Zandra Ellis - June '08
Tom Smyth,
As you were born in Larne in 1938, do you remember my grandfather Thomas Graham and his son Tom Graham and their butcher shop at #10 Main Street?
Zandra Ellis

Sahron - Feb '08
I really enjoyed reading the memories from yester year!! You cant really imagine Larne like that now, but it seemed so lovely when you read Mr Reynolds' story.

Tom Smyth - Jan '08
I enjoyed this article. I was born in Larne in 1938, remember Tom Finlay delivering milk with a horse and cart. The women would fight over the horse droppings for their window boxes. My Granny, Martha Steele had a shop on Mill Street just up from the Mill and Mossy Close's pub. I remember an air raid shelter built just outside the shop while I had the chicken pox and kept running out to see the work and getting chased in by the workmen. Frank Collins would heave a brick through George Whitesides window every November to spend the winter in jail. One year George told him to bust somebody elses window. Scotch Jock was another Mill Street character. I remember Dan McKenna, Garveys, Longmores, Shannons. Sam Gillespie was another old timer. I remember the Yanks and the Belgians with their funny money with holes in it, rows of armoured cars coming from Kliwaughter to the Harbour. Revulsion for Hitler and Tojo. I have been in New Orleans since 1968. Love Apsleys mega fry. Big Tom

Anne McManus - May '06
I enjoyed reading the stories on this site and noticed someone mentioned that "they got their horses shoed by the Mc Manus'". I'm researching my husband's family tree, his ancestor's came from that area of Ireland and I was wondering if anyone knew more about those Mc Manus'? We are visiting Ireland in 07 and would love to know more before we arrive.

Glen Brown - Dec '05
During my last visit to Larne earlier this month, on asking several relatives and friends if they remember Tom Graham's butcher shop? I personally could not, however quite a few do recall Tom Graham's and his butchers shop. A friend when a child further recalled accompaning his mother into the shop on their regular weekly shopping trips. He and I are now searching for photos of the shop and Larne of that period to send to Zandra. Can any other reader help?
Glen Brown
laharna60s@yahoo.com

Glen Brown - Dec '05
I can't picture the Gas Works though I recall it's location on Main Street. Several Larne friends and relatives when in conversation l often still remark "near where the Gas Works used to be".
I do recall in the 50s seeing two Gas fitters with their Gas Works handcart. I believe one of the Gas workmen/fitter was called Raymond Smith and that he lived in Upper Waterloo Road.
I also recall that one could get cash refunds on empty beer bottles at a rag and bone place up where Riverdale is now. Often the man there would try and save cash by offering balloons instead. There were often exaggerated tales of some young child on hearing the rag and bone man touting around the streets. Including, a child had given his fathers best shirt in exchange for a coloured balloon only to receive what was then termed a 'hammering' when the trading was discovered.
Cantrell and Cochrane lemonades were often subject of tourists remarks, especially when they asked for lemonade and were asked "Brown or White"?
Refunds on glass Lemonade bottles with screw tops were given at most grocery shops or from Lemonade vans including Larne Mineral Water Company The latter also used to bottle Guinness with the legend 'Bottled in Larne' there on the label. An old friend once told me that the best halfpint bottle of the dark stuff was that bottled in Larne while the best one pint bottle of the dark stuff was that bottled in Newcastle, County Down. I preferred a " Wee Willie" a McEwans ale, sadly no longer available and now enjoy a pint of the dark stuff.
Many of our (NI) National food stuffs have gone including 'White Chief' loaf. I have yet to find a palatable alternative. To think that ' sliced bread' was only invented in the 50s.

Martha Falvey (Finnegan) - Oct 05
I have enjoyed all the information on this site memories of Larne, How it brings back lots of fond memories of my childhood days growing up in Larne. Does anyone remember a large tent being erected in the Larne football grounds to stage a singing competition? It was called (Bambuzilam) spelling possibly not correct. I have been told that when this came to Larne the banks were on strike and the owner of Bambuzilam lent the factory owners the money to pay the wages. My brother, Owen Finnegan won the singing competition. Larne was a friendly place to live and people were always ready to help each other. Keep adding to this site keep the memories of the good old days going. Martha

Lewis Hart - October '05
Fascinating to read the different stories about larne, the most interesting one about newton rangers in my youth they were known as newington rangers as my grandfather thomas mc neill known locally as stout mc neill played on the right wing at the same time as fred. roberts who moved on to play for glentoran and n. ireland. in the 1920/30, i can remember a photograph in my grans house at recreation road showing the team that won the "clements lyttle trophy. as an ex larne man who lived in waterloo road until 1957 and now residing in gloucestershire it brings back great memories, thanks a lot, lewis hart.

Zandra Ellis - August '05
I was born Zandra Ellis in 1945 in Larne to Mona Ellis nee Graham and Alex Ellis. My memories of Larne are mostly about my granda Thomas Graham and walking the surrounding courntryside eating scones in country kitchens and traveling the banks of rivers in Antrim.

Granda and his son Tom Graham owned the butcher shop on Main Street Larne and kept cattle, pigs, and chickens in the long back yard behind the shop. Granda was a very well known individual in the town and I adored him.

In the summertime when the light stays til close to midnight I remember playing in the town and running down and up the town hall steps which seemed enormous in those days and alas seemed so small when visiting in 2003 as an adult .

My uncle Gawn Graham lived in Doagh in an estate called Invermuir on a farm and we visited there often in the summers.

One of the things I missed so much when we emigrated to America in 1953 was dulce. The salty wonderful flavor of the seaweed is something I love to this day and really enjoyed seeing and smelling it in a grocer shop on Main Street when we last visited.

