John Quinn - 29 April 2004
I enjoyed this programme about my home town, because I knew all the people in it. I am about the same age as Sean Rafferty and it conjured up many fond memories for me. I actually played on the Bandstand Pierrot Show as part of the summer entertainment on the Promenade. The man in charge for some years was a Dublin "show" man called Liam Heffernan, who later became stage manager on the TV show "Glenroe".
Sean Rafferty did a great job on this programme. Very enjoyable.

Jude Whyte - January '05
I am told that my father went to Newcastle because his father [my grand father] went to Portstewart, as far away as they could get from each other without leaving Northern Ireland. We first went as a family in 1964 and continued to go up until 1971 every year for a whole month. My late father worked in a Belfast Fruit Company and a large pick up lorry arrived each June after school finished to take our belongings to Sliev na Broch Avenue or some wonderfully named address.The Summer was not complete without the nightly visit to the bandstand where we listened to great cabaret and all for free. The local cafe at the time was the Savoy although I have no memory of Seamus Heany being there as Sean Rafferty recalls. It seemed that the sun always shone but believe me the water was always and I mean always cold , no not just cold, freezing. During one of our holidays the new Catholic church was opened moving from the Main Street to it's present location. The former church was converted into a Youth Club.

As a young fella of 9 I remember going to see my Uncle Henry in Greencastle on a Bicycle beyond Kilkeel at the Castle where he farmed. It was the Day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon and after arriving back to Newcastle my Mum and Dad where sitting exactly in the same spot on the beach where I had left them 6 hours earlier such was the relaxation of the place. We were now a family of 10 and Newcastle was a big part of all our lives but sadly the deluge of the troubles was around the corner and little did I know that 1971 was our last year there. Beautiful memories.

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