Portarlington!! What was there 20 years ago??

Ozzie

Just looking at Portarlington!! Whats Coming?? thread. I've moved away a while now and am rememberring the old days... about 20 years ago in my case.... When we didn't even have a bank machine!!!!

Somebody mentioned Domino's Pizza!!!! Cribbins and Murphys chippers was all we had. And the one up at Kilmalogue Cross (from time to time). Victor Stanley had that and the shop next door. Condon's was across the road. At one point Condon's sold Irish newspapers and Stanley sold English ones! Micky Websters was the main newsagents on French Church Street and Byrnes on Main Street.

The cinema closed in the mid 80s but reopened for a short time around 89/90. The swiming pool opened in the spring each year. Some of us even had season tickets!!!

Then of course the schools. St Josephs was in awful condition. The girls had a lovely new secondary school that some guys managed to go to for certain classes each week!!! (Cute B*****ds!).

Then when you were old enough to have a pint..... The Anvil was the main spot. You'd get 3 pints and three bags of crisps for less than £5!!!

The town has come a long way since then and really grown.

Enjoy the pizza!!!!!

Ozzie

sydthebeat

ok, memories of yesteryear...

drinking in the snug in the anvil.... cans of san miguel
sneaking into the barrow lodge during schooltime to play pool on a terrible pool table, and play boomtown rats 'dont like mondays' on the old vinyl dukebox.

i remember seeing the jungle book in the cinema... perhaps others but i cant remember.

ma rourkes on spa street was always a good spot...

i remember the pony express, and murphys...

what about the arches pub, wher ethe afterdark is now??...

stevoman

the arches and then it was called the ramble inn.

when mathews bakery was next door to clelands and it was all the one shop.

before super valu and the road and houses were built, uard Bell Mansion stood on the entrance to the road on Foxcroft street.

heading up every sunday to play snooker in the catholic club.

when the lads secondary school was around!

when goodwins had a clothes shop and it always smelled funny!

alo donegans bike and eletric shop.

the power station and its demise.

MEMORIES.

moose112

Penny sweets out of Mitchells shop

My cousins holding my head under the water pump on foxcroft lane
across from wardrops:mad:

Good old ronnie mattews possibly the greatest bakery ever:D

Ozzie

Did the Pony Express become Jazzy Dees or am I a bit confused???

In any event does anyone remember when that place was The Snack Cafe? I think it had been that for decades, a sort of sweet shop. I'm sure it did fancy bowls of ice cream. There was one table to sit at in a little snug??? Of course it could be the made-up fantasy of a want-to-be 5 year old that remembers that....

Up in Gracefield there was Mick Fingletons and the Nook next door (also Fingletons). The first was a real old fashioned shop that sold 'provisions'. I sometimes got a small bottle of orange there for 25p. The nook sold lots of sweets and other useful bits and bobs like the sunglasses I bought there once!!! Also thats where Fr. Billy Murphy (RIP) would send Mass Servers to get his 20 Major!

pclancy

I lived in Portlaiise but had a few mates in Port that id get the train over to hang around with. I pulled my first pint and got arrested all on an excellent Good Friday in Port back in 1996 We were drinking in a "closed" pub and then went down the park for some reason and got hauled up to the garda station by a detective. Good times. Dad had to come pick me up, I remember stuffing crisps down my neck to try hide the smell of drink.

Used to hang out in Mitchells a bit and play pool/poker machines if thats the place I remmember corectly. I think they sold single fags too

port

Snack Cafe had a great selection of cigars and pipes as well as ice creams and chocolate. The little snug had timber panneled walls.

Keenans newsagents on Main Street,dinky cars and model aeroplanes.

On Main Street Paul Mathews had a furniture shop.Tommy Ward had lots of little birds on display in his shop beside Bennets Pub,children were always welcome and Tommy would let them feed the birds.Hartnets chemist shop beside Burbage's shop.Billy Murphy's bicycle shop.Goodwins Wholesale where The Continental is now I think.Cribbin's Butchers (Kevin Bracken's now).Dempsey's watches and clocks and Nappers habberdashery.Lee's drapery/shoe shop,where Santy arrived every year.

Webster's Newsagents,the Beano,Dandy comics and annuals at Christmas.Hugh Easter Eggs and very expensive glass vases and china sets.My mother used to love going in to Micky Websters,he was a gentleman.

Timmy Murphy's grocery shop,then he changed it to videos and film rental.
Emersons grocery shop on Spa Street.
Neddy Herberts butchers and Mrs Herbert's dress makers (where Hackets bookmakers are now)

Ozzie

When was Main St. like that Port? Late 70s? Some of those shops I can't remember.

Remember French Church St. before Travel Goods was knocked. There was an ESB shop along there. pity about the house that's still left. I know it's got a historical aspect, but what an eyesore in town centre.

sydthebeat

i remember some of what Port is on about...

was 'keenans' lawlors shop??

i remember tommy wards well.... i remmebr emersons on spa street.. that existed up to a few years ago AFAIR...

port

Keenans was where Central Stores are now.Dempseys and Nappers were where Whelan's Taxis and Mervyns Blinds are now.

Clark Griswald

Ozzie wrote: »

Just looking at Portarlington!! Whats Coming?? thread. I've moved away a while now and am rememberring the old days... about 20 years ago in my case.... When we didn't even have a bank machine!!!!

Somebody mentioned Domino's Pizza!!!! Cribbins and Murphys chippers was all we had. And the one up at Kilmalogue Cross (from time to time). Victor Stanley had that and the shop next door. Condon's was across the road. At one point Condon's sold Irish newspapers and Stanley sold English ones! Micky Websters was the main newsagents on French Church Street and Byrnes on Main Street.

The cinema closed in the mid 80s but reopened for a short time around 89/90. The swiming pool opened in the spring each year. Some of us even had season tickets!!!

Then of course the schools. St Josephs was in awful condition. The girls had a lovely new secondary school that some guys managed to go to for certain classes each week!!! (Cute B*****ds!).

Then when you were old enough to have a pint..... The Anvil was the main spot. You'd get 3 pints and three bags of crisps for less than £5!!!

The town has come a long way since then and really grown.

Enjoy the pizza!!!!!

I'm gone over 20 years and it sure is a different place today. Good times playing in the snooker hall and eating in my friends chipper, Murphy's. Half penny sweets on the way to school and playing football morning, noon and night.

Hesh's Umpire

One of the pubs on French Church Street had the fantastic name of The Green Kiwi.

Digital Satellite TV

Was anyone in the CBS the day the roof blew off the prefab? Some craic!!!

portgirl123

god i worked in travel goods. what a great place to work. spent most of the time in toilets smoking. What was the name of the place behind the anvil where there used to be pool table, juke box etc.

port

Hoey's shop and Betty Ward's in Bracklone Street.Eileen Dunne's grocery also in Bracklone Street.Johnny Carroll's grocery in the main street, where Eamon Bracken Menswear is now.I think he had a pool table in the shop and/or a one armed bandit and poker machines.Johnny had a butcher's bike and used to live in a big house in Patrick Street which had a massive front door and no windows on the front.

Johnny Kavanagh's garage, and Molly Byrne's sweet shop opposite the boys National School on top of the hill in Patrick Street.

Ozzie

Digital Satellite TV wrote: »

Was anyone in the CBS the day the roof blew off the prefab? Some craic!!!

I remember it well.... flying through the air!

psychedellic

Ned Carey's Grocery shop on Main Street just by the Garda Station- always a gent and a good man to sneak you a handful of penny sweets when your mammy wouldn't buy you any ha