The annual May Fair, organised by Magherafelt District Council, was at the height of its popularity back in the 1980s attracting thousands of people to the towncentre. In the early 1990s the council were thinking of pulling the plug on the event after some schoolchildren spoiled the celebrations by throwing eggs and firing spray string at passers-by.placeholder image
The annual May Fair, organised by Magherafelt District Council, was at the height of its popularity back in the 1980s attracting thousands of people to the towncentre. In the early 1990s the council were thinking of pulling the plug on the event after some schoolchildren spoiled the celebrations by throwing eggs and firing spray string at passers-by.

Bygone Magherafelt: 'I stepped back in time and visited Magherafelt in the 1980's - here's what I saw'

By Stanley Campbell
Published 19th Jun 2025, 10:43 GMT

Like most Ulster towns, Magherafelt has completely transformed from what it was 45 years ago.

In the 1980s there was a greater mix of business premises that have disappeared in 2025.

Today we have more coffee shops, hair salons and the number of pubs could be counted on the fingers of one hand (we once had 16).

People went out and socialised more in the 1980s, and Magherafelt got bigger.

Join us in having a nostalgic look back at some pictures from that period.

A picture of Market Street which is thought to have been taken in the 1980s when there was parking in the middle of the street.

13. Bygone Magherafelt

A picture of Market Street which is thought to have been taken in the 1980s when there was parking in the middle of the street. Photo: Magherafelt Facebook Group

Many schoolchildren in the 1980s will remember catching a bus home at the bus depot in Broad Street. 'Four o'clock madness' it was referred to by townspeople. In May 1993 the entire building collapsed after an IRA van bomb attack. As a boy the poet Seamus Heaney often sat in the waiting room for his bus connection home. The old depot is now immortalised in his poem 'Two Lorries.'

14. Bygone Magherafelt

Many schoolchildren in the 1980s will remember catching a bus home at the bus depot in Broad Street. 'Four o'clock madness' it was referred to by townspeople. In May 1993 the entire building collapsed after an IRA van bomb attack. As a boy the poet Seamus Heaney often sat in the waiting room for his bus connection home. The old depot is now immortalised in his poem 'Two Lorries.' Photo: Ulster Transport Authority (UTA)

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