Watersidescribe’s account of a Loughshore childhood

In ‘The Way to Crock Road’ Mrs Kilgore, (nee Campbell), now living in Londonderry’s Waterside recounts her experiences growing up on the western shores of Lough Neagh at a time when few rural dwellings had either electricity or running water.

The publication is proving popular with book lovers of all ages and has sold well, not only locally, but also in England, America and Australia.

The book describes how in the Campbell family cottage - situated as it was at the end of the Crock Road, in Ardboe - was far from easy, possessing none of the amenities enjoyed by city dwellers.

“I lived with my father and mother, four brothers and one sister in a two roomed cottage close to a wooded area of Birch trees and bushes they called ‘the scrog,’” she explained.

“The Birch trees provided firewood for the kitchen stove. My father was a fisherman on Lough Neagh; a hard and often dangerous life. When the fishing season ended, in September, my father was forced to leave home and seek work in England,” she added.

She explains how her mother tended a small farm raising chickens, ducks and pigs as well as growing potatoes and other vegetables for the kitchen table.

Life was basic but happy and the stories contained within the chapters of her book are beautifully told and convey a great warmth of memory for her early life.

“Anyone who has had any association with life in any part of rural Ireland, and even those who have had none, can easily relate to the hardships of the times and to the beautifully recounted stories of a world now mostly vanished,” she explained.

The Way To The Crock Road is available in local book stores such as Eason’s, Foyleside, and Shipquay Books, Shipquay Street and also online at Amazon Ltd. The book is also available from Maura at 07845848443.