Hi Joe..the brothers name is Frank, he was a bit younger than Gerard...
I went to St Johns school to before we went to St Thomasas on the WhiteRock..."Micky" Mr Mclaverty was a teacher there before he went to St Thomasas to be head master...and "Sammy" in St Thomasas,vice principle there..I hated that black strap he carried, I often got a few from that...

Hi Terry, would your name be Leith? I used to live in Forfar St and was a mate of "Mousey" and do you remember "Chester" McClean, the McParlands and the Grays`.I was known as "Douggie"

Thats me Douggie...Yes I knew Chester he was a bit older than me then, he worked picking up the clothes for the cleaners then (I forget the name of them) and the McParlands lived down a few doors from us...the Greys lived next door...I am sure u knew "******" as we called him LOL..Opps they blocked that name but he was also known as Poppy Grey...
I was a mate of Les Johnson, his uncle was Paddy Glover...I have lost touch with a lot of these people..
Your name is familiar Douggie...again I cant put a face to you..

My father was from Golinview St and he came out to Sydney for a holiday in the mid seventies.I took him up to our local club.South Sydney Juniors for a drink on Sunday and as we were signing in a man called out his name.He was astounded that someone knew him so far away from home.Turned out it was Paddy Glover who went to school with him.We had a good afternoon catching up.Small world

John.. Paddy got around,I bumped into him one time at the St Patrick's parade in Sydney, I was with my father at the time, he was still alive then..The afternoon was another story for the book....

Terry and John, as you know from my first e-mail I honestly did not expect to have a reply but it has been great to have been in touch with you, Paddy was a great wee guy but he unfortunately has passed on, it is because of him that I am leaving Adelaide for the first time to visit his very close friend in Sydney and I hope to meet Breige,Paddy`s wife. Terry I would like you to tell me where the hot pipe was in the "Flush" I remember you had a lovely looking sister that a lot of the younger lads "fancied" hope you are all keeping well. John, was Billy Ewing related to you?

Hi Concerned
Yes sad about paddy...mention my name to Breige, I am sure she will remember me, I haven't seen her for years, and give her my regards ( tell her I was a mate of Les)....
The hot pipe was up the top of the flush near "the Arches" as we called them..that was a bridge over the Springfield rd...The Pipe I don't know what it was there for(Maybe someone here can answer that)but it was a 4" pipe that crossed over the river and was always hot from hot water going through..it was near "the slides" which was a concrete slip way to move the water faster, you could break your neck if you tried to jump over the water and missed...was a dangerous place when it was in flood.. if you remember, every part of the flush we had a name for....>The Cleaney/The Feaver/The Harbour/The Tanks..to name some of them, maybe you can add..
The Tanks..Jezzz I fell in them when I was a kid and was one of the Kerrs from Colinpark st that pulled me out, I could have drowned,he said it was like pulling a sack from the water..my ma nearly killed me when I get home LOL..
anyway ..the pipe was handy to dry your socks on when u fell in the water (Which was often LOL)
I have 4 sisters but I think you mean Maureen, she was /still is.. a looker, had the guys running around in circles..I am giving her a plug here cause she will be reading this and don't want a crack in the ear..

I knew Tommy Ewing..is that the same family from Colinview street>???

Douggie...for some reason I keep remembering a story, and if you are the same guy I can remember who you are..
It was about someone going to the "Broadway picture house" wearing a brand new suit and sitting on a "Penny Bubbly" (Chewing gum)...
Does that ring a bell for you...was that you telling that story or did that happen to you??

Terry I will certainly pass on your regards to Breige, I remember Les Johnston very well and Vincie Duffy, you would have remembered Francie Mallon(Maltie) he eventually married Beechie Doyle, Francie shook hands with me just before I left, the next I heard about him he had been killed in an explosion at Divis Castle pub, he was a real nice guy.I think I now remember the hot pipe I think it carried water from the Franklin Laundry. You`re right about the "slides" if you missed your jump and hit that wee mossy part along the sides it was good-night nurse, and what about the "walls" were we used to have wee boat races with lollipop sticks it was great fun.
It wasn`t me that ruined the brand new suit it was probably Phil, I couldn`t afford one, I used to work in the Post Office, you were very lucky to get out off the tanks alive I`m sure you smelt "lovely" afterwards. The worst about these threads is that you can only recllect so much and then it all dries up i hope we can keep it going for awhile yet.