I loved roaming the surrounding countryside up the Brae Road where Granda lived before he and my Granny moved to Thorndale Avenue and when we visited in winter my mother, father and I slid down the hill on the icy spots on our suitcases and then walked home to our house on Curran Road. I liked the idea that we walked everywhere as cars were scarce then and I love walking to this day.

I loved the shop I think that was on Pound Street with the young woman who had the exquisite handwriting and getting samples from the big block of cheese in the shop.

I miss everything about Larne, my wonderful family, the freedom of roaming the town and the sea, the beautiful rain that kept things green and coming home from school to my Granny Graham reading Shakespeare by firelight and eating fresh bread with butter and honey. In other stories I read of those days I hear the same yearning that I feel about a time that has passed and the many people who are now only a memory.

Do you remember my grandfather Thomas Graham who owned a butcher shop on Main Street? When I was a child in Larne, Granda Graham and my Granny Annie Graham lived up the Brae Road. My Mother was Mona Graham.

And do you remember a young woman who worked at Whitesides? She had the most beautiful handwriting. I remember the big blocks of cheese that she would give me slices of when I went in with my Mother.

Leaving home was the saddest day of my life and I grieved for my Granda and all that Ireland had been to me and I still do 50 years later.

Audrey Thompson - March 05
A way back in 1975 when i had just left school, and began working in larne, there were some characters on our streets, one was a tramp that used to live in the old toilet block opposite the tower pool, he was known as black moon, he would walk around larne during the day and the nuns at the convent would feed him, he was quite friendly always would have waved in the window at the health centre where i worked, although anyone who would approach him usely got a mouthful of abuse. Another was a three legged dog, called patch who resided at the Larne Times office, he had his own chair with a cushion, and was free to wander around Larne. A number of us teenagers followed Patch one day, to see what he would do when hen came to a lamp post, As he had no rear leg. Patch was no doser, he leaned agaisnt it! Patch lived for years there, but unfortunately he died. He had his own obbiturary in the Larne Times. I remember a story my Father told me about Dan McKenna, he had called at a house, to get his rent, before hecould open his mouth the resident asked him did he know who had won the 2.30, Dan was quite curt, saying how would I know, to which his tennant replied, You should know, your rent depends on it. Dan McKennas wife was a doctor, one day she left him a new box of tea bags (Tea bags had only just been invented) She returned to find Dan very irrate, He had spent all day trying to get the tea out of the bags.

Michael Curran - March 05
Dear Ignatius Reynolds,
Have you any past news or information Ref the "Lyceum Cafe" situated on the Main Street behind Agnew Street where you lived. I seem to recall the name Miss Clifford as manageress. This site was to house a Cinema called LYCEUM, but during the War was used as HOME STORES run by Mr Gray, father of well known Gordon. The 8 little kitchen houses on the Back Road were to seal the site. this whole site belonged to Michael Curran "The Boss" Have you any news about this,the year was probably 1935. Regards Michael Curran

John McCarlie - Newcastle, New South Wales - February '05
I can add some additional information on electrical power generation in Larne. The first power station was at the end of Pound Street and was later incorporated in the premises of Kane's Larne Foundry where I started my engineering training in 1947. This would have been where the original steam engines were installed and later, the gas engines, taking their fuel supply from the Larne Gas Works in Main Street not far away.

The second station was in Coastguard Road, in a building which later became an egg packing factory. The ex-German submarine diesel generators were installed there, with a large fuel tank in a open grass field facing the sea front. This tank was later used to store diesel oil by the Lobitos facility at the Harbour. A pipeline ran underground to a discharging point for coastal tankers at the "South End" berth, this berth has long since disappeared under harbour extensions. Power supply to the distribution system was by overhead cables and the massive insulators and connections were visible on the wall of the building until it was demolished. The site was adjacent to "Curran Lodge" where the manager, Mr Sanders lived, and was probably part of the original grounds of the Lodge.

THe next station was on Curran Point, on the site of the former Olderfleet Shipbuilding and Engineering Co which was formed at the end of World war I and closed down in the early 1920'2 after building only one ship, a small dredger. This was a steam turbine station with coal fired water tube boilers, the coal being shipped in by small colliers owned by Howden Brothers and John Kelly. The wharf was formed from the shipyard facilities and the ships could only berth at high tide. The depth is even less now as I noted during my last visit to Larne. The site has been completely cleared and it is surprising that a power station was on such a small area; power output must have been very minor. I visited the station once in the 1940's when operating and noticed that one of the old submarine diesels was installed as an emergency set.

During World War II, it was intended to extend Belfast Harbour Power Station but due to the risk of bombing, a new Station was build at Ballylumford on Islandmagee and the new plant installed there. This was also a coal fired steam station, with coal being shipped in by Kelly colliers. On my last visit, I noted that it had also been demolished.

I would be interested to learn of further technical details of the various station, their construction, operation and eventual demolition. A particular feature would be the transport of the heavy components to the various sites in the days of less sophisticated transport facilities and mobile cranes. The road past the Boat Club is still, I believe, unsurfaced and is extremely narrow.

Zandra Ellis

My name is Zandra Ellis. I was born in Larne in 1945. I am the granddaughter of Thomas Graham who with his son Tom Graham owned a butcher shop on Main Street. I lived with my mother (Mona Ellis, nee Graham) and father Alexander Ellis on Curran Avenue and my grandparents lived on Thorndale Avenue. My mother grew up in a house on the shore called Alameida. I spent alot of time at the buther's shop as a child until we emigrated to America in 1953. I recently returned to Larne in May, 2003 and walked the memories of my childhood. As a child I remember people walking everywhere as there were few cars. It was a wonderful childhood and I always longed for home after we left. Hilda Holden of Dunluce Street was my friend and David Garmond my neighbour, next to Granny and Granda's on Thorndale Avenue. Does anyone remember my grandparents Thomas and Annie Graham?