Old Galway
“ONLY A RALE GOOD HORSE CAN WIN IT”
by Tom Kenny
That was the answer the journalist P.D. Mehigan got when he asked a breeder to explain the magic of the Galway Plate some eighty years ago. An examination of the records bore out that theory for him – no bad horse, or middling horse has ever won the Galway Plate.
THE GALWAY MINOR HURLING TEAM, 1941
by Tom Kenny
For me, hurling is the ultimate game, but it is more than just a game, a team contest of speed, skill, style, hand-eye co-ordination, a national passion which is woven into the social fabric of Irish society, a game that is played for pride, not money, and quintessentially Irish. As a lady once said “When you think of it, apart from the Irish language, there is nothing more Irish in this country than the game of hurling”. The game has always flourished in Galway and this county Galway has made a major contribution to its history.
DRUID, THE EXPRESSION OF IMAGINATION
by Tom Kenny
It is hard to believe that it was 46 years ago this week that Druid Theatre first tread the boards. The location was the Jesuit Hall and the play was The Playboy of the Western World. The following night, they put on It’s a two foot six inches above the Ground World by Kevin Laffan and on the third night, it was The Loves of Cass Maguire by Brian Friel.
THE CURRACH RACES, SALTHILL
by Tom Kenny
The Currach Races …. An Tóstal …. Rásaí na gCurrachaí …. 60,000 people plus in Salthill ….. Lines of people four and five deep along the prom …. Every vantage point taken …..Specially designed currachs everywhere, up on trailers, sitting on grass verges, at the water’s edge …. Always a crowd of people inspecting them …. The currachs on the sea like tiny insects, indistinguishable in the mist and drizzle …. Mountainy men and island men … Báinín …. Bréidín ….. Beautiful hand-knit Aran croiseanna …. Caps ….. Caps ….. Thousands of caps ….. Women in many different styles of shawl …. Some red petticoats …. Stalls everywhere selling minerals, sweets, fruit …… Many stages erected along the prom hosting sean nós singers, dancers, traditional musicians …. The atmosphere of a massive aeríocht …. Programmes written in the old Irish script ….. Strange accents from Donegal …. Three-card trick men ….. Canoe races between the currach races …. Trawlers marking the race route ….. Kerry accents ….. Canúint Chonamara …. A cluster of bookies at Blackrock …. Bottles of stout and lemonade …. Gaelinn spoken in lilting Cork accents ….. Gaeilge spoken by Aran Islanders who had come in on the Dún Aengus …. A marquee for food at Blackrock … Another for visiting crews …. The Joyces of Inis Bearacháin …. Bands playing at the Ladies Beach and at Blackrock …. Currach men from Mayo, Sligo and Clare …. Commentary on the races blaring from speakers all over Salthill …. A festival dance in the Hangar …. This was the All-Ireland Currach Racing Championship which was first held in 1953 in the Claddagh and thereafter for several years in Salthill. The prom provided the ideal viewing stand, the oarsmen provided the excitement and the crowds provided the atmosphere.
JOSEPH GAYNOR, A GALWAY BUSKER
by Tom Kenny
Busking is the practice of performing in public places, street performances for tips or gratuities, voluntary donations. It may come from the Spanish word Buscar – to seek (fame and fortune) or the Latin word Buscare, to procure, to gain.
THE DÚN AENGUS
by Tom Kenny
The first steamer service to the Aran Islands began almost 150 years ago, in 1872, with a paddle tug called “The Citie of the Tribes”. She was operated by the Galway Steamship Company and was also used to tow barques and other sailing vessels to and from Galway port.
OLD GALWAY NEWSPAPERS
by Tom Kenny
The first book printed in Ireland was The Book of Common Prayer in 1551. As printing became more sophisticated, newspapers became inevitable. The first gazettes were published originally in manuscript – the word gazette being derived from gazetto, a coin of Venice, the amount paid for reading the news. The earliest printed newspapers began to appear around the end of the 16th century. These were small, quarto in size, printed on one or both sides of the page, or of four pages containing intelligence of public interest which were variously called 'Books of Newes', ‘Newe Newes’, 'Wonderful Newes', ‘Bloody Newes out of Ireland’, etc.
THE ‘AMUSEMENTS’ IN THE FAIRGREEN
by Tom Kenny
It is good to see funfair being set up at the moment along the Prom, a sure sign that the summer is on the way. There has been a history of summer funfairs in Galway for well over a hundred years, though they were always known here as ‘the Amusements’. In the early days, the Toft family used to organise them in Salthill Park. Occasionally, the neighbours used to object to the noise and the traffic and on at least one occasion, they were invited next door on to the site in front of Dr. O’Beirne’s house (where Leisureland is today).