Donegal Memorie's Thread

Paddy20

Now that Autumn/Winter are once again rapidly approaching. My mind slips back to old memories of my childhood, and how life was for someone born in 1946.

I grew up in Donegal Street, Ballybofey. It then was a street where every door was open, people had very little materially or financially, but it was wonderful.

You could call into any house, and hear about the old days, sing songs, play cards for matches, and our neighbours would tell us ghost stories, which would send us to bed wondering about life's mysteries.

At the height of winter snow was on the ground and we used to sleigh from the top of Ballybofey all the way to Mill Brae in Stranorlar, it was very cold and the snow was hard sparkling and glistening under the stars. It was pure magic never to be forgotten. Without any fear of car's or lorrie's, as there was very little traffic in those bygone day's of childhood wonder.

I love old stories about how life was in Donegal, before the heavy traffic and the arrival of modern technologie's, not forgetting 'climate change'.

If you have fond memorie's of your childhood in Donegal, or happy holiday times in Donegal, then maybe you would share them on this thread ?... ask your parents or grandparents about interesting storie's that you might wish to share with us all, particularly the happy one's as we have no shortage of the sad times, and this is the 'happy times' thread .

Thanks

P. :cool:

N.B. I have noted the comments from 'Donegal Lass' on another thread about the N.W. Forum being a bit serious, so why not let us have some light hearted stories of your memories of Donegal, Old or New

muffler

Nice one Paddy. Hopefully this will generate a few lighthearted stories

Paddy20

Well, it seems no one has "Memories of Donegal" that they want to share, oh well, this could prove to be the most unpopular thread I have ever started :eek:.

I wonder what our tourism authoritie's would make of this, ?.... Flogging a dead horse maybe !.

P. :cool:

muffler

Give it time Paddy. People are very busy this weekend.

Theres a full moon and a lot of folk are out shaving the hair off the palms of their hands

JoeyJJ

Sitting in the Cottage bar with all my mates have a few beers and a laugh.

Tall Tom

I miss the days when all of my mother's family would meet up on the farm outside of Ardara (my family from the States + my aunt/uncle and two cousons from London). The adults would hang out in the house or caravan till the wee hours of the morning while my cousins & I would play out in the freshly mowed fields out front dodging hay bales and stuff. I clearly remember that the sun would set really late in the summer (11pm) and with a full moon, it felt like there were flood lights lighting up the fields.

I miss those days with a passion.:(

Madam

Memories of Donegal, well this time of year for a start, when the turf fires are being lit there is nothing quite like it, the smell takes me back to my granda and grannies old house in the country. God forgive me I'll even miss the old Gallagher's in Letterkenny(great dinners) although Galfees is not too bad. Great memories of the fesitvals in Letterkenny, well the ones "I" can remember anyway, other people have differing memories of what I got up to!
Sunday morning Mass and then the great dinner/lunch afterwards.

Tall Tom

Madam wrote:

Memories of Donegal, well this time of year for a start, when the turf fires are being lit there is nothing quite like it, the smell takes me back to my granda and grannies old house in the country. God forgive me I'll even miss the old Gallagher's in Letterkenny(great dinners) although Galfees is not too bad. Great memories of the fesitvals in Letterkenny, well the ones "I" can remember anyway, other people have differing memories of what I got up to!
Sunday morning Mass and then the great dinner/lunch afterwards.

Ahhhh, the smell of a turf fire. I truely miss that. My two uncles still use the turf stove in their house (they won't update to today's standards).

And I remember this jolly older guy who lived up the road, Tommy Crummer. This man had such a distinctive laugh that you couldn't help but laugh along. It sounded like "Huh huh Huh!"

RIP Tommy Crummer, you may be gone, but not fogotten.

Dreamer 7

So many memories of Donegal, out running in the fields of Glencolmcille all day, come home to the turf fire and wrapping up a spud in tinfoil to pop into the ashes. The most delicious baked potatoes ever.

Going asleep in the "granny bed" beside the fire with the rain lashing on the windows. My dad making us eat seaweed coz it would put hairs on our chests!

