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Child Item

Growing up in Navan!

lukesmom

Saw another thread about growing up in Drogheda so I said I would start this one off. I grew up in Navan and am still here! Just wanted to see does anyone have any particular memories of the town. I will list a few of mine.

Every Saturday and after school - doin laps around the shopping centre! - Literally walking around the shopping centre in circles. Seems ridiculous now but I loved it.
The maze in the shopping centre
The machine in the shopping centre where you put in 20p and a parrot says 'I like the sound of money, here comes your present, bye bye'. And you would get a little cheap gift. - this was up near hartens.
The steps outside the centre where everyone would sit and meet up

Nacker drinkin down the mollies, the ramparts, the kings belly and the railway tracks. - scrumpy jack, cans of Ritz and anything else we could get our hands on:D

The beechmount under 18 disco called the Hippodrome! the no name club and buses of Navaners going to buck mulligans in Athboy and the night always ended with the bus being pelted with rocks and fights galore (usually because of testosterone overdosed young fellas wanting to pep up their egos by getting the first box in) Ah lads, what were yis like!!!

Chrissy Weldon (a navan legend who walks around with a childs pram filled with all her belongings and shopping) asking my mother if she could buy me for 5 pounds as she needed a child to help her do her washin!:eek:

BC Diner where McDonalds is now, and my favourite - Burger Express!:)
Ah the nostalgia!!!

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NufcNavan

Surely you forgot the Valley Cafe.

The Maze was good. I'll think of more tomorrow.

lukesmom

Yeah the Valley Cafe is still going strong! Lovely chips in there:D

bladespin

Sammy's chipper in the market or outside the Pats.
Playing pool in the lesiure.
Buying clothes in Army Value

lukesmom

bladespin wrote: »

Sammy's chipper in the market or outside the Pats.
Playing pool in the lesiure.
Buying clothes in Army Value

Yeah the leisure! Parents didnt want me in it for some reason

Ah army value! Combats and Guns n'Roses t-shirts! Loved it. The blue (down the steps cafe on cornmarket). Barney Reillys pub, best pub ever and they closed it! And now its ryans

- bo -

I never really got in to the whole laps of the shopping centre thing. I loved The Maze though, our mams would head shopping and we'd be content for hours in The Maze.

The BC diner, loved the place, me mam used to take me there a lot. I don't really remember much about it, mainly the American car regiatration plates on the walls. Every Sunday we'd go to either The Valley or Burger Express. Still fairly fond of The Valley every now and again, lovely grub.

Chrissy Weldon, everyone knows Chrissy. I remember being in the shop on Brews Hill on my sister's communion day in 2000, Chrissy came in and saw my sister in her communion dress and gave her 10p.

Did my knacker drinking under the bridge between the fire station and Abbeylands, good memories.

:pac:

lukesmom

The bridge wasnt there when I did my nacker drinking! U must be alot younger than me:p Oh and do you remember in the shopping centre there was a massive fish aquarium with lots of tropical fish and it ran the whole way around what is now the cantec store. Then they got rid of it.

Silverfish

Ye're after giving me terrible flashbacks.

Apart from all that, I just remember walking home via the Ramparts so I could have a cigarette without being busted.

Also we weren't posh enough most of the time to hang out in the BC Diner (though we still did) it was mostly the Blue Rooms for us.

Was never allowed in the Leisure. Or Buck Mulligans.

bladespin

The Pet shop where Taboo and Xtravision are now.
The rows between the Tech and the Pats.
The embassy for a game of Snooker, you could have a smoke there too.
The old swiming pool, remember the taste of chlorene :eek:

Trafford Lad

I used to love the Maze in the shopping centre in Navan, the mirrors that made you look either fat, skinny, stretched or all 3!..

lukesmom

God that swimming pool! Remember you had to walk through a kind of wet tunnel to get from the changing rooms to the pool! Was kind of chlostrophobic:rolleyes: - And yes the taste of chlorine!. I dont remember the pet shop where extra vision and taboo is. The fights between the tec and the pats I'd say may still go on a bit. But yes they were bad enough. There were always a few guys and girls! in the town that even the mention of their name and people would be scared. I wont mention any names but I remember them well! Now I can only laugh at it. I remember getting caught drinking down the mollies when I told my mother I was stayin in my friends house and vice versa. I was in first year. So embarrasing our two mothers waiting on flower hill to collect us at 12.30 at night and that was a big deal then! And going into Tommys mini market to buy single fags for 10 pence. He had (and still does have) everything in that shop. But not the single fags are gone! I went to Mercy but I have no complaints about it. I remember walking home 3 miles after the discos and thats 10 years ago out the slane road at 3am. I wouldnt walk down the street on my own now.

lukesmom

Trafford Lad wrote: »

I used to love the Maze in the shopping centre in Navan, the mirrors that made you look either fat, skinny, stretched or all 3!..

