Irish Times Oddities by Allen Foster
TON OF TURF FOR LONDON
Because he wanted an Irish family living near him to have a "little bit of Ireland" in their home, a Londoner, David Devlin of Woodward Road, Dulwich, ordered one ton of turf to be delivered to Patrick Murphy of Underhill Road, Dulwich. The turf will be some of the dearest ever burned. The original cost (£5.10.0d.) has jumped to £19.6.3d, as a result of freight, customs clearance and local delivery charges.
Mr Devlin said: "It's worth it for the happiness it will bring to a wonderful family who have been so long away from Ireland."
October 11th, 1960
HIS OWN FUNERAL ORATION
"I give and bequeath my Bible to the Church in order that it may get some Christianity; my hammer to freedom to knock off her shackles, and my alarm clock to the police of Minneapolis."
So ran the will of the late Rev GL "Golightly" Morrell, evangelist, of St Petersburg, Florida, who recently surprised his friends attending his funeral with an oration that he had spoken into the phonograph just before he died.
In accordance with his request, the oration was reproduced. "Death is as natural as life," said the evangelist. "One should not fear it, but be ready when it comes."
January 4th, 1929
IT COULD NOT HAPPEN . . . BUT IT DID
Secretary Joyce Thomas (22) eyed the big safe at the Major Foundry Company in Chicago and remarked: "Wouldn't it be terrible if I got locked in there."
The production manager, Michael Goyack, shook his head and said: "It could not happen."
"Why not?" Joyce asked.
"There's a handle in the vault by which you can let yourself out," Mr Goyack replied. "Get inside and I'll show you."
Mr Goyack gave a quick demonstration of the handle, and then closed the door on the seven-foot high safe, with Joyce inside.
"I can't move the handle," she said. Mr Goyack told her to follow instructions.
He then tried to work the combination, but the whole mechanism was jammed.
Mr Goyack's contention that the safe could be opened was proved one hour and 15 minutes later, when a gang of workmen did it with electric drills.
January 28th, 1956
SIAMESE TWIN ROSES
Siamese twin cream roses are growing on a bush in the garden of Dr EM Finegan of Carlingford, Co Louth.
Both flowers are perfectly formed and have a common stem and calyx, the sepals of which are the correct number for a single rose bloom.
Gardening experts say this is a most unusual freak. The rose was called Golden Dawn.
July 14th, 1954
RAINING DOLLAR NOTES
A shower of thousand dollar notes rained down upon passers-by in one of the streets near the Grand Central Station, one of the most crowded parts of New York, yesterday morning. Sixteen $1,000 notes and 18 $500 dollar notes were retrieved by police from the roofs of nearby houses and gutters.
Detectives were engaged on the 19th floor of a big hotel in effecting the arrest of four men and one woman, who are alleged to be jewel thieves, and when they burst into the room, one of the occupants threw the notes out of the window.
Three hundred thousand dollars' worth of jewellery was found by police in the room.
May 7th, 1930
Culled from the archives of The Irish Times.
• Allen Foster's Irish Oddities and Even Odder Irish Odditiesare published by New Island