Roddy McCorley Archives • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

it seems the ongoing conflict in Ireland for the past 800 years spawn many stories, some which are not completely documented. Legendary Rodney McCorley seems to be one of them. But he was hung in 1800near the bridge of Toome in Antrim County in which Belfast resides. It isn’t really clear whether his grievances which turned him to rebel causes and joining a gang were caused by religious or economic issues. His father evidently was executed for some crimes and then they were kicked out of their house which was very typical of England the imperialism in Ireland. I came to this site where he was hung in 1985 while driving through North Ireland. I saw the sign entering the county of Antrim and it came to mind, “oh Antrim town oh Antrim town”. Then I recalled the other lyrics, “and Young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today “. So I went to look for that bridge and I found it. On one side was the place where Roddy was hanged and on the other side of the street was an English outpost complete Wiz high fences, barbed wire, bright flood lights and guns. What a contrast indicating a fascinating story. You’ll see the photos I took in 1985 down below.

Roddy was hung Legendary Roddy McCorley — Where Roddy was hung

England outpost Legendary Roddy McCorley — This is where the England outpost was

1985 outpost Legendary Roddy McCorley — This is what it looked like in 1985

Beautiful flowers Bill Smale — Beautiful flowers near the bridge

Roddy memorial Museum — There is a museum and a pub restaurant in West Belfast dedicated to Roddy and some of the other brave Irishman who fought to unify Ireland under the Irish government. It’s dedicated to Roddy

Memorial to Braves men and women Bill Smale — Some of the brave people who gave their lives for free freedom

Inside pub Bill Smale — Inside there’s a nice pub

below you will see photos of some of the graffiti in the north

if you want to consider Bopping around Belfast I recommend you visit a few places that may be of interest. The Belfast Castle is mostly a venue for gatherings but it’s an interesting building from the outside and the garden is nice and it’s a great view of Belfast and the port. There are a few sites in the city. My interest was going to the bridge of Toome to visit, after 40 years, the place whereRoddy McCorley was hanged. I also visited the social club named after him which has a lot of history especially of the revolution and a nice little pub.

Castle Garden Bopping around Belfast — Belfast Castle Garden

The castle Bopping around Belfast — The castle from the garden

Beautiful flowers Bopping around Belfast — It’s the beginning of spring so the flowers are starting to come out

Northside Castle Bill Smale — The castle from the northside

Cruise ship Bill Smale — A cruise ship in Belfast Port

Castle owners Bill Smale — These are the people that owned the castle. There was some kind of defensive structure built here 1000 years ago by the Vikings and then the Normans

Beautiful bushes and trees — The flowering bushes and trees were very beautiful

City crest — This could very well be a city crest but I did not look it up

Berde Road — At this height it is obvious that this was a road for birds

Telegraph building — The old telegraph building

Whitehead

whitehead is about 3/4 of the way up to Larne which is the port for the ferry to the Isle of Man. Belfast became too expensive so I came up here for a few days. There isn’t much in this town but it’s a good place to just walk around by the seaside and relax.

Redbreast whiskey — My favorite Irish whiskey was Jamison but my all-time favorite was a bourbon. Then I was introduced to redbreast which is actually made in the same place as Jamison. This is an interesting and very flavorful, fruity whiskey and now my all-time favorite as a sipping whiskey

Plum tree — Beautiful flowering plum I think

Whitehead coffee — I came to Whitehead for the coffee? Maude serves a delicious coffee

Colorful buildings — Colorfull buildings

Nice buildings — More colorful buildings by the seaside. If you keep going south along this path you will find a trekking path into a natural preserve. There are a lot of birds here so will provide you with some nice natural music as you walk up along the hill

Smooth beach stones — You can go down right by the water and pick out some nice round stones. They are very smooth

Knorr wine — I didn’t know that Knorr is now selling cups of wine. This is interesting

Ketchup ideas — Interesting ideas on ketchup

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