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Old Galway
The Men Who First Brought Sam to Galway
Galway reached the All-Ireland football final for the first time in 1919, when they were beaten by Kildare by 2 – 5 to 0 – 1. In 1922 they were beaten by Dublin by 6 points to 4. In 1925 they won it for the first time, beating Cavan by 3 – 2 to 1 - 2. In 1928, the Sam Maguire Trophy was presented to the GAA, and ever since, it has been the dream of every county in Ireland to hold it aloft in Croke Park on the third Sunday in September.In 1933 Cavan beat Galway in the final by 2 – 5 to 1 – 4, but in defeat the Galway team were hailed as a major force for the future, a prediction that turned out to be accurate as they beat Dublin the following year by 3 –
Corpus Christi Processions
My memory of these processions is that everyone assembled in the grounds of St. Mary’s College. Prayers were recited there, possibly a rosary, and then we walked, in organised groups, to Eyre Square. The route brought us along St. Mary’s Road, Henry Street, Dominick Street, over O’Brien’s Bridge, up Shop Street and around Eyre Square. We entered the park via a gate opposite The Great Southern and were shown to our places, and there the assembled multitude attended Benediction. A special stand was erected to accommodate the altar. Hymns were sung.
Thanks for the Memories
Seapoint Ballroom was officially opened at 10pm on July 17th, 1949 by Joe Costelloe, Mayor of Galway. Noel Finan bought the site from Jim and Mary Cremin who were brother and sister. They ran a famous seawater baths there, a kind of health spa of its day. At the time, Salthill was a small village with a few hotels, B&Bs and shops. It also had the Hangar which was run by John Allen, but it closed down in Race Week when dancing moved into a marquee in Eyre Square. At the time it was 1/6 into the Hangar for women and 1/9 for men.Noel Finan realised that young people coming to Salthill wanted something more than the salt air and to be clean. He sold the family pub
Howsa goan luveen…
“Arrah, howsa goan luveen.”
“Musha, not too bayad dontcha no, how’s yersel?”
“Oanlah mite-ah. C’mere I wansha, ware yoftah?”
A Relic of Old Decency
Our image today is of an original drawing done in 1958 by Belfast artist, Raymond Piper (now deceased) of the beautiful staircase in the Great Southern Hotel. When one entered the hotel, the reception desk was to the left, there was a small corridor leading to the dining room on the left, and another leading to the bar on the right. Just past these was a comfortable lounge area, and at the end of this was this magnificent staircase leading to reception rooms upstairs, and directly to the station platform.Construction began on the hotel one hundred and sixty years ago. The site was previously occupied by a block of tenements which was
Dredging the River
Alexander Nimmo made a survey of Lough Corrib almost two hundred years ago in which he wrote the following ; “The lake has 50 miles of shore, occupies 30,000 Irish acres and contains 1,000 acres of arable land in its isles, and contracts into a very spacious river about two and a half miles above Galway, which, flowing by the town, communicated with the Atlantic.
Nun’s Island About 100 Years Ago
In the nineteenth century, Nun’s Island was part of the industrial heartland of Galway. The 1911 census tells us that the street comprised of 2 lodging houses, Grace’s Asylum, the Presbyterian Church, a Ladies School, a Fever Hospital, Her Majesty’s Prison, a Brewery and Malt House, St. Joseph’s Seminary, 2 Flour Mills, a Granite Works and the Poor Clares Convent as well as the various residences.Our somewhat hazy photograph was taken about 100 years ago, and shows, on the left, the gates into the Bishops School. The tall building next to it was a bonded warehouse belonging to J.T. Miller and Sons.
Lydons of Whitehall
This photograph of Whitehall was taken about 1984, after a row of small houses that were on the left were demolished. The space was used as a temporary car park before the development that is there today was constructed.At the top of the lane we can see a stretch of medieval city wall, on which there is a sign for Corbett’s Yard. This was the back entrance into the old Castle Barracks which had another entrance on Castle Street.The barracks was described as “A large early eighteenth-century house. The main facade, facing east, was of five bays and three storeys, with rendered walls and a high-pitched roof.