Picking spuds in the field and having them for dinner that night.
One evening there was a festival on in Killybegs with a big stage out in front of the port. Great music but electric died and we all sat around singing in candle light until it cam back on again.....

Helping the farmers make hay stacks and getting buried inside them.
And finally , bringing my children up to Glen and watching them do all the things I used too( we maybe not all!:))

muffler

I can identify with a lot of that post

peachesxcream

Going to Bananas in Letterkenny, the Letterkenny festival, I know it's a bit ironic but I actually DO remember when the Town Park was just a field!!

casey jones

Great memories of endless summer days in the Rosses, fishing, footin' turf, saving the hay. Used to spend my school holidays there, cried a river when returning to the city at the end of each summer.

Crabs toes, pollock, buttermilk, newly dug spuds. Great days.

redtom

There's nothing on this earth that tastes better than tea and sandwiches out on the bog after a day's footin or baggin turf, or stackin hay...

retalivity

BANANAS!!!!!!!! I forgot about that....

WunderFull

Not having a landline...

redtom

Bananas? Must have been after my time...

No-one remember Scorpios, The Golden Grill (Bella's and The Millionaires Club) and Nero's?

And of course The Limelight down in Glenties when you wanted something different...

Tall Tom

Dreamer 7 wrote:

So many memories of Donegal, out running in the fields of Glencolmcille all day, come home to the turf fire and wrapping up a spud in tinfoil to pop into the ashes. The most delicious baked potatoes ever.

Going asleep in the "granny bed" beside the fire with the rain lashing on the windows. My dad making us eat seaweed coz it would put hairs on our chests!

Picking spuds in the field and having them for dinner that night.
One evening there was a festival on in Killybegs with a big stage out in front of the port. Great music but electric died and we all sat around singing in candle light until it cam back on again.....

Helping the farmers make hay stacks and getting buried inside them.
And finally , bringing my children up to Glen and watching them do all the things I used too( we maybe not all!:))

Forgot about the digging for potatos and getting buried in the hay stacks, or thrown on top.

Carrickman

Good post folks a lot of stuff here brings it all back, used to live in Kilcar until I was 10 but I used to love going to the festival in Carrick anyone remeber a guy called "Dan the Street Singer" (think thats what he was called) he used to walk up a down the street singing and playing (what was the yoke called he played?). The hay, the bog:eek: , the spuds....

Ruséil

tis nay that hard to remember donegal as quaint turf burning territory. sure big chunks of it still are. some things never change. (mostly the county council and their inability to do anything before 12 - although traffic lights still go up before 8)

i remember when it snowed, we could tie the inner tube of a tractor tyre onto the back of the quad and get towed up the main road. (which was never salted - thanks again to the council). twas great craic. and building stuff out of straw. and picking perties out of the field. i used to get paid about 10p a basket for lifting spuds. how generous. (hmmm). and swimming in the tide. ah god i love donegal. and to think i'm heading to uni in dublin in a few weeks. i'll have to make a few posters for meself.

Ruséil

and when it was actually okay to get into a car with a stranger. cause in donegal if they say they know your ma or da, they really do. and then they'll tell you stories bout when they were young.

byte

Ah yes, the days of footing and bagging turf, in the hot sun out on the bog! Swinging at clegs hoping they wouldn't bite! And throwing soggy clods at each other for a bit of craic!

Helping some of the local farmers "win their hay" was also great fun, even though the work was not for the faint-hearted. Then sitting on top of the load of hay as the tractor drove back towards the barn, thinking it great, being up there. And, like many farmhouses seemingly, a massive feast after the hard day's labour!

Paddy20

Now c.mon folks, what about your first memorie's of your 'first kiss' your first dance, your first real romance, your first holiday,day at school, fight in the schoolyard, job ?. etc, etc.

P. :cool:

DonegalMan

Paddy20 wrote:

Now c.mon folks, what about your first memorie's of .. your first holidayP. :cool:

We didn't have holidays but my earliest memories of Donegal are day outings on the 'wee red train' from Strabane to Bundoran and Rossnowlagh.

