Derry boxer Billy “Spider” Kelly’s glory days in the ring and snooker star Alex “Hurricane” Higgins visit to Shantallow Community Centre were recalled at the launch of a special exhibition of images which has gone display in the city.
The collection has been gathered together by the members of the Northside Over 50s Club as part of the City of Culture project BT Portrait of a City.
The exhibition features a collection of memories collated by women from the Greater Shantallow and Outer North area.
All the images will now become part of the BT Portrait of a City digital archive documenting the histories of local people and places.
Club member Frances Friel recalled growing up in the heart of the city, as she revealed some of her own treasured memories through a series of family photos submitted to the exhibition.
“I remember growing up in Sackville Street before we were burned out during the Troubles,” she recalled.
“Our flat was between Salmon’s Shoe Shop and a paint shop, which was right in the centre of everything. We used to get our buns in the morning, and everything seemed to be happening all around you.
“I remember we were whisked away to the middle of nowhere when we were relocated to emergency housing in Shantallow. My mother could never get used to being there, it was such a different life than we were used to and she’d get us up first thing in the morning every day to walk us back into the town. She couldn’t get used to the place and wouldn’t really go anywhere.
“Eventually, myself and my sister took her to the community centre where she joined a club for older people and began to enjoy things more. Some of the photos I provided are family pictures from this time, and some show people like Spider Kelly in the boxing ring and other well known characters who people would remember.”
The exhibition will run in Northside Shopping Centre until 8 December before it moves to the Shantallow Library,where it will remain from Monday 9 to Saturday 15 December.
There will also be a short community screening at 2pm on December 9 in the library comprising of a compilation of film and photographs donated to BT Portrait of a City over the last year. Anyone with old pictures lying at home can still bring them along to the BT Portrait of a City office at Rath Mor Centre in Creggan, and have their images included in the fascinating digital collection, as well as getting a free digitized copy to take home.
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