Galway in Days Gone By
Galway In Days Gone By
1916
Missing motor car
Acts of blackguardism are frequently perpetrated under the guise of practical jokes. On last Thursday night whilst two motorists were at a dance in the Town Hall, their car was taken, and having been driven all over the city, was left in a damaged condition a couple of miles out the Tuam road. The episode will probably cost the ratepayers £60, and this robs the occurrence of any title to be classed in the category of practical jokes.
Mr. Fred Statford, M.P.S., having as passenger Mr. O. Browne, drove into the city at 1 o’clock on Thursday night, leaving a new Morris Cowley car, which cost something like £300, standing outside the Town Hall.
Both gentlemen entered the dancing room, and in the morning, they found that the car had disappeared.
When found, the lights were still burning and the steering gear was seriously damaged. The engine had become so chilled with the night air that there was considerable difficulty in starting hit.
The matter has been reported to the Commercial Union Insurance Co., a claim has been lodged, and will be heard at the Quarter Sessions in Galway about the 28th January. We have not yet heard at what sum damages have been placed, but probably about £50 will be claimed, and this, with costs, will result in a nice levy upon the ratepayers of Galway for the action of two undetected blackguards.
A brave end
Mr. Michael Spain, Palmerston, Portumna, has during the past week received the sad news that his son, Henry Spain, a private in the 13th Battalion Canadians, was killed in action on the 1st December in France.
Spain went to America some years ago when quite a boy. When the war broke out, he crossed to Canada and came over with the Canadian contingent. He has been twice wounded. His father and mother are alive, and the greatest sympathy is felt for them in the sad tidings conveyed to them during the holy season.
They have four other sons in the fighting line, viz.: Joseph, Connaught Rangers (Mesopotamia); Michael, Leinsters (at present on sick leave from Salonika, who was also at the Dardanelles); Patrick, Leinsters (Salonika); Christopher, Artillery (Salonika). They have also four nephews, two grandsons in the army, and a son-in-law, Patrick Monahan, a prisoner in Germany.
Pte. Spain brings the roll of honour of Portumna men up to 11 killed since the outbreak of the war.
1941
Turning to God
“The fundamental condition for world peace is the reign of Christ in the souls of men,” said His Lordship, the Most Rev. Dr. Browne, Bishop of Galway, at Pontifical High Mass in St. Nicholas’s Cathedral, Galway, on Christmas Day.
There could never be true peace unless men and rulers and states recognised and observed the moral law, and they would not observe the moral law unless they believed in God and in His son, Jesus Christ, declared His Lordship.
His Lordship, the Bishop, said that the message of the angels, “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men of good-will,” rang out to-day all over a world that paid little heed.
It rang out to a world that was not bathed in the soft light of peace, but in blood and tears. Instead of peace, there was war – war with a degree of suffering, misery and destruction that the world had never known before.
Terrible forces of evil were unloosed; the darkest side of human nature was supreme. Brute force cared nothing for beauty and truth and goodness and the very civilisation and progress that men were so proud of were to-day threatened.
Yet it was in such dark and terrible times that they could best understand the message of Christmas because it was in such dark and terrible times that they could realise the frailty and wickedness of men and that they could recognise how much they stood in need of a Saviour – of One Who would wipe away human sin and Who would lead men to the road of justice and charity and peace.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
1921
Bad buying policy
It is interesting and useful to speculate how far the conditions that prevailed at Galway great annual fair on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were due to its postponement on the one hand, and to the circumstances of our time on the other.
No doubt, the enforced adjournment and the uncertainty as to when the fair would be held combined to reduce the attendance.
It is possible that stock which, in the ordinary course, would have been taken to the fair had it been held at the appointed time, were disposed of by other means. Against this we have the fact that the fixture in point of attendance and sales was smaller than a normal monthly fair.
The truth is that cumulative causes contributed to its partial failure. Of these the postponement was only incidental. Only 159 wagon loads of stock left Galway during the two days against 259 at the annual fair last year and 360 the previous year.
Whilst the Midland Great Western Railway Company did all that could have been expected in the circumstances to assist in making the fair a success, the Great Southern did practically nothing at all. Six wagons were placed at the disposal of purchasers by the latter company on the Limerick-Sligo branch.
This is illustrated by the fact that most of those who attended Galway fair arrived on the evening before; few ventured to make the journey on the actual morning of the fair. Again, buyers report that owing to the difficulties of transport, and the recent unnecessary foot and mouth scare, they cannot tranship cattle to anything like the same extent as formerly, and owning to the prolonged drought, there is a shortage of grass for grazing in the rich midland counties where extensive buyers keep their stock from one fair to the other.
Apart from these causes, another much more interesting explanation is given. It is suggested is that the country farmer has not yet realised that there is a considerable drop in prices, and has not adapted himself to the new conditions.
This fall, it is clamed, is likely to be retrogressive under present conditions. The cost of living is falling, and must fall still further in order to restore “the economic balance”. Yet farmers prefer to hold back their stock in expectation, apparently, that something like old prices will be restored, rather than part with them. This, a cattle-buying expert informs us, is bad policy.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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1921
Careless farmers
The unfavourable spring and summer of 19230 were not altogether accountable for the partial failure of last season’s potato crop. Planting was deferred until three or four weeks after the usual time, and the spraying of the crop was very carelessly carried out.
Not more than half the usual quantities of spraying materials were sold last year in County Galway. The wagon loads of potatoes which County Galway consumers were obliged to get from other parts of Ireland to go to prove the care and attention taken from growers in other counties.
To meet the increased cost of labour and manures farmers must grow heavier crops, and avoid risks as far as possible. To do so, spraying must be carried out efficiently.
County Galway, with 24,000 Irish acres of potatoes, is the second county in Ireland in respect of area. The total yield in 1920 was about 100,000 tons below that of an average year, which was a serious loss to the farmers and a hardship on the townspeople.
We hope that the lesson of 1920 will not be forgotten, and that farmers will this year spray in time and thoroughly.
One of the farmer’s chief difficulties is keeping of his crops free from weeds. Unfortunately in this important matter some of our farmers are rather careless. They do not realises – probably through lack of education in the matter – that where a crop is allowed to get weedy, the material resources of the land are being doubly taxed, and the crop which it is intended to grow cannot be a viable, much less a financial success.
The farmer has no power over some of the circumstances which determine the success or failure of a crop, and it is, therefore, a short-sighted policy for him not to use every means in his power to check weeds over which he has complete control.
Our attention has been directed to this matter by the number of cornfields in some districts, which are covered with the weed well-known to farmers as “Baráiste”.
We cannot estimate the extent of the damage caused year after year to our corn crops, but it must be very considerable. The yield of gran is greatly reduced, and the quality seriously impaired.
Modern science has given us a simple, effective, remedy involving little labour. This remedy has been used successfully for some years past by the best of our farmers, but we deeply regret the lack of enthusiasm displayed by many of our tillers in connection with the destruction of this objectionable weed.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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1921
Village halls
Young men and women of the present day expect and obtain more time for recreation than their parents. The monotony of young lives in the country districts leads to a desire to leave comfortable homes for the towns, or to emigrate.
In this work of reconstruction, which we hope will not long be delayed every means by which the young people can be induced to remain on the land must be considered.
Village halls can be made to play an important part in this respect by providing facilities for recreation and enabling those with progressive tendencies to continue with their reading and education after leaving the national schools.
To encourage a taste for reading and the acquirement of useful knowledge, every hall should be provided with a small library containing a selection of suitable books. The erection and equipment of such halls should not be left to voluntary effort, but should be looked upon as a national duty for which public money ought to be provided, and for which the country would be repaid in an enlightened, industrious and efficient rural population.
Custom House attacked
A large force of armed men raided the Custom House, Dublin, at one point on Wednesday, held up the staff and set fire to the building, which was completely destroyed. Yesterday morning the flames could be seen issuing from the surrounds.
The many Government departments in the building included the offices of the Local Government Board, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, the Old Age Pensions, and their valuable documents have been reduced to ashes.
From the housetops and the streets of Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, thousands witnessed the aftermath of one of the most serious assaults made by the I.R.A. upon the institutions of the Crown – the burning of the famous Custom House.
Following the burning, nearly a score were killed or wounded in a battle between the I.R.A. and R.I.C. Auxiliaries of the F and Q Companies.
The building was so badly devastated that to-day only the walls and a portion of the Local Government Board Office are still standing.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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