Author Archives: Ian Adamson

    The Rt Hon the Lord Ballyedmond, OBE with his wife Mary   Biography   Forename(s) Edward Enda Haughey Decorations OBE (1987), JP (1986) Date of Birth 5/1/1944 Foretitle(s) Baron (Life Peer UK 2004), of Mourne in the County of Down; … Continue reading →

V. – THE WELL OF SLAN. So much for the first church of Glenavy and the saints whose sacred dust commingles with the soil of the parish where their lives were spent. Ancient records tell us of a holy well … Continue reading →

Ullans Academy Hosts “St Patrick Breakfast” Event   Promoting Common Identity        The Ullans Academy was delighted to welcome Professor Alan Ford, The Lord Mayor of Belfast, representatives from the British and Irish Governments, Minister Caral ni Chuilin … Continue reading →

III.-THE LAND OF THE OAKWOODS. In ancient times Glenavy was extensively wooded. The names of so many places in and around the parish suggest this at once : Kilultagh (Cil Ultach) means the wood of the Ulstermen or men of … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th OCTOBER, 1914. OPENING CEREMONY – BY SIR ALEXANDER DEMPSEY, M.D., J.P., TUESDAY, 6th Inst., at ONE o’clock.     Foreword The Grand Bazaar and Fancy Fair in the New Schools, … Continue reading →

Skier Kelly Gallagher has won ParalympicGB’s first ever gold at the Winter Games with victory in the visually impaired Super-G in Sochi. The 28-year-old from Bangor in County Down and her guide, Charlotte Evans, were first on the Rosa Khutor … Continue reading →

      An old friend, Jimmy Ellis, best known for his roles in Z-Cars and alongside a young Kenneth Branagh in BBC Northern Ireland’s series of “Billy” plays, has died.Jimmy died from a stroke in Lincoln Hospital early today. He was … Continue reading →

In 627 AD Congal Claen or “One Eye,” a Prince of the Cruthin, became the Over-King of Ulster. He had ruled in Tara until his blinding by bees put him from his kingship as the king could not be physically … Continue reading →

On 6th February 1685, Charles II of England died, allegedly poisoned by his brother.  When his brother James II ascended the throne the inhabitants of the growing town of Belfast (population around 2000) sent a congratulatory address to the new … Continue reading →

  Now we turn to the famous battle which bought thousands of now Lowland Scots back to Ulster, the Battle of the Boyne, fought on 1st July, 1690, celebrated on Bonfire night on 11th July each year and commemorated on … Continue reading →