Memories Of The Quay Road Hall On Ann Street, Ballycastle

The Quay Road Hall on Ann Street Ballycastle.

Thus complying with the terms of the Charitable Trust of 1895.

The original Quay Road Hall was opened in February 1933 by Lady Boyd who supplemented her original gift of the land in 1895 by a donation of £10 towards the hall building fund.

The hall quickly became a popular venue for local social events such as dances and drama productions put on by local performers. One group, ‘The Snowdrop Band’, was formed by the retired Misses Miller of Whitehall to recite poetry and produce plays.

The late Hugh Alexander Boyd, who specialised in the history of the Church of Ireland parish of Ramoan, wrote that the land on which the hall is built was vested in the Diocesan Board of Education by a deed dated 11th November 1895. The terms of this document established a perpetual trust for “certain particular charitable objects”, namely an infant’s school. In 1911 a new non-denominational secondary school replaced the infant’s school until it too was re-located. Rental income for the school premises had accrued and it was decided that this fund could be used to build a hall. The Diocesan Board of Education agreed a hall could be built and fundraising activities with individual donations soon filled the building fund. By 1933 the hall was completed, providing a venue, in the Diocesan Education Board’s words “for every form of parochial activity that can be directed for the moral physical and spiritual uplift of our young people.”

During the war years when Ballycastle was host to servicemen from home and distant shores, the American servicemen, in their well tailored uniforms (everyone was a General), held dances in the hall twice a week. This is where Ballycastle first got to hear the American ‘Big Band’ sound for real, learning the latest American dances while mixing with Canadians, Belgians and soldiers from an assortment of British regiments. Troops were stationed all around the town. The Americans employed local craftsmen to add buildings at their base at Corrymeela, which they then called “Camp Holiday”. Many of the

troops were here for training at Magilligan Strand preparing for the D-Day landings. In the first hour of the landings on Juno Beach 1,000 young Canadian soldiers were killed, including many who had stayed in Ballycastle.

to be one around), while the vocals had an easy lyrical style the audience could join in with. A typical Showband set could include anything from ‘My Way’ to Love me Tender but also include traditional local songs like ‘I’ll tell me Ma...’.

After a busy wartime the next players in the hall’s musical history were the “Showbands”. People came on foot, by bus, tractor and train to see their favourites at the Quay Road Hall. Dick Greer managed the hall and got his pal at the Flamingo Ballroom in Ballymena to sign acts for Ballycastle, even big names such as Englebert Humperdinck and the Rolling Stones.

One of the most successful Irish Showbands was The Indians, formerly Casino. They were a very colourful group of seven or eight performers who dressed in Native American outfits and adopted Indian stage names. Their play list featured ‘Indian’ songs, some of which were ahead of their time, songs like “Cherokee People, Cherokee tribe.....” which highlighted the history and plight of the tribe in modern day America. The remainder reflected the pop charts of the day which together with their stage presence has maintained their popularity to the present day.

The pop music of the time was dominated by America. There was ‘Swing’ (epitomised by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin), ‘Country’ (Tammy Wynette, George Jones) and ‘Rock and Roll’ (Elvis Presley, Beach Boys), but with few of these acts visiting Ireland, the Showbands stepped in to do their own versions of the hits of the day. Their sound was much more relaxed than the more brash American’s. The main set-up was a core rhythm section of electric guitar, (then still a new fangled thing), bass and drums providing a steady ‘clap along’ 4/4 beat with accordion, saxophone, trumpet and piano (if there happened

Those days are best summed up in these memories of one, not so young Armoy man who was a regular at the hall. “Youngsters used to walk, aye walk for miles from the country places even the Glens, to get to the dances. If they were lucky they might get a ride home on a bus goin’ back to Ballymoney. They’d

pick people up on the way in, at places

Begley and Susan McCann that always

like Dervock and the Dry Arch.

got the boys attention.

The bands were a great attraction in

There’s many a boy slept in a hayshed

them days. The “Indians”, “Brian Call

too wet or too tired to walk home, only

and the Buckaroos”, even the “Rolling

to wake up the next morning scratching

Stones” played on the Quay Road on

himself with the mites all over his legs.

the way from the “Flamingo” in Ballymena to “the port” and then on into Donegal.

I wonder what happened to “the Dixies, John Glen, the “Cotton Mill Boys” and Dicky Rock? No doubt they’re like me

We had the “Miami Showband”there

sitting by the fire somewhere dreaming

once, they were great. Peter Sharp and

of those great nights driving an oul’ van

the two big Kieleys from Coleraine kept

through black country lanes to a tin hall

the door, boy they were busy that night.

in the middle of nowhere, passing the

There was great music from some of the local boys too. The “Glen Country” boys from Armoy, Paul, Harry and Barney Mulholland with Malachy Laverty. Then there was “Fiddling” Tom

youngsters in the glimmer of your headlamps as they hasted there way to hear you play. Boys I always loved the sound of a saxophone on a winter’s night.

Cameron, Jo Dolan and “the Drifters”

The Quay Road Hall was my favourite

and the “Glenville Country Band”.

in those days, that place would be full

Mind you the best two bands ‘round here were “Big Tom and the Mainliners” and the “Dave Glover Showband”, they were the girls’ favourites. Then of course it was the voices of Philomena

to the doors and there would still be more of them dancin’ outside. Aah them was the days!”