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Another notable local figure was journalist and author John Armoy Knox, he was born in Armoy in 1850 and emigrated to Texas when he was 22 years of age. In collaboration with Alexander Sweet, he co-founded the 'Texas Siftings' in 1881, which became one of the most popular illustrated publications in America with a weekly circulation in 1891 of 150,000 - the publication also had a London edition published in 1887, they sold the paper in 1895. John Knox also wrote several books including All About the Klondike Gold Mines (1897) and A Devil of a Trip (1888) and with Sweet wrote Sketches from Texas "Siftings" (1882), 'On a Mexican Mustang through Texas' (1883), and Three Dozen Good Stories from Texas Siftings (1887). He died in New York in 1906. Another famous local man was Five Times World Motorcycle Champion Joey Dunlop MBE OBE who as a young man honed his skills and tuned his bikes on the country lanes around Armoy. Another aspect of Joey which earned him an OBE, was his compassion and care for people less fortunate than himself - he set out many times in his own van and at his own expense, loaded with clothing, food, bedding and medicines which he distributed to people in Romania, Bosnia and Albania. He was one of four local motorbike racer's known as the Armoy Armada - Frank Kennedy, Mervyn Robinson, Jim and Joey Dunlop. He sadly, died at the Estonia TT in 2000 doing what he loved most. It is true to say that Joey was a legend in his own lifetime, yet always remained a humble and kind man who had time for everyone. |
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