Ballaghaderreen St Patrick's Day Parade 1999

When I started making videos back in the mid 70's little did I know that the Internet and especially YouTube were to appear in the future. My first video camera was a very heavy video recorder with a long cable feeding the camera which was also quite heavy. It was a JVC camera and recorder, and recorded on to VHS cassette tape, back then a 2 hour cassette tape cost £25.00.

The reason I recorded so much video back then was that I had built a cable tv system for the town of Ballaghaderreen and I recorded every event which happened here such as - Fairdays, St.Patrick's Day Parades, Corpus Christi Processions, Pantomimes, Musicals, Sports Days, New Openings, Centenary Celebrations, Yearly Festivals, etc, etc. These recordings were then broadcast on the night of the event on our own channel along with the other ten or twelve channels.

I'm lucky that I kept my library of tapes in the right environment as they are still as good today as when they were recorded, (Some almost fifty years old), I realise now that what I was doing back then was capturing the life and times of our small town in the west of Ireland.

To our people who are scattered all over the world I hope that these videos will bring back some fond memories. There are lots and lots of more videos to be uploaded yet, hundreds, so keep updated.

From one of the oldest inhabitants, born in ballaghaderreen, but never left it. JOHN GALLAGHER.