On the corner of Garvagh just beside Connor’s garage there used to be two houses. Bob
Campbell lived in one and Davey Mullan in the other. Davey Mullan
was the father of the late Sonny Mullan, a local character. These
two houses were renovated about the mid 1950s, were made into one
house, and later became a shop owned by Willie and Jean Turner.
Willie Turner also operated a taxi business until his untimely death
in 1970 at the age of 50.
During the past 40 years the town as well as the
surrounding district has changed dramatically and no area more so
than the buildings between Usher’s shop and Jackie Connor’s
garage. This picture taken in the late 1960s shows how this part
of the town looked until 1979 when these buildings were demolished.
Bertie McKay had a garage and petrol pumps, next door his
wife had a grocery shop and fish and chip shop. McKay’s chip shop
was a popular venue and would have been packed to capacity after the
pictures at night and especially at the weekends. These upper two
houses originally belonged to Bernard Kerr and had been in the Kerr
family for 200 years. When demolished, this stone which was above
the door was salvaged and used in the building of the new house of
Bernard Kerr’s great ,great great, great grandson Dr John Kerr in
the town land of Ballygalley. Interestingly, while Bertie McKay was
the tenant of these premises, he craftily inserted the letters MC
between the B and K to personalise the property. Oddly enough, two
filling stations were able to survive within 150 yards of each other
when there were only a fifth of the cars on the road than there are
today. Johnny Bradley, Michael’s grandfather, had a carpenters shop and undertakers business and his son the late
Johnny Bradley kept on the undertaking and also ran a taxi from
here. Those premises became a cafe in 1954. Further down Jim McQuillan also had a fish and chip shop here at a time. On the
other side of the Bridge Mrs Susan Stewart had a fish and chip shop
during the 1970s. Around this area Tom Moore had a shop and he
also had a van doing a country run. That shop was later taken
over by Johnny and Jeanie McGraw. In earlier times there was a
sawmill here, run by Joe McKay, Berties father. Along this part of
the street during the last war Kennedy Bradley had a small coal
business where he would have sold coal by the stone. Other people
who lived and worked on this part of upper Main Street were Tom
Graham’s barbers and grocery shop, Sandy Tomilnson shoe repairs,
Willie Tracy taxis, Sarah Caldwell, Jim Campbell, Maggie Glass,
Michael Bradley, Davey Graham, Mrs Morrell, Jim Walker, Maggie
McIntyre, Maurice Dillon, Tommy Linton, Willie McIlroy, Mrs Skelly,
Miss Reid and Willie Davidson. Today in this part of town the only
place you could buy a box of matches is at Jackie Connors Garage.
The background has also changed, Ballinameen Avenue
had only one house Tommy Bradley’s. To the left of Ballinameen is
the small field where Bertie Turner’s bungalow is now, and behind
that Kinard Park had not yet been built. To the left, just behind
the trees would have been Clyde Park, named after a farming family
called Clyde and uncles of the late Bertie Stewart.
Before housing estates, like Littlesdale, most people lived in dwellings a third of the size that
they are today. Usher’s shop was at a time three houses, the
occupants were Miss Reid, Joe Doherty and George Mullan. Usher’s
ice cream, famous all over the country, was made and sold for many
years by Miss Jennie Usher a popular figure in the town who died in
August 2002 and will be sadly missed. The next building and until
recently the town’s last shoe shop was at one time The Post
Office. Howard Mullan’s shop used to be three houses. George
McMillan operated a cobblers business, Tommy Skelly and a family
called McQuaid also lived here.
Garvagh History Page 1 |
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