Belfast Magazine 72

BELFASTBELFASTMAGAZINEMAGAZINE

ISSUE 72

The

TROUBLESTROUBLES

NOVEMBER 1977

Exploring IrelandFORE ABBEY

Mystery of the Naked

Murder Victim

Victorian BelfastPolice Reports

BELFAST BOAT

RAMS SHARK

Belfast boy’s

sad fate

A BRIEF HISTORY OF

ROSEMARY STREET

Old Belfast Photographs

Belfast Magazine

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Belfast Magazine

Victorian Belfast Police Reports

Literary Thief

Inspector McKitrick charged a young boy,called Francis Hand, with having stolenseveral copies of Little Dorrit by CharlesDickens from Henderson’s shop on CastlePlace. The case was postponed until furtherinformation about the young boy could bediscovered, but the case never appeared again.

An actor in the dock

An actor named Cully was arrested at theSmithfield Theatre during Easter 1857 andcharged with assaulting a man namedMcCann. Cully claimed that McCann hadinterrupted his performance and thatafterwards he had approached the man.McCann who did not appear in court butinstead sent his sister to give evidencecounterclaimed. He stated that he and theactor had both had a lot to drink and had begunto quarrel, he couldn’t remember what they

1857

Castle Junction in Victorian times

were arguing about. During the fight Cullyran off to the props room in the theatre andreturned with a stage sword, which heproceeded to attack McCann with. WhetherCully was exhausted from his performanceon stage or he was not very adept at using asword, but he failed to make contact withMcCann, and fell over in his attempts to strikeMcCann. Cully then grabbed a hammerwhich was lying nearby and struck McCannon the head with it. McCann retreated andcalled in the police. Cully meanwhile gotdressed and was arrested but denied all thecharges. While in court Cully pulled up histrousers, to the delight of the spectators, toshow the magistrate that he had indeed beenon stage the night before, his costume was stillon under his pants. The magistrate decidedthat as McCann had not even bothered to turnup in court to challenge his attacker, that Cullyescaped without as much as a fine.

Belfast Magazine

Unsound meat

A butcher from Hercules Street, John Morell,was well known to the Belfast Police Courts.He had appeared there on many occasions.In May 1857 he appeared charged with havingin his slaughterhouse a quantity of unsoundmeat. When Constable Bunting produced themeat in court, it created so strong a stenchthat the magistrates ordered that it be removedfrom the courtroom. Bunting gave evidencethat he had received information about thequality of the meat at Morell's premises andwhen he searched the rear of the building hefound a quantity of beef hanging up andcovered by a sheet. In his defence Mr Morellclaimed that the meat was for his pigs andthat he did not intend to put it for sale. Themagistrate did not believe him and stated that

the meat was unfit both for humans andanimals. He fined Morell 20s and costs andinstructed that the meat should be burned anddestroyed.

A Professional

A young man appeared in the police courts inMay 1857 and he appeared to be a respectableyoung man given the clothes he was wearing.He gave his name to the police as McParlandbut in court it transpired that he was calledBrowne and he lived in Hudson’s entry. Theman was dressed in the manner of a ‘fop’ andwas charged with dog fighting and assault.The Humane Society prosecuted the chargeof dog fighting and both the charges wereproved. Mr Browne was known as aprofessional pickpocket, and was sentenced

Royal Avenue inVictorian times

Belfast Magazine

to pay a fine of 5s and costs for dog fightingand 10s and costs or fourteen daysimprisonment for the assault.

The Notorious Mrs McCance

Sarah Jane McCance was written about in theBelfast papers a great deal in 1856 and 1857.She first appeared in 1856 when she wasarrested after she had duped several of thebetter stores in Belfast into supplying her withclothes, food and other goods. They had allbeen taken in by her style and personality. Shedressed in the highest fashion and she was anexceptional actor, able to put on airs andgraces and act out different personalities. Thepolice finally caught up with her in 1857 andshe then appeared in May 1857 charged withtheft from a Mr George Gordon of DockStreet. By now Mrs McCance could bescarcely recognised. She had lost a great deal

of weight and her clothes were unkempt andragged. Her visits to the police court hadbecome more frequent during the previous sixmonths. She was found guilty of the offenceand was fined 2s 6d and costs.

An Expensive ‘lark’

In June 1857 George Stewart took part in aprank that he was to bitterly regret. He waswalking along with his friends when they sawold Robert Humphrey who was whitewashingsome premises. They thought that it be a greatjoke if they stole his whitewash brush fromhim and pawn it. When Mr Humphrey’sdiscovered what had happened he reportedStewart to the police and he was arrested andcharged with theft. Stewart claimed that thebrush was taken for a lark and not with anyfelonious intent. Stewart was sentenced tofourteen days imprisonment.

Shocking deathOn June 22nd 1857 it was reported that a terrible industrial accident had occurred in theEliza Street Spinning Mill in Belfast. James Anderson who worked at the mill was stoopingdown to oil the machinery in the mill when one end of his neck scarf caught between the beltand the revolving drum, instantly lifting him up and then it carried him round with the drumnine times. There was not enough space between the top of the drum and the ceiling to allowhim to pass and he was killed on the spot. Although the machinery had been stoppedimmediately the unfortunate man was taken from the drum quite dead, horribly mutilatedand his head almost severed from his body. His wife who was living in England at the timewas sent for by telegraphic message, Mr Anderson and his wife had one child.

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BELFAST MAGAZINE COVER PICTURE

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Belfast Magazine

Elaine Hogg

OLD BELFAST NEWSPAPER REPORTS

Crew on the Ulster Queen,the steamer which travelledthe route between Belfast andLiverpool, had an unusualjourney on the 1st July 1935.The steamer was on her wayto Belfast when she rammeda 30ft shark as she passed theIsle of Man.

Initially no one on board feltthe impact of the steamerstriking the shark but withinminutes the attention of thecrew was attracted by thesound of dull banging againstthe side of the steamer.Worried that the steamer hadengine trouble they reportedthe sound to the secondofficer, Mr T Wrigley, whowent to investigate.Realising that the sound was

Belfast BoatRams Shark

coming from the front of theboat he leaned over as far ashe could and spotted theshark, wedged in the bows ofthe ship, it was thrashing itshuge tail against the side ofthe steamer. The fish hadbeen struck in the middle ofits body and was firmly held

at right angles to the bows.Its mouth was badly injured,torn and bleeding, an injurywhich could not have beencaused by the ramming, mostprobably caused while in afight with another large fish.

Mr Wrigley thought for awhile about what they coulddo to help the shark, its painand distress was obvious toall on board but they were

unable to reach the shark, letalone free it from the bows.The shark was not going tosurvive the extensive injuriesit had suffered but the crewdid not have any means bywhich to put he shark out ofits misery.The shark embedded on thebows, was carried the wholeway to Belfast, still attachedto the steamer, and when theUlster Queen swung into herberth at the quayside the fishbecame disengaged, and sankto the bottom of the quay.

In an unrelated incident a fewdays later, a large shark, over32ft long was washed ashorenear Culdaff in Co Donegal.This monster shark, one ofthe largest ever seen in Irishwaters, was caught in the netsof the Culdaff fishermen,who had to cut their nets tofree the huge beast whichwas when the dead fish waswashed ashore. Peopletravelled for miles to see thisenormous fish, which like thefish rammed by the boatshowed signs of massiveinjury. Perhaps these twogreat sharks had fought eachother, neither of themsurviving the fight!

