Sandy Row

erected in Sandy Row, c. 1921. Its builder, Frank Reynolds is seen standing, fifth from the left]] Formerly known as Carr's Row. For more than a thousand years, a road built along the Lagan River sandbanks was the principal thoroughfare leading southwards from Carrickfergus. To the north is the Boyne Bridge was built in 1935 to cross over the railway tracks leading to the nearby Great Victoria Street station. It was these tidal waters that deposited sandbanks alongside the road and provide the sandy road surface that led to the village being renamed in the early 1800s from the original name of Carr's Row, to Sandy Row, shown therefore as such on the 2nd edition OS Map (1846/62). With much…

During The Troubles, the area had a strong Ulster Defence Association (UDA) presence. Sandy Row is part of the UDA South Belfast Brigade, commanded for many years by the late John McMichael and currently by Jackie McDonald. Its first known commander was Sammy Murphy who also led the Sandy Row UDA. He engaged in talks with the British Army during the Ulster Workers Council Strike in May 1974 to defuse a potentially violent confrontation between the Army and UDA over street barricades that had been erected in Sandy Row. In December 1972, senior UDA member Ernie Elliott was shot dead outside a Sandy Row club by a fellow UDA man after a drunken brawl. On 7 February 1973, Brian Douglas, a…

The song Running Up That Hill uniquely features a Lambeg Drum, giving it the "thunderous" sound. Kate Bush herself had put in a request while on a stroll down Sandy Row in the early 1980's. She came across a store called "Drum Sounds", which was owned by local William Hewitt who was also a drum-maker. In the song "Madame George" on his album Astral Weeks, Van Morrison sings: