Record land price, Ashford Castle for sale, Rail service concerns and the Connemara Coast Road – it could be 2013!
1913
Record land price
On Saturday last, Mr. M.A. Kennedy, auctioneer, Athenry, put up for sale a small holding of land, with cottage. The yearly rent under judicial tenancy was £1 10s.
After brisk competition, it was knocked down at the record figure of £300, to a local resident, which is about 200 years’ purchase at the present rent. This is the highest price for land recorded during memory.
1938
Ashford for sale
Over one hundred workers employed on the Ashford estate, Cong, are greatly disturbed by the announcement that the estate and castle have been offered for sale.
Situated amidst perhaps the most beautiful scenery in Ireland, between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask, the property comprises a beautiful castle and 3,560 acres of pasture, tillage and woodlands. The woodcock shooting on the estate is believed to be the best in Great Britain or Ireland.
Ashford castle is the Connemara residence of the Hon. E. Guinness, who established a private sea-plane base on the Corrib in front of the castle.
There was a strong rumour afloat some months ago that the Corrib had been surveyed near Cong by a syndicate of the British Government for the purpose of establishing a sea-plane base in connection with coastal defence. This rumour was never officially denied.
1963
Rail concerns
Although 27 centres throughout the country whose railway services were recently amputated or curtailed are envious of Loughrea’s improved service, many people in Loughrea are convinced that CIE is doing its best to close down the local branch-line.
Railway business in Loughrea last year is stated officially to have made a very handsome profit – £24,000 – and the volume of trade far exceeded that at Ballinasloe.
Despite that, however, new systems evolved whereby goods dispatched by rail from Galway for such places in the Loughrea postal and rail district as Duniry and Woodford are now being unloaded at Ballinasloe for delivery by lorry.
As Woodford is only fourteen miles from Loughrea, it is difficult to understand the economics of such a service. Traders from Woodford and district, who are able to get goods a day or two earlier via Loughrea, cannot too easily figure out why the new system has been introduced.
1988
Road demand
A call has been made to upgrade the coast road in Connemara where traffic has been so heavy in recent weeks that small villages like Spiddal have experienced rare traffic jams. The road from Galway City to Carna in West Connemara has more than the average volume of passing traffic required to be classified as a national secondary road.
An urgent call has been made by Udaras na Gaeltachta’s Sean O Neachtain to speed up the process to have the road upgraded.
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