Belfast Magazine

In 1935 the area ofKnock in East

Belfast was beingrapidly developed asthe city increased insize and population.A new sewage systemwas in the process ofbeing constructed atthe old DundonaldRoad. At the end ofthe road was Knockvillage, which hassince become part ofthe city of Belfast.

In early March 1935a group of youngchildren, led byWilliam Gamble ofGeraldine Cottageson the KensingtonRoad, were playingaround Mr Morrowsboot shop. They wereplaying hide andseek, William, twogirls and a young boy,4 year old JamesJackson fromC h e r r y v a l l e yCottages, GilnahirkRoad. William andthe two girls ran offthe front of the bootshop thinking thatJames was followingthem but he did not

Belfast boy’s sad fateappear. They heard asound a as if someonewas running over tinand then nothing.William asked thegirls where James, the"wee fellow", was butthey said that theydidn’t know. He oftenhid from the othersand then turned uplater so the childrenthought nothing moreof it, played aroundfor another couple ofminutes and thenwent home. It wasabout 5.15 pm whenthe other children leftand by 5.45 Jamesmother began to lookfor him. She did noteven know that hewas with the otherchildren, and went tolook for him.Neighbours helpedher and by 6.30 pmthe local police werecalled to help in thesearch for the littleboy.

Robert Simpson fromthe Gilnahirk Roadwas one of manyneighbours whojoined in the hunt. Mr

Simpson came acrossWilliam Gamble whotold him that he andJames had beenplaying with the girlsup near theconstruction site forthe sewage pipes andhe described the noisehe had heard justbefore he left the area.

Constable Neville ofB a l l y h a c k a m o r ebarracks, with someof the neighbours,hurried up to the siteand saw that amanhole had beenuncovered. The sitehad a watchman buthe did not see or hearthe children.Constable Nevilledecided to climb intothe manhole to see ifJames had fallen in.Robert Simpsonclimbed down withhim and there theyfound the lifelessbody of James underalmost 5 ft of water.

Neighbours quicklyran off to get thenearest doctors, DrYoung and Dr Nicholl

while ConstableNeville started CPR,to try to save theyoung boy. Dr Youngwas not at home butDr Nicholl hurried tothe scene to help theconstable, Dr Youngarriving a fewminutes later.Unfortunately, Jamescould not be saved,James had drowned.

This tragic fateshocked the people ofBelfast, none more sothat the Belfastcoroner Mr TAlexander whoexpressed his sinceresympathy with JamesMother after theinquest.

The construction sitewas run by GraingerBros and they wererepresented at theinquest to hear thestrong remarks fromthe coroner.

The coronerdescribed the case as‘heart rending’ as hewas critical of theconstruction site and

Belfast Magazine

the health and safetyof the area. Heacknowledged thatthere was no legalredress for the familyof James Jackson, noteven monetarycompensation forfuneral arrangementsas the laws did notprovide for such anevent. There was noevidence to show thatthe manhole and beenprotected sufficientlyfrom the danger ofanyone falling in, nosignage to indicatedanger. Nothing to letanyone know of theexistence of such adeath trap, nor did thelaw require for suchsignage, a verydifferent case formtoday.All the evidenceshowed was that themanhole was coveredby a piece of sheetiron, but there was noevidence that it wassecured. The coronerfelt that negligenceexisted, but there wasno redress in respectof the negligence.The police agreedwith the coroner andsated that there wasnot sufficient

protections andConstable Nevilledescribed the site as‘a disgrace tohumanity’.

The constructioncompany offeredassistance to MrsJackson for the loss ofher son, Mrs Jackson

having been widowedin recent years, andoffered any help theycould to alleviate hersuffering.

In June 1920 a young women called Jane Carlisle was murderedby a Canadian ex soldier who was living with his sister in theMilbrook Road area of Lisburn.

Jane Carlisle was with two friends, sitting by the River Lagan afterfinishing work in the Island Spinning Co’s Works. The Canadianman, John McNair came along, drunk and aggressive, looking forJane. She didn’t want to talk to him but despite her friends, Marthaand Maggie Geohegan, urging her to move on Jane refused to leavethe banks of the river. The Geohegan sisters were frightened andwalked on, leaving Jane by the river on her own, but with John McNaira short distance away.

Within minutes the sisters heard shouts coming from the river, andMaggie Geohegan rushed back only to see John McNair grab Janeand throw her into the water, going in himself after her and pushingher down under the water. John McNair emerged from the river andwalked out to the river bank but Maggie did not see Jane again untilshe was pulled from the water, drowned. Passersby tried to resuscitateher but Dr James Munce who quickly arrived at the scene of thetragedy, close to Gregg Street, pronounced her dead.

McNair ran off and Martha Geohegans husband arrived, followed bythe police who went off to find John McNair when Maggie told themwhat had happened. He was arrested at his sister’s house and chargedwith Jane McNairs murder.Without a doubt John McNair had caused the death of Jane McNairas he had thrown her into the water, but he had not beaten or abusedher before she entered the water and her death was due to drowningand he did not face the death sentence.Jane Carlisle was from Mercer Street in Lisburn and was survived byher parents, two brothers and five sisters. She was well known andvery popular young lady in the town.

LISBURN MURDER

Belfast Magazine

Jennie Watson who lived at 25 KingsmereAvenue off the Cliftonville Road in Belfast

left her home around 5.00pm one Saturday inMarch 1935. Every Saturday Jennie had thesame routine, always returning to her homebefore 9.00pm. She was very securityconscious and always checked the front andback door of her home to make sure that it waslocked before she left. Her home also had lockson all the internal doors which she scrupulouslyturned before leaving home. She returned a littleearlier than usual that Saturday and found thatshe could not get her front door open. She wasconcerned, a little frightened and wasn’t surewhat to do so she called into number 23, thehouse next door, to get help and advice fromher neighbour, James Maxwell, who was amotor mechanic. James told Miss Watson tostay at his house while he went to investigate,and he went into Miss Watson’s back gardenand saw a man coming out of the kitchenwindow. Maxwell quickly ran down the gardenand caught hold of the man. The man shouted,"Let go of me," but James Maxwell managedto keep hold of him until the local policearrived.

Constable Hogg was the policeman on duty thatevening and he arrested the man, John S Lewiswho was from the Upper Newtownards Road,in east Belfast. He took him to Antrim Roadbarracks where he was charged with breakingand entering and stealing money, jewellery andother goods with a value in excess of £13.When Lewis appeared in court the constablestated that on the way up the Antrim Roadtowards the barracks Lewis asked to have hisarm released and when the constable did as he

Burglar Caught in Gardenwas asked, Lewis slipped his hand into hisovercoat pocket and threw a heavy object overthe nearby hedge.Lewis was searched thoroughly at the barracksand in his possession the police found a casecontaining a gold brooch, a case containing twogold brooches, two gold rings, a pearl necklace,a silver brooch, a gold locket and gold bangle.He also had two keys, two spectacle cases, anda pair of gloves on him at the time. Mr Maxwellhad also handed to the police a brooch case andtwo purses before they left Miss Watsons house.The police on further examination of the gardenfound a bloodstained stone in the garden andLewis had blood marks on his forehead and coatwhen he was arrested; his trousers were alsotorn.

Miss Watson told the court that when she finallygot into her home, while Mr Maxwell wasstruggling with Lewis in the garden, she foundthat the glass panel beside the door was broken.The glass in the kitchen window, which wasopen, was also broken. The kitchen was in astate of disorder and she immediately knew thather glasses case and a missionary boxcontaining money were also missing. The doorfrom the kitchen to the hall had been forcedand her bedroom was in a real mess. She wasable to identify the jewellery which wasrecovered from the accused.

