Old News - A few snippets from old newspapers

These were taken from http://www.irelandoldnews.com/

There is much more there if you browse the places and years, along with a lot of birth, death and marriage records.

 

Belfast Weekly News July 22 1893:
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An extraordinary egg:-  Mr Andrew Martin, 143 Old Lodge Road, Belfast, received on 19th inst from a Liverpool farmer a duck egg weighing over four ounces. A peculiarity about it was that there was another egg inside it, with shell completely formed. 

 

The Belfast Evening Telegraph, 9 March 1894

A STRANGE DERELICT

   Advices just to hand state that the Norwegian barque Elsa Anderson has arrived at Galveston, U.S.A. with the hull of an English-built brig in tow. The ship seemed to have burned at sea a half century ago, and the hull appeared off the Faroe Islands, after a submarine disturbance. It was covered with sea shells, but the hull and under decks contained little water. In the captain's berth was found a leathern bag containing 1,000 guineas, of the year 1809, and jewellery. Three male skeletons were also found, one of a man nearly seven feet in height.

               

Belfast Weekly News: Nov 4 1893:

READING FOR CANALMEN.

 TO THE EDITOR OF THE BELFAST WEEKLY NEWS.

 SIR- Would you be kind enough to give me a few lines of your space on behalf of the lock-keepers and lightermen on the canal.  As many of your readers no doubt are well aware, their lives are lonely and monotonous, and, under such circumstances , a supply, however small, of suitable reading material would be a great boon - not to speak of  the possible influence for good in some cases.  There are, I believe, about 27 lock-keepers and 200 lightermen engaged on the canal.  If, therefore, any of your readers have any old magazines, journals, or papers to spare, I would gladly arrange to call for them, or if more convenient, they could be left at Mr William Laird's Corn Market. My father or I would then deliver them to Mr James M'Cleave, third lock-keeper, who has kindly consented to distribute and exchange them with the canalmen.

Trusting the active sympathy of your readers may be excited on their behalf - -I am sir, yours sincerely.

 Anna Parker, 17 Elbana Street, Belfast, 28th October 1893.

 

BELFAST NEWSLETTER MARCH 20 1879:

POLICE INTELLIGENCE:

      Custody Court-Yesterday ( Before C.D.Clifford Lloyd, Esq., R.M., and J.C.O’Donnell, Esq., R.M.)

      ASSAULTING THE POLICE – Bernard M’Meehan was brought up in custody of Sub-Constable Niblock, charged with being drunk and disorderly on the Old Lodge Road the previous day.

      Sub-Constable Niblock said he arrested the prisoner for being drunk and disorderly, and boohing(?)the police. When passing the end of Millfield he called out: ‘Was there no one to take notice of him?’. After he had gone a few perches down North Street he thre himself down and kicked the constable, who had to get two civilians to assist him. About two perches down further down the street he again threw himself down, and assaulted another constable who came to Niblock’s assistance.

      His Worship sentenced him to one month’s imprisonment for being drunk, and two months for each assault.

 

      STONE THROWING IN SMITHFIELD: - Two young men names Wm. H Smith, and Patrick Mallon, and a woman named Mary M’Cullough, better know in the area as ‘Home Rule Mary’, were brought up in custody of Sub Constable Magowan, charged with being drunk and disorderly in Millfield, and using party expressions.

      Sub Constable Magowan said that Smith and M’Cullough were drunk in Millfield. Passing the end of Brown Street where a crowd had collected, who had been throwing stones at another crowd in Brown Street, they shouted for Home Rule and in consequence were arrested. When arrested the crowd in Millfield followed them and and stoned the police until they got to Divis Street Barracks. Mallon appeared to be the leader of the crowd, and took up several stones which he put in his pockets, and afterwards threw at the police.

      His Worship ordered Smith to be arrested for fourteen days; M’Cullough, against whom there were thirty-three convictions, for one month, and Mallon, who, he said, had appeared to be the ringleader of a mob that took it on them to stone the police in the execution of their duty, for six months.

 

PARTY EXPRESSIONS: - A man named John Donnelly was brought up in custody of Head Constable Collins charged with being drunk and using party expressions in Ballymacarrett, the previous evening. Head Constable Collins said that the prisoner was drunk at the Bridge End, Ballymacarrett, and was cursing King William at the top of his voice. His Worship ordered him to be imprisoned for one month with hard labour.

 

The Limerick Reporter & Tipperary Vindicator, 31 May 1895

THE TRIAL OF OSCAR WILDE.

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THE SENTENCE.

   The trial of Oscar Wilde terminated on Saturday evening in a verdict of guilty on all the counts, and he was sentenced along with Taylor, previously convicted, to two years' imprisonment with hard labour. The jury expressed surprise that a warrant had not up to the present been issued for the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas, and the learned judge expressed his confidence that his title would not be permitted to save him from justice.

   As to the horrid character of Wilde's crime, it is quite superfluous to add anything to what Judge Wills, who held the scales of justice with scrupulous fairness, said in passing sentence. The remarkable thing is to discover now that the fact that Oscar Wilde was a centre of festering corruption seems to have been perfectly well known in the artistic and theatrical circles in which he moved. But it is satisfactory anyway to feel that even the most brazen effrontery in the pursuit of such abominations does not bring immunity from punishment —a lesson that may be taken to heart perhaps with advantage by the other more or less known individuals who are now also freely spoken of as being of the same loathsome coterie. It is even said that the police could lay their hands on fifty men well known in society who are equally guilty with him, and whose connections with this odious scandal has been notorious for years.

 

Irish news from outside the island. (Note how long news of this storm took to get to Boston).

Boston News-Letter

 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Monday, June 3 to Monday, June 10, 1706

      Limerick, Decemb. 7, 1705

 On Thursday last about one a Clock in the morning, there was the most violent Storm, and Floods occasioned by it, that ever was known by any living, or ever heard of here. It lasted till 9. The Water rose so violently of a sudden, and to that heighth, that most of the Cellars in the Town were full of Water, by which the Merchants, Vintners, Ale-sellers and other People suffered very much. The Inhabitants of the Suburbs of the English Town, &c. were forced to crawl naked from the Inside to the tops of their Cabbins without side, whence some fell down being benumm'd and not able to hold longer, some others were drowned before they had time to stir, others by Boats suck, so took, so that we can already reckon about 17 persons here, and God knows what the losses in the Country are. It's certain all the Cattle and Corn in the low Lands near the Shannon are lost, as well as the Corn and Rape in Stack as that in Ground; besides, a great many People, I fear, were lost. Many Houses in Town and Country were until'd, and some blown down; two Ships that lay at the Key, taking in their lading, and one empty were got on the top of the Key; two are got off, but the 3d, a Dutch Ship of 80 Tons, lyes now just at Key Gate, and had it not been for the Key ??? been driven into the Town. They are taking out her Goods and breaking down the Key, in hopes to get her off. I hear the Queen Ann of London of 400 Tuns, from Jamaica, with Sugar, Indigo, &c. is put ashore at a place called Glinn, about 11 Leagues down the River, & the Anna of Rotterdam, with Beef, Butter, Hides and Tallow, is driven ashore upon Fines Island, 8 Leagues down, and is 2 or 300 yards higher in the Fields than ever the Tide came before. It's said the Queen Ann is not bulged but very far up, and buryed in the Sand very deep. Our Barge was bulged and sunk. The Watch-house and 3 other Houses were blown down on the Key. Two of the Garison Gates were blown to pieces. The Magazines and Guard-Houses were almost quite unflated and unglazed, and the Centry Boxes broken to pieces.