Growing up in Strabane, I have fond memories of the picture house* in Lifford with the National Anthem and Tricolour at the end.

Not to mention smuggling cigarettes from Lifford for me Ma and Da

(*No such thing as cinemas then And talking about picture houses, did you know that courting couples from Derry used to come to Strabane and Lifford because the picture houses there had double seats? Also, my cousins from Derry used to come to Strabane and Lifford on a Sunday night because the picture houses in Derry closed on a Sunday.)

Paddy20

DonegalMan wrote:

We didn't have holidays but my earliest memories of Donegal are day outings on the 'wee red train' from Strabane to Bundoran and Rossnowlagh.

Growing up in Strabane, I have fond memories of the picture house* in Lifford with the National Anthem and Tricolour at the end.

Not to mention smuggling cigarettes from Lifford for me Ma and Da

Do you remember my Uncle Liam Arthurs, Fish & chipper in Lifford, and Devines Tea premises (in Lifford) and grocery shop in Strabane's Main Street, My Mothers sister was Mamie Devine ( Nee McElhinney) from Convoy. I went to Melmount School for a short time, but preferred the Tech in Stranorlar.

I thought the Cinema in the main street in Strabane was the greatest.

Strabane is and always was a very special place to me, and will always hold a very special place in my heart.

God bless.

P. :cool:

smashey

I remember when it snowed when I was at Murlog National School and we took fertiliser bags across the road and spent lunchtime sliding down the graveyard. Somebody had to keep an eye out for the Priest (Fr. McGaughey).

DonegalMan

Paddy20 wrote:

Do you remember my Uncle Liam Arthurs, Fish & chipper in Lifford, and Devines Tea premises (in Lifford) and grocery shop in Strabane's Main Street. :cool:

Cue Maurice Chevalier .... "Yes, I remember them well .... "

I used to be friendly with Olva (sp?) Devine from Lr Main Street who was part of the Devine extended family - I think her older sister as called Tony. Did you know her? Haven't heard anything about her for years, often wondered where she got to.

Paddy20

DonegalMan wrote:

Cue Maurice Chevalier .... "Yes, I remember them well .... "

I used to be friendly with Olva (sp?) Devine from Lr Main Street who was part of the Devine extended family - I think her older sister as called Tony. Did you know her? Haven't heard anything about her for years, often wondered where she got to.

Mamie & Joe Devine lived in Lower Main Street,Strabane, as I did. I think Tony and her sister lived on Railway Road in a house on the left as you headed towards the old railway station.

As you know they were a very big family and I did not get to know then all. A lot are now in Derry and on their uppers as they say, but there are still a number in Strabane.

Small world eh?. Perhaps we might get into more detail in private in Jackson's when we meet again , and I sincerely hope you , your family, and all your relations are well at this time .Please feel free to P.M. me at anytime.

P. :cool:

DonegalMan

Paddy20 wrote:

Mamie & Joe Devine lived in Lower Main Street,Strabane, as I did. I think Tony and her sister lived on Railway Road in a house on the left as you headed towards the old railway station.P. :cool:

You're quite right, I had got the houses mixed up. (I think Mamie and Joe were Olva and Tony's Aunt and Uncle.

Paddy20

DonegalMan wrote:

You're quite right, I had got the houses mixed up. (I think Mamie and Joe were Olva and Tony's Aunt and Uncle.

Yes thats correct, and after I left and went to England, Mamie & Joe brought up my youngest sister Anndrena who became a teacher and married Paddy McCauley from Strabane.

Maybe we should have a family forum on Boards.ie.:)

P. :cool:

shayser

Buying tinned tobacco in Martin's (old) shop and sittin' on top of the Dry Arch bridge smoking until it got dark. Those were the days when 12 year olds could go into a shop and buy tobacco!!

bettlebrox

Some pics of the old Donegal Railway:

http://www.geocities.com/ballyshannon_donegal/donegal_railway.html

Plus, he/she has a bunch of recent pics of Ballyshannon.