With so much evidence against him Lewisstood little chance in court, despite pleas fromhis defence trying to establish that perhapsLewis could be seen as a ‘friendly’ burglar,.Lewis was found guilty and sent to the BelfastPrison.

Belfast Magazine

There was great excitement inthe Greenisland area after athrilling chase and rescue inBelfast Lough. It all startedwhen four boys escaped fromthe Balmoral Training Schoolon the Ballysillan Road inBelfast. The boys, whoseages were between 12 and 14,went missing from thetraining school at around 4.00pm on September 21st 1954.The entire school and groundswere searched but no trace ofthem was to be found and theywere reported missing to thelocal police.

There were no reportedsightings of the boys thatevening and overnight andnothing was known of whatthe boys did between the timethey left the school and 3.00pm on the 22nd Septemberwhen they were spotted by awoman from Greenislandwho saw four young boys onthe shore. The womanknowing nothing of the boysescape watched them fromher house as they climbed intoa small rowing boat and rowout to an uninhabited island100 metres for the shore.

Daring Escape from

Belfast Training SchoolThey stayed on the islandonly a short time beforerowing back to the shore. Shethought nothing of their anticsuntil the boys casually left theboat they had been using inthe water before they set offalong the beach. The boatdrifted into the Lough and thewoman phoned the police inCarrickfergus and reportedwhat she had seen.

The police immediatelyrealised that it could be thefour missing boys and set offby car to Greenisland. On theway there they spotted one ofthe boys climbing over rocksnear the ruins of an old tower.Believing that the other boyswere likely to be close by twoof the policemen got out ofthe car and gave chase.Within minutes another boyhad joined the first and thenthe last two boys scrambledout of the ruins of the towerwhere the boys had beenhiding. All four boys headedtowards the sea and onreaching the water theywaded out into the Loughuntil the water was waist high.The boys taunted and shouted

at the two policemen whoremained on the shore. Theconstable who had remainedin the car set off forCarrickfergus forreinforcements and it was leftto a Constable Montgomeryand Constable Pyne to try tocapture the four boys.

Thinking that they were homefree the boys began walkingin the water towardsCarrickfergus. It was hardwork and after a few minutesthey stopped and appeared tobe discussing their plan ofaction. One of the boys thensplit from the other three andset off in the direction ofWhiteabbey while the otherthree continued on towardsCarrickfergus. ConstableMontgomery believing thatthis was the leader of the packdecided to stay with the boywho was walking in thedirection of Whiteabbey. Inthe meantime Constable Pyneshouted at the other boys andtried to persuade them tocome ashore, pleading withthem but they would notlisten. Constable Pyne thendecided to change into a

Belfast Magazine

swimsuit and in three tripsbrought the three whoremained together ashore. Atone point he had to swim afterone of the boys who wasdetermined to elude capture.

Constable Montgomery wasin pursuit of the remaining ladwho had made it as far asSeapark Old Peoples Homebut the boy was nowexhausted and the policeman

was able to persuade him togive up his escapade.

All four boys were taken tothe police station atCarrickfergus, where theytold the police that they hadintended to spend the night onthe small island but when theyhad rowed out there they wereso hungry that they decidedto come back ashore to getsomething to eat.

The boys were returned toBalmoral training school, theboat in which they had rowedto the island was recovered,undamaged, from the middleof Belfast Lough by localfishermen. The four boys hadnot reckoned on the tenacityof the local police fromCarrickfergus and hadcertainly not expected them togo into the water to get themout!

Although many people will remember this as the old Belfast

Water Office in Donegall Square North it was actually built as

the head office and linen warehouse of

Richardson Sons & Owden in 1889.

Today the building is part of the

Marks & Spencer

Department Store

Belfast Magazine

Linfield v Glentoran Irish Cup semi-final at Cliftonville 1952

Queen’s Bridge

1952

The Connswater River with the NewtownardsRoad in the background 1952

A sheep takes refuge in the doorway of a shop inDonegall Place after it was found wandering earlyin the morning 1952

The oil tanker British Skill being prepared for herlaunch at the Belfast Shipyard 1952

Belfast Magazine

Exploring Belfast’s Old StreetsRaymond O’Regan

ROSEMARY STREET

This small street is fullof the history of thecity. At one time

there were three PresbyterianChurches in this street. TheFirst Presbyterian Church sitedates back to 1695. Thepresent building, the third onthis site, dates back to 1783and was the brainchild of theminister, at the time, Dr.Crombie along with thearchitect Roger Mullholland.The beautiful elliptical shapeof the church is a joy to see.Dr. Crombie also founded the

Links Royal Avenue to Bridge Street. It is partially

developed on the 1685 map up to the back gardens of houses

in what was then Hercules Lean (today Royal Avenue).

Academy in 1785 and was it’sfirst principal. The schoollater moved in the 19thCentury from Academy Streetto its present home on theCliftonville Road and is nowknown as "The Belfast RoyalAcademy".

The historical FirstPresbyterian Church reflectsthe industrial, political andsocial life of the 18th, 19thand 20th Century Belfast.Amongst its many memberswere:

- Sir Edward Harland- Thomas Andrews Jnr., (oneof the designers of theTitanic)-Dr. William Drennan,founder of the UnitedIrishmen-Francis Dalzell Finlay,owner of the Northern Whig

Newspaper

- John Wesley preached hereon Monday 8th June 1789

-Thomas McCabe (UnitedIrishman), a goldsmith andwatchmaker at 6 North Street,Belfast, who in 1786prevented a slave shipcompany being set up inBelfast. Wolfe Tone referredto McCabe as "The IrishSlave"-Heron, co-founder of theUlster Bank (their old HeadOffice, in Waring Street, isnow a luxury hotel called TheMerchant)- Members of the Joy Familyassociated with the Belfast

Newsletter

- Montgomery, one of thefounders of the NorthernBank-Marcus Ward Family –Printers(Buried in Clifton Street Graveyard)

Belfast Magazine

This church has always had along tradition of free thinkingliberal attitudes.The First and SecondPresbyterian Churches (thesecond church, opened in1708 was at the rear of thefirst) were non-subscribingPresbyterian Churches as theydid not subscribe to the"Westminster Confession ofFaith", while agreeing withparts of it. Some members ofthe First and SecondChurches left in the early1720s to form the Thirdchurch, because they didsubscribe. When the ThirdChurch was lost in the Blitzof 1941 they re-establishedtheir church in North CircularRoad in north Belfast. Theystill retained the oldconnection as the new churchwas "called "RosemaryChurch". The famous Irishpatriot Henry Joy McCrackenwas a member of the ThirdPresbyterian Church. TheSecond Presbyterian Churchclosed in 1896 and can nowbe found in Elmwood Avenueand known as "All Souls",they, like the Third Church,retained the connection totheir original home inRosemary Street as theirchurch hall is called"Rosemary Hall". On 19thOctober 2008 the churchcelebrated its tercentenary.

The First Presbyterian Churchis the only survivor of thethree churches that used tograce this street. It is stilltoday a full working churchwith the present minister theRev. Nigel Playfair. B.A.M.A. a graduate of T.C.D.(services on Sunday 10.30am,all welcome.)

We now start the journeydown this short but historicstreet from the corner ofNorth Street heading up toRoyal Avenue.

No. 1-7 Corner of RosemaryStreet/North Street. Co-OpTravel Agency (above). Thiswas the site of a Sugarhousein the 18th Century. Later itwas the site of "The Stag’sInn", owned by Dan Miskellyfrom 1819-1839. He wouldadvertise in the local presscheap travel to and fromColeraine (he is buried inFriars Bush Graveyard).

