handier form oi recognii~n in ~ nickname. h \%s handier to speak of Pete1 Duckett or Paddy the Goose than of Mr. M·a{~n. ; of Jol:ny Dyah, Hugh-the-Stocka, Eddie~thc-Black instead of · ~fr. McMenamin. The Kellys you knew from the Veela Gr•ahs to Charlie "Bulls Run." Red John isuggested cattle droving, and if you wanted .a tradesman in a hurry you got him sooner by asking for Paddy Nahor. One could prolong the list far enough, and thoug1l: I m:ay seem to border on person'alities, I make no apologies, for in .Stranorlar too we had Jimmy the Quelve and ''Bazaine" Bell, and my own father's 6 ft. 3" .g.ot him the name of Big Joe. And even for the greiater re·ason that that ,system of naming was the oldest Gaelic link ; every Iris1l: name was in 1ways a nickname, Hugh Roe was Red Hugh, Neil Garv, Neil the Fierce. And sometimes BaHybofey dispensed with the nickniarnes ; the Christian name ':vas enough. When you heard of Henry and Jimmy, now, unfortunately, co longer witit: us, you knew it was Henry McNulty with his good humoured smile, and Hapsburg jaw, 1and Jimmy Mage.~ whose name sto:od for Ballybofey everywhere-al:ways hcl pful, kindly and friendly. As I once said if you were in a hole and your Guardian Angel forgot You, there was always Jimmy to fail back on-and nobody knew it better than I. And the tradition, I am glad to s2:y, keeps alive yet, we still 1l:ave a Vincent, Barney Joe and Tim! * i\Vhile Strlanorl1ar was on the fringe of farming industry, flax mills, oatmiU.s, tan yards, Ballybofey kept its tribal tradition of flocks and herds h~ dealing in cattle. You h'ad whole families in it : the Bonars~ McNallys, the ~kDenmotts, McClenaghans and the Mc( i-ran:agh1ans-tite last of whom we can all mention with some pride. And with it you had "Fleishers"-(I ]jke that word as I detest butcher), .the Crumlishe!s and the :Gordons. John Crumlish was one of the best judges of cattle in Ireland and might h1ave been rich if he didn't keep 'half .of Ballybofey in his kitchen ; the Gordons were honourable and straightforward. Nobody knew them better than I, ·and I take thi1s chance of saying how pleased I was to know the luck that happened the family i:ately, and how much it was .deserved. Ballybofey had its industries too-Roche's Chandlery which gave light long before electricity was known, and Sam Woods' Mills. It had its list of prosperous merchants, tte Martins~ the Toners, and later J:[l mes McKelvey whose generosity put the spire on the Catholic Church. It had its monthly cattle fair, till a Joe Kerrigan annexed it to Stranorlar over 60 years ago. lit liked its amusements ; it ,had its famous two day's races, it housed every 1circus that passed, it had its band always, it had its cricket club, possibly the best in the County through which I recall Paddy Crumlish. Hugh Reid and Jiames Q'.~1urphy. Strange it only broke into football for a short time under Bob Gamble. It had its "ch:uacters," Barney \Yard, Nancey and Willie Glackin, anrl a group of interesting intellectuals. P. D. Gibbons, ;vvmi~ ·* Footnot.~ : The lMe Vinr.ent P. McMull.in, B . . T. McDermott, Solicitors, ,and Timothy ;M.eel~an, AuctJoneer. 311
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQxNzU3