Legendary Roddy McCorley

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
1985 site
This is the site in 1985
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
Toome bridge
The bridge
The river Bann
The river
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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *