Galway in Days Gone By

Galway In Days Gone By

Published

3 years ago

August 16, 2018

Our Reporter

Unrestrained glee greeted Galway's 1980 All-Ireland hurling win as the fans cast off the shackles of a half-century of failures by invading the Croke Park pitch in a show of sheer delight.

1918

Farmer’s guns saved

Sensational details are to hand regarding a raid for arms at Kinvara, and the pluck of a farmer’s daughter, who held the raiders at bay with a sweeping twig, until her parents arrived with a loaded gun and drove them off.

The facts appear to be that on Friday night at about 8 o’clock, an armed party, disguised with masks, knocked at the hall door of Mr. John Finucane, Duras, Kinvara, and demanded admission in the name of a neighbour who was in the habit of visiting the house nightly. The door was immediately opened, when two of the party rushed in and demanded the owner’s guns at the point of a revolver.

They were engaged in a scrimmage with Miss Finucane at the door, when, it is alleged, they fired at her. Fortunately, the shot went wide, and the lady, displaying splendid pluck, belaboured the raiders with a twig, holding them off until her father, who was reading in an inside room when he heard the struggle, arrived on the scene with a loaded gun. He discharged five shots, when the raiding party decamped, leaving a hat after them. It is believed that one of the shots took effect on the raiders.

Mr Finucane is regarded as one of the best shots in Co. Galway; and he pursued the raiders for a considerable distance.

County Inspector Ruttledge and the D.I. have visited the scene, and police investigators are proceeding, but up to now the police have not succeeded in establishing the identity of the miscreants in a single raid or shooting that has occurred in the county within the last twelve months.

1943

More lorries going

The extension of the emergency transport scheme in the West means that a number of privately-owned lorries will be put off the roads should the owners not be prepared to incur the expense of fitting them with producer gas equipment. The desire of the Department of Supplies is that those owners should equip the lorries for gas.

For some time, Government inspectors have been carrying out a survey in East Galway to enable them to determine the number of lorries which would give the area a reasonably efficient emergency service with a view to economising to the utmost in petrol and vehicles.

If they have not received it already, an intimation will soon reach all owners of lorries deemed to be redundant that the petrol allowance which they enjoyed will be discontinued from an early date.

The Great Southern Railway Company will step in and operate the new services in conjunction with whatever local vehicles may be permitted for the maintenance of the minimum service decided upon.

Theft of onions

At Headford Court before District Justice Mac Giollarnath, Thady Leen, Bullybeg, Corrandulla, was charged with the larceny of eight stone of onions, the property of John O’Neill, Toragurrane, value £2 16s.

O’Neill said he missed the onions early in July. He got 10s. a stone for onions last March, but they would be only 7s. a stone now. Leen admitted he took the onions and sold them in a shop in Tuam at 6s. a stone. He said he would pay O’Neill the value of them. Supt. O’Neill said defendant had been convicted previously of larceny.

The Justice told defendant that he had got a previous warning. He would now be sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour, not to be enforced if before next court in September he has paid £2 10s compensation to O’Neill and 15s. expenses.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Galway in Days Gone By

Galway In Days Gone By

Published

5 hours ago

February 25, 2021

Stephen Corrigan

Teatime on the Morrissey Farm in Clonshee, Ahascragh in June 1951. Pictured beside the mowing machine and horses Charlie and Bly is John Morrissey with six of his 12 children, Joseph, Seán, Eileen, Michael, Annie and Willie.

1921

Growing neglect

The meeting of the County Galway National Teachers’ Association merits the attention of a considerably wider body than that which may be said to have a professional interest in education.

These meetings, which are held primarily for purposes of organisation, have an absorbing interest and a vital concern for all who desire the future well-being of our young people.

Whilst conditions of employment must naturally be an important concern for primary teachers, Saturday’s meeting revealed the fact that their minds are exercised by the deplorable and growing neglect of primary education.

The statement of the outgoing chairman that out of seven hundred thousand school-going children, there are two hundred thousand absentees from the national schools every day; this compels immediate attention and demands effective action on the part of all whose duty it is to enforce attendance at school.

