Portrush Heritage Group and History Society talks

Eminent local historian Hugh Mc Grattan will chair the meeting and all and everyone are welcome. Note that numbers are restricted to 100 so it’s on a first come basis. The event is free to Heritage Group Members who are reminded that the £10 Annual Subscription for 2016/17 is now due. Non-members charge £3. For enquiries contact the Chairman on 07714033831

Speaking at the event will be Daniela Morelli-Kerr on 100 years of Morelli’s Ice Cream. The story is just like the perfect ice cream recipe. It has been blended together with love, hardship, family strength and Italian passion. It begins in the idyllic village of Casalattico in Italy and continues on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

From humble beginnings in Coleraine in 1911, the Morelli family business grew through decades of hard work into the local institution it is today. Follow the story through words and pictures from the family album, the twists and turns, the colourful characters and the fascinating string of events that is the Morelli Story.

Meanwhile Ballintoy’s Hidden History will be discussed by Robert Corbett. Ballintoy Archaeological and Historical Society recently completed a very successful project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to uncover neglected aspects of their community’s heritage. The project, called Ballintoy’s Hidden History, focused on three less well-known sites in the Ballintoy area, namely Templastragh Church, Ballintoy Castle and an eighteenth-century house, which was used as a school, at White Park Bay. Robert Corbett is the Vice Chairman of the Ballintoy Archaeological and Historical Society. Robert co-ordinated the project and will outline the various activities and research undertaken by the Society and tell some of the interesting stories they discovered about these sites and other aspects of Ballintoy’s rich heritage.

Finally on Tuesday, February 28 Causeway Coast and Glens Family History Society meeting will have a special guest speaker, Martin McDowell, on the fascinating subject of Understanding Your DNA Results. Martin is a member of our Newtownabbey Branch and has a broad understanding of testing, analysing results and using the tools available to explore in depth, the data provided in your test results, Martin is also heading the talks and lectures on this subject at The North of Ireland Family History Society Research Centre in Newtownabbey along with being a co-administrator and contributor to The NIFHS dna Project. Details of the courses can be found at http://www.nifhs.org/resources/courses/

Causeway Coast and Glens Family History Society Branch meets in Coleraine on the last Tuesday of the month at 8pm. Meetings are held in the Guide Hall, Terrace Row, Coleraine. Everyone welcome.