No. 9-13 A 1957 building onthe ground floor is LangfordsShoe Shop. Next door is theMcConnell Martin ---building (you can find the

fascinating history of thiscompany on the BBC "YourPlace and Mine" website).On the ground floor is "HotShots" Coffee Shop and"Next D’or" Restaurant.

No. 15 Masonic Hall, 1954,was built on the site of theThird Presbyterian Church.The hall has a very open doorapproach and visitors arewelcome. Many artexhibitions have been heldhere and a few years ago theyallowed the erection, at theentrance, of a plaquecommemorating that Henry

Belfast Magazine

Joy McCracken was amember of the former churchon this site. The McCrackenFamily lived just across theroad at the entrance toWinecellar Entry.

Next door is B&M fancygoods store housed in amodern building.

No. 32-39 Central Hall,1958/9, (part of the FirstPresbyterian Church) Itreplaced the manse that had

been destroyed in the 1941Blitz. The inaugural meetingof the WEA (WorkersEducation Association) tookplace here in the 1930’s. Onthe ground floor of CentralHall can be found –"M.E.T.& PELE Sport shop ,SarniesCoffee Shop and ClementsCoffee Shop (the sign abovethe cafe states that they are"religious about coffee").

No. 41 First PresbyterianChurch (1783) See page 14for description of this historicchurch.

Laneway – leads to the RedBarn – R.B.G. PhotographicGallery/ Shop, previously theRed Barn Pub (GordonSumner better known as"Sting" used to work as abarman here).

No. 45-47 An attractiveItalian style building on thesite of the former SecondPresbyterian Church Manseand now houses. Donagy &Carey Solicitors. TerryDonaghy was a well knownand highly respected solicitorwho sadly died on 6th January2009 while attending a peacerally at the City Hall. OnSundays Terry, after attendingMass, would make it a pointto attend services in 16 otherChristian churches

throughout the city and healso included a visit to theSynagogue on the SomertonRoad.

No. 49 Suitor Boutique. Thisboutique has seen manyfamous people from the filmworld pass through it’s doors,e.g. Brad Pitt, BarbaraStreisland and RobinWilliams to name but a few.Some older folk mayremember the pub called "TheStar and Garter" that waspreviously on this site. Thereis a story that the previous pubto the Star and Garter had an

Belfast Magazine

underground passage to a cellunder the Provost MarshallsHouse in High Street (Central

Belfast – Marcus Patton – Page 278).

No. 51-55 For many yearsthis was the site of Christie’s.Christies’ were a well-knownfamily in Belfast and onemember of the family in the1980’s became Lord Mayorof Belfast. The usualconvention was that youserved three terms as LordMayor followed by anautomatic knighthood.Unfortunately during thesecond year of MayorChristies reign he came outagainst the firemen who wereon strike at the time. Hisremarks did not go down wellwith the Belfast public and hehad to wait until later for hisknighthood. He passed awayin 2008.Today the shop is an AnnSummers store

We have reached the end ofthis side of Rosemary Streetarriving at Royal Avenue.

Travelling down the streetfrom the corner of BridgeStreet to Royal Avenue.

No. 16-20 Hair Traffic HairSalon/upstairs HairdressingTraining School:

- Oxfam Charity Shop (builton the site of the McCrackenFamily home

Belfast Magazine

- Here is Winecellar Entry(runs through to High Street)- Oxfam Charity Bookshop- Fresh Garbage (gothicclothes store) with on theupper floors LisaHairdressing and on the topfloor a clairvoyant BryanLynch

- Delaney’s Restaurant(stretches around the cornerinto Lombard Street)

Lombard Street

No. 28 Gordon House (1878)– Upstairs is the longestablished firm of SolicitorsKevin Hart, ground floor isDeli-Lites coffee shopThe building next door wasoriginally part of DonegallArcade but was demolished in

2007 an a new TK MaxxStore has opened. On the

same site opposite the FirstPresbyterian Church, at onetime, stood an 18th Centurytheatre called "The OldPlayhouse", one of the manytheatres to be found in Belfastin the 18th and 19thCenturies. The building nextdoor to TK Maxx extends intoRoyal Avenue, was at onetime the home of JaegarClothes Shop. They are nowto be found in DonegallSquare West and HSBC Banknow operates from thisaddress.

This completes the journeythrough 17th CenturyRosemary Street.

McMaster’s shop, Rosemary Street, 1917

Belfast Magazine

Donegall Square North seen from the groundsof the White Linen Hall around 1860BELOW - The same view today

Sam Cochrane’s in Upper North Street. 1919

Purdysburn House. 1919

A bit of a mishap at Fortwilliam. 1919

For lots more old Belfast pictures, maps,advertisements and much more go to the Facebookprofile of the Glenravel Local History Project

Belfast Magazine

ROAMING IRELANDWe at the Glenravel Project regularly visit different sites of historical interest

throughout the country. For up to date information on all the latest trips

visit the Facebook page of the Glenravel Local History Project

FORE ABBEY

Fore Abbey( I r i s h :M a i n i s t i r

Fhobhair) is the oldBenedictine Abbeyruin, situated to thenorth of Lough Lenein CountyWestmeath.Fore village, (sisterparish of nearby St.Mary's Collinstown)is situated within avalley between twohills: the Hill of Ben,

the Hill ofHoundslow, and theAnchorland rise area.There can be foundthe ruins of aChristian monastery,which had beenpopulated at one timeby FrenchBenedictine monksfrom Évreux,Normandy.Fore, Fobhar is theanglicised version ofthe Irish name that

signifies "the town ofthe water-springs"and was given to thearea after SaintFeichin’s spring orwell, which is next tothe old church a shortdistance from wherethe ruined monasterystill stands. It was St.Feichin who foundedthe ancient ForeAbbey around 630.By 665 (the time ofthe yellow plague)

there were 300 monksliving in thecommunity.

A Benedictine PrioryIn the 13th centuryHugh de Lacy theNorman and landlordbuilt a Bendictinepriory in the valleynearby. Many of thebuildings that remaintoday (in ruins) arefrom the 15th centuryand have been

Belfast Magazine

restored throughoutthis century, makingFore Abbey thelargest group of 300Benedictine to havesojourned andremained in Ireland.This priory wasdedicated to both StFeichin and St Taurin,the Evreux,Normandy abbot ofthe parent monastery

Its 13th centurychurch still has somedocorations andgraceful arcadedcloisters ANDAttached to thechurch are the brokenwalls of two towers,where the monksonce lived. Between771 and 1169 ForeAbbey was burnt 12times by pillaginginvadors, such as theTurgesius leadVikings.The Abbey is alsonoted for what localpopulations call itsseven wonders:

• The monastery builtupon the bog.• The mill without arace (Lough Lene waterflows from the hill)• The water that flowsuphill.• The tree that hasthree branches/thetree that won’t burn.• The water thatdoesn’t boil.• The anchorite in acell• The lintel-stoneraised by St. Fechin’sprayers.Another importantaspect of Fore is theFore Crosses one ofwhich is in the villageof Fore. There are 18crosses; some crossesare plain (most likelyto wind and rainerosion) whilst othersstill remain carved.These are spread outover 7 miles onroadways and infields and borewitness to religiouspersecution duringpenal times.

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Belfast Magazine THE

TROUBLES

NOVEMBER 1977

A Chronology of theNorthern Ireland Conflict

TROUBLESTHE

Belfast Magazine

Shots were fired at apolice land roverclose to the M1motorway. Nobodywas hurt in the gunattack on the police atKennedy way,Stockmans Laneroundabout. Two lowvelocity shots werefired at the land roveras it pulled off theM1. Fire was notreturned.