That means that nearly one-third of the pupils are absent from school daily. There could be no graver reflection on the parent, the public bodies and their school attendance committees and the spiritual directors than that thirty out of every one hundred pupils are absent from the schools every day.

“Do the people,” as the chairman asked, “realise the havoc such a state of things works amongst us as a nation? Is it any wonder that so many of our countrymen and countrywomen are condemned to a life of drudgery, bordering upon a condition of slavery, at home and abroad.”

In recent years we have heard much of the attractiveness of school programmes, but the obvious inference from this lamentable disclosure would appear to be that children dislike that “dry drudgery at the desk’s dead wood,” or that they are neither encouraged nor compelled by their parents or guides to thread the path of learning.

Whatever the cause, the fact is a national scandal.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Galway in Days Gone By

Galway In Days Gone By

Published

1 week ago

February 18, 2021

Stephen Corrigan

Flooding in front of the Spanish Arch and Galway City Museum on November 11, 1977.

1921

What the public wants

Apart from the fact that to permit young children to remain up late in the heavy atmosphere of a picture theatre is detrimental to their health, there can be little objection to children seeing pictures – provided always they are the right kind of picture.

Recently, we have had a surplus of war propaganda pictures. The world is heartily sick of the game of killing and all its hideous trappings. We want to turn the young minds to the victories of peace, to the ways of high endeavour and moral greatness, to replace sordid meanness and intrigue with sterling honour and openness of the soul.

Stories of the crude justice of the Wild West are scarcely calculated to do this, any more than the hectic and neurotic ethical standard set up in silly serials may be supposed to direct the young idea along the paths that are best in life.

And we want happy, healthy laughter. The comedy pictures are perhaps the least objectionable. Bud Fisher stands alone, perhaps, in the great work he has done for humanity. But why should not filmmakers and scenario writers gather more from the old classical novels and the best stories from modern writers, from all that is noble and of good report, and less from the ugly things in life?

We suppose, as in the case of the yellow Press, so long as war and tragedy are “good selling lines” the film producers will “play them up”. In other words, they will give the public what it wants and therefore, what it deserves.

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.

Galway in Days Gone By

Galway In Days Gone By

Published

2 weeks ago

February 11, 2021

Stephen Corrigan

A dog joins in the action during and AIB League game between Galwegians and Bective Rangers at Crowley Park in 1998. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.

1921

Money drying up

In calling the quarterly meeting of the Galway County Council for Wednesday next, February 16, the secretary makes the grave announcement that “if the rate is not struck it is unlikely that any further payments can be made to boards of guardians, district councils, asylum, or labourers – in other words, the machinery of local government in County Galway will have completely broken down”.

The statutory meetings of the proposals committee and council called for Wednesday, the 2nd inst., fell through for want of a quorum, this being the third occasion within two months in which the premier body of the county failed to hold a regularly-constituted meeting.

It is but fair to point out, however, that upon the last occasion, a bare quorum would have been available but for the arrest of the members on their way to the council chamber.

On the day following the last abortive attempts to hold a meeting recently, the secretary issued a letter in which he stated that he was requested by seven members who had attended “to impress upon all members whose services are still available” the necessity for attendance, “even at great inconvenience”.

The Council on Wednesday next will find itself faced with a heavy responsibility, but it is a responsibility that grows heavier for every day that those charged with it refuse to face.

House burning

On Sunday morning the dwelling-house of Mr. Mtn. Coyne, farmer, Kiltrogue, Claregalway, was burned to the ground.

Miss Coyne (sister of the owner), a servant boy, and three children of Mrs. Frank Hardiman, Galway (another sister), were the only occupants of the dwelling at the time.

They were suddenly awakened at about 1.30 a.m. by a loud knocking at the door. When the door was opened a party of men rushed in and ordered them out, adding that they were about to burn the house.

Partially dressed, the little household left, and the place was immediately set on fire. The occupants are since being sheltered by neighbours.

On the same night the dwelling-house of Mr. W. Mulroyan, Killtulla, Castlegar; the haggards of Thomas Fallon, Two-Mile-Ditch, Castlegar, and Luke Ryan, Castlegar, were also destroyed.

The burnings are variously stated to be a sequel to the Kilroe ambush and to the raiding of the Galway-Tuam mail car.

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.