SEAPOINT BALLROOM
by Tom Kenny
Last week we were writing about Cremen’s Health Spa and Sea Baths at Seapoint, and how the complex was bought out by Salthill man, Noel Finan in 1944. He closed down the baths in 1946. He realised that young Galway people wanted something more than the clean invigorating air and to be clean so he sold the family pub (now Killoran’s) and borrowed heavily from the EBS to build a first class ballroom and restaurant. The restaurant was 4,000 square feet, had ninety tables and could seat 350 diners. Attached to it was a kitchen with the most modern steam and electric equipment. The ballroom had a floor area of 5,200 square feet and was laid with a specially sprung maple floor capable of accommodating more than 2,000 dancers. It also had a balcony which could seat a few hundred people and from which patrons could spot the talent and could, from a distance, comment safely about them.
Seapoint was built in thirteen months by 30 men working for McNallys Contractors. They had to be very careful to work with the tide, so they built a breakwater around the perimeter. The foundations were critical as the building was going to be very high, one of the most imposing in the west. Some young local fellows probably drove the builders mad as they paddled lumps of wood around inside the foundations when the tide was in. Noel Finan told me he could remember no such thing as a crane or large machines during the construction, it was all men carrying blocks and pushing barrows of concrete. He kept at McNallys until he got exactly the dance hall he wanted.
The place resembled the interior of a beehive while construction was going on with men in all parts of the building doing their job and in the end, putting the finishing touches to the structure. There would be four small shops at the front of the building selling sweets, ice creams etc.
Seapoint Ballroom was officially opened 75 years ago, on the 17th of July 1949 by Joe Costelloe, Mayor of Galway. It was luxurious, the ultimate in comfort, and attracted huge crowds, and as a result, it also attracted terrific big bands in those early days – Joe Loss, Victor Sylvester, The Dutch Swing College Band, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Vera Lynn, Winifred Atwell &c. The resident band was Des Fretwell’s and then later, the showband phenomenon began and bands like The Capitol, The Royal, The Miami, The Clipper Carlton and the Big 8 became regulars. The first time the Clancy Brothers sang there, they had probably the biggest crowd ever. U2 played there as did the Boomtown rats, Horslips and Bagatelle. It was a place of great romance, excitement, energy, entertainment and dreams.
Shortly after it opened, on a St. Stephen’s night, there was a violent storm, which combined with a high tide, meant that the ground floor and the surrounding area were flooded and people could not get out. Some were carried to dry land, but most of them stayed. The band played all night and invited anyone who could sing or play an instrument to join them on stage. It was said to be the best night ever there, and many were disappointed when the tide receded.
For three decades, the venue was a ballroom of romance, a concert hall, a conference centre, an electoral count centre and when Salthill Church was being renovated, it became a venue for Sunday Mass.
Central to it all was Noel Finan who was only 29 years old when it opened. He had vision, courage and was always courteous, a superb organiser with very high standards who did a lot of work behind the scenes for Galway charities. He had a wonderful relationship with his staff and was often seen near the door welcoming people beside his doormen (there were no bouncers in those days), Chick Gillen, Willie Douglas, Joe Kyne and Michael Collins.
In the early eighties, it was clear that Seapoint could not compete with the new discos and their full bar licences and sadly, Noel decided to close it down. He flew Herb Miller, a brother of Glen, and his 22 piece orchestra from London to perform at the last dance there in 1985. Our drawing of the façade shows the original concept Noel had for the venue. The section we see on the right was never built. It was intended to house luxurious sea water baths. Our photograph shows the ballroom and restaurant under construction in 1948.