When I was young I primarily associated the road opposite Aghamore parish church with the graveyard and Raith castle for these landmarks are prominent when one travels that route. I tended to call it "the road to the graveyard" but I had heard my mother call it Church Road. As my grandmother lived in Ballinaclougha, visits to her house would have accounted for most of my early journeys on that road.

In my mother's time going to Aghamore national school she walked along the mass path which crossed Jordan's land and joined Church Road just below Janie Corr's gate. The road was associated with the church (in ruins) in the old graveyard; the newer parish church, which is actually in the townland of Killeen, was usually referred to as the chapel and would not have had any claim to the naming of the third access route to Aghamore village. In those days one encountered no house from the back of the parochial house until one arrived at Campbells', at the bottom of hill beyond the turn of "Cobber". Travelling that route today one would find it hard to credit that, where fifteen houses will soon stand, there was not a single house. Amazingly these changes have all taken place in the last six years.

In the mid-eighties the old parochial house and the field to its rear were sold separately. The house was resold in the early nineties and is now owned by Pascal and Martina Lyons, while the field to the rear has been sold off gradually in sites. The first site was bought by Sean and Carol Duffy; the second by Bernard and Carmel Hynes; the remainder was acquired by my father and made available for housing for the elderly. Ten houses are currently being built on that site - three have folk in residence - and there is scope for further development. In the adjoining field John and Annette Duffy have recently move into their new house on a site purchased from Michael Campbell. One has to pass the graveyard and "Cobber" for Malachy and Ann Mooney's house, which is uphill from John and Irene Duffy's (Ann's parents) house.

When one passes Michael Campbell's, which is across the road from the old Campbell home and Norah Keane's shop (Mrs Campbell's sister), one encounters two habitable houses; the first is the two-storey summer home of the Whitehouse family (birthplace of their mother Nell Robinson) and the second is yet another new house at the crossroads, the home of Seamus and Kathryn Henry. In the late thirties there were two other houses before one reached the Robinson house. Ellen Frestill and Mary Reilly (widow of Richard Finn, who was herd on Brian Lavin's farm in Ballyhine) lived on one side of the small road to Tighe's, Finn's and Murphy's, known as "Bothar na Sup", while Ellen Robinson (aunt of Nell) lived on the other side. [As a matter of interest three new houses have recently been built adjacent to the crossroads but in the townland of Raith.] Therefore, the lower end of Church Road was always quite densely populated whereas the Janie's gate end was completely void of houses until recently.

Lest I give an imbalanced view, I must state that new houses are being build on the other two approach roads to Aghamore also, albeit not in such numbers. It would be disingenuous of me not to stress that Aghamore is a very conservative place and until recently it was impossible to acquire a building site anywhere near the village. Land first came to the market on Church Road so naturally the construction of new houses became focused on that thoroughfare. It had nothing to do with the fantastic views from much of Church Road, it was simply a case of building where one could get land. The enthusiasm for habitation on Church road has naturally necessitated the provision of some essential services there, which are not currently needed elsewhere. Thanks to the willingness of the FÁS workers under Dave Spellman (Tooreen), and his assistant Tom Finn (Raith), some of these issues are being addressed. Already the first stretch of road has been widened and the construction of a new stone wall is in progress; when finished it will be shouldered by a new footpath. Three suitably placed Electricity Supply Board (E.S.B) poles will in the near future carry high output Sodium lights to illuminate the road as far as Janie Corr's gate, which is opposite the housing for the elderly. There are also plans to put the phone lines underground and other minor yet enhancing touches will soon transform Church Road even further.

The houses for elderly in the, as yet, unnamed development are quite delightful. Saying that, I am understandably biased because of my role in their design and construction - self-praise is no praise! Built in blocks of two, each containing a one and a two-bedroom house, the houses traverse the elevated site in a most unobtrusive fashion. Their small windows and brightly coloured doors give the houses a cottage-like appearance, which has been much admired. The first tenant to take up residence was Tommy Duffy who was originally from Doocastle but who spent most of his life in Bradford, England. He resides in the house with the blue door and is immediately adjacent to Frank Commins's house, which has a red door. Frank was born in Lauralea but spent many years in Belfast, where he held a variety of jobs. The only lady living on the hill is Ann Tevnan. She was Stenson from Tooreen and lives in the house at the top of the hill with the green door. "Yellow door" has been offered to a couple living in Bolton but it is too early to say when they will take up residence. The other houses are booked but will not be ready until next year.

What I refer to as Janie Corr's gate is now only a pillar and a gateway blocked with stone. Janie, a teacher, was a sister of John A Waldron, publican and second Post Master of Aghamore P.O. She lived in the village and farmed land on Church Road. On a clear day if one stands at the brow of the hill adjacent to her gateway one can see beautiful scenery - including several mountain ranges - interesting landmarks, monuments and much more.

There is a lot of history on Church Road and yet it is a place that is undergoing constant change. Therefore, if you want to come to some meaningful realisation as the importance of Aghamore in times past, while simultaneously seeking a clue as to the village's likely future development, simply walk to Janie Corr's gate and absorb the panorama.

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