Archive News
April 4, 2913
Date Published: 03-Apr-2013
1913
600 strike
On Saturday morning last, as a result of the failure of the Galway Branch (No. 20) of the National Union of Dock Labourers to come to an agreement with the City Branch of the Employers’ Federation, in regard to working rules and rates of wages for the present year, between 500 and 700 men struck work. These comprised dockers and casual labourers, yardsmen, carters, builders’ labourers etc.
The situation thus created was unprecedented in the history of Galway, or, indeed, of any town in Connacht. It immediately resulted in an almost total dislocation of traffic, and in considerable injury to business.
The strike, which has been brought about by the consolidation and sectional organisation of practically all the forces of labour in the city within the past two years, was at first taken not very seriously by the citizens.
As a result of the trouble, the City police force has been considerably augmented, and its strength now stands at about 150. There is no unusual police activity, however, nor has the necessity for it arisen.
Police and civilians
The Achill magistrates on Monday agreed to adjourn several cases and cross-cases of assault between police and civilians, the later mainly women, arising out of an affray on 7th March last in connection with the agitation for the transfer of land.
Rev. Father Colleran, P.P., in applying for the adjournment, said there was peace on the island, and the people would guarantee to continue the peace, but it should be understood that they were not giving up the agitation, and would pay no rent until they got the land.
1938
Soldier badly injured
Martin Conneely, the Claddagh, Galway, a private in the Irish Free State National Army, stationed at Renmore Barracks, was admitted to the Central Hospital, Galway, late on Wednesday night suffering from severe head injuries received when, it is stated, he was dazzled by the lights of an oncoming car, while cycling near the Claddagh, lost his balance, and fell twenty feet into the Claddagh basin below. The tide was out at the time.
He was immediately removed to the Central Hospital, but a “Connacht Tribune” representative was informed on Thursday morning that Conneely was still unconscious.
Boy struck by car
A young boy named Keogh, from Canal Road, Galway, while on his way to school on Thursday morning at about 9a.m. was struck by a Ford Ten motor car at the Salmon Weir Bridge. The boy was suffering from shock and slight injuries and was immediately removed to the Central Hospital, but was not detained. He is a son of Mr. T. Keogh, N.T., St. Brendan’s School, Galway.
Vocational education
The evening classes in the Tuam Vocational School are such a success that practically all of them are filled with students, and a waiting list has been opened for new students. These evening classes include cookery, engineering, woodwork and domestic economy, Irish and art classes. There are a few vacancies in the art, Irish and commercial. Altogether 160 students are attending the evening classes, which continue from 8.15pm to 10 o’clock each night. We believe this is a record for a vocational school such a short time open.
The day classes, although satisfactory, are not so well attended. These classes include engineering, woodwork, art, commerce, domestic science and general subjects, and are intended as a continuation course for pupils after leaving school. They are held each day from 10am to 3.30pm.
People’s living conditions less than 100 years ago were frightening. We have come a long way. We talk about water charges today, but back then the local District Councils were erecting pumps for local communities and the lovely town of Mountbellew, according to Council minutes, had open sewers,” says Galway County Council archivist Patria McWalter.
Patria believes we “need to take pride in our history, and we should take the same pride in our historical records as we do in our built heritage”. When you see the wealth of material in her care, this belief makes sense.
She is in charge of caring for the rich collection of administrative records owned by Galway County Council and says “these records are as much part of our history as the Rock of Cashel is. They document our lives and our ancestors’ lives. And nobody can plan for the future unless you learn from the past, what worked and what didn’t”.
Archivists and librarians are often unfairly regarded as being dry, academic types, but that’s certainly not true of Patria. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she turns the pages of several minute books from Galway’s Rural District Councils, all of them at least 100 years old.
Part of her role involved cataloguing all the records of the Councils – Ballinasloe, Clifden, Galway, Gort, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Portumna and Tuam. These records mostly consisted of minutes of various meetings.
When she was cataloguing them she realised their worth to local historians and researchers, so she decided to compile a guide to their content. The result is For the Record: The Archives of Galway’s Rural District Councils, which will be a valuable asset to anybody with an interest in history.
Many representatives on these Councils were local personalities and several were arrested during the political upheaval of the era, she explains.
And, ushering in a new era in history, women were allowed to sit on these Rural District Councils – at the time they were not allowed to sit on County Councils.
All of this information is included in Patria’s introductory essay to the attractively produced A4 size guide, which gives a glimpse into how these Rural Councils operated and the way political thinking changed in Ireland during a short 26-year period. In the early 1900s, these Councils supported Home Rule, but by 1920, they were calling for full independence and refusing to recognise the British administration.
“I love the tone,” says Patria of the minutes from meetings. “The language was very emotive.”
That was certainly true of the Gort Rural District Council. At a meeting in 1907, following riots in Dublin at the premiere of JM Synge’s play, The Playboy of the Western World the councillors’ response was vehement. They recorded their decision to “protest most emphatically against the libellous comedy, The Playboy of the Western World, that was belched forth during the past week in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, under the fostering care of Lady Gregory and Mr Yeats. We congratulate the good people of Dublin in howling down the gross buffoonery and immoral suggestions that are scattered throughout this scandalous performance.
For more from the archives see this week’s Tribunes here
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
SLIGO 0-9
GALWAY 1-4
FRANK FARRAGHER IN ENNISCRONE
GALWAY’S first serious examination of the 2013 season rather disturbingly ended with a rating well below the 40% pass mark at the idyllic, if rather Siberian, seaside setting of Enniscrone on Sunday last.
The defeat cost Galway a place in the FBD League Final against Leitrim and also put a fair dent on their confidence shield for the bigger tests that lie ahead in February.
There was no fluke element in this success by an understrength Sligo side and by the time Leitrim referee, Frank Flynn, sounded the final whistle, there wasn’t a perished soul in the crowd of about 500 who could question the justice of the outcome.
It is only pre-season and last Sunday’s blast of dry polar winds did remind everyone that this is far from summer football, but make no mistake about it, the match did lay down some very worrying markers for Galway following a couple of victories over below par third level college teams.
Galway did start the game quite positively, leading by four points at the end of a first quarter when they missed as much more, but when Sligo stepped up the tempo of the game in the 10 minutes before half-time, the maroon resistance crumbled with frightening rapidity.
Some of the statistics of the match make for grim perusal. Over the course of the hour, Galway only scored two points from play and they went through a 52 minute period of the match, without raising a white flag – admittedly a late rally did bring them close to a draw but that would have been very rough justice on Sligo.
Sligo were backable at 9/4 coming into this match, the odds being stretched with the ‘missing list’ on Kevin Walsh’s team sheet – Adrian Marren, Stephen Coen, Tony Taylor, Ross Donovan, David Kelly, David Maye, Johnny Davey and Eamon O’Hara, were all marked absent for a variety of reasons.
Walsh has his Sligo side well schooled in the high intensity, close quarters type of football, and the harder Galway tried to go through the short game channels, the more the home side bottled them up.
Galway badly needed to find some variety in their attacking strategy and maybe there is a lot to be said for the traditional Meath style of giving long, quick ball to a full forward line with a big target man on the edge of the square – given Paul Conroy’s prowess close to goal last season, maybe it is time to ‘settle’ on a few basics.
Defensively, Galway were reasonably solid with Gary Sice at centre back probably their best player – he was one of the few men in maroon to deliver decent long ball deep into the attacking zone – while Finian Hanley, Conor Costello and Gary O’Donnell also kept things tight.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
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