Our columnist Frank Brandon discovers a hidden gem close to home, recalls one of snooker’s great characters, and looks ahead to a fashionable night in Creggs.
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, and my daughter Lisa, along with my two grandchildren, Riley and Hayley, have arrived up from Castlebar, and we’ve decided to head up to the cafe in the rugby club to have the breakfast.
For some reason, the two girls are picky enough about their breakfast at home, but to be fair to them, they both eat all round them up in the rugby club – and this day was no different.
As always, my full Irish was top class, and when all was done, the children made a bee-line for the sensory/playroom. The truth is that it is a magical place for them to spend some time; there are all kinds of activities for them to do there and I have to say it is a great addition to the local area.
Anyway, we then headed out to the Green, where we kicked around a football for a while before we all headed back down home – by which time, after my full Irish and the exertions on the Green, I was almost ready to go back to bed!
Sometime later, they headed back to Castlebar, and having resisted the temptation to have a lie down, that evening myself and my son Paul decided to go for a walk.
For a change, we headed down to Stoneham’s Lough. Now, to my eternal shame, I have lived around here for a very long time and yet was unaware of the hidden gem that is the beautiful walk around Stoneham’s. The pathways have all been gravelled, there are seats dotted along the walks where you can rest yourself, and the silence and tranquillity of the forest was just so beautiful and peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
On our way round, we met local historian Larry Kilcommons, who was there with his wife Eilish and other members of his family. One of the girls told us that they had come down to see the Stoneham Crannóg, which was now visible due to the lowering of the water level, as a result of the long dry spell.
I have to admit that I had forgotten what a crannóg was, but I did remember going with my wife Carol to see some many years ago down in Kerry, near Kenmare. Now those ones looked like little huts, built of brushwood, timber, and stone, and they reminded me a bit of the igloos you would see up in the Arctic Circle. However, crannógs can also be man-made little islands in the middle of lakes or rivers, with little huts on top to give people protection from both enemies and animals.
And so, myself and Paul made a U-turn and headed over the bridge to the fishing area of the Lough, where there were a number of young people fishing, and sure enough the crannóg was visible in the middle of the lake. It was obviously a man made structure, but bushes and trees had grown over it so if there were a house or a hut on it, we couldn’t actually see it.
When I left my house on Sunday evening, I had no real idea as to what Stoneham’s Lough had to offer, no idea that it had the historic significance of having a crannog in its middle. But as I returned home, I felt I had discovered a real treasure! It will definitely be on my walking schedule in the future.
For any fishermen wondering what might be on offer in the lake, we were told by those there yesterday that they were fishing for trout, pike, bream, perch, and rudd. Whether they caught any of them or not, I haven’t a clue, but obviously all of those fish (and maybe some more) are possible to be found in the depths of Stoneham’s Lough.
The last time I went fishing could be fifty years ago, when myself and Jim Roarke used to fish for bream down in the Suck near Donamon. The Gunner (Jim’s nickname) used to feed them with loaves of bread, but it seems he fed them so well that they had no interest in our baits, so we packed it in after several long weary nights catching nothing except a cold.
Sarah Roarke was often left wondering how they were out of bread so often in the shop in Creggs… little did she know that her loaves were feeding the fattest bream in Ireland – none of whom had any interest in being caught.
Anyway, that short episode was the end of my fishing, and despite being tempted by the tranquillity and peacefulness of the fishing area in Stoneham’s, I will not be reviving my very unsuccessful career.
Cue the tax relief
It’s now Monday morning, and on Morning Ireland, they are talking about the upcoming budget.
Some financial expert is telling us that the Government shouldn’t postpone their planned increases in excise duty on petrol and diesel in order to keep the price down, and that they should help the less well-off with income tax reliefs.
As I heard about the tax reliefs, for some reason I thought of Big Bill Werbeniuk, a Canadian snooker player from the seventies to the nineties, who famously got six pints of lager before every game treated as a tax deductible expense. Big Bill had a medical condition, which caused him to have a tremor in his hand, and doctors advised him to drink a few pints before every game to settle the tremor, so he was given tax relief on that expense.
However, he didn’t stick to the six pints; he used to have another pint for every frame and was estimated to drink between forty and fifty pints every day!
Among his legendary drinking bouts was the time he drank 76 cans of lager during a match with John Spencer in the 70’s (Spencer was a very slow player). He also downed 43 pints during a game with Scotland’s Eddie Sinclair, and when the Scotsman passed out after himself consuming 42 pints, Big Bill announced he was going for “a proper drink”. In 1990, he did 28 pints and 16 whiskies during a game with Nigel Bond, and after losing, drank a bottle of scotch to drown his sorrows.
Funnily enough, despite all of that, he was a reasonably good professional snooker player, who was ranked eigth in the world at one time and was a three-time quarter finalist in the World Snooker Championships.
Sadly, he ended up living back in Canada with his brother and his mother after being declared bankrupt, and died from heart failure in January 2003 at the age of 56. It appears that the heavy drinking played a part in his early demise.
Nowadays there doesn’t seem to be any bad boys playing snooker on the world stage any more. Sometimes you’d like to see the likes of Big Bill (maybe not drinking as much) or Alex Higgins – each of whom broke the mould, courted controversy, and, in Higgins’ case, totally disrespected officials, who nonetheless made snooker one of the most popular television sports of their era.
These days, the game seems to have lost its huge appeal. The truth is I hardly know any present day player except Ronnie O’Sullivan, another player who doesn’t totally conform.
Anyway, as we all look for tax deductible expenses, very few can say they got their drinking subsidised by the Government – but Big Bill Weberniuk did!
The catwalk comes to Creggs
Out here in Creggs, Sheila Beirne tells me of a massive event that’s coming up in the school hall on Friday, October 2nd, when a fashion show will be taking place.
Celia Holman-Lee, surely Ireland’s best known and respected stylist, and the Holman-Lee Agency will be there, and there will be a wonderful night’s fashion and modelling tips for you all from the expert herself.
Now, you will know that I am a renowned fashion guru myself, so it will be no surprise that I am very aware of the Limerick lady Celia Holman-Lee, so it’s some coup for Sheila and the gang to have her come to Creggs.
So put it in your diary – October 2nd in the school hall! There will be more details to follow, but tickets are already on sale in O’Roarke’s or by phoning Sheila on 087 8382944.
There will be styles from loads of boutiques, along with an award winning milliner from the local area, and jewellery and accessories will also feature on the night. This promises to be one of the great occasions in the locality, so don’t miss it!
And finally…
I wish to send my heartiest congratulations to my nephew David and his wife Olivia on the birth of their first child, a bouncing baby boy!
It’s a momentous week for our family, as along with Billy and Kate becoming grandparents, my younger brother Duff is also celebrating a big birthday this Saturday, August 29th.
Now I won’t give his age away as that wouldn’t be nice, but from Saturday on, he won’t have to pay for the train!
So congrats all round and happy birthday, Duff!
‘Til next week, bye for now!
