My Delgany Days With Shay

Someone clearly knows where the pot o’gold is hidden

ven Shay himself recognised that our first sitdown for a little Delgany history was a tad rambling and disjointed.

Being interrupted by passers-by didn’t help, of course, as people stopped to say hello.

And then there’s the little matter of Shay Clear’s distinct lack of self-editing skills.

John Wayne finally meets Jimmy B

The man knows his history, his geography and his politics. It’s just that, not all of that knowledge relates to this particular planet.

Still, we got to chat about the La Touche’s sprawling Bellevue House estate, the birth of the Delgany Golf Club, and those wonderful little cottages alongside us, where Shay was born and fed.

Shay left me with strict instructions to edit down our conversation to bite-size chunks, but, hey, that’s not our style. Plus, we haven’t a clue about how to edit a video.

So, here’s the first of a series of oral histories of the village everyone loves so well. If any of it makes sense to you, please let us know on info@greystonesguide.ie.

You can grab more oral history of the area from fellow Delgany legends the Farrelly brothers here, and from the bould Shay here.