DAUGHTER OF LAHARNA

Name: DAUGHTER OF LAHARNA
Price: £14.95 GBP
Author: Patricia E. Beattie
ISBN: 9781665580991

by Patricia E. Beattie

Formats

Softcover

£14.95

Softcover

£14.95

Book Details

Language : English

Publication Date : 27/11/2020

Format : Softcover

Dimensions : 8.5x11

Page Count : 108

ISBN : 9781665580991

About the Book

“Daughter of Laharna” provides a glimpse of family life in Laharna Hotel, Larne, which was Patricia’s home for 24 years, and also details its history from 1833 - becoming the largest tour hotel in Ireland. Her father George A. Beattie was Resident Manager of Laharna Hotel, Larne from 1935 and in the Second World War, as part of essential services, looked after troop feeding at Larne Harbour and later the American Officer’s Club in the former Midland Hotel, Belfast. These were formerly railway owned hotels. Laharna Hotel was the base for a 6 day tour of N Ireland and with some 200 tourist residents weekly, from April to October, shows the great extent of tourism in the Province before “The Troubles” began in 1968, lasting some 30 years. The hotel, destroyed by fire in 1999, was then demolished. This is a personal history of the Beattie family’s life in the hotel, how George, born in Belfast, became an hotelier, his lifelong hobby of music as a piano accompanist and church organist. It records many events such as the Titanic launch, WW2 events in NI, the tragic sinking of the Princess Victoria in 1953 and family life in Larne.

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Amazing read. I would love to see more work from this author,

Brad Williams
A real Tour de Force! An amazing insight in to local and national history of Ulster, intermingled with the personal drama of war, disaster and The Troubles. Gripping and cleverly written and beautifully presented! An absolute MUST for me. Peter Hutchinson, best selling author of 'SUMMARY JUSTICE', 'DIEBACK' and 'THE HEIR' writing under the name S J MICHAELS

Peter McKinley-Hutchinson
Good book, well done. would love to hear more from this Author!!

anonymous
Daughter of Laharna by Patricia E. Beattie - Book Review This is a fascinating account by Patricia Beattie of the life and times of the Laharna Hotel, situated in the port town of Larne, at the start of the world-famous Antrim Coast Road. The writer reveals the inside story of her family and their staff welcoming visitors from all over these islands to what was, at one time, the largest tourist hotel in Ireland. The life of the Beattie family and their love of music, from the 1930s to the latter years of the twentieth century, is interwoven with her father’s role as Resident General Manager of the Hotel. With a staff of 60 serving up to 200 residents and other individual guests each week in the summer season, the writer shows how her father George Beattie demonstrated the highest standards of tourism and hospitality. Beautifully produced historic photographs illustrate the well-crafted text. The writer’s accounts of the war years, the visit of royalty, the life of Larne, making a perfect cup of tea and how music was at the heart of the hotel and of the Beattie family are particularly memorable. Recollections of the Princess Victoria disaster and of how the writer coped with the Ulster Workers Strike provide new insights into frightening times. Whilst personal stories of this busy hotel, its staff and visitors are revealed in considerable detail, the writer records with a smile the confidentiality of good Hoteliers when she declares ‘we never gossiped outside about happenings in the Hotel!” So it is, when she tells of the Fancy Dress Ball when ‘one young lady, dressed as ‘The Dance of the Seven Veils’, wore only a few veils to cover her modesty!’ she concludes ‘Her name I will keep to myself.’ This life of the Laharna Hotel and of the Beattie family tells not only the history of a renowned hotel, but also provides many personal glimpses into the lives of its residents, its staff, and the community they served. This fascinating historical account, told with much warmth and colour, provides considerable insight and enjoyment for the reader. Reviewer: R J Tweed 31st May 2021

R J Tweed

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