Jamesy, I knew them well and I`m still in contact with Liam, Danny died suddenly in Canada a few years ago. I remember Young`s well I lived across the wee river from them,Seanie Hesketh used to do a bit boxing when we were kids.

Thanks Douggie...I seen them all when I was back a few years ago Duff n Less but haven't kept in contact..
How about going on "The Beak" from school and hiding our school bags up that hole at "The Slides" then of up over the Black Mountain and lie in the sun all day looking down at the city..
That hole was a drainage pipe that run down from the Springfield road,we would crawl up it to hide our school bags...
We spent a lot of time around the flush then, one time we were playing cowboys n Indians, for some reason I was a horse and drank the water and got jaundice(ha ha ha don't ask)..
Another time we found a Hand Grenade and were throwing it to one and other up at the slides, thought we were John Wayne.. only to find out later it was still live LOL..But were all memorable times..
I remember some one playing a guitar in one of the hallways down your way, we were on the way to the Broadway....could that be you??

Do any of you remember the Movie that partly was made in Forfar Street and in the Flush.

Billy Ewing was my uncle,brother of Sammy Todd [Slasher],different fathers,and brother of Kathleen from Colinview st

Hi Joe, I used to know the name, wasn`t it about a donkey and a pot of gold or something, they got a crowd of us to chase the wee "buck" in one of the scenes,we kept catching him which we weren`t suppose to do, they ended up giving us half a crown which Freddie Doyle kept for himself. I think it was shown at one time in the Broadway or the Clonard.I think the wee guy had a tail or something,f..k we thought we were great.

Terry thats what I mean, it`s not just you and me it happens to, other guys have had the same thing happen to them, I think its because all us overseas want to talk about old times but people over there don`t have the bit that we "miss" and can`t be bothered with our "Slabbering'. Do you remember the tunnel that went under the wee river at the top of the cotton mill, it was suppose to come out up by the "slides". there was a dare one time for someone to go up it, I think big Skipper Murphy and a couple volunteered, we all waited outside while they went in, which lasted about 3 minutes, they came charging out claiming they had seen a Banshee, that was always a could excuse in those days it could have got you off a murder charge," a Banshee made me do it"./ they didn`t lose any face as a matter of fact we though they were dead brave, great old days.Unfortunately that was not me playing the guitar but I am trying to learn the Banjo imagine at my age, my wife (RIP) used to have a good laugh at me, I was able to pluck DannyBoy and "the Wests awake" but haven`t tried since the wife died.
Jayus I near wet myself what came over you to drink that water, what an actor you would have made, you were lucky with that hand grenade as a matter of fact it would have been a bit dangerous knocking around with you guys, we found an incendiary bomb on Mackies roof it was well burned out I was surprised no-one had found it be fore us.

Douggie: I remember that tunnel up by "Scribbons" on the "Cotton mill" I think we used to hide our trees up it for the bonfire in Aug(cant remember the date)...
That bonfire was a good night and the next morning going back to it and roasting the spuds on it.. your face would be black from eating the spuds from the fire ha ha...
Yes I was lucky after drinking the water from the flush and getting poisoned, my skin turned yellow..They brought a special Doctor over from England to look at me, so there must have been more behind the water poisoning, but nothing was ever said...
I wonder who that was playing the guitar in the hallway, it was one of the houses along there, where you lived in front of Mackies ..I always remember that, cause I had a great interest in guitar..I could never play very good, but could knock out a few tunes...

The only one`s that it could have been would be the Kearney`s or a guy further down the street called Boyd, do you remember the bonfire night or as we called it the bonefire, or was that just me, that a certain accident-prone guy, no not you, was trampled by a runaway horse that came charging down from the cotton mill? or the day a swan landed on the Springfield Rd and about two hundred kids chased it back up to the dam where the RSPCA caught it with an net, it was a Sunday and it`s a wonder they came out as the guy made the call from the phonebox at the top of Colinpark st and told them "a big duck is running loose on the Springfield".You would have remembered that film that was partly shot up at the "Flush" I hope Joe will come up with the name of it.Talking about swans, I was told that they can`t take off from land, I`m inclined to believe it after that day, the "big duck" ran the whole way down Elswick St past the "Brae" then the bridge right up to the wee sprick dam, it`s legs were going like the clappers, I suppose mine would be the same with that crowd chasing.

