Adrian Murdock

Written by Adrian Murdock

Saturday, 27 January 2007

Adrian Murdock has been a lifelong resident of Loughorne, near Newry, Co.Down. His passion for local history and the lives of Martin & Mitchel began in early childhood, as he wandered around the Martin Homestead in Loughorne, owned by his Aunt Ida Magill. As Adrian grew older he discovered more about these two wonderful men and so his admiration for them was increased.  His greatest joy was meeting a Martin descendant, Suzanne Ballard in the Spring of 1997 and discovering more about the famous "Harshaw Diaries". He is Chairman of "Donaghmore Heritage & Preservation Society", which was founded by his efforts in March 2000 to promote the Harshaw/Martin story and preserve the rich heritage, which was largely ignored in Donaghmore.  Adrian uses his skills as local historian to help descendants of Loughorne ancestors worldwide and even hosted a U.S. television crew when they came to film footage for a national TV  show on James Harshaw, Uncle of John Martin.         Harshaw's Diaries are located in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and were declared the most important historical document in all of Ireland.  They were written in Ringbane, Donaghmore. Adrian is unmarried and provides immeasureable service to his parents, Aunt and other elderly people in Donaghmore area and thus has acess to a mine of tales of days gone by.  He is an active member of Donaghmore Presbyterian Church, where his ancestors have worshipped for Centuries.  In this Church John Martin and James Harshaw played vital roles as Treasurer and Elder respectively. Above photo  ADRIAN & AUNT IDA