultivated made from railway sleepers.  This will have a brass plate with your name on it.

·         €500 x 6 - The use of the famous waiting room at Ballyglunin Train Station for a half day for your private event.  

·         €1000 x 4 - A Quiet Man day out for 4 people.  Retrace the journey of John Wayne down the tracks.  An historical tour of the station and Ballyglunin area by a local historian.  Have a luxury picnic on the station platform and watch the Quiet Man movie afterwards in the waiting room.  A gift of a slate, mug and calendar for everyone.  

·         €1000 x 2 – Use of the storehouse arts space for a day for your one off event.  

·         €2000- The station as a location for your wedding ceremony.  The charm of this station is perfect for your wedding day.  The station will look perfect for your big day.  We will also provide an award winning videographer to capture the ceremony.  

·         €3000 – Official sponsor for the Storehouse arts space for 1 year.  Tasteful branding on the outside of the building. Get to use the location for your annual event. Your company logo will appears on all brochures ,website and social media sites.  

 

Irishman Ironman Athlete

A life-changing health challenge led to an Athlone native professional rugby player leaving his sport behind him to take up strenuous Ironman Triathlon competitions.
David Connellan has fitted many activity successes into his life.  He comes from a sporting dynasty, and his father Paul played numerous sports.  David’s sister, Eimear played football with Westmeath GAA – the club where his brothers, Ray and John are household names.
David played GAA, golf and schoolboy soccer with St. Francis.  After he left other sports he went fully into rugby.
He studied at Clongowes, mostly for the rugby after moving there from Athlone Community College.  Encouragement from home was always there for him, and while his parents wanted David more involved in team sports, they never steered him towards a particular sport.
BUCCANEERS
“Buccaneers were getting really successful when I was a teenager and I travelled with them in 1997-1999 as a ball boy,” he said.
In his 5^th and 6th year in secondary school, David played for Leinster and Ireland, and the Six Nations playing took up the guts of five weeks out of school.  He enjoyed it all, and his parents, Paul and Mary travelled to most of David’s games, as well as being busy travelling to the games of their other three children.  The obvious sporting DNA is through Paul, but Mary also came from a huge sporting background.
“I had a very competitive upbringing, and Mum’s family were big into rugby and her brother was in a Connacht u-20 team, but it is more the support they have shown us all in terms of sport that stands out,” said David.
He scored 143 league points in his breakthrough season at Buccs of 2003/04.  He also kicked some well-placed balls in his final season to help the club move clear of the relegation/promotion play-off.  At the time, David was also studying Business at GMIT.
Following a shoulder dislocation just prior to the u-21 World Cup, David returned to training with just three months left in the season and in a returning game he had the most pressured kick that he ever had in his life against Lansdowne, which kept Buccs up that year.
When John McKee joined Buccs as coach, he and David hit it off, and McKee helped the Coosan lad take the next club move of his career, in France.
“I was not being kept on with Connacht and thought I could play professionally, so John suggested playing in France,” said David.   “I was in a place called Chalon, and that went really well, and I was the top point scorer in France that season in that division, which led to getting a contract with Aurillac in ProD2.  France was unbelievable, and I loved it, and had five great seasons there with the top players. I was the kid living out his dream.”