Ah I miss those mirrors!!! Waiting for mam to come out of connolly delicatessan and I'd just be staring at them mirrors - Oh and slush puppies from the coffee garden. Loved the blue one. And when A-wear was called Gaywear!

jinxycat

I loved the maze, would play in it for ages, always made cool friends while playing in there.

the dog tracks anyone??? used to head over there everyweek to my friend when he worked there and would hang out with him for the night til we got kicked out

oh i remember that wet tunnel thingy in the old swimming pool, bloody hated it, would nearly always slip in it.

i remember the stud farm out on the trim road, everyone used to think it was haunted, we'd visit it all the time as kids hoping to see something.

lukesmom

God yeah heard about that stud farm being haunted.:eek: Navan is not a bad town at all. It gets an awful doing at times but I really think it has character. Its claaaaaaas!:D

NufcNavan

I seem too young to remember a lot of this.

bladespin

It's not a bad town at all, still walk home the odd night I'm out (getting rare these days lol), never had any hassle.

I remember the 10p cigs well, then the 10 players, jaysus, they were 85p when I started on them :eek:

I loved the junior disco in the hippodrome, the smoke machines that'd suffocate you, the smell of girls perfume, standing at the edge waiting to ask for a slow dance

A shift'd be classic.

hmboards

You've brought back loads of memories here! Spent all my lunchtimes in the leisure playing pool and that green 3d tank game. And we had a choice of two cinemas - the Lyric and the Palace. Though one or other was usually closed down for renovations! Navan's first supermarket - 5 Star on Cannon Row. Walking between Beechmount and the Ardboyne or vice versa if someone got refused in one. Buses from outside Equas pub to the Oasis in Carrickmacross, where nobody EVER got refused entry! Watching World Cup 1990 in The Royal. Ah those were the days!

washiskin

Molly Smiths shop opposite the Bailieboro Co-Op - best cola dummies ever and the clock with "No Tick" on the shelf.

The Bailieboro Co-Op.

The Cult clothes shop in the little alleyway leading to Russell Vickers' Auctioneers (now the alley going out past xtravision)

Ah...Army Valu.

Donnellans Newsagents on Watergate Street - for "Limited Edition" the Duran Duran fanzine

Tom Dunnes Shoe Shop

Meladey's Saddlers for Morten Harket necklaces/wristbands

Londis on Trimgate St with The Sports Den and the little Kangaroo 10p ride.

The Pepper Pot - when it was good

Bon Appetite

The Palace & Lyric - when it was the pictures

Dennings Sweet Shop beside the Lyric

Cluskers, Watters, McCabes Buchannans & Phibsprint on Brews Hill

Sam Blacks & McGuinness's Butchers

The Magnet

Joseph Woods Drapers

so many memories.......

yeahimhere

Ooh the Magnet used to have the best 99s. They were really thick and creamy. I can't really remember where it was though, was it where the flower shop is now on Trimgate street? I used to love the beauford scale display in the shopping centre too in honer of Francis Beauford who was at that time Navan's only real "celebrity"! Now we have loads so there's no need for it

Do you remember there was a duck race down the Boyne? They released a few hundred little yellow ducks, all of which had a number underneath so they could tell who won. Oh and the St. Patricks parade on the Boyne too.

I still try to visualise the way the Shopping Centre used to be before it got the first of many upgrades. I used to ride my bike on the slopes outside of Equis. Also leaving your school bag at the glass wall of Hartens to do laps, when it used to be the beginning of the Centre.

There was also another character I THINK was called willie?? He's way before Chrissy Weldon. He used to pee on the street and just basicly walk around being a little crazy. I might have his name wrong though.

washiskin

I think The Magnet was where the Fish shop is now.

I remember Equus was THE pub when it opened first and there was a bloke there called Alan who dished up the best Chips & Coleslaw in the world.

There were a few oddballs around the town when I was a kid.....Angela was one of them...a tall skinny woman in a long dark coat....they used to sleep up at a shed in the grounds of the Loreto.

lukesmom

washiskin wrote: »

I think The Magnet was where the Fish shop is now.

