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Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an renowned composer, conductor and accompanist.
Harty was born in Hillsborough, the fourth of ten children of church organist William Michael Harty (1852–1918) and his wife, Annie Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph Hamilton Richards, a soldier from Bray. Raised an Anglican, Harty played viola, piano, and organ as a child. Initially following in his father's footsteps, he held positions as a church organist from age twelve. He moved to London in 1901 to pursue a musical career as accompanist, and accompanied an impressive list of soloists, among them John McCormack, W.H. Squire, Joseph Szigeti, Fritz Kreisler, and soprano Agnes Nicholls, whom he married on 15 July 1904.
Nicholls' professional relationship with the Hungarian conductor Hans Richter was of great importance to Harty. After performing in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen under Richter in 1908, she approached him on her husband's behalf. It was through this connection that Harty secured his first important conducting engagement: a performance of his tone poem With the Wild Geese with the London Symphony Orchestra in March 1911. The performance was a success, and he was engaged to conduct the orchestra again during its 1912–13 season. Hoping to reinforce his status as a composer–conductor, Harty gave the first performance of his Variations on a Dublin Air with the same orchestra in February 1913. Unfortunately, neither the critics nor the public shared his enthusiasm for his music: his concerts made a loss and he was not invited back for the following season. Nevertheless, his reputation as a conductor continued to grow, and he was invited to perform Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Bizet's Carmen at Covent Garden in 1913. But he had little sympathy with opera, preferring symphonic music instead. In January 1914 he conducted the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and in April he made his début with the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester. His career was interrupted briefly by the First World War: in June 1916 he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was posted for duties in the North Sea, and he rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1917 before leaving in June 1918. In December he substituted for an indisposed Sir Thomas Beecham at a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra, and on 27 March 1919 he again replaced Beecham at a performance of J. S. Bach's mass in B minor.

Harty did most of his composing between 1901 and 1920, including his An Irish Symphony, his tone poem With the Wild Geese, his Violin Concerto, and his setting of Ode to a Nightingale for soprano and orchestra, premiered by Nicholls.
After short stints with the London Symphony Orchestra and elsewhere in England, Harty became permanent conductor of The Hallé in 1920, a position that he held until 1933. Under his baton, the Hallé became one of the premier orchestras in England. He was knighted in 1925. From 1931 to 1936, Harty toured in America and elsewhere, conducting in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Rochester, as well as in Sydney, Australia.

Harty's health began to deteriorate sharply in 1936: a malignant brain tumour was discovered and surgery was required. After both the growth and his right eye were removed, Harty convalesced in Ireland and Jamaica during 1937 and 1938. Unable to conduct, he returned to composing: he set five Irish songs and wrote his last original composition, the tone poem The Children of Lir, during his convalescence. Following two studio concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in December 1938 and February 1939, Harty returned to the Queen's Hall on 1 March 1939, directing the première of The Children of Lir with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. After another period of convalescence in the summer of 1939 he undertook a full programme of concerts during the 1939–40 season. But his illness continued to trouble him, and he conducted for the last time on 1 December 1940. Because of Harty's estrangement from his wife, the conductor was nursed through his final illness by his secretary and intimate friend, Olive Elfreda Baguley. Harty died in Hove; after cremation his ashes were placed in Hillsborough Parish Church.

There are just some of the many unique places to see in and around Hillsborough Hillsborough Courthouse Harry Ferguson's Birthplace Hamilton Harty's Birthplace
Hillsborough Courthouse Hillsborough Courthouse The Square, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6AG Tel 028 9268 9717/028 9023 5000 Fax 028 9268 9773 E-mail: tic.hillsborough@lisburn.gov.uk Open All Year: Monday – Saturday 9am-5.30pm Sun: 2pm-6pm (July and August) Admission Free
The Courthouse, which is situated in the Square in Hillsborough, is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Ireland. The central arcade block was built by Wills Hill in 1760 and in 1810 the North wing was added and housed a courthouse. In the same year the South wing was added and was used as an open market hall. The South wing is still used today for the very popular country markets. The North wing is now home to a major exhibition on the history and development of the country's legal system. With the help of displays, visitors can learn about 1,000 years of Irish Legal History. Visitors can also view the interior of the courtroom where the fittings date from 1823. Hillsborough Tourist Information Centre and shop is also located in this building and both are open all year round Monday to Saturday
Harry Ferguson

