Clones in the rare 'oul times

A video depicting rare scenes of the Rás Tailteann, Ulster Final day and the All-Ireland Fleadh of 1964 in Clones Town from the 1960s has been posted online. Posted by local man, Enda Whyte, the cine-film was shot by Enda's father Mannix, much from the doorway of his shop on Cara Street. The cine-clips were discovered by Enda who remembers his father, a member of the Urban District Council, as an avid amateur film-maker, always saying, "never talk the town down". "Much of the films that were discovered are bits taken from around the town, different events, a lot of which was just filmed from the doorway of the family shop on Cara Street," Enda told the Celt. "They had all been lying in a box, I still remember watching them year's back on a white sheet up against the wall, but the projector has long since stopped working and I always wanted to get something done with them to bring them up with the times." Spurred by the positive reaction of another clip posted last year, again on social media video website, YouTube, Enda had the clips from the 60s digitised and compiled by Dublin-based media company Crystal Media into one seven-minute segment, titled 'Clones Town in the 60s'. "This cine film of Clones Town was filmed by my Dad in 1964/65. It was taken during much simpler times. Back then it seemed that every second car was a VW Beetle. The film begins with the Monaghan stage of Rás Tailteann 1965 when the great Shea O'Hanlon won the race that year, which was the second of a hat trick of consecutive wins. He won it four times overall, which is a feat that has never been equalled." Next in the clip are crowds walking up Cara Street to the Ulster Final in 1965. "Practically all the men were in their Sunday best, but still outshone by the Ladies in their best dresses. Cavan reached the senior and minor finals that year but were beaten by Down and Derry respectively. "A little bit of the 1964 All-Ireland Fleadh was also captured on the film. I remember, as a wee lad, the RTÉ Outside Broadcast Unit was stationed outside the Protestant Hall in Cara Street. RTÉ was only a few years old at that time and you can only imagine the excitement back then. "The very short clip of First Holy Communion was taken in 1965, I think. Hats off to my Dad for capturing all these scenes. They're great memories to have, I love to look back on it, to see what bits I remember and to see what others remember too. There must be a lot of undiscovered treasures out there, of previously unseen photographs and film. I would love to see other towns and villages posting some of these. And wouldn't it be a great time to do this with 'The Gathering' gaining momentum," says Enda.

Enda's other video of Clones 'Past and Present' can be found at: http://youtu.be/wD6edonHB28