I remember Equus was THE pub when it opened first and there was a bloke there called Alan who dished up the best Chips & Coleslaw in the world.

There were a few oddballs around the town when I was a kid.....Angela was one of them...a tall skinny woman in a long dark coat....they used to sleep up at a shed in the grounds of the Loreto.

Yes that woman was known as 'Angela the wino', she died years ago from the drink.:( She used to wear a mac or some kind of beige overcoat and was really skinny as you said and I remember her sitting on the bench that used to be at the bottom of watergate street near the town hall drinking wine from the bottle with the brown paper bag! God love her. Another man that was a kind of tramp used to walk the streets too with shiny tracksuit bottoms and longish grey hair. He has since died too. He was also a bit too fond of the drink. Ah I remember the magnet now and yes it was where the fish shop is on trimgate street. Everyone kind of knew everyone. Now down the town I am lucky if I meet many that I know. Full of strangers.

My godmother worked in 5 star when It first opened. My mother has told me that the valley cafe used to be called Mallochas! She was born on Flower hill.

lukesmom

Another thing Navan is known worldwide for was 'Navan Carpets' that closed down years ago.

As a kid I lived in Blackcastle Estate and I remember my mam and dad wouldnt let me go into Clusker Park and it was right beside our estate:o. Willie Fagans shop in Blackcastle which is still there and we'd buy penny sweets remember them planets filled with sherbet? They are still for sale I saw them in a petrol station outside Navan:) My sister and I would hold concerts in our back garden and sing and dance for all the neighbours kids and charge them 5p to get into our concert.

Grocer Pats shop in Blackcastle which is now SPAR. I only remember the post office, willie fagans and grocer pats at Blackcastle but cant remember if there was any other shops back then. I know the chinese came a while later and now there are plenty of shops as the whole place got a complete facelift!

The main restaurants were Beechmount, The Ardboyne and that place out the Dublin road it is called 'The Willows' now cant remember what it used to be called.

When you could drive down Flower Hill! Remember the awful traffic jams on the hill every morning?

Snooker in the Embassy with the picture of the dogs playing snooker on the wall! And you could smoke in there too!

Smoking in the Lyric and the Palace cinemas.

I remember when mam would bring me to the doctors it was on Bruise Hill and the doctor would give me Fruit Pastilles for being good. That was Doctor Coleman R.I.P.

Doing after-school 'study' in the Abylity Centre. Was made go from 4.15 until 6. Had an hour break for dinner and then back at 7 until 9pm. Only went in 5th year and it was torture! Didnt do feck all in there, it was too cold all the time.

kelle

lukesmom wrote: »

The main restaurants were Beechmount, The Ardboyne and that place out the Dublin road it is called 'The Willows' now cant remember what it used to be called.

Kilcarn House. A relation took it over years ago, there was heavy rainfall one night (in July - nothing changes!) and the place was flooded with about 2 feet of water! He left not long after.

washiskin

lukesmom wrote: »

Another thing Navan is known worldwide for was 'Navan Carpets' that closed down years ago.

As a kid I lived in Blackcastle Estate and I remember my mam and dad wouldnt let me go into Clusker Park and it was right beside our estate:o. Willie Fagans shop in Blackcastle which is still there and we'd buy penny sweets remember them planets filled with sherbet? They are still for sale I saw them in a petrol station outside Navan:) My sister and I would hold concerts in our back garden and sing and dance for all the neighbours kids and charge them 5p to get into our concert.

Grocer Pats shop in Blackcastle which is now SPAR. I only remember the post office, willie fagans and grocer pats at Blackcastle but cant remember if there was any other shops back then. I know the chinese came a while later and now there are plenty of shops as the whole place got a complete facelift!

The main restaurants were Beechmount, The Ardboyne and that place out the Dublin road it is called 'The Willows' now cant remember what it used to be called.

When you could drive down Flower Hill! Remember the awful traffic jams on the hill every morning?

Snooker in the Embassy with the picture of the dogs playing snooker on the wall! And you could smoke in there too!

Smoking in the Lyric and the Palace cinemas.

I remember when mam would bring me to the doctors it was on Bruise Hill and the doctor would give me Fruit Pastilles for being good. That was Doctor Coleman R.I.P.

