Connecting with history in Castletownroche

In the 1930s in Castletownroche, three local men, Frank Nash, Jim Troy and John Looney, were pictured on their motorbikes outside the establishment now known as The Rock Forest Bar, located in the centre of the village. Now, almost 100 years later, their sons have come together to recreate the photo.

One of those men, also named John Looney who now lives overseas in Birmingham, England, while on a visit to

Ireland last week explained how the recreation came about.

A regular visitor to the area, John said that he was in the local bar when barman Michael O’Riordan, introduced him to a man named Dennis Troy.

“We just started chatting and then after about five or ten minutes he said to me casually ‘Oh, do you know about the photograph?’ I said ‘What photograph’?”

John was then directed to a book called ‘The Old Rustic Bridge - A History of Castletownroche GAA, Sport, Culture and Folklore 1888-2008’, written by John McHugh. On the very last page, there is a black and white photo of the three men in the 1930s.

CONNECTION

Speaking with The Avondhu, John explained how his father died due to a heart attack when he was only 5, meaning he had never gotten an opportunity to get to know him properly.

“I always knew that dad had a motorbike, but I’ve never seen a photograph of him on it and that’s the only time,” he said.

Returning to his accommodation in Glanworth, John explained the story to Liam Flynn who then informed him that Frank Nash, who was pictured in the book, was family to those who currently run Nash’s Garage in the heart of Castletownroche.

After enquiring at the garage, John discovered that the Nash family have the same photograph framed and hanging up in the hallway in their home.

‘IT WOULD HAVE BROKEN HIS NECK’

The photo was then recreated, sans motorbikes, in the same location where it was originally taken, this time featuring the three men’s sons - Denis Troy, Frank Nash and John Looney.

When asked whether motorbikes were still popular in the family, John explained that he had ‘never even sat on one’.

“Dad always made mum promise she would never let me have a motorbike because when he was driving around Castletown’ on one particular occasion, he had a helmet on but for some reason, he didn’t tie the chinstrap.

“A tractor came out of a field with a trailer behind it and dad ducked to avoid it. The helmet caught the top of the trailer and took his helmet up. If it had been tied up, it would have broken his neck,” John said.

Despite the lack of motorbikes, the photo for John is a meaningful one as he continues to find further connections to Castletownroche. He said he now intends to get the recent picture printed in black and white and frame it, along with the photo of his father.

The unusual coincidence of finding connections while on holiday is nothing new to John either, as he claims: “Every time I come to Castletownroche, something spooky happens, every single time. It only ever happens in Castletown’, no other part of Ireland!”