Research
My father, Bob McKillop (1895-1983), used to relate fireside stories to our family
about a rural way of life which had changed over his life time.
Transport, customs, traditions, superstitions and methods of working the
land had all undergone radical change in his 80 plus years.
The seed for my interest in local history was sown by these stories when I was growing up.
I felt it necessary to 'rediscover,' to study these changes and perhaps try in
some way to preserve their memory, at least in the written word.
My father also took a keen interest in the genealogy of families and had a
lifetime of knowledge of who was related to who. This led to my interest in this field.
All of these interests have been included in the various books shown on the home page.
Prior to the publication of 'Glenarm, a local history' in 1987, 'Glencloy, a local history' (published 1996) and 'History of Larne and East Antrim' in 2000 a detailed history of these areas have not previously been chronicled. The challenge was there to readdress this situation.
At the research stage for all of these books it was necessary to:
- Read every item of information from all the local newspapers (from when the paper was first printed).
- Study all local information in the main libraries.
- Study relevant documents in the Public Records Office of N Ireland at Balmoral Avenue, Belfast.
- Spend time gathering local knowledge, photographs, etc. especially from the elderly in the community.
- Look through every cemetery in the area for inscriptions.
- Photograph prominent and distinctive features of the rural and urban landscape.
- Access the internet.
- Collate all the information and attempt to produce in chronological order.
- Write the information in format which might attract a wide base of potential readers.