Galway in Days Gone By
Galway In Days Gone By
1917
Defence of the Realm
On Wednesday night and early on Thursday morning, Michael Thornton, M.T., Furbough, and Mr. George Nicolls, B.A., Coroner for West Galway, were arrested at their homes and conveyed to Renmore Depot.
Yesterday, the arrests took place of Mr. Padraic O’Maille, D.O., Maam, and Mr. Richard Murphy, merchant, Athenry. All these men were interned from Easter Week until the general release of the Irish prisoners before Christmas.
Yesterday afternoon the mail train from Galway to Dublin was stopped by special order at Renmore siding, and the prisoners were taken away under armed escort. Their arrest was taken calmly, and there has been no demonstration of any kind.
It is not known on what charge the prisoners have been re-arrested, but it is supposed that this step has been taken under the Defence of the Realm Act.
A Dublin correspondent writes that the arrested men will be deported to England where they will be compelled to reside for the present. Barney Mellows, who has been arrested in Dublin, is a brother of Liam Mellows who escaped from England before the Easter Rising, and led the Volunteers in Galway, after which he is supposed to have escaped to America.
Police intervention
The power of the Food Controller was made evident in Galway on Saturday, when the police intervened to enforce Lord Davenport’s order, fixing the price of potatoes at 1s. per stone. There was a fairly large market, and from 1s. 3d to 1s. 5d was demanded by the vendors of the potato. The member of the constabulary informed the sellers that they would not be permitted to receive more than 1s. per stone. After some demure and deliberation, they decided to accept the amount divided upon.
1942
Hush hush!
Galway Corporation on Thursday welcomed back to its bosom Councillor Joseph Young, who was making his first appearance since an accident in the hunting field. During his regretted absence from its deliberations our local legislature, as was its duty, had held several meetings to discuss the appalling conditions that exist in the Galway slums, and the Connacht Tribune duly reported those meetings, as was our duty.
This has upset Councillor Young. It is bad for the tourist traffic, he says. Rambling around Clare and Limerick during his convalescences, he found many people who, apparently, were regular readers of the Connacht Tribune (advertisers please note) and who wanted to know what was wrong. One gathers that they said as one man put it “Kilkee for our holidays – or Lisdoonvarna – any place but Galway!”
This sort of thing must stop, says Councillor Young. When next Dr. Powell, or some other conscientious official, exposes any of our sores – the dreadful news must be kept out of the press. The newspapers graciously will be permitted to expatiate for all they are worth on the many advantages of Galway as a holiday centre, including its remarkably low death rate, but must not, in any circumstances, hint that, in common with thousands of other holiday centres at home and abroad, it has its black patches.
A similar outcry was raised by some members of the Corporation when this paper exposed the scandal of the water supply about a year ago. One gentleman accused us of taking the bread out of the mouths of poor people who had to depend upon the tourist trade for a living. But we persisted, with the result that the citizens of Galway now have a safe water supply – and, despite all the croakings of the dismal Jeremiahs, last year’s tourist season was one of the best the city has ever enjoyed.
The only way in which Galway Corporation can prevent us from publishing reports of its proceedings is to hold the meetings behind closed doors or in committee. Otherwise, we shall continue to do our duty by the public and every man who is deliberately responsible for bad housing or insanitary conditions can rely upon us to give him all the publicity he deserves – if his name is mentioned at a Corporation public meeting.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
1923
Gloom after war
The special correspondent of the “Independent”, who has been writing of the aftermath of civil war in the West, notes that a feeling of apathy, due to the uncertainty of events, exists amongst the sorely-tried people of Connemara; that politics are referred to only with disgust and that not more than fifty per cent. of the people would vote at a general election; that poverty and unemployment are rife, and there is a growing tendency towards emigration; and that there are bitter complaints of the huge impost of rates and taxes.
It is only too true that there is enough of material for the pessimist to brood over, and that a feeling of gloom permeates country towns. But it is a poor tribute to patriotism that has survived such horrors to encourage this gloom.
It is the duty of all of us to get this pessimism out of the national body and to rid ourselves of the notion that we have not enough Christianity and moral sense left to restore our people to cheerful and ordered progress and industry.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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1923
Peace negotiations
As we go to press, An Dáil is discussing the Peace negotiations between the Government and Mr. de Valera. It was announced on Wednesday for the first time that such negotiations were begun following Mr. de Valera’s “cease fire” proclamation of April 27, and that by the 30th of the month Senators Andrew Jameson and James Douglas were asked by him to discuss proposals.
They said it was for the Government to discuss; they could only confer. Into the ensuring conferences the Government declined to enter personally, but on May 3 the senators placed before Mr. de Valera the Cabinet’s terms, which were that future issues should be decided by the majority vote of the elected representatives of the people, and that as a corollary and a preliminary to the release of prisoners, all lethal weapons should be in the custody and control of the Executive Government.
Mr. de Valera relied to this on May 7 with a document in which he agreed to majority rule and control of arms, but added that arms should be stored in a suitable building in each province under armed Republican guard until after the elections in September, that the oath should not be made a test in the councils of the nation, and that all political prisoners should be released immediately on the signing of this agreement.
“You have brought back to us,” wrote President Cosgrave, “not an acceptance of our conditions, but a long and wordy document inviting debate where none is possible”.
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.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
1923
State of the parties
Speculation as to parties after the next Irish elections is exceedingly interesting, especially in view of the enlarged franchise.
In Dublin, the view appears to be held by a number of people that Labour will make a great bid for power.
Dublin, however, has a curiously insular habit of thought where matters that concern all Ireland and in which Ireland has a say are concerned. We hope this insularity will rapidly disappear under the new conditions.
The country as a whole is backing the Farmers’ Party, and has not the smallest doubt that it will be the strongest combination in the next Dáil, and that it will oust the purely political parties, the one because it has resorted to force, the other because it has been compelled to use force to supress force, and the Labour Party because Ireland feels that at the back of its policy lurks the danger of Communism.
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.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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