Bill's

Every year when I stayed at my grandparents home in Cregnadovesky we spent some time at 'Bill's'. This was a small farm somewhat similar to my grandparents but lower down the mountain. The farm had been owned by a William McKernan, who left the farm in his will to be shared between my grandfather and James Harvey a local farmer and close neighbour. Whenever one died the other would own the farm. Unfortunately my grandfather died first.

Up to the time of my grandfathers death we would spend days saving the hay as this was the main preoccupation for farmers in this area in the summer. The farm was about a mile away so took some time to walk, past the farms of McCartan's, Kelly's, Conway's and Slaines along a winding country lane. From a small hill adjacent to my grandfathers house you could see all the way to Carrickmore 2 miles away and to the farm at Bill's. When the dinner was ready my granduncle James would stand on this hill and blow a whistle(like a referee). This was the signal for us to return.

Today the farm is owned by the Martin family who were related to the Harvey's and were left it in James Harvey's will. The Martin's lived on the other side of the mountain and was one of the places I used to go at night with my granduncle James, wandering through the heather and climbing over the stone walls in the dark. It could have been frightening but I got used to it over the years.