Bushmills PSNI Station - Threatened by Closure

Third of police stations face closure

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Save our station!

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Bushmills Primary School Principal Jack Gault, TUV Councillor Sharon McKillop, UUP Councillor and Vice Chair of Moyle District Council Sandra Hunter and UUP Councillor William Graham pictured outside Bushmills Police Station as they launch their campaign

COUNCILLORS in Bushmills are calling on the local community to show their support for the village police station, which is under threat of closure.
They have joined together to launch a petition - and want to gather as many names as possible to show how important the facility is.
Speaking on behalf of the Causeway councillors, the UUP's Sandra Hunter said: "Local councillors are asking for you to strongly support a petition in local shops and businesses in Bushmills and the rural area to keep our local neighbourhood police and the facility of the station in Bushmills.
“We understand the station is under threat from closure (Estates Strategy 2012/15) and we want to make sure the station is retained and kept open for the community.
“At present we are able to put a name to the face of police officers through community contact and these relationships will be lost forever if the station is allowed to close.
“The symbolism of a local police presence in rural areas gives us all a feeling of safety and security.
“The local police, having familiar knowledge of the local area, means faster response times and more police presence as there is no loss of travel time from further afield stations.
“Having a police station symbolises Bushmills as a safe place to live and the station can be used as a base for local police, an operational base for major searches or a control point for any difficulties that may arise.
“With this being one of the main tourist areas in Northern Ireland we want it to be a safe place for visitors as well as local residents.
“Please sign the petition at a convenient location in Bushmills and the surrounding area.

What's in a Name - Malcolm 'Moltke' Magill?

UPDATED - 4 JULY 2016

A few weeks ago a friend mentioned the name Malcolm Magill MM, Malcolm is named in "Three Cheers for The Derrys!", a history of the 10th (Derry) Battalion based on the recollections of veterans Jim Donaghy and Leslie Bell.

Malcolm (aged 18) appears in the 1901 Census in the Townparks in Magherafelt along with his father James (52), mother Eliza (50) and siblings John (31), James (25) and Thomas (16); his occupation is shoemaker.

He appears in the 1911 Census as Moltke Magill (27) in Rainey Street, Magherafelt, along with his father James (64), mother Eliza (65) and siblings Jas P (42) and Thomas (25); his occupation is bootmaker. James and Eliza are 43 years married and have eight children, all living.

A closer look at the handwritten census shows that Jas P is Jno P - Jno being an abbreviation for John. John P Magill appears in the 1910 Ulster Towns Directory for Magherafelt:

Orange Institution—O'Hara Purple Guards L.O.L., No. 310—John P. Magill W.M.; W. J. M'Cart, D.M.; Samuel Porter, jun., sec.; Wm. Hutchinson, treasurer. Meetings, first Monday in each month

Can anyone shed any light as to how Malcolm acquired the Moltke* nick-name? Are any family relations still living around Magherafelt? How did he achieve his Military Medal?

[* Moltke is the surname of two high ranking Prussian/German army officers of that era: Helmuth von Moltke the Elder was a Field Marshall and Helmuth von Moltke the Younger served as Chief of the General Staff.]

If you can add additional details please get in touch: nalilblog@gmail.com

Added July 4, 2016

I've just recently received a response from the grandson of a younger brother of Malcolm 'Moltke' Magill. It contains the following comment:

As yesterday was the anniversary of the Somme I tried to find out more about Malcolm. I always knew him as "uncle Malachy". He won the Military Medal I believe for grenading the German trenches. 

I was wondering if you ever got an answer to your post in 2012 as to why he got the nickname "Moltke"?

I've not had any other follow-up on the nickname but I sent the following images:

I also sent some additional details of Malcolm's birth. He was born in the townland of Mullaghboy on the northern outskirts of Magherafelt on 2 April 1883 and his parents were James Magill and Martha Philips.

A second email contained this reply:

Very nice of you to send these records which I have never seen. I may be in touch with my brother in the coming year. He has done some research. If I find out anything I will let you know.

I am, by the way, living in Adelaide, South  Australia.

Moyle District Council - Carry On Up Torr 5

E/2011/0257/F - Torr plan for a new 'infill' dwelling received by Planning Service 29.12.11 - validated 30.12.11.

Planning Service permitted #72 (b) to be retained as a store for one of the new builds (c) in an earlier application for a replacement dwelling. 'Store' is now to be replaced by new L-shaped 2-bedroom single storey dwelling right on the bend.

One of the conditions for (a) was that the old dwelling (d) beside the demolished monument/'mound' be, er, demolished prior to (a) being occupied, if I remember correctly.

Retrospective approval granted for House c seems to be quite clear: there is to be no additional dwelling ie no dwelling on the site of #72 (b)

Just how arbitrary is the planning process? The Torr site - outlined PQRS - is apparently owned by a developer. Why has the planning service accepted proposals for individual dwellings when it was fairly clear that this was to be a multi-dwelling site? The plans for (a) and (c) were processed at the same time. Planning application Form P1 is clear:

So where is the appraisal/analysis, concept plan and statement for site PQRS?

Applicant: Alan Fraser

Letter to neighbours

Moyle District Council - Carry On Up Torr
Moyle District Council - Carry On Up Torr 2 - the fate of the 'mound'.
Moyle District Council - Carry On Up Torr 3
Moyle District Council - Carry On Up Torr 4
DOE Minister Attwood and the Carry On Up Torr - updated September 12 and 18

Google Docs - official and other document archive

Notting Hill Carnival - Belfast Style

Notting Hill Carnival - Belfast Style

Derry~Londonderry and the Culture Wars

The current exchanges on Slugger O'Toole - here and here - and elsewhere illustrate the need IMO for a greater separation between envigorating culture and corrosive politics.

I have no musical or dancing accomplishments but forty years ago I helped establish JCSS, an inter-schools group in Coleraine; I also got involved with Corrymeela in Ballycastle around the same time. JCSS, amongst other things, put on 20-30 concerts a year for Corrymeela and about 10 in Coleraine. On one occasion at Corrymeela a group of Irish dancers couldn't perform because another group had already taken part. Apparently they were affiliated to two different dance bodies who just happened to be at daggers-drawn against one another. I was very annoyed that one group of youngsters had had their evening ruined because of dance 'politics'. At that point I decided I would drop national tags from cultural events where they would prove to be controversial.

In the bad old days when war was waging and (mostly other people's) blood was being spilt Corrymeela and other settings were places of tranquility where acts of common decency broke out:

Thank you for directing to us young people of such unselfishness and reliability. Each in his own way made a valuable contribution to the holiday. I personally learned a tremendous amount from their unselfishness. I only wish more people in our divided communities could experience how easy it is to love and live together once the will to do so is there .. the late Sr Souboris, Loreto Convent, Coleraine, following a 1973 summer camp for children hosted by the convent.

Ballycastle Bay Cruises

I asked the following question on NALIL blog on September 6, 2011: "Should or could Moyle District Council do more in its welcome for cruise ships?" Paul Frew, DUP MLA for North Antrim, tabled a question to Arlene Foster, the DETI minister the following day:

Northern Ireland Assembly Q&A - Ballycastle Bay Cruises

"The Moyle Harbour Master, in conjunction with the Council’s Tourism Officer, plan to compile a destination data sheet of the relevant harbour/anchorage information including a guidance to local attractions and services that are available to the passengers and to promote the area as a preferred mid-cruise location."

Petition - "For the future of fishing in Northern Ireland"

"Opened on January 02, 2012

A petition to express concern over the exploitation of indigenous fish species, including salmon, where stocks are no longer sustainable.

It is important to strike an appropriate balance between the conservation of fish stocks and the protection of the local fishing industry, which is a vital part of the Northern Ireland economy. It is a sad fact that there are cases where indigenous fish species are being exploited to the point where stocks are no longer sustainable.Particular examples include the overfishing of salmon where conservation limits are not being met and the illegal netting of fish province-wide

It must be recognised that the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, in partnership with other relevant Departments and following consultation with key stakeholders, can do more to tackle this problem. This may include the development of an action plan, which includes actions required by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation as well as the redrafting of the outdated Fisheries Act to provide further clarity in this area."

If you share the concerns of the organisers you can sign the petition here.


You can find ministerial answers to questions asked in the Northern Ireland Assembly by clicking this link. Tick 'Flexible Search'; tick 'Session' for the most recent administration or 'Mandate' and choose the one you're interested in; enter 'Keyword/Phrase' such as 'salmon' or 'drift net'; and click Search. Tick 'Display all answers' when results appear.


Added 14 January 2012


Fisheries Minister Carál Ní Chuilín is asking fishermen and the angling community to support voluntary measures aimed at restoring stocks of wild Atlantic Salmon in the North. ..
Announcing the measures, the Minister said: “The continued commercial exploitation of wild Atlantic salmon and killing of salmon caught by rod and line in the DCAL jurisdiction is currently untenable. ..
Long term monitoring of the survival of salmon during the marine phase of their lifecycle at Bushmills Salmon Station shows a decline from around 30% prior to 1997 to less than 5% today. ..
The Department is asking operators of coastal fishing engines not to apply for 2012 licences. It is writing to the Lough Neagh draft net licence holders asking them to not take salmon in 2012. It is also asking anglers to practice catch and release when fishing for salmon rather than killing them.
The Minister added: “It is hoped that stakeholders can find common ground in the interests of recovery of stocks and we can all join in the shared aim of a return to sustainability of all salmon fisheries. .."

What happens if licence holders don't co-operate? Will DCAL refuse to issue licences? What happens if salmon from the DCAL jurisdiction end up in Billingsgate Fish Market?

From Bushmills to St Louis with Love 2

And there's more ... If you'd like to be told about the publication of the other love letters just become a follower on Twitter. The next letter appears tomorrow, January 3.

The following quotation from the James Edwin Love archive tells us a little bit more about his grandparents, Alexander Love and Mary Moore:

Alexander became a mechanic, engaged in building and contracting in the vicinity of Londonderry. He married Mary Moore, and they had two sons, Robert Alexander** and William James, the latter of whom was James E. Love’s father, born in 1804. Alexander and his sons would operate James Love and Company, a building and contracting firm headquartered in Ballymena.

[There were at least three brothers: William, James and Robert Alexander. William died in 1839, James in 1848 and Robert Alexander in 1876. Alexander Patterson Love, operating in the James Love and Co name, was declared bankrupt in 1877 and the company premises in High Street and the railway station yard across the river in Harryville were auctioned off. A P Love was most likely a son of James and he probably lost his house in the Scotch Quarter, Carrickfergus too. Sarah, James' widow, died in Fortwilliam, Belfast in 1875. (8 May 2015)]

There's an old burying ground called Grange in the townland of Grange Foyle in the parish of Donaghedy and a few miles north of Strabane, Co Tyrone. This headstone inscription probably relates to James' Love grandparents:

Erected, by Alexander Love formerly, of ALTREST now BALLYMENA, in memory of his wife, Mary Love, who died 9th Nov. 1838, aged 63 years.

There's a mention of James Love and Company in the Ballymena section of the 1843 Belfast/Ulster Street Directory:

Love, James & Co., Grocers, Tea Dealers, Ironmongers, Lead, Lead Pipe, Slate, and Timber Merchants, High Street.

There are two Love grocers in Bridge Street in the Ballymena section of the 1852 directory:

Love, John, grocer and haberdasher, Bridge Street
Love, Robert, grocer, Bridge Street

The junction of Main Street and Bridge Street, Bushmills, is known as Steel's/Steele's Corner. Could this have a connection to James Love's Steel grandparents?

According to the Museum archives the Love brothers left America in 1854 for Australia and James returned to St Louis in 1858:

In January 1858, James left Australia after accumulating about $6,000 in gold. Upon his return to St. Louis, James bought property at the corner of 9th and Spring (or St. Louis) Avenue.

The Coleraine Chronicle records the fate of his younger brother Samuel Alexander the following year:

Marriage of James Love's parents in Bushmills Presbyterian Church on 27 October 1829:

"On the 27th of October 1829, William, son of James and Jane Love of Donaghedy [a parish in Co Tyrone] to Hessy (Esther), daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Steel of Bushmills. Witnesses: Samuel Steel and Duncan McAllum, Bushmills" - modified in the modern style.

** Selected: LOVE, ROBERT ALEXANDER

Born: 1814

Died: 1876

Biography

Architect. Robert Love, who was born in 1814, had set up in practice as an architect in the High Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, by 1 May 1841, the date of an advertisement which he placed in Martin's Belfast Directory for 1841-42. In this he 'informs the public generally, that he has just finished his course of studies in Architecture, under the most eminent professors in Edinburgh. This combined with his own practical experience, enables him to offer himself with confidence before a discerning public, to take orders for executing ORIGINAL DESIGNS  , in the various styles, as he spared neither pains nor expense in visiting, at different times, the most celebrated towns in the three kingdoms, in order to see and study the works of the great masters.' He is listed in the Ballymena section of the directory (p. 273), followed by James Love & Co, 'grocers, tea dealers, iron mongers, lead, lead pipe, slate and timber merchants', also of the High Street, to whom he was presumably related. By 1844 he had emigrated to Philadelphia. He was in Cincinnati from 1846 to 1855, in California from 1855 to 1858 and in Australia from 1858 until his death in 1876.

References 

All information in this entry is from a letter to the IAA from Mike Butcher, 6 Denmark Street, Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia 3556, 10 May 1997, who is researching Love's architecture.