Portadown
Trip Start
Jul 25, 2008
1
20
56
Trip End
Sep 18, 2008
Portadown,
Northern Ireland,
United Kingdom
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Mullins Icecream
. The Scottish Giant could run faster than Finn and in a short time had almost reached the coast. Fearing he would lose him, Finn scooped up a mighty handful of earth and rocks and hurled it far into the sky towards the fleeing giant. But not knowing his own strength, he overthrew his target and the Giant Scot made his escape. The great mass of rocks and clay flew far out into the sea where it became the Isle of Man. In the place from where the rocks were taken, there remained a giant hole. Gradually it filled with water to become Lough Neagh. We visited the Antrim Lough Shore Park where people were relaxing, eating in the café and feeding the swans. It was very relaxing and I went for a walk while Graham caught up on some rest, having done the driving. The purpose for coming to Ireland was to see if I could find anything about my ancestors but knowing that they had left Ireland in the middle of the nineteenth century, I didn't expect to find too much. I couldn't believe my eyes. We hadn't been in Ireland 24 hours and there in front of me at the café is "Mullins Icecream" - my maiden name being Mullen. Most geneology researchers will say that the spelling of names was corrupted because of only oral language being in use, illiteracy or the translation from Gaelic into English. Whatever ....it was close enough for me to feel the pilgrimage had not been in vein. Well of course we had an icecream and of course it was delicious - as the container said, "made from the creamiest milk from cows in the Bann valley"
No Potato Famine Here
. The Six Mile Water River runs through Antrim into the Lough and has a caravan park on its banks. I was amused at the small, old fashioned caravans there - nothing like our Australian caravans. It is school holidays. We drove down the edge of the lake and stopped to talk to a man by the side of the road. He was extremely interesting and was an eel fisherman on the lake. He has been doing it as his father had done and each day baited 1200 tiny hooks with worms on a long line (1.2km) to catch eels which are exported to Holland and Germany. He said the worms are hard to find as a New Zealand worm had been imported and killed all the local worms and that eel fishing was not financial and nearly all fisherman in the area had gone out of business. He said global warming had changed the Gulf Stream and therefore less elvers were coming into the Lough. We then drove down to Portadown as that was where my Great Great Grandmother, Maria Jeffers, was born in 1844. She left Ireland and sailed from London in 1864 on board "Legion of Honour", arriving in Moreton Bay. She died in Brisbane in 1930. We believed she left Ireland as many did because of the Potato Famine. An Industrial town in north Armagh, Portadown derives its name from the Irish Port-ne-dun, (Port of the Fortress) and is on the River Bann (White River). It was developed with the linen industry but today is a big town being the hub of transport routes and manufactures phamaceticals and carpets. We went to the Thomas Street Methodist church as this church dates from the 1860's and perhaps could have been her place of worship. An interesting point was that it was built on open ground which formerly contained the town stocks and gibbet (last used for hanging in 1809). Portadown is infamous for the trouble created by the Orange Order's Drumcree march every 12th July. The march celebrates William of Orange's victory at the Battle of the Boyne. The parade travels from Drumcree church to Portadown through the predominantly Catholic Garvaghy Road. Tensions over parading through the Garvaghy Road are fierce. After a big day, we drove into Belfast where we had beef and guinness pie at the glorious Crown Liquor Saloon (dating back to 1826) with ornate Victorian exterior with swing doors, wooden floors and etched windows. 
