A WORK OF PASSION AND COMMITMENT
Roy Greer set out on his voyage of discovery in 2010. It began with a castle standing four storeys tall commanding a view over County Down and part of County Antrim and it was the estate of the Clannaboy O’Neills. It was called Castle Reagh and was the home of Con O’Neill 400 years ago, although there’s neither stick nor stone left, the name lives on. Next time you go to Connswater remember Con O’Neill, the last Gaelic Lord of Clannaboy.
“I was on a walk in the Castlereagh Hills when I wondered where the castle was situated and who lived there. Little did I know I was standing right on the spot!”
Those thoughts became a challenge to the principal of Moneyreagh Primary school and he decided Con O’Neill’s four hundredth anniversary should be celebrated in a book. It has been a long and detailed labour of love for the author as he came face to face with an enigma, no image of Con exists but his story is strong and complex.
The stories are colourful, for instance the legend of the Red Hand of the O’Neills. Two chieftains, some say from the Orkney Islands some say Spain, raced to the shoreline of Ulster to claim it for their own, they were neck and neck, so to be sure of victory Eireamhon cut off his right hand with a single blow of his sword and threw it on to the land and won the prize. His severed hand became the symbol of his descendants and is still to be seen a lot in this part of the world. Another story is of the most expensive consignment of wine in Irish history involving Con’s riotous party and tax evasion! There’s drama throughout this book and never a dull moment.
Meticulous Research
What Roy discovered was a complicated family history and a tangled web of the O’Neills although the clansmen had a simple way of identifying the male line – nicknames, including Brian the Freckled, not to be mixed up with Brian the Bright Star, Niall of the Black Knee, Murtagh the Long-head and poor old Hugh the Lazy-arsed Boy.
Although this book traces the history of the O’Neills and Ulster in general, the main player is Con McNiall McBrian Faghartagh O’Neill.
No Easy Task
“I had to learn how to use a library, and trawl through the archives in the Public Records Office. I got to know the young man whose responsibility was thrust upon him when Ulster was at a cross roads yet when he died in 1619 few were aware of his story and I felt a responsibility to put that right.”
The book charts Irish relationship with England and Scotland and beyond and you’d do well to have a notebook beside you to keep abreast of fast moving events! It’s a fascinating tale of love and war, possessions and land grabs, a jigsaw puzzle of events.
This is a very fine book both in content and presentation. Richly illustrated with maps, portraits, original manuscripts together with high quality colour photographs. Published by The White Row Press costs £14.95. In bookshops or from www.whiterow.net
Isn’t it nice the way kind has crept into our conversation thanks to the late Caroline Flack and her message that in a world where you can be anything be kind.
Cooking Up A Storm
Just when you think you’ll never smile again along comes Suzie. A whirlwind in the kitchen, knowing just what to add here and take away there, a mum of two, a working accountant with a passion for big wholesome family meals and a delightful turn of phrase. I wish she would bring out a cook book, she talks our language and I feel I would like to have a go at some of her recipes. Can you imagine spending weeks working in the BBC kitchen and then having to keep the result a secret for almost a year! Well done Suzie, you have done us proud.
Talking of BBC drama.
What did you think of the scenes on the EastEnder’s boat – the word hilarious come to mind! Maybe because I knew all this was filmed in a tank made it unbelievable. A most unlikely love scene between Mick and Linda which would put anything on the Titanic to shame, funny Mo, sleezy Ian and the rest. I suspect Ben Mitchell is going to suffer further hearing loss after his time in the water. No wonder Dot Cotton has gone to Ireland to get away from these people and give her head peace! And then a few miles away Sharon is going through agonies having her baby. Not really a lot of laughs, if they wanted to make a splash with their anniversary they certainly did. But where were all the emergencies services that patrol the river, didn’t seem much urgency around. Having said all that the production team and all the technical crews deserve a gold star, it can’t have been easy. I’m sure it brought back painful memories to the families where were caught up in a similar but real situation some years ago.
It must have cost several fortunes to make those episodes just at a time when savings are having to be made.
The most ridiculous decision to my mind is to switch off the studio webcam in the BBC 5Live studio. I phoned up to be told it was economy and the fact that not many people were watching. As it is an automatic service when you tune into 5Live programmes that would mean not many people are tuning into this station. Rubbish. a couple of fixed camera in the corner of the studio doesn’t cost much and without the camera it’s impossible to identify who is who in a discussion programme and I’m heart broken that I can’t see my hero Nicky Campbell any more.
Hats off to Lidl
On World Autism Day, 2nd April, 194 Lidl stores throughout Ireland will provide a quiet place to shop. Between 6 o’clock and 8 p.m. very Tuesday will be an ‘autism care quiet evening’ when people and families who find it difficult to do their shopping in an unflustered and organised way will be welcomed. Public spaces, like a large store with shelves stacked high overhead, can be frightening and overwhelming to a sensitive child and anyone who is nervous will find this special time to be of benefit. Understanding staff will be on hand to help, reduced lighting, no irritating announcements punctuating the air and no piped music, even the bleeping of the till will be switched off. Those with autism and their families will have priority at checkouts and customers with impaired vision will be relieved to know their guide dogs will be welcome.
This will require other shoppers to be patient and to realise that autism is a condition which needs to be understood. Often an autistic child can be disruptive and this is interpreted as naughty, a child out of control because of bad parenting, which is totally wrong but it can lead to harsh words about letting the child away with boldness. As the parent is trying to keep their son or daughter safe, being shouted at leads to horrible scenes all because the member of the public doesn’t understand autism.
It’s a spectrum condition meaning there are degrees from mild to severe. It’s not an illness nor a disease and it can’t be cured but it can be managed.
Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently to other people. I once heard it described like this: we have little plugs and sockets in our brains that normally fit perfectly, an autistic child’s plugs are upside down and don’t fit into the socket. A crude way of putting it but the image does make you think. There’s debate amongst parents whether or not to announce publicly that their child is autistic, it’s nobodies business is one line of thought, on the other hand an explanation might ease the situation.
If you come across a difficult situation just saying, “Can I help?” could be the most supportive action you can take. And this is exactly what the staff at Lidl are doing and as one young man told me, they are looking forward to the experience and getting to know the families who need this space and understanding. Remember, we all dance to different drum beats.
More at www.lidl-ni.co.uk/csr