There were bombhoaxes at the BelfastTelegraph offices and

Tuesday 1st November 1977the Manchester andMidland record storeon Royal Avenue, atBoots in DonegallPlace and Smithfieldbus station. A callerto the Samaritans saidbombs had beenplanted.

Outside the oldclassic cinema inFisherwick Place asuspect handbag wasspotted. Traffic wasdisrupted during thefollowing armyoperation.

Wednesday 2nd November 1977Walter Kerr, a 34 yearold part time UDRlieutenant was killedin a booby trap bomb.He worked as a bankofficial and wasmarried with 2children. The deviceexploded under hiscar as he was leavinghome at Coolshinney

Road in Magherafelton October 27th. Hedied from his injuriesin hospital wheredoctors had fought tosave his life,amputating both hislegs, he also hadsevere abdominalinjuries. Soldiersfrom the Royal Tank

Regiment donatedblood shortly after theincident to help himand later over 50other soldiers whohad volunteered werehelicoptered to theMid Ulster Hospitalto donate more blood.

A large furniture storeat Strand Road inDerry was badlydamaged in bombattacks. HomemakerDiscounts lost all itsstock in the fire whichfollowed theexplosion. The policein the city had

received a warning ofbombs in a stretch ofStrand Road, and thearea was sealed off.Nobody was hurt.

Bombs planted at theU Plan centre inLower DonegallStreet in Belfast andThompson andMcCreadys garage onthe Strand Roadcaused minimaldamage.

A furniture store onDuncairn Garndes inBelfast was wreckedby a fire which

IRA firebomb attack on a furniture store in

Duncairn Gardens

Belfast Magazine

followed anexplosion. Two menarmed with a gunwere involved whenthey ordered theowner and staff out of

the shop and left asmall bomb with acan of petrol attached.It exploded shortlyafterwards andnobody was injured.

Thursday 3rd November 1977A loyalist group madean hour longdocumentary onsecurity forcesi n t e r r o g a t i o ntechniques andalleged infringementof suspects rights.The videotaperecording, compiledby the Ulster CitizensCivil Libertiesorganisation, featuresUDA members whohave beeninterrogated by thesecurity forces. TheUDA leader AndyTyrie confirmed thatthe recording wasavailable to anyoneinterested in whatgoes on duringinterrogations. Itshowed actual casehistories where policebrutality andinfringement of rights

was alleged.

A police patrol cameunder attack afterthree shots hit theirvehicle in theWhiterock area ofwest Belfast. No onewas injured and firewas not returned.

A furnture store inBelfast was destroyedby a bomb attack.Two bombs explodedin the NorthernFurnishing Co storein Dublin Roadstarting a fierce fire.Firemen fought theblaze but were unableto save the building.The bombs, smallexplosive chargesconnected to cans ofpetrol, explodedwithin thee minutesof each other.

Friday 4th November 1977A policeman drove 12miles to a BelfastRUC station with abomb attached to theengine of his car. Thebomb was notdiscovered until thecar was searched atthe entrance toCastlereagh policestation. The bombwas intended toexplode when heswitched on theignition of his car buthe drove from his CoDown home withoutincident. Part of theRUC stationcomplex, thebuildings include theinterrogation centre,the assistant ChiefConstables office andthe RUC drivingschool, wereevacuated. The armyset off one controlledexplosion and aftermore than three hoursthe bomb was madesafe.A blast bomb wasthrown at an armysangar in Unity Flats.Soldiers fired fourshots at the youthwho threw the bombbut he ran off. No

damage was causedto the sangar andnone of the soldiersinside were hurt.

Two shots were firedat an army mobilepatrol at Iveagh Driveon the Falls Road.The shots came fromthe Beechmount area.Fire was not returnedand no one wasinjured.A 20 year oldDownpatrick manwas admitted tohospital with gunshotwounds to the left leg.He had been found atMarion Park.A 21 year old soldieron leave fromEngland was shot andseriously injured. Hewas shot in the chestand leg near his homeat Bernagh Drive.

Two low velocityshots were fired at anarmy patrol near HighStreet. The mobilepatrol of the GordonHighlanders was firedon in High Street andthe shots came fromthe direction ofVictoria Street.

For previous periods covered

www.glenravel.com

Belfast Magazine

Saturday 5th November 1977A cassette type devicewas found hidden ina seat on one of thetrain carriages of atrain in Bangorstation. Somedamage was causedwhen the armydefused the bomb.Gribbens furniturestore in Duncairn

Gardens wasdamaged after twoyouths went into thebuilding and left twopackages which theysaid were bombs.Staff carried one ofthe devices outsideand a small explosionfollowed but no onewas hurt.

Monday 7th November 1977A part time UDR manescaped injury in abooby trap attack.The three poundbomb exploded whenthe 20 year old moveda wheelbarrow at hispiggery nearBellaghy. The mansuffered shock. Thebomb was hidden ina manure tip andattached to the leg ofthe wheelbarrow bycatgut.

Two reserve RUCconstables escapedinjury in an ambushnear Rasharkin in CoAntrim. Police saidthat a bumber of shotswere fired at their carsitting outside ahouse. Two shots hitthe windscreen and

another two hit thefront of the car . Thepolicemen returnedfire but no hits wereclaimed.

25 incendiary deviceswere planted in shopsin nine towns and theIRA claimedr e s p o n s i b l i l i t y .Sixteen of the devicesexploded and themost severe damagewas to Stewartssupermarket atDerriaghy where ablaze started by eightbombs destroyed partof the premises.Other explosionswere in the Strandcinema, Belfast, twoat Co op stores,Francis Street,Newtownards, one at

Wellworths inPortadown, one atWellworths and oneat Robinsons sportsshop at MarketSquare Dungannon,one at Eastwoodshardware store inCookstown, and oneat the Spar, MainStreet, Portrush. Thenine bombs that weredefused were at the

Regency restaurantN e w t o w n a r d s ,Wellworths inDungannon, one atthe Spar, JamesStreet, Cookstown,one at Wellworths,Main Street and twoat Woolworths, CastlePlace, both inStrabane and two atWoolworths inColeraine.

The remains of the Stag Inn at Shaws Bridge

following a firebomb attack

Belfast Magazine

IRA firebomb attack on a furniture shop on

Belfast’s Crumlin Road

Tuesday 8th November 1977Extensive damagewas caused to Kirksbuilders in ExchangeStreet, Belfast after asecurty guard spotteda blaze, shortly afterhearing an explosion.The Donaldson andLyttle store in GreatVictoria Street wasnot badly damaged

when a bomb wasthrown into it but thecan of petrol attacheddid not ignite whenthe bomb went off.There was some blastdamage.The army defused anincendiary devicefound inNewtownards.

Wednesday 9th November 1977A Belfast wholesalerswas destroyed by fireafter an explosion.Fire swept throught G& S Wholesalers inCorporation Street

after a bombexploded at the frontdoor. No one wasinjured in the attackbut firemen wereunable to tackle the

blaze until a suspectcar was checked.

In Belfast 14 cassettetype incendiarydevices were foundby the army in theroof space of a housebeing built atFarrington Court,Ardoyne. A sawn offshotgun and twocartridges were alsofound. No arrestswere made.

There was a bombscare at Ballylumfordpower station. Twobrown paper parcelswrapped up with wiremade to look likebombs were found inthe stations hydrogenstore by a securtyman. An engineerpulled the parcels outand took them to thecar park but they werehoaxes.

