Growing up in Drogheda

Mr. Muddle

dunleerfi wrote: »

What year did the buckets stop crossing over the North road?

As far as I remember Irish Cement moved from the Boyne Road to Platin in 1977 so it must have been around then.

declanmcgowan

hi folks does any of you have any memories of boyneside radio.
i was once declan mc gowan on boyneside
was a dj there for about 5 years in the 80s, but have no nostalgia from thast time.
anyone got pictures or recording from back then?

Peppa Pig

declanmcgowan wrote: »

hi folks does any of you have any memories of boyneside radio.
i was once declan mc gowan on boyneside
was a dj there for about 5 years in the 80s, but have no nostalgia from thast time.
anyone got pictures or recording from back then?

I remember Gavin Duffy playing "friggin' in the rigging" one lunchtime, presumably for a bet. Laughed myself silly - I was about 10.

Lourdes stadium packed on a Sunday
Bus depot at the bull ring
Walking through James' street in the dark when the houses were being demolished
Space invaders coming to the cool pool
Seeing Br. Kennedy from Mary's in Lucianos, buckled
Mickey the mod getting his lambretta
The beehive on platin road when it was a shop
Getting the special trains in the 70s to see Drogheda in the cup
Trying to sneak into the slot machine place near the white horse (?)
The swimming pool opening and waiting for hours in the queue to get in

I'd forgotten about the Hot Pot until I saw this thread, qave Aggies a run for her money

tribalwings

Does anyone remember hiring a Sega Megadrive from McDonnells in Oulster Lane ?
buying baggy eclipse jeans in Harpo's ?
Or going in to look at all the fancy computers and electronics in that shop beside where Abrakebabra is now in Narrow West St. Can't think of the name of it. Or going into the Soundshop down the key to flick through all their tapes on a Saturday

blue2525

Here is a new Genealogy links page for Drogheda

http://www.droghedadavidjohn.blogspot.ie/

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Anybody remember going to Colin lenihans barbers for a "step" haircut?

My first ever job was a ballboy at drogheda utd, £2 a game.

The old swimming pool at marleys lane, you had to hand in your clothes, no lockers.

Mcdonnels video library was great!

Genoa on shop street used to serve minerals with ice cream in them

Buying hot lips crisps in kathleens shop on the beamore road.

Went to the irish school in sundays gate, we hated the christian brothers school next door!

Playing for meadowview under 10s and the whole team travelling in the mana
gers car :eek:

kings restaurant at the top of mell. Used to do apple tart and warm custard for dessert!

Lollymcd

jar_of_coins wrote: »

Went to the irish school in sundays gate, we hated the christian brothers school next door!

Remember when the Irish school was in a factory space in Mayoralty St?

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Lollymcd wrote: »

Remember when the Irish school was in a factory space in Mayoralty St?

Yes! I think I was in junior or senior infants when they moved.

faigs

jar_of_coins wrote: »

Anybody remember going to Colin lenihans barbers for a "step" haircut?

Yes! Cutworks! Used to wait for up to 2 hours in that place on a Friday evening for a haircut and wouldn't go anywhere else!

The town was so much busier then, real buzz about the place, shame thats all gone now.

TO_ARTHUR!

tribalwings wrote: »

Does anyone remember hiring a Sega Megadrive from McDonnells in Oulster Lane ?... Or going into the Soundshop down the key to flick through all their tapes on a Saturday

Does anyone remember HMV being open like it was yesterday?

kormak

TO_ARTHUR! wrote: »

Does anyone remember HMV being open like it was yesterday?

speaking of a similar business... does anyone remember Paddy Connor's "Basement Record Store" on Peter St? All sorts of deadly CDs & vinyl and you always bought your tickets to gigs @ The Point there.
Would just pop in for an auld rant half the time... good days!

TO_ARTHUR!

kormak wrote: »

speaking of a similar business... does anyone remember Paddy Connor's "Basement Record Store" on Peter St? All sorts of deadly CDs & vinyl and you always bought your tickets to gigs @ The Point there.
Would just pop in for an auld rant half the time... good days!

