94th birthday joy for Ballymore man

A large crowd of family and friends gathered in Ballymahon at the weekend to join in the 94th birthday celebrations for Ned Moran from Ballymore. Thomond Lodge Nursing Home was a real hive of laughter and stories on Sunday as Ned"s three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, extended family and friends, along with staff, watched on as the Ballymore native blew the candles out on a birthday cake to mark reaching the milestone of 94 years young! Born in Ballymore on February 15, 1915, Ned married local woman Nancy Hoare in 1953 and they had three children, Rose, Marie and Betty. Unfortunately, Nancy passed away a year and a half ago. Last year Mr Moran, a employee of the Board of Works for many years, recalled his younger days as part of a book compiled by Ballymore Foróige recording some of the stories and local history from older members of the community. 'I played football for Ballymore. I remember walking to Moate to play football against Mount Temple. I have fond memories going to dances in Ballymahon and Athlone on a bicycle and I didn"t get home until morning. I didn"t go to bed at all, changing in old working clothes after and straight to work on the farm,' he recollected for the publication. A member of the coursing club in Collierstown, Ned also recalled in the book hunting in his youth with his friend Anthony Cunningham and after a successful day the evening was spent making hare soup! 'We would boil sheep"s heads for feeding the greyhounds. No dog food at that time,' he remembers fondly. His home was situated beside the Black and Tans barracks in Ballymore during the War of Independence, a situation that gave him a unique insight into the one of the most vilified groups in Irish history. However, in the book Ned recalled 'being friendly with a man called Jackson. He was a grand person. He would treat you to a mineral, they weren"t all bad,' he said. A keen gardener in later years, Ned said he loved to grow vegetables for neighbours and family and spent many years taking care of Cunningham"s Pitch and Putt course, mowing the greens and fairways with a special lawnmower. 'A great game,' he said. 'But I never played myself,' he said in the book. In recent times the Ballymore native has taken up residence in Thomond Lodge Nursing Home in Ballymahon and during the birthday celebrations his family took the opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of the facility for their care and dedication to the popular nonagenarian.