Thursday 10th November 197720 women were pickedup on raids at homes inrepublican areas ofBelfast as the RUClooked for firebombers.Most of the women, intheir late teens andearly twenties, camefrom the Short Strandarea. The rest werefrom west Belfastincluding Beechmount,Unity flats and onefrom Turf Lodge. Thewomen were taken toCastlereagh. The RUCwere acting on a tip offthat teams of womenwere behind the waveof incendiary bombattacks on shops.

A carpet store wasdestroyed in a bombattack in Belfast. The

store was Carpets andLinoleums in GreatVictoria Street and afew minutes lateranother bomb explodedin a shop three doorsaway but only slightdamage was caused tothe premises of J ARankin. The RUC hadreceived a warning andthe area had beenevacuated.

A 34 year old man wasshot as he stood at hisfront door in AinsworthAvenue in the Woodvalearea of Belfast. A cardrew up outside and aman stepped from thecar, produced a shotgunand fired. Some of thepellets hit the victim onthe head.

Belfast Magazine

Friday 11th November 197752 year old PatrickShields from HamillStreet in Belfast waskilled in an explosion.Mr Shields worked asa security guaard atKeenans pub in KingStreet and was tryingto clear the area whenthe bomb exploded.The IRA claimed thata warning they hadgiven about the vanbomb had beenignored. The RUCdenied these claimsand the Samaritansstated that thewarning had beengiven to them 11minutes before theexplosion. MrShields was marriedand had 10 children.

Four masked menforced their way intothe lounge bar of theKildress Inn in CoTyrone. They thenfired a shot throughthe CCTV and pouredpetrol over a pooltable and lounge barfloor and set it alight.Three suspect devicesplanted by the gang inthe car park turnedout to be hoaxes but

the fire destroyedfitting andfurnishings in the pubon the main Omagh toCookstown Road.

Churchills dryclearners in HowardStreeet was badlydamaged in a bombattack. A tin of petrolwas attached to a onepound charge.

IRA firebomb attack on shops in

Duncairn Gardens

Saturday 12th November 1977Incendiary devicesexploded in Gallaherstobacco factory inBelfast. Minimaldamage was causedby the fire bomb inHenry Street. Twodevices, hiddeninside cardboardboxes went off, butthe blaze was put outby the factory’ssprinkler system.Another explodeddevice and two otherswhich did not go off

were found by anarmy bomb teamcalled to the factory.Damage was mainlycaused by water andwas minimal.

There were bombhoaxes at ShaftesburySquare, outside theBelfasts College ofTechnology, KashmirRoad, and at thejunction of DurhamStreet and GrosvenorRoad.

Belfast Magazine

Monday 14th November 1977Samuel Murphy aged21 was a member ofthe Irish Guaards andwas from westBelfast. He died afterhe was shot in front ofhis mother as they lefther home at BernaghD r i v e ,Andersonstown. Hewas visiting her whileon final leave beforeleaving the army. Hewas shot four times inthe chest and legs anddied in hospital tendays later. He hadjoined the army in1974.A bomb exploded atCourtneys handbagshop in HowardStreet starting a smallfire which wasquickly put out byfiremen. The blastcaused extensivedamage.A firebomb went offin Cinnamonds estateagents in WellingtonPlace. Damage wasextensive.

Two incendiarybombs were foundand defused in theAlbertbridge Roadarea. The devices

were discoveredoutsdie the AIB bankon the AlbertbridgeRoad and at Nabneyshardware store. Bothbombs were madesafe by the army.A man was slightlyinjured when a firebomb exploded inBoyds sports shop onthe Ormeau Road.The shop wasdamaged by theresulting fire.

Fire bombs explodedin Gribbens furniturestore and Campbellsfurniture shop inDuncairn Gardens.Minor dmamge wascaused to both shops.

Fire bombs planted inshops in Dungannonand Armagh weredefused by the army.A cassette type devicewas found atL o u g h r a n sMusicland shop inIrish Street,Dungannon. Lateranother incendiarywas found by amember of staff atWellworths store inArmagh.

Tuesday 15th November 1977Five shots werefired at a gascylinder at thecorner ofAlbertbridge Roadand MontroseStreet. It was laterfound to beharmless.A controlledexplosion wascarried out on aparcel left outsidethe Co op on theWoodstock Road.An anonymous callhad warned of abomb on the roadbut it was a hoax.

The army firedshots at a gascylinder left atT e m p l e m o r eAvenue. It provedto be harmless.

A petrol bombthrown into asupermarket atLisnagaver nearR a s h a r k i ndamaged a displayunit and a ceiling.A controlledexplosion wascarried out on a carleft outsideM c D o w e l l ssupermarket but thevehicle did notcontain anyexplosives.A police no waitingcone on theN e w t o w n a r d sRoad in Belfast wasexploded after apatrol found itcontained a brownsubstance. It waslater forensicallyexamined.

Belfast Magazine

Wednesday 16th November 1977Marcia Gregg, a northBelfast teenager diedin a fire at herfamily’s farmhouse atWolfhill Road,Ligoniel, just outsideBelfast. She was apupil at Everton GirlsSchool and the firewas started by anexplosive devicewhich had beenthrown at the house.The fire wasdiscovered by apassing police patrol

and army fire enginesattended as 500regular firefighterswere on strike.Marcia had helpedher brothers andsisters out an upstairswindow but she wastoo frightened tojump herslef. Herfather shouted for herto jump and assuredher that he wouldcatch her but she wasengulfed by theflames. Her parents

and nine otherchildren survived.A bomb exploded ina shop doorway inBelfast at thepremises of PolyprintFabrics on theLisburn Road. It wasspotted by a UDRpatrol who thencleared the area andcalled a bombdisposal squad but thedevice explodedshortly afterwardscausing damage tothe shop and

surrounding area.In Cookstown acustomer in the Sparshop in James Streetpicked up a packet offirelighters and foundan incendiary device.This exploded as itfell to the floor but noone was injured. Theshop floor wasslightly damaged.In Downpatrick aburnt out incendiarywas found in a coatpocket in a menswearshop in Market Street.

Friday 18th November 1977Cassette typeincendiary bombswere defused inDerry. The deviceswere found in Etamboutique and GayGirl boutique on theStrand Road.

An incendiary bombstarted a fire in theDunbar Arms pub in

Dunbar Street,Belfast. Threedevices were foundbut only oneexploded.

In May Street,Belfast, the armydealt with a suspectpackage in an officeblock but it turned outto be a hoax.

Saturday 19th November 1977A fire started in aderelict pub was usedto lure soldiers to thefire. When theyarrived at the scenethey found fourmortar bombs plantedin the pub. Experts

defused the bombs.

A firebomb destroyedBrowns adversisingagency on the AntrimRoad. Two adjoiningbuildings, aphotographers and an

electrical shop wereextensively damagedin the blaze. Three

policemen wereslighlty hurt in theblast.

Attack on the North Belfast Mission Hall

Belfast Magazine

Monday 21st November 1977

IRA firebomb attack on the Grosvenor Imports

and Furniture Warehouse, Springfield Road

Police found a plasticbag containing amortar bomb,explosives and adetonator in analleyway at TwadellAvenue, Belfast,close to a grocersstore which waspetrol bombed. Thepatrol extinguishedthe fire before itcaught hold and then

called in the army todefuse the device.

40 high velocity shotswere fired at an armycheckpoint onMonaghan Road,Aughnacloy. Twogunmen wereinvolved, and troopsreturned the fire butclaimed no hits. Nosoldiers were injured.