SHOULDER AND HAMSTRING PROBLEMS
He was at his peak of fitness when he noticed problems in his shoulder and hamstring, and put it down to the usual aches and pains, particularly because he was a kicker.
David returned to Ireland to play a season with Buccaneers, and had a couple of bad injuries, and tears, and knew that something was off in his body.
FSH
“I wasn’t the world’s biggest tackler, and that was why I got so disillusioned, and I knew something just wasn’t right, so eventually I had to go to a neurologist, Professor Orla Hardiman,” said David. 
David was diagnosed with FSH in 2013, a form of muscular dystrophy and unfortunately some fifty percent of sufferers end up in a wheelchair by the age of fifty.
“I had trained very hard in my last season as a pro, but my strength and speed numbers were down, although I was 28 years old then, and should have been at my peak, but physically I wasn’t,” he said.  “Prof. Hardiman told me I’d be absolutely crazy to continue rugby because I’m dealing off a curtailed deck of cards.  I needed to do sport, and then the Ironman triathlon came up.”
David studied for a Masters in Finance in University of Limerick in 2013, and moved there for a year with money he had saved up from his rugby years.  The same year, he did an Ironman Triathlon in Germany, in 13 hours.
“I probably would still be playing rugby if things hadn’t started to feel off, because I had been offered a two year deal in France and I turned it down, but also, real life had to start,” said David.  “I have a very mild form of FSH and it wouldn’t have been picked up only for I was so involved in sport. I do think about it every day, but I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff going and you realise it’s really not that big of a deal in a wider context.”
IRONMAN IN BARCELONA
David is currently training for an Ironman competition in Barcelona in October, and last week he did 13 hours of training.
“That’s the standard training week at the moment, but it keeps you disciplined,” said David.  “I find the training hugely enjoyable but also very difficult at first, because my body is not wired for Ironman or endurance sport.  It’s something I want to do well, because I’ve a competitive nature and I’ve a time in mind, 11 hours 15 minutes.  Saying the time I would like reminds me of the amount of work to be done.”
David has been working in Google since last November and in the Dublin building there is a gym and a swimming pool, which suits his training requirements.
“It allows a great work/life balance and is a fantastic place to work, full of great people,” he said.
David has recently taken to broadcasting, and had been doing some sports interviews and commentary with Midlands Radio 3.“I like broadcasting, and like to hear the human interest side of sports stories,” said David. 
David has his own website/blog, https://davidconnellan.wordpress.com where he has included audios of many of his interviews from the world of sports and beyond. 
“I’m speaking to someone about doing a mini documentary about the Ironman, which will be a human interest piece, so it would be nice to add that to the mix” said David

 

 

Fore Abbey - A Wonder of Westmeath

Pictures by Michael Fagan

A mound of churches that exists in the heart of the Irish midlands is an historical place of stones beside the village of Fore, County Westmeath, writes David Flynn.
The French Benedictine abbey ruin is situated within a valley and beneath two hills, and it appears that the stones are deliberately built into the hill.  Also, it almost appears that the abbey has grown out of the stone-filled hill.
The broken and in some parts roofless ruin, has many nooks and crannies all among its more than four walls.  The stone surrounding hosts history from other centuries involving monks, vikings and the people of the nearby village of Fore.

High in the hills behind the abbey is rich green forestry, all marrying nature together around the grounds, which is also surrounded by grazing cattle.
The abbey was founded around the year 630, which is almost 90 years after the founding of Clonmacnoise in the adjoining County Offaly.  Between the eighth and twelfth centuries, Fore Abbey was destroyed many times by Vikings.  However most of the stone building today in Fore Abbey is from the 15^th century and has been restored since the 1940s by various groups including the county council, FAS teams, and the Office of Public Works. 

The Abbey is also noted for what the local population call its seven wonders: 1. A monastery built upon a bog, 2, the mill without a race, 3 water that flows uphill, 4, the tree with three branches that won’t burn, 5, the water that doesn’t boil in St. Fechin’s holy well, 6, the anchorite in a cell, 7, the lintel-stone raised by St. Fechin’s prayers.’

 

STREETE PARISH PARK VINTAGE DAY - Sunday, July 12th, 2015

The fun filled Vintage Day which is now in its 14th year, is one of the most popular family days in the Irish Midlands.

Streete, Co. Westmeath boasts one of the most renowned Vintage Shows in Ireland and has also become well known as a fun day out for families and folk of all ages.  The village’s Vintage Day is so well renowned that two years after it was set up, Streete obtained the All Ireland Vintage Society Rally (2005) and now a full decade on, it comes full circle again with Streete hosting the Irish Vintage Society All Ireland 2015 this July 12th.

This year the rally will feature some of the most interesting vehicles in Ireland, such as vintage cars, tractors, motorcycles, stationary engines, and many more, including from another era – horse drawn equipment.  A huge turnout of vehicles is expected on the day, not just because of the All Ireland Rally, but because of the name the Streete Show has developed over the past decade.

