Listen To FM105 Down Community Radio about the Titanic link to Crossgar man James McGrady with Chris Scott.
This week on Wednesday 14thxa0April, 2021 (7–8pm) local radio presenter Chris Scott will be chatting with Maureen McKinney, vice-chair of Belfast Titanic Society, on the 109thxa0anniversary of the Titanic disaster.
Maureen, a Crossgar resident, has been researching the trail of James McGrady who was working on the Titanic when it sank on 15thxa0April 1912.
James, also from Lisnamore, Crossgar, had worked on other ships, including the Oceanic, before signing onto the Titanic on Saturday 6thxa0April, 1912.xa0xa0His body was recovered and buried at Fairview lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia.xa0xa0Maureen has been trying to unravel some of the mysteries about his life and there are a few pieces of the jigsaw still missing.xa0
If you are a member of the McGrady, Savage of Hagan families from in and around the Crossgar area then you might just have a connection to the Titanic story. Tune in to find out more!
Additional material on the show is read by Michelle Dorans, founder of Castlewellan Studio Players, and includes a poem written by Yvonne McIlree, an employee with the Titanic Hotel, Belfast – “A poem to Mr Thomas Andrews.”xa0
Over the past year Chris and his broadcasting colleagues at FM105 have had to adapt their skills and pre-record programmes at home. “It did pose a bit of a challenge at the start, but we managed to overcome the technical difficulties and continued providing a local community broadcasting service for the local area throughout the pandemic,” said Chris.xa0
Over the past twelve months Chris has interviewed a range of local artists, musicians, authors and business owners. Chris, who takes a keen interest in local history, also regularly speaks to the Killyleagh Family History Society.xa0A former world champion ballroom dancer and a top British ice hockey player have been chatting on the show. xa0
Chris added: “Usually I feature 1980’s music and I look back to particular events in that era when I am putting the show together. One of the highlights from the show was last July, when I discovered a local newspaper advert from 1982 featuring a young chap called Joel Porter from Guelph, Ontario.
“He had been seeking a penfriend from Northern Ireland. He never got a reply, until I tracked him down, 38 years later! It wasn’t long before Joel was on air talking to me. A local newspaper in Guelph, Ontario also picked up on the amusing story!”xa0
You can tune into hear Chris each Wednesday night between 7–8pm on FM105 Down Community Radio.
If you are outside the FM signal area then you can ask your smart speaker to play FM105 Down Community Radio. If you miss the show, it is repeated each Sunday night 8–9pm and the highlights of each show are available on Soundcloud. The links can be found on the Today in Killyleagh Facebook page.xa0
If you would like to contact the show, then email:
 local radio presenter Chris Scott will be chatting with Maureen McKinney, vice-chair of){kind=link}