I remember Paddy Connor's shop well, I used to be in it a fair amount. It was below the cafe place. The shop used to have music that you wouldn't have got anywhere else in Drogheda. I liked that place, it always saved a trip up to the big shops in Dublin, plus a friend of mine worked there.

markc1184

Paddys an uncle of mine. Great man for his music.

TO_ARTHUR!

markc1184 wrote: »

Great man for his music.

Very true.

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Mcdonnels video library was great!

I used to love going to the video library in McDonnells. When I was a kid, it seemed to me as though they had the best selection of sega games to rent, I think I must've had their one copy of Sonic 3 out on renewal for a whole summer:cool: They had a good selection of movies too!

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Genoa on shop street used to serve minerals with ice cream in them

The Genoa was the place we'd all go for birthdays before McDonald's came to town. You're right about their ice cream, it was something else!

I remember the Hot Pot having a good selection of ice cream too, back in it's day.

What I used to love as well though, was the shop at the top of the hill on Laurences street (Can't remember it's name) and the sweets that you could get in there. I remember them having this type of toffee that was so bloody tough/chewy that if the fire was going back home, I'd stick it in front of it for a few minutes so i could get to the sugar without the all gobstopping:pac:

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Went to the irish school in sundays gate, we hated the christian brothers school next door!

Hey, we were The Joes and I believe the feeling was mutual. Do you remember giving us all unprovoked abuse as we'd walk past your school?
I think a good few lads would pelt stuff over the side gate, hoping they'd hit someone but it stopped when our principal intervened. Those were the days, eh?:rolleyes::pac:

kormak

markc1184 wrote: »

Paddys an uncle of mine. Great man for his music.

Better known as the Drogheda's John Peel... and rightly so! :cool:

calex71

markc1184 wrote: »

Paddys an uncle of mine. Great man for his music.

Great man for a chat too, I used to drop in to the shop on a thrusday and more often than not would be there for over an hour

minnimous123

declanmcgowan wrote: »

hi folks does any of you have any memories of boyneside radio.
i was once declan mc gowan on boyneside
was a dj there for about 5 years in the 80s, but have no nostalgia from thast time.
anyone got pictures or recording from back then?

I have some recordings from Boyneside including "three o' clock"

CarlosK

Was in the Joes myself... heading down to Johnno's for a quarter of bon bons at lunch time... that's if you weren't up for the potato scallops and chips in loughrans covered in salt, vinegar and ketchup... go back to school with greasy red fingers and destroy your copies as you tried to write on the crisp clean pages.

I remember Paddy Connor's too... used to get us tickets to gigs when we were just young lads... got us our 1st oasis tickets when I was about 15. it's still the most excited i've ever been at a gig.

going to utd park on a friday night, blagging your way in for free saying you were a drogheda boys player and watching epic drogs v dundalk cup ties going to extra-time, freezing your balls off and getting an awful cup of oxtail soup, not to drink, just to hold and keep from getting frostbite.

playing football in little wembley at the glen, the most unlevel pitch in the land where at one end the ground was level with the crossbar at the other end... goalkeepers regularly scored from goal kicks.

jock's super art work around the town every xmas, easter, paddy's day etc.

the 4 lanterns being the take away of choice with their skinny chips and milkshakes... they still exist in donegal... bring back the 4 lantern food fights

i remember savage summers... no sun screen required... we just ran around and took the burn... cycling to termonfeckin beach from brookville park... it felt like the other side of ireland. but we got there anyway

in more recent years... solas having some great gigs before they ruined it and turned it into a strip club...

the no-name and greenhills student discos where you got breathalised going in the door to make sure you weren't knacker drinking... some chick ringing the family phone the next day because mobiles weren't around

ah those were brilliant days

kormak

I remember Paddy Connor's too... used to get us tickets to gigs when we were just young lads... got us our 1st oasis tickets when I was about 15. it's still the most excited i've ever been at a gig.

Yeah! remember buying our Smashing Pumpkins tickets + bus ticket off Paddy. Man that bus journey was a messy one! lol

playing football in little wembley at the glen, the most unlevel pitch in the land where at one end the ground was level with the crossbar at the other end... goalkeepers regularly scored from goal kicks.