Thousands of folk turned up on the 2005 day, and the same and more is expected this year.  Expected on the day from all over Ireland are a minimum of 500 cars as well as at least 100 tractors.  There will also be many vintage “stand alone” engines.  The annual charity Tractor Run around the district is one of the most popular events on Saturday, 11th, the day before the Sunday Vintage Day and it will commence at 4 p.m. from the Streete Parish Park Community Centre and Sports Complex.

Some novel beauties like Model Railway working display will be set up and operated by its owner, Michael Leek and there will also be an opportunity to see some tinsmiths at work.

Everything on the day is built in and around the Community Centre and Sports Complex which is an important resource for the youth of the area.  The Sports Centre itself allows for many sporting pursuits.  A jaunting car with Clydesdale horses will be present on the day, which is another opportunity not experienced every day.  Children’s entertainment will also be on site and it’s important to point out that Order of Malta members will be in attendance on the day, giving of their generous time for the safety of all in the vicinity.

Streete Parish Park members will be supporting the local Tractor Run with support from many neighbouring clubs.  The Tractor Run followed by a BBQ in memory of local man, Philip Moran and as said above the approximate 20 mile Run will take place on the Saturday, starting at 4 p.m.  Funds raised on the day will be donated to the Irish Heart Foundation, St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the local Church of Ireland in Streete.

There is overnight supervised parking for tractors etc. on Saturday night.  There will be a display of early 1900’s vehicles, including steam engines.  Another must see is the Ladies Tractor Build at 3p.m. on Sunday when a group of women from Virginia, Co. Cavan called “THE HEATHER ANGELS” will be dismantling and rebuilding a tractor.

It will cost €10 for adults for the day and children are free, which will make the outing more attractive for a family outing.  A special souvenir brochure will be available at a minimum cost if required.  There will be live music and entertainment on the outdoor stage as well as an area suitable for dancing should you wish.

The atmosphere will be Irish Vintage and it promises to be a most enjoyable day for everyone from a toddler to much much older folk.  There will be entertainment for all and as well, there will be entertainment in all the local pubs and food and accommodation in some.  Food will be available all day on site.

The Irish Vintage Reps Michael and Maureen Cole expect to have an outdoor stand with all IVS literature and insurance details.  There will be many displays etc. and many tea stalls, cake stalls as well as a great selection of crafts too many to mention.

Come and see John Reynolds from County Leitrim, who will have his Horse and Barrel Wagon on display, as he demonstrates the original skill of cooking and baking outdoors.  You can sample some bacon and cabbage, cooked on site in a skillet.
The ever popular Dog Show will take place at 3p.m. with nine classes which is being sponsored by well known Oliver Kelleher (Castlebar Ltd).
 For some excitement there will be mouse racing and much more.  The location of the site is 4 miles off the N4 from Rathowen Church.
The site is on around 12 acres of farmland not including ten acres for parking (with plenty of room for disabled parking).  The Vintage Day site is just 56 km from Athlone, 75km from Dublin on the N4 and 25km from Mullingar, also on the N4.  Signposts will be at many points from the nearby towns of Edgeworthstown, Castlepollard and Granard.

Pictures from past Streete Vintage Days taken by Michael Fagan

Derryglad - A Gem from Ireland’s Past

Pic: Davey O'Connor

 Close to the border of the midlands and west is Derryglad Folk Museum which encompasses 5,000 artefacts from the last hundred years or so.  The folk museum is situated within eyesight from Curraghboy village, which is about seven miles from Athlone town.

Pic: Davey O'Connor

The museum has its own storyteller, Charlie Finneran, who gives individual attention to each of the folk who happen upon the popular museum on the country road.  Charlie has become an institution in himself, and has proven himself a big hit with visitors to the folk museum, writes David Flynn.
Charlie built the museum on his own land, and filled it with original artefacts from the past.
Signs to many of the Roscommon villages adorn the grounds of Derryglad Folk museum, showing its support for its native and surrounding homeplaces on this acre of history.

Pic: Michael Fagan

As you enter the driveway, you spy the old black bicycle and green post-box on the wall and around the corner from there is an old skillet pot over a fireplace. 

