There was a large attendance at the Christmas meeting of the Bellaghy Historical Society to hear Mr. Alex Blair, well known Historian and Broadcaster, talk about Customs and Traditions.

Pointing out that a Custom or Tradition was simply doing things as they had always been done, he emphasised how important it was not to let it all be forgotten. In a wide- ranging study, he talked of the old traditions at wakes, weddings and encounters with the wee folk. He explained that the custom of shooting at weddings, keening at wakes and funerals and the clapping of boards were all in an effort to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. Old beliefs in banshees, the evil eye and cures were recalled as was the old tradition of the Wren Boys and Mumming. Christmas was largely ignored until Victorian days when Christmas cards became fashionable and the Christmas tree was introduced.

Always lively, Mr. Blairs talk was enhanced by his reading of poems relevant to the point he was making, most of which were very amusing, some poignant and sad. The evening was greatly enjoyed by all present.

Thanking him, the Chairperson, Mrs Mary Breslin, reminded readers of the book which the Society had just produced, entitled Life in the Past recollections of Bellaghy as it used to be, which will be on sale in H. H. Grahams, The Bawn and Costcutter (Mr. G.Muldoons), in Bellaghy. It could also be purchased at Ewings, Centra and Costcutter in Castledawson and at OBriens, Andrews and The Bridewell in Magherafelt.

For the first meeting of 2003 Bellaghy Historical Society had as speaker Mrs Muriel Bell, well known Local Historian from Magherafelt, to talk about the Paupers Grave at Magherafelt and its connection with the Workhouse and the Famine.

Mrs Bell spoke of the conditions which had given rise to the need for Workhouses or Poor Houses, which were built as a solution to the problem of poverty and destitution caused by the sub-division of land among families whose numbers increased at least fourfold in the course of two or three generations. The Famine of 1847 had greatly exacerbated the difficulties experienced by the poor, although our county had suffered less than many others (the worst being Cork) because of its alternative source of income in the weaving and spinning industries.

Conditions in the Workhouse were Spartan in the extreme, fever and was rife and easily transmitted, so the numbers dying in the institution rose to as many as five a day in the worst years. A very unceremonious burial was given to the dead in the Paupers plot unless they had relatives prepared to take their bodies home for a more dignified burial. The plot itself had to be moved further away from the buildings when the incidence of typhoid fever caused officials to realise that its original site was so close to the well as to cause contamination. The new site was officially recognised and a memorial erected there by the Ballinascreen Historical Society in May 2002.

Mrs Bells talk was very carefully researched and movingly expressed so that the large audience at the meeting listened with wrapt attention and in thanking her, the Chairperson, Mrs Mary Breslin expressed the gratitude of the members not only for the content of her talk but for putting forward the date of her visit by a month in order to facilitate Mr Tom McErlean, who had been booked to lecture in America and whose flight date there made it impossible for him to fulfil his engagement in Bellaghy. He will now come to Bellaghy Historical Society on 11th February to speak on Archaeology in Northern Ireland with special reference to the Bellaghy Townlands. The meeting will take place as usual in the Old School Centre at 8 p.m

The Speaker at the February meeting of the Bellaghy Historical Society was Mr Thomas McErlean, N.U.U., well known Archaeologist, who spoke about The Oldest Tide Mill in the World, which he and his colleagues had the honour of discovering and identifying at Mahee Island on Strangford Lough in recent times. He brought with him a beautifully illustrated book which has just been published about this project, co-written by himself and his colleagues.

Mr.McErlean explained that in the course of excavating this area for the artefacts which are common to coastal areas known to have been settled in ancient times, (such as long boats and fish traps which they found in abundance) they were advised to investigate a well preserved Ring Fort on Mahee Island. Here they were puzzled by the existence of three half submerged stone walls set in triangular fashion on the seaward side of the Ring Fort.

They had the appearance of an original fish trap, but did not fit the criteria as fish swim with the tide and the walls were not correctly located for this purpose. The archaeologists were originally granted two weeks to work on this and only at the eleventh hour when they had run out of time and after many hours of very heavy work, did they discover the first indications of a mill, driven by the tide, used to grind flour for the inhabitants of the Monastery whose dietary requirements meant that they ate bread twice a day.

This proved to be a momentous discovery, and further excavations, which lasted for over seven years, disclosed three Mills, each one improving on the design of the last. Taking meticulous care the archaeologists were able to discover how the tide was harnessed to drive the mills, revealing the ingenuity of the Monks who had constructed them. All the evidence found enabled Mr McErlean and his colleagues to date the mills at 619A.D. making this a uniquely important archaeological find and one at which he felt privileged to be present.

Thanking him for a fascinating talk, illustrated by exceptional slides, the Chairperson, Mrs Mary Breslin reminded members that the Speaker at the next meeting would be Mrs Valerie Wilson (Ulster Folk and Transport Museum) who will give on talk on the history of clothing entitled The Way We Wore. The meeting will be as usual in The Old School Centre at 8 p.m.

The speaker for the March meeting of the Bellaghy Historical Society was Mrs Valerie Wilson, Curator of Textiles at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Cultra.

Her talk was entitled The way we wore - a history of clothing and was illustrated by slides of superb lace and other needlework with photographs of people at the turn of the 20th Century wearing garments which demonstrated the styles of which she spoke.

Mrs Wilson pointed out that there was a lack of examples of mens clothing which rarely survived owing the custom of making down mens trousers and jackets for the young males of the family. One slide shown illustrated how two coats had been sewn together to act as an extra blanket for the bed, the traces of pockets still being easily seen.

Slides were shown of a great variety of items - aprons made of raw linen, caps for all occasions (a woman seldom went with her head uncovered and the cap demonstrated her status, widow, for example) and elegant wedding dresses which could be mauve or grey, rather than white, if there had been a recent bereavement in the family.

The arrival of the bustle for fashionable dresses altered the posture of the wearers causing them to lean slightly, forward and giving the cartoonists of the day an opportunity to parody them as pigeons in their newspapers.

The Museum at Cultra is currently completing a programme of equipping each guide at the different buildings reconstructed there with costumes appropriate to the date of the building for which he or she is responsible. Mrs Wilson brought along some examples which included a mans working shirt, ladies shawls and a very elegant cloak all of which had been cut and sewn to the exact specifications of their time from evidence that had been researched.

Thanking the speaker for her very interesting talk, Mrs Mary Breslin, Chairperson, reminded members of the next meeting when Mr. Bob Foy, local historian from Antrim, will speak on the colourful character Bumper Squire Jones of Moneyglass and his family.