Iza Campbell's passing marks end of an era for Ballycarry

Warm tributes have been paid to a Ballycarry-born centenarian who passed away recently.

Born in the village in March 1913, the death of Belfast resident Iza Campbell has closed a chapter on the history of her generation.

Mrs Campbell was the last surviving daughter of farmer and folk poet William James Hume of Monterloney Farm in Aldfreck townland, author of the well-known local folksong The Muttonburn Stream.

When Mrs Campbell was just 13 her mother, Agnes Craig, died in childbirth with a baby boy, leaving a family of six surviving children and her husband.

At the funeral service of Mrs Campbell from Cregagh Presbyterian Church, her son Rev Jim Campbell, recalled how his mother had gone at the age of just 14 to be a maidservant in the home of Major Turner, the Lord Mayor of Belfast.

All the money she earned was sent back to help the family survive, and at weekends she walked the 20 miles from Belfast home to Ballycarry, he said.

The congregation was told that despite this terrible family tragedy, a deep personal faith was always with the local woman throughout her life.