The History of Crumlin

[joan mack]

[Vico2]

Sad, he is right, most of what we remember growing up is gone.

[joan mack]

Sad, he is right, most of what we remember growing up is gone.

Ah Vico there was a story there, He seemingly ended up a millionaire, It was said he owned about five houses in Crumlin but to his final day he begged,

Some people have fond memories of Him and indeed he harmed nobody,

But you could not help wondering why when he made the money he didn't sit back and enjoy it,

He seemed to lead a frugal life and there are tales of his mother picking up potatoes that fell when they were being weighed etc

He did have a horse and cart but he seemed to be begging in that video outside Guinness from the young tourists visiting the Centre

[archangel]

We had a Belfast sink too Joan, although I don't ever remember it being called that in those days. They were good quality ones. I bought one in about 2003 when I got a new kitchen, but it scratched in no time, even though I used a basin inside it to wash the dishes. Our house when I was growing up was built in about 1880 and as far as I know it was the original sink, but in spite of clothes and children etc being washed in it, it was not much scratched. Things were built to last in those days.

Do you all know, a Belfast Sink is the rectangle Ceramic sink, The Dublin sink, it the one with the half drainer combined, I use to sell thousands in the sixties in a busy builders Merchants,

[Vico2]

I did wonder how he could support a horse as well as himself on what he would get begging. Horses are expensive animals.

[tumble twist]

Stop,some of you guys never knew or saw Ollie Bolger,I knew him since I was 10 years old,I knew his brother Liam,I, have many a story about that,lol,Christy, use to box for for 5 pound a round,and his brother the cruncher John Ah,such a nice fella.

[tumble twist]

Do you all know, a Belfast Sink is the rectangle Ceramic sink, The Dublin sink, it the one with the half drainer combined, I use to sell thousands in the sixties in a busy builders Merchants,

Archangel. the Belfast sink at out house was worn down to the ah the stones from my Ma sharpening her knieves.,lol.

[joan mack]

Very Few in Crumlin did not know Ollie Brian, I wonder why they called him Ollie when his name was valentine such a swanky name, He would tear around Downpatrick Road like something from Deadwood City.

The kids loved to see him. My brothers knew the family a lot more then me. But his miserlyness was legendary, Did he Marry Brian or was he the eternal batcholor,

Raphael. The Belfast sink in Crumlin was Deep I am trying to think of the Draining board but I can't perhaps we removed it to stick in the Cooker,

I do know from the constant use it was chipped, My Mam would throw in the pots and pans when they got so bad she could not stomach them anymore,

Gas Then was very hard on pots and pans, The whole arse of them was Black,

Teapot on all day was the same. When we got a new teapot or chip Pan it would shine out like a sore Thumb lol! Thank God for Electric Cookers they are not as hard to keep clean

[Nemesis]

We called it the Trough (pronouned trow) and the draining board was wooden with grooves.

[joan mack]

What a great memory you have Nemmy we also called it the trough or as you say trow. But I think we must have got rid of the grooved draining board.

In the front bedroom I remember a walk in wardropbe well it went far into the back although it started up off the floor,

If anything was missing it was most likely in the back of that and we had to crawl in and search for it. I wonder what its purpose was

[Nemesis]

Yes Joan, I remember that closet. It was raised off the floor because it was over the staircase and it had to be raised to allow head room on the stairs. In our house it was just always full of old clothes and was never put to proper use. I suspect we were peasants.

[joan mack]

I suspect we were to. I remember receipts photos old clothes. There was a lot of space there it could have been put to better use as we were very short of places to put things.

My Mam would iron all our clothes and place them in drawers in our dresser (as we called it)

Us kids rooting for a clean pair of knickers would take the whole lot out and then ram them back in after all the careful ironing lol! The Fecking Architects should have been shot.

I remember well the day we got the new tiled fireplace and trhe aul blackleaded one was put in the bin. We felt dead swanky but we never got hot water again from the fire, It was a cowboy job so My parents had to buy the poisonious Geezer For us to have a bath and to wash the dishes.

I remember that brass tank that set in the scullery or was it a copper tank. My Mam used to keep it shining

[Nemesis]

Our house type had the bathroom off the scullery as a separate room. (Posh)
The copper tank was in the bathroom and was heated by the fire in the main room. Apparently when we moved in my father discovered that the boiler had been installed upside down and it had to be fixed.

[joan mack]

Our house type had the bathroom off the scullery as a separate room. (Posh)
The copper tank was in the bathroom and was heated by the fire in the main room. Apparently when we moved in my father discovered that the boiler had been installed upside down and it had to be fixed.

Your Lucky My father would never have noticed that, We Knocked down the wall to the scullery and placed the door at the end instead of the middle, It seemed to give us more room and we were not looking all the time into the untidy scullery. You must have got a parlour house. My Granny who also lived on Downpatrick Road had one of those but the rooms were tiny .

I was called on to clean the parlour at the weekend. She lived on a corner between Clonard Road and Downpatrick her house was always covered in creeper.

As a Child I was so snobby I used to love saying my Gran lived there as the house always looked so well with the wall around it. Us on the avenue only had iron railings which were ugly

[Nemesis]

No Joan . Ours had the big room to the front and the scullery and bathroom and toilet to the back. The houses on the other side of Captain's road were what were called parlour houses. Our houses were the same as yours but Captain's Road was built in the late forties. We moved in a few months before I was born in 1950.