Joe Mahon and Geraldine McElroy at Tullymeadow in Augher.
Joe Mahon is continuing his travels around Northern Ireland with his new UTV series of ‘Mahon’s Way’ and his next two episodes brings him to County Tyrone to Clogher and Augher.
Due to air on Tuesday 12th and 19th September at 8pm, Joe visits Clogher in the first of the two County Tyrone episodes.
He heads to the Clogher Valley, stopping first of all at St MacCartan’s Cathedral in the village of Clogher, one of the oldest Christian sites in the entire country.
Joyce Stafford and Hilary Keys proudly display the replica of St MacCartan's Cathedral that their group has knitted.
Under the guidance of archivist Jack Johnston he delves into the fascinating story of how two 17th century Scottish bishops wielded their power and influence to accumulate land and form settlements here in the early years of the Plantation of Ulster.
Joe then meets the ladies of the “Knit, Stitch and Natter Club” who have accomplished the extraordinary feat of knitting a perfect miniature replica of St MacCartan’sCathedral. Not to be outdone however, the handymen of Tully Meadow Men’s Shed in nearby Augher put on a display of carpentry, painting and country craftwork, all carried out amid much banter and craic.
Joe Mahon and some members of the Tully Meadow Men's Shed.
But this is no longer an all-male preserve, for the women of the area have colonised the outdoor space to establish their own plantation – of vegetables, fruit and wild flowers. So it’s now been re-dubbed the “Tully Meadow Men’s and Hens’ Shed”!
In the following episode on 19th September, Joe heads to Augher to the townland of Ballnagurragh on the outskirts of the village. He is exploring the curiously named Forth Chapel, and learns about the recent restoration work from Geraldine McKenna.
In the graveyard of the church Mary Gillen relates the tale of poet and literary editor, Rose Kavanagh, who spent most of her short life between Augher and Dublin. She died of tuberculosis in her early thirties in 1891 and her passing was mourned by many of the great writers of the age.
Joe Mahon and Mary Gillen in the graveyard of Forth Chapel.
Joe then heads to the grounds of the beautifully maintained Augher Castle whose lakeside setting provides the backdrop for a series of tales about the castle’s various owners down through the centuries.
One of those owners had the enterprising idea of converting the church hall into a cinema once a week, and retired shop owner Gordon McLaren recalls those heady days in the 1950s when he would deliver the latest Hollywood blockbusters up to Colonel Treacy at the Carmichael Memorial Hall for the weekend screenings.
Gordon McLaren shows Joe Mahon a poster from the hevdav of the Augher Cinema Trust in the 1950.
‘MAHON’S WAY is produced by Westway Film Productions for UTV, supported by Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. The series is sponsored by FirmusEnergy.
You can watch the next episode from Clogher on Tuesday 12th September at 8pm on UTV, and the Augher episode the following week on Tuesday 19th September at 8pm.
Both programmes will be available after transmission on catch up onwww.itv.com/utvprogrammes