Joe Mahon visits the County Tyrone village of
Ballygawley. Frank McAleer shares his memories of the creation of the
roundabout in 1959 which enabled a bypass for increasing traffic. Joe walks
among the ruins of Ballygawley House, former home of the Stewart family, who
acted as landlords in the area for a hundred years.
Gerry Loughran shows Joe a series of weirs built on the
river to enable migrating salmon moving upstream. He recalls how his blacksmith
grandfather, Joseph, brought electricity to traders of the area by harnessing
the power of the river in 1923. Local garage mechanic Noble Patterson shares
the story of how he invented a new type of metal cage to help shattered legs
recover following his own horrific motorcycle crash.
Joe visits Martray Manor House, former home to another of
the local landowning dynasty, George Vesey Stewart, who became a famous pioneer
in New Zealand. Reuben and Marjorie Mulligan demonstrate how to make soda bread
the old-fashioned way on a cast iron pan hanging over an open turf fire. They
maintain a cottage decorated in country antiques and show off their collection
of vintage cars and machinery.
Benny O'Hanlon shows
Joe how he transformed the hillsides around Todd's Leap into an adventure park
for off-road vehicles. Thomas James McKenna shares his memories of a lifetime
on the family farm.