Couldn't have put it better myself... what a mad little pitch to play on. (and I was a goalkeeper:))

the no-name and greenhills student discos where you got breathalised going in the door to make sure you weren't knacker drinking... some chick ringing the family phone the next day because mobiles weren't around

You forgot to mention knacker drinking on the top of Millmount. The safest place in the town to get lamped with a savage view to boot!

Hondo75

Carlosk was that the oasis in cork.. The bus trip down was mgreat crack.I remember they left a couple of lads in duleek after a piss stop.

johnkierans

drogheda has changed so so much in the last 10 years.. i grew up in the early 90 - mid 90s..

mr ace for parka jackets and ox blood doc martins
live and learn - quigleys owed that place and i got an Amiga 500 for christmas well in those days it was between the family.. loved it so much. games where like £50 unheard to get them unless it was xmas or birthday.
Big shout out to Sandra and the girls in Mcdonalds video store in the oulster lane. amazing summer nights picking films for hours upon hours also a social place to bring your dog funnily enough. if you wanted a 12+ they would even ring your home telephone and ask your mam was it ok to rent it to you haha my cousin came in very handy for that thanks Mairead!

johnkierans

brookville shop when the Northern's took over around 90 - 91ish amazing Pirate Movies galore way ahead of anywhere else and plus 20 copies of every new film, rubbish quality but it felt cool watching grainy unreleased movies..

Ron Smith

In__tuition wrote: »

Before he ventured into preaching he was a multi-millionaire who was in a place crash, totally changed him, think he donated everything to charity and decided on God.

No idea where he is now.

I'm alive and well and living in Wexford and I had no place crash, rather it was a crash involving a plaNe. Any response? Love Ron (ps. everyone does!)

moonshadow

Ron Smith wrote: »

I'm alive and well and living in Wexford and I had no place crash, rather it was a crash involving a plaNe. Any response? Love Ron (ps. everyone does!)

If this is the real Ron smith , prove it by telling me your mum and dads leisurely pastime in their latter years ?
I knew them btw.

Ron Smith

Hi, well hello there. I have to say that that reply was QUICK. Yes, I am the real Ron Smith. I stood for The General Election in '87 and I preached "on the steps" around that time. I did not however paint kiddies faces, but for a time I did read Grimms Fairytales on Saturday afternoons.
My father Henry died 15/12/11 and he always claimed to be a farmer, my mother (Jenifer) laterly in her life was a resident in a nursing home in Castlebellingham, she (without any qualifications) was a swimming instructress at home in Piperstown.
Hoping that the above satisfies your curiosity as to my genuiness.
Looking forward to hearing from you in just amoment and would you identify yourself? Thanks, Ron

Ron Smith

Ron Smith wrote: »

Hi, well hello there. I have to say that that reply was QUICK. Yes, I am the real Ron Smith. I stood for The General Election in '87 and I preached "on the steps" around that time. I did not however paint kiddies faces, but for a time I did read Grimms Fairytales on Saturday afternoons.
My father Henry died 15/12/11 and he always claimed to be a farmer, my mother (Jenifer) laterly in her life was a resident in a nursing home in Castlebellingham, she (without any qualifications) was a swimming instructress at home in Piperstown.
Hoping that the above satisfies your curiosity as to my genuiness.
Looking forward to hearing from you in just amoment and would you identify yourself? Thanks, Ron

Do we have any wish to communicate? Ron

barneysplash

Recently, my brother found a copy of a special edition of
the Drogheda Independent from 1984, a few years before my time.

It was a commemorating 100 years of the paper.

Here are a few of the ads and pics from it:

The Mosney computer room, don't remember it myself:



Drogheda Independent printing equipment - check out the big floppy disk:


Fantasy Gardens nightclub:



I don't know whats worse the jumpers or the hair!
Check out the "tart's glass" for the lady - proper order



Check out the local company phone number written in pen on the
generic Mita promotional graphic. No need for Photoshop!



Hodgins Hairdressing - more like hedgehog hairdressing!



