Author Topic: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900  (Read 3339 times)

irishcolum

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Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« on: November 08, 2014, 09:22:26 PM »

irishcolum

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2014, 09:25:14 PM »
This is a quare size of a place. I see Townhall Street high up on the wall. What was the intersecting street ? Oxford St ? Anybody know ?

CMcG

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2014, 04:56:32 AM »
It was on the corner of Townhall Street and Oxford Street, the 1901 Belfast Street Directory, courtesy of the Lennon Wylie website, shows the following:

Townhall Street
Victoria Street to Oxford Street

14. McManus, C., stabling and yard

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/tuvcomplete1901.htm

A hotel is still marked on the corner in a 1930s map of Belfast:



The 1943 Belfast street directory shows it no longer a hotel:

Townhall Street
from 78 Victoria Street to 37 Oxford Street

14. Roddy, L., cafe

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/tuvcomplete1943.htm

Nothing there today, Townhall Street and its buildings have long disappeared within what is now the Courts complex.
If there are any images posted above that are important to you, take your own copy - I cannot guarantee they will appear indefinitely.

CMcG

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2014, 05:17:24 AM »

The hotel eventually became Roddy's Bar, here is a thread about it:

http://www.belfastforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12535.0

In that thread, you can see that it is the same building as the one shown in your c. 1900 photo:
If there are any images posted above that are important to you, take your own copy - I cannot guarantee they will appear indefinitely.

CMcG

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2014, 05:31:45 AM »
Just a wee comparison of the architecture, c. 1900 -v- 1980s:

If there are any images posted above that are important to you, take your own copy - I cannot guarantee they will appear indefinitely.

irishcolum

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2014, 09:14:40 PM »
Fantastic to see the old photo beside the new ! Thakk you for posting.By 1911 Charlie McManus had moved to Newcastle and opened a bar there (per the 1911 Census).His son, Patrick remained in Belfast (per the 1911 Census) and was a publican at 14 Townhall Street, so I'm guessing it's the same location as 1901. Patrick McManus died in 1934, so maybe the bar changed hands then.As a teenager I used to go to the Pound on Saturday afternoons to see Jim Armstrong and the band play extended renditions of Gloria...sweet memories. I had no idea a distant relation was associated with Roddy's Bar.
And that's a great map from 1943. It notes the Christian Brothers Primary school on Oxford Street. I remember that wee alley behind the school where we'd spend our lunch breaks. Again, thanks for posting

CMcG

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2014, 01:18:27 PM »
You're very welcome, small world, I worked with Jim in the early 1980s in a dole office, last I heard from him, he was in California...

Great photo from c. 1900, the shadow cast by the gent to the left is due East or thereabouts, the length placing the time of day around late afternoon onwards.
If there are any images posted above that are important to you, take your own copy - I cannot guarantee they will appear indefinitely.

tboy

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2014, 08:50:23 PM »
Note the great glass ,joinery and masonry work in the building facade ;) Mcmanus looks like a Cavan man :D

irishcolum

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2014, 02:47:47 AM »
Yes, it's a beautifully finished building.
But a Cavan man, eh ?!!His wife, Margaret McAlister came from Dromara and they ended their days in Newcastle. The 1901 and 1911 Censuses say he's a Down man. My guess is that he's from Munninaban townland, near Dromara

tboy

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2014, 06:59:23 PM »
Yes, it's a beautifully finished building.
But a Cavan man, eh ?!!His wife, Margaret McAlister came from Dromara and they ended their days in Newcastle. The 1901 and 1911 Censuses say he's a Down man. My guess is that he's from Munninaban townland, near Dromara
No offence kid, Cavan publicans are a bit of an old Belfast 'dig' ;)   tboy.

mdalzell

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2018, 09:51:59 PM »
Thanks for the photo and maps.  I was researching my wife's family history and discovered unfortunately that her great uncle Michael Quinn was shot at the Hotel in 1921 along with another RIC constable.

"Constable Thomas Heffron 69264, a native of Ballycastle,Co Mayo,aged 26 and Constable Michael Quinn 69729,a native of Queens County, aged 20 who Both died 26 January 1921.Shot dead while asleep in the Central Railway Hotel in Oxford Street/Townhill Street,Belfast, while escorting an IRA prisoner from Dublin to Belfast."

 
I'd be interested if anyone has more information. Martin

irishcolum

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #11 on: July 27, 2018, 08:28:40 PM »
Hello Dalzelle, a tragic end to your great-uncles life. There are quite a few newspaper articles from that time about this incident. Here's one:

1921 Londonderry Sentinel - Saturday 29 January
YOUNG MAN SHOT DEAD
The announcement contained in Thursday's newspapers of the abominable murder of policemen in Belfast caused, as may be imagined, a tremendous sensation. It seemed almost incredible that in the very heart of the city, and within a few paces of the police headquaters and the Central Fire Station, such a deliberately planned and monstrous crime could be committed, and that the perpetrators could contrive (for the time being) to escape justice.
The constables as they lay in bed were shot by five men, who had remained in the hotel after closing hours. They knew the constables' bedroom, and coolly committed the terrible deed.
The murders had an almost equally tragic sequel in the early hours of Thursday morning. A young man named Michael Garvey, lodging at a house in Bray Street, Crumlin Road, was shot dead in bed by a party of three masked men, who opened the door with a latch key.
Garvey, who was about twenty-three years of age, and a native of Armagh, was a chemist's assistant, and is said to have been an ardent Sinn Feiner.
 John M'Garvey, described as a barman, a fellow-lodger of the murdered man, was placed under detention. It was stated he did not return to the lodgings on Wednesday night, having been at a dance.
In the course of the interview, Miss Morgan said when the deceased man Garvey went home, he took a glass of milk and a piece of cake for supper. She retired to rest at 10:40, and was awakened by the sound of a key being turned in the lock of the door at a quarter to one. On hearing footsteps on the stairs she went on to the landing, but returned to her room on seeing three men, who were absolute strangers to her. One of the men wore a kind of veil, which effectively concealed his features. Two shots were fired simultaneously, and a few seconds later a third shot was discharged. She saw the men come out of M'Garvey's room, and called out—" You have shot the boy !" The men ordered her to stand back, and as soon as they had got clear of the house she went into M'Garvey's bedroom and realised at a glance that the young man was dead. She then went to the window and shouted—" Murder; they have shot the boy." Miss Morgan added that at the corner of the street there were six or seven men, who went away together. Deceased, who, she understood, came from county Armagh, had been lodging with her for the last eight or nine months. M'Garvey, Miss Morgan said, was out at a dance on Wednesday night, and that accounted for his absence at the time of the raid.
As regards the three constables, they were entire strangers to Belfast, and had come specially from the depot in Dublin in connection with an important investigation in Belfast. All three were young men. Constable Quinn was a native of Queen's County, and had been about three years in the R.I. C. Constable Heffron, who had about the same period of service, belonged to county Mayo. Both were unmarried. Constable Gilmartin, the wounded man, comes from Ballymote, county Sligo. It is believed that the three constables were followed from Dublin by the murder gang.
From an early hour on Thursday morning crowds flocked to the scene of Wednesday night's tragedy. The public-house premises, which were in the possession of the police, remained closed. The bodies of the murdered constables, as well as the wounded man, had been removed overnight.
Roddy's public-house--or the Central Railway Hotel, as it is called—is particularly well known to country people who come occasionally to Belfast, and especially to those who attend the markets. Situated at the corner of Oxford-street and Townhall-etreet, it is quite close to the Central Police Station, and also to Musgrave-street Barracks. In the spacious yard belonging to the premises farmers' carts by the score are accommodated on market days, and it is also a "pound" for stray animals.
Up to Thursday night no charge had been preferred against the two barmen, Vincent Waiters and Michael Murdoch, both of whom live on the premises. Both were, however, detained by the authorities pending inquiries.

mdalzell

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2018, 09:03:44 PM »
Thank-you so much for the newspaper article with all the details.
What's comforting is the response from the people of Belfast who were so shocked and saddened by the shooting.

I realise now why my newspaper search for Michael Quinn failed as his first name was not included in the articles.  I've now been able find the other articles you mentioned as well - so again many thanks for your help.
Martin Dalzell and Mary Quinn.


irishcolum

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Re: Charles McManus, Central Railway Hotel about 1900
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2018, 12:58:17 AM »
You're most welcome, Martin
Here's another article:

Northern Whig - Monday 31 January 1921THE BELFAST R.I.C MURDERS. Funeral the Victims. The funerals of Constables Quinn and Heffron, who were murdered in bed in the Central Hotel Wednesday night, took place on Saturday from the Mater Infirmorum Hospital. The remains of Constable Quinn were borne by a motor hearse, supplied by the firm Adam Turner, while those of Constable Heffron were carried a motor car in which his relatives had travelled to Belfast. Immediately behind the ooffins walked the chief mourners, followed by a small party detectives while the rear was brought up a party of police with reversed arms under command of District-Inspector Spears. The City Commissioner of Police (Mr. T. F. Gelston) was also in attendance, along with District-lnspectors Lewis, M’Connell, and Edwards. The chief mourners in the case the late Constable Quinn were:— Mrs. Quinn (mother) ,  Miss Quinn (sister), Mr. Patrick Quinn and Constable William Quinn (brothers); while the relatives of the late Constable Heffron in attendance were:— Mr. John Heffron and Mr. Thomas Heffron (brothers). As the procession moved off, headed by the R.I.C. Band, under Mr. George Ferguson, playing Chopin’s "Marche Funebre,” every head was reverently bared, soldiers and police came smartly to the salute, and all joined in paying a last tribute of respect to the deceased


 

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