The name of the film was "Shamus" Douggie, it has some great veiws of the old Flush, the cotton mill, old Elswick Street and that , you can even see the wee Green hut that used to be at the bottom of Colinpark Street behind Gray's and Clarke's houses.
The hut at one time belonged to "Colin United"
That guitar player?, could it have been one of the Burn's from Mackies Heights , both Danny and Liam played guitar.
Talking about films of the area.. there is no better walk down memory Lane than my own 3 Hour Rushlight DVD Production "Our Wee School".

Thank you Joe, that was probably the "highlight" of the movie, I wonder is it still around? maybe some kids in China somewhere are being shown it.
Joe when you mention that wee hut, please bow your head, it was called "The Colin social and (wreck of an nation) club, all the boy`s in the area, and you would know most of them, all helped to build it. It was blown up in the 80`s I think, I`m sure someone from Mackies would have had a hand in it.As I said before Joe I`m still in contact with Liam unfortunately his missus isn`t too well at the moment, Joe I`ll be in contact about that DVD I had it on a VCR tape which has disappeared, I would like my grandkids to see it, I think Liam showed his little grand kids through the school, its just that I don`t know how much money to send in Aussie dollars, thanks again Joe and take care.

Yes Joe I knew that hut well "The club" we called it..3d for a game of snooker and a penny for a game of Table tennis, "Da Brady" and "Boot Brannigan" were the markers.. they were the guys that looked after the money side of things..but I always enjoyed the TV room in it(some great laughs in there) as there wasn't many that had a TV set at home then.Joe Kennedy smoking like a train in it...
Did you know Georgie Glover was involved in the construction of it..and it fell down once when they were building it..he never lived that down haha..
I dont think that was one of the Burn's playing guitar in the hallway,(I knew Danny Burns well)I think it was a guy called Dugan ...I dont know if that is you Douggie(Concerned)...
Oh..I have my sister racking her brains to find out who you are ...she mentioned one of the Bradys from the corner of Colinward and Forfar st...could have been Jim....
I must look up that movie Joe, "Shamus" cause I was one of the kids running up and down the entries ha ha

Terry I haven`t asked you what part of OZ you are in? maybe if you didn`t mind exchanging phone numbers we could have a yarn.
Do you remember Joe O`Hara? I think he was an uncle of Duff`s, maybe you were too young, as you know we used to have Bingo and a wee party sort of after the Bingo. In those days the pubs closed at 10.00pm and Joe and all his mates would come down to the club with one or two drinks in them!All his mates thought he was great singer while all us younger ones found it hard to take, nothing would do but that Joe had to sing, his favourite was a John McCormick one, all I can remember was"round and round the fairy tree the little people play" it got to the stage once he stood with his hands joined, we(the younger ones) got offside if his mates had caught anyone laughing at him they would have "helped" us out anyway. we used to make for the TV room or hid under the snooker table, it was hilarious but made even worse when Joe Kennedy would join in with him, Joe ****** as a fart and his eye used to turn inwards when he had had a few, a great bloke but a terrible singer.
Joe O`Hara had the last laugh, he went to live in Canada and got a 15 minute spot on their Television, I can only think Canada didn`t have much talent in those days.

hi i remember danny burns ,i remember playing around scribons camp,getting broken biscuits,by the bag climbing the steps of his house you needed a rope
and his mother [lovely woman i rescued from a small river on the lane going up to scribbons

kind regards
john mc ilroy
new zealand

hallo

im thinking you must be related to paddy i think he married a relation of mine [could be wrong ]and yes i remember you from forfar st you lived near the end of the row not far from mc cafferys , you may have known my sister margaret mcilroy from beechmount

i have a suspicion you are related to 'joe graham'
hope life is being good to you kind regards
john mc ilroy just remembered did paddywed a gorman?

im sure ive seen it was called seamus[i think]about a boy who grows a tail ,{ monkeys} by the way originate
from the beechmount bungalows and live in new zealand
i would love to have contact with anyone who went to st thomas inter,or st johns primary, as ive met only one charlie lynch from forest street i used to call for him in the mornings,just bumped into him!!!! one day could not believe it!! met some people from the other side''who brought "thier baggage with" not very friendly eh? however bless you all john mcilroy

RIP. Bobby 'Moke' McMahon of Colinward Street,who died on the 19th Jan.2011.Attended St John's 1957-1964.