Pigeon Network

Obituary – We had the sad news at the weekend that Ballymena & Dist HPS life member George Barr had passed away at home after a period of illness. Barr was a famous name in the Ballymena Borough not only through the pigeons but in the butchery business and of course local football. In his younger days George turned out for Ballymena, Glentoran and Cliftonville. His uncle Albert one of the famous Barr Brothers played football as well winning an Irish Cup medal with Ballymena and later playing for Manchester City. I suppose it was only a matter of time till George got involved with the pigeons and he joined the big Ballymena & District in 1964, he had a race record as good as any winning from the shortest races through to France. He raced a famous bird named Wee Albert which would have won a Hall of Fame if racing now placed three times in the Blue Riband Kings Cup including 4th Open and £300 which was big money then. I always remember racing in the old Ballymena Championship Club doing ok till the George Barr card arrived from the District usually changing the result big time. In Ballymena & Dist the George Barr Cup is awarded for the OB Derby with the NIPA, a cup he was to win on numerous occasions himself. Through ill health George gave up racing a few short years ago, when at the club he was the best of craic recalling all the great stories of the past with both pigeons and football. The funeral service will be in Wellington Church on Tuesday at 2.00pm followed by burial at the Ballymena Cemetery on Cushendall Road. Donations in lieu of flowers if desired may be sent to James Henry Funeral Services, 100 Broughshane Street, Ballymena BT43 6EE for the Chest Heart and Stroke Association. We have lost another star, sincere condolences to wife Hazel and the entire family circle at this very sad time. HOMER.

Loft Feature by James Greer click here!
http://www.pigeonnetwork.com/spam/new_f ... f=17&t=536

Wee Geordie Barr the way everyone knew him.

I have always loved, feared lol respected, looked up to & wanted to be like him and most of all wanted to make my Daddy proud, like I was so very proud of him! Sometimes I acted like a son when I should have acted like a daughter lol
My point is I got the chance to show him and tell him how proud I was of him and I told him every day and night for 42 years just how much I loved him and he knew it & he also told me how much he loved me in the same time. We could actually feel the love from each other’s eyes it was that strong. Don’t get me wrong we also knew how to have a dam good fight after all I am his daughter lol

My dad was a very hard working man who came up the hard way in difficult times, he lost his father young & had to leave school to help his mother run the family butchers so she could carry on providing for him and his younger brothers, I have been told he was the best butcher in ballymena by far in his day who had a great knack in picking/buying in only the very best of beef which made their business stand above the rest, his late brother Wesley and him continued the business together when their mother retired in her 80’s. some would say Wesley was the brains & Dad was the butcher but it took them both to take it to where they took it.
when dad retired he sold up to his his nephew Trevor who has carried on the family tradition.

Dad was tough and anyone who knows him knows just how tough he was, nobody challenged him without hitting the floor lol but if he lost it one minute he would have given you the bite out of his mouth the next. He helped everyone every chance he got in life & done more good turns for more people as it was just his kind nature to do so. He was also very humble and unaffected by the material things in life even though he could afford whatever he wanted. He hated waste & always said waste not want not. Words I find myself repeating lol

Dad was a very sporty and competitive man, he had to be the best at whatever he done in life which included, a sprint champion, table tennis champion, playing football for summer field swifts, ballymena United, glentorren, cliftonville. Dad loved spending time with his brother Sammy, he even mucked in doing bouncer & as he called it (chucker out) at the flamingo for Sammy, in their spare time they went shooting & fishing together.
Dad was also a very keen golfer who loved playing at his club the royal portrush where he almost won captains day one year until a man from ballymena shouted over to him as he was taking a putt, hiya Geordie how are you doing, to which dad wanted to choke him cause he missed the putt putting him 2nd place lol we heard that story so many times we were able to tell him it word for word lol but it obviously annoyed him all his life that he didn’t come first that day lol so bloody competitive, dad was also an avid pigeon fancier who loved the thrill of his birds winning, again one year mum raced against him and beat him hands down and he was ragin lol but he won a lot and became quite famous at the peak of his racing days with fanciers travelling from all over to buy his pigeons. He did like to boast about how good he was at winning, I think it was self praise lol

I must add dad was also very funny, even in his hardest times over this last while, he sang with the carers every day, he joked with them and us, he was also a flirt, never letting any of the female carers come in or out without a kiss lol he was just a star turn right up to the end. He drove my mother mad most days but they had a love story like no other...

Dad always said to mum and I you’s will miss me when I’m gone and by god we knew we would but now it is the reality and we bloody miss him more that we could have even imagined, this is gonna be a rough ride! I know one thing, a piece of me died on the morning of the 25/11/17 but I thank God for making wee Geordie Barr my father. I love you daddy & I am so proud of you, your baby girl Suzie xxxx