The Swan Inn - spent many a night there when it was Man Fridays / Fusion.
Would love to see some photos of it when it was a restaurant.



The Central - "Enjoy a drink in comfortable surroundings" Good to see
that some things never change. Oh wait...



Hold yourselves back girls...



What is "Swiss food" - Fondu and Toblerone?



Time for a game of Chucky Egg!



Try getting some of this lot past the Food Safety Authority today!


Jesus - she looks like the image of the woman's face on the
stone in Magdeline Tower - spooky!

barneysplash

Here's another few bits from other discussions over the years:

Drogheda has a special kind of nickname - the family nickname.

"He's one of the Rook Rooney's from Newfield. I was in the Joe's with his brother."

"Ask Labba Hand, he was there in West street when Louth won the All-Ireland in '57."

Family Name - Rooney
Nickname - "Rook"
Explanation - Named after the bird.

Family Name - Millar
Nickname - "Dusty" or "Windy"
Explanation - Flour millers were usually covered in dust and worked in Windmills.

Family Name - Hand
Nickname - "Labba"
Explanation - From the Irish "lamha" meaning hand.

Family Name - Kelly
Nickname - "Choke the chicken"
Explanation - I don't know where this one comes from, do you? Maybe someone
in the family worked on a farm processing chickens for butchers.

Family Name - Donnelly
Nickname - "Saus"
Explanation - A local butcher, Donnelly, was famous for his saus-ages


The Abbey Shopping Centre

Mildred's- This was an American themed diner. They had real hot-dogs,
the big orange kind you'd see people eating on the streets of New York
in the movies. There was also the rude-sounding and delicious
Knickerbocker Glory ice-creams. Apparently this was also the first place in
Drogheda to offer an exotic dish called Lasagne.

The Book Shop - I don't remember the name of the bookshop that was
across from Mildred's, but it was a great little shop. There were always loads of
books on display and you were encouraged to take them off the shelves and
have a look. I remember just before I got the internet, the man in the shop
would order in Star Trek paperbacks from England for me. He'd take out this big
ledger and fill in the details. He'd give me a call "in a couple of weeks" and I'd
come in and pick it up. In today's world of kindles and e-books and the like, this must seem very quaint.

Harpo's Clothing Store - This was the coolest men's clothes shop in Drogheda. If you were a young
man about town this was the place to get your threads. The dance music and Manchester music scenes in
the 1990's lead to a whole new raft of styles - overly baggy jeans, vibrant coloured t-shirts, puffy jackets,
big chunky boots and even bigger belt buckles.
I remember buying my very first pair of "X-worx" baggy jeans
here. They were so cool. Some other brands I remeber include:

• Joe Bloggs - Jeans with the big whte BLOGGS patch down the leg.
  
  
• Naff Naff - Black windbreakers.
  
  
• Juice - Colourful t-shirts.
  
  
• Petro Motion - super baggy jeans.
  
  
• IF by Fila - Cool jeans - always wanted a pair.
  
  
• Fuentes jeans - Vibrant coloured jeans, I had a mad bright red pair.
  
  
• Admiral - As worn by Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays.
  
  
• Umbro - Man Utd and Liverpool three-quarter length padded jackets.
  
  
• Pepe Jeans - These came with a plastic key-ring that had a plastic spring
  you would keep your house key on - if you could be trusted to have a house key.
  
  
• LA Kings - US ice hockey team - popular with gangster rappers.
  
  
• LA Raiders - American football team, again popular with bad-boys from
  South Central or Brookville

Johno's Shop in Magdeline Street.
Many a "quarter of apple pips and two packets of A-team tayto"
were bought here by myself and my school chums.

But did you ever by a "bag of viz"? This was the sugar and broken sweets
from the bottom of the big jars. You could get a big bag of this stuff for 10p.
You'd munch on this making your way back to school and wait for the
hyperactivity to start. You'd probably be brought to court today if you tried
to sell something like that today.

tribalwings wrote: »

Does anyone remember hiring a Sega Megadrive from McDonnells in Oulster Lane ?

I had a Megadrive at home, and when I wouldn't study for my Junior Cert, my parents would take away the controller and hide it.
I'd rent a controller from McDonnells and be back hunting tanks in the desert in no time he he.

tribalwings wrote: »

Or going in to look at all the fancy computers and electronics in that shop beside where Abrakebabra is now in Narrow West St. Can't think of the name of it.

That shop was Hardy Electricals. They had a selection of games for all consoles and computers there. Bought my first Amstrad disk
game there - Smash TV, brilliant game.

The Live and Learn in Stockwell Street - They had a massive selection of cassette tape games for all computers. I didn't
have a tape deck in my computer, but loads of pals who did would go and buy a game, put it in a twin cassette deck stereo
and copy it onto a blank tape. They'd then go back to the shop and get a refund because "the tape didn't work". Scamps!

Was anyone ever in the B+B at the entrance to Narrow West street? I think it was called the "West End House". They
used to have biscuit tins and chocolate boxes on display in the window, very odd. Probably the kind of place ran by some
nice old dear who would murder you in your sleep and and make you into rashers for the other guests breakfasts.

Scoil na Boinne - The school summer holidays prison camp ran in St. Oliver's.
What better way to spend scorching hot summer holidays than in a classroom filled with complete strangers speaking broken Irish?

Muahahaha

Trafford Lad wrote: »

^ Yep Derek & Stanley...Derek was (briefly) in my class at one stage......scary...and that mad rabid dog that they had out in their yard that used to terrorise anyone passing by. Just had a flashback to Loughran's chipper at lunchtime... mad busy..everyone getting chips and scallops-I can still smell the ketchup...:)

Derek Buchan just popped up in a piece on the RTE Six One news today. He was a friend of the homeless man who died just outside Leinster House in the early hours of yesterday morning. It'll be repeated at 9pm and is on the Player

Ron Smith wrote: »

Hi, well hello there. I have to say that that reply was QUICK. Yes, I am the real Ron Smith. I stood for The General Election in '87 and I preached "on the steps" around that time. I did not however paint kiddies faces, but for a time I did read Grimms Fairytales on Saturday afternoons.
My father Henry died 15/12/11 and he always claimed to be a farmer, my mother (Jenifer) laterly in her life was a resident in a nursing home in Castlebellingham, she (without any qualifications) was a swimming instructress at home in Piperstown.
Hoping that the above satisfies your curiosity as to my genuiness.
Looking forward to hearing from you in just amoment and would you identify yourself? Thanks, Ron

Your mum taught me how to swim, as she did many in Drogheda I'd say.

SCOL

A homeless man lay dead in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green for a number of hours before he was discovered, an inquest heard.
Derek Buchan (39) originally from Drogheda, Co Louth had no permanent address but used homeless hostels in the city, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.
He was found lying face down in foliage at the Leeson Street end of St Stephen’s Green on January 30th, 2016.
It was beginning to get dark as Park Constable David Morgan and his three colleagues were locking the park at 4.20pm, the court heard.
“I was locking the two small gates at the Leeson Street end of the park around when I saw a person lying in the bushes. I saw the figure of a man lying face down,” Mr Morgan said.
‘Free spirit’
He noted drug paraphernalia and attempted to rouse the man before calling emergency services, he said.
“It was an area where people used to go in to sleep and use drugs,” Mr Morgan said.
All four park constables lock the park in the evenings, checking bushes and shrubbery for people. Mr Morgan said the bushes where Mr Buchan was found had since been cut down.
The man’s sister, Mary McCabe said he was a ‘free spirit’ whom she hoped was now at peace.
His possessions included a rosary beads, a scapular and €65.
“He was a free spirit, he wouldn’t settle anywhere, he was always wandering around. He used to come to me every Christmas but we didn’t see him that year,” Ms McCabe told the court.
Gardaí and Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene and Mr Buchan was pronounced dead at 5.45pm. The doctor who pronounced his death noted that he had been dead for a number of hours before he was found.
A postmortem examination gave the cause of death as a drug overdose, with evidence of heroin and the sleep medication zopiclone found in his system.