Doing after-school 'study' in the Abylity Centre. Was made go from 4.15 until 6. Had an hour break for dinner and then back at 7 until 9pm. Only went in 5th year and it was torture! Didnt do feck all in there, it was too cold all the time.

Ahh those fruit pastilles.....the first time I was brought to Dr Coleman it was in his house down on the Boyne Road. Lovely man.

lukesmom

Yeah he was lovely, so nice. Didnt mind going to the doctor when I knew Id get fruit pastilles! There's probably some law against giving them now though:D

washiskin

I was in The Oriel last night before the flicks....some things are still sacred!

I remembered Lynch's shop on the square last night, it was where Holly's Kitchen is now. It was the first place in the town that had "Slush Puppies". It was one of the best sweet shops ever.

I also remembered The Bon Bon where Dixie Chicken is now....I ran out of the place as the lady was about to pierce my ears back in the day...ended up in Hylands Garage where my Ma bought me my first two records to calm me down.
:cool:

hmboards

It was a shame that Navan Carpets closed. They were recognised for quality all over the world. Most of the furniture seems to be imported now too rather than manufactured in Navan. Kontact Electric were in Blackcastle SC too. And a DIY place opened there for a while. And a furniture place.

I remember McDonagh's electrical shop on market square. It was an old-style family run shop that sold and repaired everything electrical. And Fitzsimons pub/undertakers/grocery was the main place for shopping before 5 star opened! Matt Moran's bike shop on railway street, and a Scottish guy in the same place before him. Francis Beaufort's house on Flower Hill before it was demolished to build a road. Foxes pub at the bridge. Used to play pool there at lunch times for a while. Now also knocked when the road was widened. Riding around in the Spicers van helping deliver bread in the summer. The old post office - now McDonalds, the old barracks - now the town hall, Clarkes Sports Den, the record shop at the entrance to Clarkes (was it called the Record Sleeve back then? ). Bobby Byrne's barbers. The annual "community nights" where different estates competed against each other in the "Navan's Got Tallent" of its day. They were brilliant! Welcoming the Meath team home from winning the All Ireland with celebrations in the Fair Green...

yeahimhere

hmboards wrote: »

I remember McDonagh's electrical shop on market square. It was an old-style family run shop that sold and repaired everything electrical.

oooh I completly forgot about McDonaghs! There also used to be a pet shop down Watergate street that i used to love going into when i was younger too.

hmboards wrote: »

Francis Beaufort's house on Flower Hill before it was demolished to build a road. Foxes pub at the bridge .

I have some pictures of how it used to look before the road went through, interesting to see all the houses backgardens going down to the river also.

hmboards wrote: »

Welcoming the Meath team home from winning the All Ireland with celebrations in the Fair Green...

lol....that's a very, VERY far away memory at this stage :P

Here's a question - what was "Beggys" bar originally? Before it was Malloys / The Lizzard? That's the last bar I can think of.

Edgedinblue

ooooooooooh the bc diner, that was so good! i remember the stud farm being haunted stories alright, i remember going into beechmount hotel after it was shut down and left to turn into rubble.

thought i pushed the memory of doing laps around the shopping centre out of my mind, walking thru the ramparts and the needless hanging around.. ahhhhhh those were the days

i live in galway now, but whenever i do make my odd visit home i demand a takeaway from the willows or the vally... so yummy!!!

and isnt chrisie weldon still floating around?

NufcNavan

Ah yeah I remember the Meath 99 team in the Fair Green. Was only 7 but I can remember watching the game in the Silver Tankard.

lukesmom

Edgedinblue wrote: »

ooooooooooh the bc diner, that was so good! i remember the stud farm being haunted stories alright, i remember going into beechmount hotel after it was shut down and left to turn into rubble.

thought i pushed the memory of doing laps around the shopping centre out of my mind, walking thru the ramparts and the needless hanging around.. ahhhhhh those were the days

i live in galway now, but whenever i do make my odd visit home i demand a takeaway from the willows or the vally... so yummy!!!

and isnt chrisie weldon still floating around?

Chrisie is indeed still walking around. I saw her a couple of months ago outside the Supervalu up at Beechmount. She had a list and gave it to a store assistant to get all her shopping. She will NEVER step foot inside a shop as she has an irrational fear of somebody stealing that old pram she wheels around. I have often seen at the door of Dunnes grocery on the Trimgate Street side giving her shopping list to an unfortunate assistant. But guess what! I have heard she is a very very wealthy woman!;)