A walk down Memory Lane

Alex Doherty, who lives in the Waterside, but who was reared in neighbouring Donegal, recalls making some cash - by ‘lamping’ rabbits...

“I was born and reared in Donegal at Whitecastle on the road to Moville. I grew up on a farm and to earn a few pence I used to go out with a lamp and a dog and lamp rabbits.

So anyway, in the morning I used to leave, and it was 12 miles into Derry, and I put the rabbits on the handlebars of the bike and I would cycle the 12 miles into Derry and take them to McCullagh’s on the Strand Road. I remember I used to get nine pence a rabbit.

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The rabbits were for eating because meat was rationed. It’s very like chicken you know, but a wee bit stronger. The rabbit skins were valuable too.

I used to have to stay out all night lamping. At that time I was 16 or 17, and on a good night you could catch anything from one or two or maybe on a really good night you might be lucky and catch maybe up to 12.

Other people were lamping as well and maybe got one or two, and I would take them as well and sell them for them but I would only give the people sixpence for their rabbits.

I remember one morning when I was bringing in the rabbits at Prehen I saw something in the distance, and I was trying to figure out what it was . It was away in the distance and as I got towards it I could see it was a man with a donkey on his back with the front legs hanging over his shoulders and it’s back legs training on the ground.

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The boy I was with said it was ‘Spider’ Kelly, and that it was him out training. I’ll never forget it, the two front legs of the donkey were over his shoulders and the donkey was loving it.

‘Spider’ Kelly was a champion boxer and using the donkey was his way of training, and the donkey you could see it was used to it and it was loving it...”

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