In Reply to: Re: For Ollie posted by MC on September 13, 2008 at 18:39:50:

a cara.....thank you for your appreciation.....last night and early this morning driving along the shores of lake ontario the full moon illumined the clear sky....it hung like a giant golden ball...its light and image reflecting in the tranquill waters of lake ontario......again as i gazed for a moment at its splendour.....i began to remember....the dulcet voices of both ruby murray....and bridie gallagher.....loving irish arms will press me... and true irish love caress me ..and sweet irish lips will bless me ...when its moonlight in mayo...and once again i was borne back in time to castlebar....and the golden memories of once upon a good time.....in a previous posting i recalled the elections of 1948.....and the platforms of fine gael...clann na talmhan....and fianna fail.....but way down at the bridge at lavelles bakery.....another politician had set up shop....sean mcbride and clann na poblachta.....parsons had their original store there ...after that it became condons fruit and vegetable store....my good friend anton condon his brother and sister were good friends....i believe it was anton who later went on to become a theatrical empressario.....the famed character actor ed begley...used to visit the condons... and he loved castlebar....mcglinchkys had a business across from lavelles and sadly one of the young boys drowned in the town river about 1950....another school pal ...and family lived and operated a pub next to that....paddy lally.....when we went to school we would ask paddy what he was having for dinner...his usual reply was ...."pigs arshe and cabbage.."....mike garveys dad was a baker at lavelles....as was bisto...patsy feeney....patsy later established himself with the ....golden loaf....patsies dad was a tall man hughie....he was a ganger with the council....patsy was a player and dedicated castlebar celtic supporter....i remember him well as we used to go to meetings in tom kettricks at the barrack bridge....we'd sit in the kitchen....trish kettrick was such a wonderful gentle hostess....i had always desired to be a footballer of note ....but my moments were brief....i played goal....a few times my most memorable experience was playing goal in maryland the goal ends were literal mud piles ...today they could have been used in more exotic sports...mud wrestling....playing goal on this occassion i held an attackers feet in the mud as he made an assault on the goal....i believe it was joady scully.....a penalty was awarded....roger fallon a keeper of note came over to coach me on defending .....i stood and gunned the ball with extreme focus....jimmy murray was the striker.....he went into his approach and kicked with bullet like force .....i followed the balls flight...it rose and as it came ....i punched it over the bar ....it was pure magic...and i felt like ......gordon banks as he must have felt in the world cup of 1960 against germany.....nolans had a pub just up from lavelles....and then there was regans drapery....kellys had a drapery shop opposite .....the ansboros had a brocery shop and pub at the arch on the other side of the arch...mj byrnes....was an institution....ironically i never had a pint there....wg gibbons had that huge stone business and building across from there....when that business was sold it was first rumoured that it was to become a picture house ....but it was eventually bought by the hoban brothers .....paddy and his brother jimmy....jimmy was a great greyhound enthusiast and i remember whem one of his prize dogs was killed by a car.....in my " lost weekend" paddy hoban was most generous to me....another mcglinchy family lived across from that....a little further up main street was the mulcachys....i believe their business became the tweed centre.....omalleys chemist was across the street from there....the high point of omalleys was the weighing scale that stood outside for years....the revolving stripe pin wheel spun when you stood on the scales ....it was pure magic....kaleidesscopic....but no one had a penny to drop in the slot ....but those that did got a printed ticket of their weight ...it would be interesting to know if anyone ever kept those tickets....tommy durcans of course was a landmark and one of the meeting points for people.....i can still see enid elliott.....sitting high in her office telegraphing those cash bins that shot across the store on wires......a pull of a lever and off went the cash.....another landmark was lavelles grocery.....owned by danny mc ellin....i have countless memories of danny when he was a name to be reckoned with in local and county gaa...and of course the mchale park development scheme.....his ...'.please keep of the grass'.... announcements on opening day of the revamped mchale park....were priceless.....mayo played meath on that day......and of course all of mayo was in love with the team.....all ireland and national league champions....the national cup trophy was displayed in the window of the factory shop.....and why not ....tommy byrne...an employee of the factory and incidentally the occupier of my old home at number 10....was the goal keeper....going up further on main street ...there was rj wynnes....and lawlees shoemakers and cobblers .....joe dunne was a graduate of that business....then parsons ...and phelum bradys....across the street jb morans....and next mccarthys....paul worked in a business down the street....then kilkellys.....where students of stgeralds gathered and eyed the convent girls and others....gussie wynne was next and then the munster and leinster bank.....the arch at brownville was next.....down from there kennys ...and mike mchughs....murtaghs had a pub acroos the street....as did mc carthys cafe....noel and i were good friends and played alot togetherbreege was kind of nice too....i often gazed at her with hope but ....it was not to be....we did dance many times together however... ...noel and i went on a fishing expedition on the banks of the town river ....we caught an eel .....i hung that eel on the clothes line at my house and evry cat on the road came and had a feast...odonnells had a shop at the very end of main street by linenhall street....
you mentioned old soldiers which i will cover another time.....a themem to the connaught rangers...went 'twas on those lonely nights in the punjab...we sat around the hall.....and spoke about old ireland ....and our problems great and small....
la eile ....sceil eile....
......tog go bog e......