	Ferguson was born on his family's farm at Growell, near Dromore, County Down. While still in his teens he entered his brother Joe's car and cycle repair business in Belfast as an apprentice, but had soon developed a motor cycle and racing car of his own. In 1909 he made the first powered flight in Ireland in a machine of his own design, flying from Dundrum to Newcastle, Co Down. In 1911 he opened his own car business in May Street, Belfast, later moving to Donegall Square East. In 1914 he began to sell American tractors but, finding them heavy and dangerous to operate, he designed and built a new plough which was coupled to the tractor in three-point linkage, so that both formed a single unit. This Ferguson System, patented in 1926, was to revolutionise farming. In 1936 he started manufacturing his own tractors, but three years later entered into partnership with Henry Ford; over 300,000 of the new Ford Ferguson tractors were made. Following a lawsuit with Ford's grandson, the partnership was dissolved in 1947. Ferguson went on to design a light-weight tractor, the TC-20, or "Wee Fergie", which was assembled by Standard Motor Company of Coventry; about half a million of these were made. He later entered another stormy partnership, this time with Massey-Harris of Toronto, to form the Massey-Ferguson Company. All his life he promoted motor cycle and car racing; his efforts led to the Stormont Road Races Act (1932), which made possible the first Ulster Grand Prix. He also lobbied the R.A.C. to organise the famous Tourist Trophy motor cycle races (1928-36). In later life he applied himself to the design of four-wheel-drive cars. He died in Stow-on-the Wold in October 1960.
Sir Hamilton Harty
Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an renowned composer, conductor and accompanist. Harty was born in Hillsborough, the fourth of ten children of church organist William Michael Harty (1852–1918) and his wife, Annie Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph Hamilton Richards, a soldier from Bray. Raised an Anglican, Harty played viola, piano, and organ as a child. Initially following in his father's footsteps, he held positions as a church organist from age twelve. He moved to London in 1901 to pursue a musical career as accompanist, and accompanied an impressive list of soloists, among them John McCormack, W.H. Squire, Joseph Szigeti, Fritz Kreisler, and soprano Agnes Nicholls, whom he married on 15 July 1904. Nicholls' professional relationship with the Hungarian conductor Hans Richter was of great importance to Harty. After performing in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen under Richter in 1908, she approached him on her husband's behalf. It was through this connection that Harty secured his first important conducting engagement: a performance of his tone poem With the Wild Geese with the London Symphony Orchestra in March 1911. The performance was a success, and he was engaged to conduct the orchestra again during its 1912–13 season. Hoping to reinforce his status as a composer–conductor, Harty gave the first performance of his Variations on a Dublin Air with the same orchestra in February 1913. Unfortunately, neither the critics nor the public shared his enthusiasm for his music: his concerts made a loss and he was not invited back for the following season. Nevertheless, his reputation as a conductor continued to grow, and he was invited to perform Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Bizet's Carmen at Covent Garden in 1913. But he had little sympathy with opera, preferring symphonic music instead. In January 1914 he conducted the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and in April he made his début with the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester. His career was interrupted briefly by the First World War: in June 1916 he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was posted for duties in the North Sea, and he rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1917 before leaving in June 1918. In December he substituted for an indisposed Sir Thomas Beecham at a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra, and on 27 March 1919 he again replaced Beecham at a performance of J. S. Bach's mass in B minor. Harty did most of his composing between 1901 and 1920, including his An Irish Symphony, his tone poem With the Wild Geese, his Violin Concerto, and his setting of Ode to a Nightingale for soprano and orchestra, premiered by Nicholls. After short stints with the London Symphony Orchestra and elsewhere in England, Harty became permanent conductor of The Hallé in 1920, a position that he held until 1933. Under his baton, the Hallé became one of the premier orchestras in England. He was knighted in 1925. From 1931 to 1936, Harty toured in America and elsewhere, conducting in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Rochester, as well as in Sydney, Australia. Harty's health began to deteriorate sharply in 1936: a malignant brain tumour was discovered and surgery was required. After both the growth and his right eye were removed, Harty convalesced in Ireland and Jamaica during 1937 and 1938. Unable to conduct, he returned to composing: he set five Irish songs and wrote his last original composition, the tone poem The Children of Lir, during his convalescence. Following two studio concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in December 1938 and February 1939, Harty returned to the Queen's Hall on 1 March 1939, directing the première of The Children of Lir with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. After another period of convalescence in the summer of 1939 he undertook a full programme of concerts during the 1939–40 season. But his illness continued to trouble him, and he conducted for the last time on 1 December 1940. Because of Harty's estrangement from his wife, the conductor was nursed through his final illness by his secretary and intimate friend, Olive Elfreda Baguley. Harty died in Hove; after cremation his ashes were placed in Hillsborough Parish Church.