Tuesday 22nd November 1977The army raidedseveral homes in theNew Lodge Roadarea of north Belfastbut there were noreports of arrests.Provisional Sinn Feinsaid its centre wassearched by soldiersas were the homes ofmembers of staff.

A booby trap bombacross from theSpringfield Road Coop was defused by acontrolled explosion,but the store wasdestroyed by a fire.The police had foundthe device in a blackplastic bag and apetrol can attached toa wire grille on the

front window after ananonymous call to theSamaritans. Onesoldier was slightlyinjured in theincident.

An incendiary devicewas found in a babyssleeping nest blanketat a house inGlencairn Pass. Themother had justbought the blanketand the army made itsafe.

An explosion rippedthrough the BelfastCar Hire firm onGrosvenor Road andanother device foundat the scene wasdefused by the army.

Thursday 24th November 1977A timber store atPennyburn Pass,Derry was destroyedin a blaze started byfirebombs. The blazewas spotted by policebut by the time armyfirefighters arrivedthe store was wellalight.Four firebombs werediscovered in the

Rock Bar in DerrysStrand Road. Twoexploded causingslight damage and theother two weredefused.

A carpet warehosueon the Lisburn Road,Belfast was destroyedby a fire. It startedwhen a bomb

Belfast Magazine

exploded, the bombwas attached to a canof petrol whichexploded on thedoorstep ofM a r l b o r o u g hCarpets.

Two pedestrians, a 31year old man and a 16year old boy were cutby flying glass whena bomb exploded at adrapers shop on theOrmeau Road. Theblast started a firewhich caused majordamage.Two firebombs

planted in Belfastfailed to explode andwere defused by thearmy. They wereplanted at a toyshopon the Ormeau Roadand TelephoneRentals on the AntrimRoad. In both casesonly the detonatorexploded.

Soldiers fired anumber of shots at asuspected gunman inthe Oldpark area, nohits were claimed.The patrol had earlierheard shots.

Friday 25th November 1977City centre traffic inBelfast was throwninto chaos when twoincendiary bombsexploded it theSmithfield area. Thebombs at Smithfield

started a big firewhich destroyed theOutlet record shop. Asecond device atAndrews showroomsprevented the armyfrom tackling the fire.

A proxy bombexploded outsideCorrys timber yardsetting a lorry on fire.No one was injured.

A bomb explodedoutside a Prisonofficers home atLocksley Parade inFinaghy.

A hijacked bus on flames on the

Springfield Road

Saturday 26th November 1977A bag of bombmaking materialswere found on abuilding site in theLower Falls area ofBelfast. The find wasmade on a building

site in the CullingtreeStreet, McDonnellStreet area. An armybomb expert used acontrolled explosionto blow up the bag.There was no damage

Belfast Magazine

Monday 28th November 1977A 5lb bomb in a canpacked with pieces ofmetal and bolts wasplanted in a sanger atthe rear entrance toNewtownhamiltonRUC station. Tripwires led from thesanger across the

entrance used bysoldeirs and the RUCto reach the stationshelicopter pad. Thedevice was spottedand defused butsecurity at the stationwas breached.

Tuesday 29th November 1977A Belfastsupermarket wasdestroyed after abomb blast. Ananonymous callerwarned that twobombs had beenplanted in the DubStores in the UpperMalone area. A bomb

exploded starting afire which was foughtby part time firemen.A suspect packagefound in a nearbydoorway wasexamined but turnedout to be a brickwrapped in paper.

Wednesday 30th November 1977Gunmen burst intoWilliam Clelandsprinting works inCullingtree Street offDurham Street andplanted three bombson the ground floor.Staff were evacuatedbefore the deviceswent off.

A double bomb attackon the Crumlin Roadtargeted a chemistsshop and Gillespie andWilsons hardwarestore. There was a

telephone warningthat four bombs wouldexplode in theCliftonpark area andwhen the army arrivedthey found bombs inplastic bags in thedoorways of bothshops. The chemistshop bomb went offfirst and the fire whichfollowed destroyed thebuilding, A fewminutes later the bomboutside the hardwarestore exploded.Damage was slight.

Belfast Magazine

A nervous horse on the Carrickfergus to Straid road on a cold September morning in 1931revealed one of the most baffling mysteries faced by detectives in County Antrim.

James McCalmont was delivering buttermilk to customers when his horse became agitated andspooked at a beautiful spot on the road. The horse had travelled the road many times andMcCalmont was curious as to the cause of his horse’s distress. On one side of the road was aheavily wooded area, the trees were just beginning to drop their leaves and others were showingthe first signs of autumn as they changed colour. On the other side was a cornfield, full of ripeningcorn which belonged to a local farmer, Mr Loughran. It was the cornfield which seemed to be theproblem so McCalmont stopped the cart and went to investigate, jumping over the wall into thefield. He didn’t have to go too far into the cornfield before he found a startling and disturbingsight. Close to the edge of the field, amongst the long grass was a man’s body, naked except forblue and white swimming cap on its head, and there was blood dried on the man’s face.

McCalmont rushed back to Seskin where his employer lived and told him what he had seen andthe police were immediately alerted, and when the local police saw the naked body they realisedthat this was a case for the detectives in Belfast who were summoned to Seskin. The CriminalInvestigation Department in Belfast suspected foul play and the body was removed to Belfastwhere doctors were unable to confirm the cause of death other than the man had been shot in thehead. Although there were no scorch marks they could not rule out that the mystery man had shothimself, although no weapon was found at the scene.With no clothes to help identify where the man had come from the police set about creating aposter with a photograph of the man to try and jog the memory of the public. The dead man wasunusual looking, 35 years old, over 6ft tall, muscular, large brown eyes, a big face with a Romannose, swarthy skin and dark hair. They were sure that a man such as this would have been noticedin the Seskin area and most probably in Belfast too, so unusual were his features for Ireland.

One thing the police were certain of was that this man had not died in the cornfield in Seskin.They found very little blood at the scene so either he had been murdered and his body dumped atthe field or he had killed himself and someone had taken it upon themselves to get rid of the bodyby bringing it to Seskin. Either way a car or cart was involved as this was a large, heavy man andso locals were questioned about strange cars they had seen in the area around the 4th September.Time of death was difficult to ascertain but he had been dead at least 24 hours before he wasfound.The breakthrough in the case came when a bundle of clothes were found outside the Church Laneentrance to the premises of Kane & Smith, a wholesale leather merchants in Belfast and theinvestigation switched to Belfast. The bundle included a white cheap rubber raincoat, trousers, a

Mystery of the NakedMurder Victim

Belfast Magazine

coat and a blue overcoat. It was the condition of the clothes which alerted the police to itspossible connection to the Seskin case, the arms of the coat were ripped off had been cut off at theshoulder seams, while the trousers were sliced from the bottom right to the waist band as if theyhad been cut from a body. A bloodstain was also found on the coat. The blue overcoat was foundto have been stolen from a car outside its owner’s garage in the city.A member of the public came forward stating that they had seen a man believed to be the deceasedin late August at the Custom House Square in Belfast. He was then wearing a black serge suit, adouble breasted coat and a soft felt hat. He was with a small dapper man who was wearing a beretand the police began to make inquiries around the docks area of Belfast, in the local cafes andeating houses.

Within weeks the police investigation switched to England after a tip off that the man may havehad connections to the circus and the police went to England with their photograph to see ifanyone could recognise the dead man. On 21st September District Inspector Lewis and HeadConstable Black of C.I.D. were in London at Scotland Yard following leads in England. ScotlandYard detectives had been making enquiries at Bertram Mills’ Circus, then in Leeds. Circus artisteswere shown photos of the dead man and identified him as Achmet Musa.

