1960's Photos from Balbriggan. Check out these names, Joe & Angela McInnerney,Lil Creighton, Stephney Lawless, Bridgie Cannon & Mary Lawless,M.Creighton, Pattie Carvan, Ann Dowling, Bridie Grant .Christine Woreley,Ann Creighton, Mick Dunne and Anna Guildea, these are just some of the names that are appearing in today's offering. The photos were very kindly given to us by Delores Creighton. If you have photos that you would like to show on B.net, please contact us by email and we will print you a copy of every photo you give us. Your original photos are returned to you within the hour.31.12.05

Blessing of the boats. Two photos for you today, the first is an enlarged section of the photo that we brought you earlier on today, see below, and the second is of Fr. Hassett onboard  a boat with Phil Curtis at the controls. Click on thumbnail.29.12.05

1980's Lourdes Photograph. Here is brilliant photo taken in Lourdes in the 80's by Fr Michael Hassett. Most of the group are from Balbriggan and sadly some are no longer with us. We have made the photo as large as we could to make it easier to identify people. If you don't have broadband, it will take a few seconds for the photograph to appear. Click on thumbnail. 29.12.05

8 Photos today. Groveling mode again today. Apologies to all for the lack of activity on the web of late but as usual, we generally make up with a glut of photos and today is one of those days. The first is a 1950's shot of Quay St, followed by an ICA group shot, Glebe North, Mr Kinsella, Tony Healy, Mrs McGoldrick, Kieron Corrigan with Jack Benton and Gus Kennedy. All today's photos are courtesy of Martin Fanning. Click on the thumbnail to view all. 29.12.05

Accident at the Christmas Swim. On Christmas Day Jack Benton went to the Front Strand, Balbriggan, to support the Charity Swim and take photographs of the occasion. Unfortunately he was knocked over by one of the swimmers as the group rushed towards the water. Resulting from this Jack sustained a broken hip and was removed by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital where he underwent surgery yesterday (26th Dec). His hip has been fitted with a special screw to hold the break in place. This evening (27th) Jack is out of bed and sitting in a chair. He can walk with some difficulty and with the aid of a frame; however the prognosis for his recovery is very positive. The nursing staff on the 4th floor say they are astounded by his progress and cannot believe he is making such a rapid recovery. The staff said he is an example to all in that his level of fitness makes his prospects for a full recovery very high. We at Balbriggan.net are not too surprised at Jack's tenacity and grit; he is one tough character and we wish him all the best. Click on thumbnail to view more photos of our Jack.

Charity Swim Photos. Christmas Day has long been the day for the charity swim in Balbriggan. A mild, sunny day made it a bit easier for those taking part. There were two swims, one at 11 and then one at 12 noon. Great fun seemed to be had by all and Jack, Brian and Tony were there to capture the occasion. There was a collision between two people which we will have more on in the coming days. To view the photos click on the wording appropriate to you.

Dial-up

Broadband

May 1978 Balbriggan Community Games. Thanks to Gerry Guildea in London for these newspaper cuttings."Here are some Photo's from May 1978 Balbriggan Community Games held down in O'Dwyer's. Derham Park were the overall winners of the Noth Dublin People Trophy for the best area. Included in that Photo are: Frank Whelan, Christy Maypotter, David Tolan, Gerard Maypotter, Gerry Guildea, Martin Gilbert, Peter Maypotter, Liam Gaffney, Mary Baxter, Tony Healy, ? Healy, Brian Baxter, Susan Guildea, Elaine Maypotter and Elizabeth Gilbert".Click on thumbnail to view.

Memories of Balbriggan in the 50's By Roger Turner Part 12: All Good Things... Today we bring you part 12 in Roger Turner series of memories of Balbriggan in the 1950's. Rogers power of recall are amazing and his love of the town has never left him. Click on the thumbnail to read more. 25.12.05

Balbriggan Town Council holds its first meeting in new Town Hall. Team members Jack & Tony were invited along to capture the moment and also take the first photos of inside the magnificent new building. Jack & Tony were very impressed and agreed that it's exactly what the town needed. We sincerely thank Brian Murray(Town Clerk)for allowing B.net to be the first to get photos of inside. Click on the thumbnail to see more photos and read the press release.

Balbriggan Sea Scouts. Here are the second and third in a series of photos given to us by Gerry Hamilton. The first photo shows the Sea Scouts parading past what is now "The Central" but was "Walls" then and the second is the scouts at the train station. Thanks Gerry for the photos. As usual, click on the thumbnail to view. 12.12.05

German Night-Fighter Lands at Gormanston 1945. Most know this story but we were anxious to find out a little more and the background to it all. Mr McGovern had given us the photos and we did a little research on the web and came up with the following. It's a intriguing tale of defection, near misses and then the safety of "neutral" Ireland. Click on the thumbnail to see more photos and read the short account that we have put together. 10.12.05

50 Year Celebration of 1916 Rising. For those who are not good at maths, the year is 1966 and because we have been "Off The Air" for the past 10 days, we are really spoiling you today with no less than 11 photos of the celebrations as it passed the square. Some of the names that we have spotted include, Andy Gilsenan, Munchy Gaynor, Bob Monks, Paddy Reid and Willie Reilly. See how many you can spot. Photos courtesy of Benton/Curtis Collection. 10.12.05

Diving Board 1966 & Snow at Castlelands. Two cracking photos for you today. The first was taken on the Dublin road looking back towards Castlelands, almost outside the Golf Club, and there has been a heavy fall of snow, c 1983, and in the background is Joe Wade's house. The second photo shows the Christmas swim at Blackrock in 1966. We have also added two photos taken today from similar angles. 10.12.05

St Georges Square, almost complete. Work is nearing completion on the Hotel and Civic Offices. The area has been a virtual building site for over 2 years now, but it looks like it was worth the wait. The hotel has added another level, underground car park and the Civic Offices look great, another month or so should do it. Click on thumbnail to see photos taken today. 09.12.05

Pigeon Club 1984. Here are some photos we came across of the Pigeon Club from 1984. The photos are courtesy of The Benton/Curtis Collection. Click on the thumbnail and see who you recognise. 07.12.05.

Balbriggan DVD. Well, it's nearly killed us, divorce has been mentioned but then I realised I wasn't even married to Martin. Anyway, the DVD is finished, we are very pleased with it considering the time we had to produce it. The DVD is 23 minutes long and has about 300 photos, 200 of people and the balance from around the town. It's a must see if you live or lived in Balbriggan. For those abroad, ring your relatives in Balbriggan, and tell them them to get down quick to Supervalu where it's at the Checkout or McGoverns Gift shop on Dublin st. Only 200 have been made so they will disappear fast. We will update the web site tomorrow, Tuesday. 05.12.05

Sam Maguire in John D's Today we bring you a great photo, given to us by Roger Cannon and it shows 7 locals having some fun with "Sam" but there is one problem, we only have 6 names. Can anyone help? Click on the thumbnail to enlarge. Get cracking. 22.11.05 Update. We now have the name thanks to JOHNER GUILDEA.

GNR Photo. Here is a photo given to us by Gerry Hamilton. It's a great photo showing the late Stationmaster, Mr Bennett, It's photos like this that make B.net so popular. If you have an old photo with a Balbriggan connection, please do contact us, we'll copy it for you free of charge. Click on thumbnail to enjoy. 22.11.05

November Slide Show. The past few days have been extremely cold with very hard frosts at night, which is unusual for a coastal town. In this months slide show, we bring you 9 photographs, taken early on Monday morning as the sun was rising. We have also included 2 shots to show the progress on the square. Click on thumbnail and we hope you enjoy. All photos courtesy of Tony Healy.

Commuter Bus Service for the town of Balbriggan As part of the implementation of the Balbriggan Parking Management Scheme, Fingal County Council in conjunction with Balbriggan Town Council and Bus Eireann are introducing a commuter bus service for the town of Balbriggan and its environs starting shortly.To facilitate this bus service a ONE-WAY TRAFFIC SYSTEM will come into operation in the area of the railway station as follows:On Railway St.,Back Hill (Station Road) and Convent Lane. Appropriate road markings are in position and signage will be provided in advance of the implementation of the ONE-WAY TRAFFIC SYSTEM which will be implemented with effect from Thursday, 24th November, 2005. Peter Caulfield Senior Executive Officer Transportation Department

HISTORY OF BALBRIGGAN RAILWAY STATION – TREVOR SARGENT T.D. Trevor Sargent gave a talk "150 years of Railway in Balbriggan" during the Arts Festival week and following a discussion with one of the team, has very kindly typed it out and made it available to B.net. Click on the thumbnail to read this fascinating account. Well done. 21.11.05.

More photos from 1983. Here are more photos from that year, ranging from the Square, the new cement prom, a cycle race through the town. Click on thumbnail to view all. 21.11.05

Gold Sovereigns In June 1969 Benton's house next door to Spicer's Shop in Drogheda St was being knocked down and when the 'rubble' was dumped in a field in Flemington Lane children found Gold Sovereigns in the piles of dumped material. It is not known how many coins were involved but numbers of up to 700 were mentioned. It seems the coins were hidden in the roof of the house which was a thatched structure which was later covered with corrugated zinc sheet. Among those included in the pictures are; Sean Benton, Jackie Dunne, James Crane and Sil Halligan. JC 21.11.05