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Art and Culture family history Music Palmers Green

Guest post: Palmers Green’s Cormac O’Duffy: the music of reconciliation

A memory of a talented Palmers Green family by journalist Frances Sealey.

Visiting Dresden in the last week was quite an emotional experience in several wayand not least that it reminded me of a remarkable family that lived in Palmers Green.

The O’Duffy family were a multi talented one. Michael the father was a very accomplished singer of Irish folk songs and he performed on several occasions for the Enfield Committee For Racial Harmony at some of our events including a huge event of over 300 people in the Edmonton Banqueting Hall with contributions from our ethnic communities that ended with a West Indian Steel Band.

His eldest son Paul was a talented music producer who I think worked with Paul McCartney.

But it was the youngest son Cormac who had the links with Dresden. Cormac was a music teacher and taught many young people including my daughter the piano. Cormac was passionate about bringing communities that had been in conflict together to heal and reconcile.

With him I once arranged a showing at his church of the banned BBC film “The War Game” that dramatized the effect of nuclear war on London – a film that impacted on all who saw it.

But Cormac also felt the tragedy that people went through in Dresden as a result of the mass bombings on that City during the War. Equally he was also concerned with what had happened in Coventry.

Dresden was bombed in February 1945 with 39,000 tons of high explosive killing around 25,000 people through both the blast and the following fire storm. The blitz on Coventry took place in 1940 with over 4,300 homes being destroyed as well as the Cathedral.

Cormac wanted to bring the communities of Coventry and Dresden together and composed a Requiem for that special occasion that was performed in front of an audience from both communities.

I felt the emotion of that whilst I stood in the square to listen to two young people singing opera to the audience gathering round in such beautiful tones that it made me think of Cormac and his deployment of music to express common humanity.

As the singers finished lightening lit up the sky and blasts of thunder could be heard across the city and again I thought of 1945 knowing that was the sound they heard then – only that time it brought not lightening but bombs and death.

Cormac O’Duffy from Palmers Green helped the world to move on from that dreadful time and through his Requiem find peace and reconciliation.

A Dresden Requiem – Cormac O’Duffy Music

— Read on cormacoduffy.weebly.com/a-dresden-requiem.html

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Community family history Food Shops

Lunch at Dom’s

Every so often a post or a comment prompts someone else to write beautifully about their memories of Palmers Green. This one is from David Todd:

My memory goes back to 1956, I would have been 8 years old and my Dad used to take myself & my younger brother to Dom’s most Saturday’s during the summer holidays for a midday lunch ‘treat’, He would put us on one of the 5 bar stools which were positioned at the rear of the cafe on the right hand side, we would pick up the menu because it looked grown up! ….and ALWAYS ordered egg, sausage & chips. Our Dad would pay the 2/6d, and pick us up 45 minutes later as he worked nearby. After the last chip was scoffed the owner would place in front of us a huge strawberry milkshake made with the soft ice cream they were known for, this shake was always served in a heavy fancy thick glass with a straw to slurp up the last visible clinging bubbles.

The ice cream was served from a sliding glass hatch facing the street, so you didn’t have to go inside if an ice cream was all you wanted, in the summer the servery was always open otherwise a light tap on the glass and brother or sister would serve you with beautiful soft ice cream in a cone and a smile all for threepence.

The owners were brother and sister Dominic & Anna both born in Italy who arrived in England after the second world war,they were very hard working & organised, so much so they only lived 200 yards opposite in Tottenhall Rd. They ran the cafe on their own with no other help.

Dom drove a maroon Renaualt Dauphine, which I remember being the first foreign car I saw in Palmers Green.

Dom’s is still there, though perhaps not quite the same…

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family history Uncategorized

Did you know Dr George MacDonald?

If you have ever tried to find out more about your family’s history, you will know that from time to time the trail seems to go cold.

Ryan Clarke has been on the hunt for more information about his relative Montague Clarke, who died in Wood Green in 1965. Dr MacDonald or his family may have the key to unlock more of Montague’s history:

My relative Montague Clarke seems to have died with no close relatives around in 1965 in Wood Green. He left some things to Dr G G MacDonald in his will, and I wondered if the doctors descendants may still have them, as Id love to see.

Montague seems to have collected unusual items and left them to a variety of places at his death including the National and Tate galleries and the V&A theatre collection.

Equally I’m looking for anyone who may have known or had a photo of Montague. His line, from my great great great grandad’s brother seems to have died out with him.

We know that Mr MacDonald lived at ‘Wentworth’, 23 Broomfield Avenue. He married Elaine Watts and was practicing in 1965.

Can you help? Let us know …