Our society dates from May 1971 when a group of locals with an interest in the history of the area met and decided to form a local history society. That group consisted of Michael Anderson, Frank Watters, Griffith Wylie, Lewis Smart, Paddy McSherry, and Mickey Waddell. Since then the society has gone from strength to strength and there are currently over 60 members. For many years the society's annual lecture programme was drawn up in conjunction with the Extra-Mural Department of Queen's University, Belfast but in 1987 the members took the decision to research local subjects and deliver talks themselves. This has proved very successful and these locally based talks have formed the basis of the society's very popular journal "Before I forget . . . " of which nine editions have been produced.