New book on Limavady hits the mark

THE fickle whim of fortune has arranged that I have reacquainted myself with Limavady on a fairly frequent basis during recent years and I sincerely welcome my good luck.

The healthy cluster of excellent delicatessans, hospitable hostelries and well appointed troughs to entice even the most jaded of palates, along with that rarest of gems - an independent and thoroughly enthusiastic bookship in close proximity to all of the above delights - is enough to convince me that Limavady deserves closer scrutiny.

There is an added incentive in the fact that, despite historical baggage, the inhabitants - Planter, Gael and all others - appear to be happy enough with each other, and they don't require extensive coercion to make them communicate.

'Danny Boy' and his poor cousin, 'The Londonderry Air' have dominated much of the usual reflectoin on this place so neatly placed below the hills between two mighty ports of call - Coleraine and Londonderry. There is, of course, ample evidence that the town of Limavady and its extensive hinterland has not allowed itself to be overshadowed by those exalted neighbours, and local historian, Dougie Bartlett has correctly applauded his home turf in his definitive record of its history.

'Danny Boy' aside, Limavady has been well able to stand up for itself and Dougie, being aware of this and knowing that a full fledged state of the art version of this independence has slumbered for too long in his reckoning, has brought his findings to our attention, with a gallop through 9,000 years of the land of the Roe's history, with all of the drama and the costs and even some of the tears.

The author faithfully honours his pledge to reward readers with an uncomplicated, digestible account and his evidence is in this excellent and, unusually for much loved local history, highly entertaining book.

Bartlett does not follow the convenient comfort path of many local historians by treating the subject matter in total isolation from the rest of the world; in fact from the mysterious prehistoric period to the current aftermath of the exodus of military and aviation presence and the onset of severe unemployment, Dougie considers Limavady's story in the context of our general history.

I believe that this is so beneficial in the pre-Plantation period, particularly when facts are shrouded in mist and the social, political and what is now referred to as communal landscape, was evolving in what we now recognise as life in the Roe Valley.

The transition from the prehistoric earthen parts of the earliest settlers to the more substantial, grander dwellings of more recent arrivals (consider the early 1600s as being fairly recent in this 9,000 year odyssey), is worth serious consideration and there is appropriate detail and superb illustration.

I particularly cherish Dougie's inspired clarification of the Broighter Gold issue, because at its current resting place in Dublin's National Museum, there is offered a mere summary of the facts concerning its discovery (1896) and the general background.

More recent history - again opting for the convenience of regarding everything from 1600 onwards as 'recent' - does command our natural curiosity and the Plantation and the omnipotent presence of the London Companies gains considerable attention in the remainder of the book.

Limavady arrived comparatively late as a settlement, in comparison to Londonderry and Coleraine, who had experienced the dubious privilege of earlier speculation.

Dougie Bartlett of course, recognises the significance of all of this and brings us on a journey that chronicles the development of Limavady as a town, with clear acknowledgement of the role of the emerging villages and communities that rest in its shadow. Along the way he provides us with fascinating glimpses of the events and characters that formed the backdrop for Limavady's story.

He conducts us happily on a 9,000 year chronicle of life in his homeland, presenting throughout evidence of his knowledge of the intricate nature of the patterns of life in north west Ireland, and he is successful because he has left us begging for more, which I believe is the hallmark of a good historian.

He acknowledges that in this mission he has been assisted by many contributors and he certainly employs all available sources to good effect. The artistic expertise of Odile, his wife, which is everywhere evident in the book is certainly deserving of particular praise.

I can only trust that Dougie will consider that this book is an abridged forerunner for an extended version of Limavady's fascinating history; this book is a most worthy introduction to the vast archive that remains at the author's discretion.

An Illustrated History of Limavady and the Roe Valley, by Douglas Bartlett, is published by CPS Graphics Ltd Belfast and is available in Books Upstairs, Limavady and other outlets.