Pic: Orla Donnelly

In front of there is a telephone box, and inside the museum, you'll find an old phone with the button A and button B.  Outside the building is a monument of remembrance for legendary Roscommon footballer, Dermot Early.
One of the highlights of the centre is a clever replica of the old McCormack’s photography and sweet shop, which resided in Church Street, Athlone from 1948 to 2002.  Here you can see old photographs of familiar faces on the walls of the replica building.  Cameras, all from the film age are there on display, just like we were still in the 20^th century. 

Pic: Davey O'Connor

Following on you encounter a great array of farm machinery and an old schoolroom, which looks so real, you can see yourself back in the desk with the inkwell.  Around the schoolroom are tin whistles, the old map, religious artefacts, and the old suitcase schoolbags.

The main body of the museum houses many old household objects, like washboards, earthenware hot water bottles, a settle-bed, ration books, war medals, and butter churns, to name a few out of thousands.   This is probably the highlights of the museum, with its numerous memories of old Ireland.

Pic: Michael Fagan

 

Sport is featured to a great degree in the Derryglad museum, with heroes such as Jimmy Murray of Knockcroghery and Gerry O’Malley of St. Brigid's honoured with photographs and old footballs. 

Pic: Orla Donnelly

Memories of various shops from the midlands are also there, like an old chemist called the Medical Hall’. The chemist, which has potions from another day displays old wares such as carbolic soap, and something called ‘Asthma Cigarettes’.

Pic: Orla Donnelly

 

Out the side door, you can walk into a colourful area of well-preserved farm machinery, ploughs, and tools of other ages.

Pic: Michael Fagan

Charlie is there throughout the whole acre of history.  He is there for guidance or just a sociable chat.  Derryglad is a magnificent journey into a past that we thought was long gone, and which we thought we would never see again.

http://www.derrygladfolkmuseum.com/

 

The WW1 Christmas Day Truce

At Christmas 2002, I published a story in ‘Ireland’s Eye’ magazine, about a song written by an Irish writer, about the truce that happened between Allie and German soldiers during the early days of WW1.    

This Christmas song is still doing the rounds of the airwaves, and in the intervening years since 2002 it has been recorded to great acclaim by Daniel O’Donnell and Tommy Fleming.    

In the 1970’s, the writer of the song, Cormac McConnell wrote about ‘The Christmas Man’ which also features on theirishsod.com  Many things have changed from when I originally wrote the story, including the death of Cormac’s brother Sean.

 

Honoured in Song: Christmas Day Truce 1915

Writer and broadaster Cormac McConnell is the author of a lovely Christmas song that is currently filtering through the airwaves.  The lovely ballad tells the tale of a long-forgotten WW1 Christmas Day incident.

This Christmas a song which has been getting as much airplay as last year’s Robbie Williams/Nicole Kidman No. 1 hit, ‘Something Stupid’, is a lovely ballad entitled ‘Silent Night 1915’, which depicts the story of Germany and the Allies calling a truce and socialising together.
Cormac, who is the brother of Irish Times Agricultural Correspondent, Sean McConnell and Mickey McConnell, who wrote the classic rebel song ‘Only Our Rivers Run Free’, is well-known in the world of music and journalism. 
He fell into the story of the incident of Christmas Day 1915 while watching a television documentary one night a number of years ago.  It was reported that one of the young German soldiers sung ‘Silent Night’ on that Christmas Day.
“They all hugged each other, exchanged gifts and played a game of soccer,” said Cormac, about the historic occasion.
Cormac today lectures in communications at NUI Galway and holds down a five times weekly show on Clare FM.
The journalist was inspired to write a song about the unique WW1 event, and the ballad is now showing all the signs of becoming an Irish classic. 
“There is no footage of it, but on the night of the documentary it touched me and my life went in a flash, and I wrote it immediately,” recalled Cormac.  “I remember walking around the room writing it.”
He proudly said that when he first sang the number to an audience in a music pub, - “there were tears in their eyes,”.
Cormac wasn’t confident enough to record the song himself, but gave it to the fine tenor, Jerry Lynch, who gives great power to the beautiful ballad.   The lovely tune has got lots of airplay on Val Joyce’s Late Date programme on RTE Radio 1 and on the main local radio stations this Christmas.
“I’m generally very proud of it,” says Cormac.