Musa was a Turkish Jew who was well known in circus circles, a loner and wanderer who wasalways trying to make easy money. In early 1931 he had become involved with another man,Assim Redvan and they had an idea to set up a travelling show with a Turkish man who claimedto be the oldest man in the world. The "oldest man in the world" lived in a village outsideIstanbul; Zoro Agha claimed to be 156 years old. Musa and his friend Assim Redvan set out toexhibit Zoro as a Fairground attraction. Musa and Zoro Agha spoke no English, but Redvan did.They promoted their travelling show, trying to get into the American market but they had littlesuccess. Finally they made contact with Eddie Cullens, a cinema projectionist who had vaudevilleand underworld connections. Cullens was a Cypriot Jew who had become a naturalized Americancitizen. He saw possibilities in their scheme and teamed up with them as equal partner in a syndicatein the spring of 1931.

Police straight away suspected that Cullens may have had something to do with Musas death asthe Cullen matched the description of the man who was last seen with Musa and they arrested himon suspicion of the murder of Musa.Cullens, who came from the Bronx in New York, was naturalized in 1928. Although a cinemaprojectionist, he had some business flair and arranged to have Zoro Agha photographed so that hecould sell the photos at carnivals to generate revenue. It was Cullens who persuaded BertramMills in England to exhibit Zoro Agha in their side show. The men felt there was money to bemade in the Irish market and Cullens and Musa made plans to travel to Belfast to talk to promotersthere.On 29th August they booked into Ryan’s Hotel in the Donegal Quay area of Belfast saying thatthey would be staying for an at least a week. Later that day they talked to a girl at Great Northern

Belfast Magazine

Belfast Magazine

Station and arranged to meet her the next day, Saturday. Rose McGoldrick was to become animportant witness for the police in their investigations into the murder of Musa as it was herevidence which switched the focus of the investigation on Cullens and the idea that Musa hadbeen murdered by someone he knew. On 2nd September Musa and Cullens had become so friendlywith the Ryan’s, owners of their hotel, that they took the couple for a drive around the town,stopping for a few drinks in various pubs in the city but they were involved in a minor collision,hitting a tram on the way back to Donegal Quay and denting the mudguard. On the day Musa waskilled the Ryans met Musa and Cullens at a café in the city. Cullens and Musa went to thegreyhound track with Ryan where Cullens and Ryan watched a couple of races. Musa stayed inthe car as he had no interest in dog racing and when Ryan and Cullen returned to the car there wasno sign of Musa. They looked into several pubs in the area and when he didn’t find him hereturned to the hotel. The two men assumed that Musa had met up with a woman and thought nomore of it. The two men shared another drink when they got back to the boarding house, retiringjust before midnight. Musa had quite a reputation as a ladies’ man and during his short stay inBelfast he had met up with many women in the city, spending most of his evenings in the pubsand clubs of the docks area.

Cullens left his car into a local garage to get repaired and the garage owner, James McIlroynoticed that after Cullens picked up the car from his garage his blue mackintosh was missing. Heidentified it, bloodstained and minus its sleeves, when shown it by the police. Unknown to Cullens,Musa had stolen the coat on the day of his death.Whereas Mr Ryan claims he saw Musa with Cullens after 7pm that day, Cullens said he was withRyan until 11.45pm, and a farmer claimed that at midnight he saw Cullens in a car near Seskin. Acar was obstructing the road and he stopped to have a good look as to what was going on. He saidhe saw Cullens clearly in his headlights and identified the car as a cream and brown Essex saloon,the make and model of Cullens car. If Ryan told the truth it would have been possible for Cullensto be there since five hours had passed since Ryan claims he last saw them. If for some reasonRyan had lied and Cullens was telling the truth then Cullens could not have found Musa, shot andstripped him, driven 13 miles to Seskin, dumped him there and left him to die. If Cullens wastelling the truth the farmer who claimed he saw a man in a car obstructing the road as Seskincould have been mistaken, he did not come forward with his evidence until Cullens had beenarrested; his evidence could have been tainted by the huge publicity surrounding the case.

Cullens was charged with the murder of Musa and at his trial the barrister for Cullens, Mr Lowry,looked at Cullens in court, telling the jury he was a "Small attenuated figure of a man who issupposed to have handled this 14 stone, 6 foot tall man over a wall. To throw that body overwould have been impossibility except for Hercules." He also pointed to the lack of motive andsuggested the theory of Musa being "a man of exceedingly loose morality where women areconcerned," who had left Ryan and Cullens at the greyhound track and gotten into troublesomewhere in Belfast because of his "inordinate immoralities." This, he thought was what had ledto the Turk’s death.

Belfast Magazine

The jury returned a verdict of guilty. The Lord Chief Justice donned his black cap and pronouncedthe sentence. Eddie Cullens, aged 28 was hanged at The Crumlin Road Jail at 8pm on Friday 13thJanuary 1932 becoming the 13th person to be hanged there. Rabbi Schachter was in attendanceand he later stated that "Cullens showed bravery beyond imagination, he had a smiling face whenhe parted and repeated again and again that he was going to meet his maker with the full satisfactionthat his hands were clean of the blood of a murdered man." Cullens was the only Jew to be hangedin Northern Ireland and his persistent protestations of innocence on the gallows were impressiveand left many people wondering if an innocent man had been hanged.

When we look back at this case its seems improbable that Cullens could have committed such anact of murder and many questions have been asked as to why the police did not further investigatethe possibility that his murderer may have come from the docks in Belfast where Musa had spentmany nights with the girls who worked the streets, areas where violence and death were common.Musa carried a pistol with him and there is a strong possibility that Musa may have been killed byhis own gun, perhaps trying to defend himself in a fight.Musa, having a poor command of English may not have been verbally articulate enough to defendhimself, may have reached into his pocket for the pistol to scare his opponent off, a scuffle couldhave ensued in which the attacker took the gun and used it on him. The way in which Musa wasleft naked and exposed does not seem like the act of someone who knew his victim well, whywould Cullen wish to humiliate Musa in such a way and surely he would have ensured that Musawas dead before returning to Belfast to make his escape, why leave him to bleed to death in afield? The murderer would have an accomplice, as Cullens’ legal representative rightly pointedout it would take more than a small man to throw Musa over a wall and into a field. If Cullens hadplanned to kill Musa surely he would have taken a shovel with him to bury the body and whywould Cullens drive all the way out to Seskins, an area that he did not know well, when it couldeasily have dumped the body in the river and then left for England telling Musa's friends inEngland that Musa had met a girl and decided to stay in Belfast. Cullen could easily have told theRyan’s in Belfast that Musa had to return to England in a hurry and no one would have been anythe wiser until the body was recovered from the water, probably weeks later when the body wouldhave been barely recognizable. If Cullen really had murdered Musa would he not have disposedof the body in a secluded area, he could have buried him in a place where his body would not bediscovered for some time, in a deep grave. Having buried him, he’d likely have got rid of theshovel en-route back to Belfast.

The way Musa’s body was left in the field doesn’t suggest the work of the organized, premeditatedmurder Cullens was accused of committing. Cullens had only been in Northern Ireland for fivedays when the shooting had taken place. He was in an area totally unfamiliar to him and to plan amurder there would have maximized the risk to himself. He could also not have any prior knowledgeof the Seskin area, so could not have planned to take Musa’s body there. If Cullens was innocent,who did murder Achmet Musa? It is certain that 80 years later that we will never know the truthof what happened that night in September 1931.

Belfast Magazine

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Belfast Magazine 72

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