Galway In Days Gone By

1918

You can sing it

At the Tuam Quarter Sessions on Wednesday, before his Honor, Judge Doyle, K.C., Recorder of Galway, Michl. Costello and John Donohoe applied for £6 5s. compensation, for the alleged malicious destruction of a plough – Mr. A.J. Fallen, solr., Mountbellew, appeared for the applicants, and Mr. H. Concannon, solr., for the Mountbellew District Council.

The facts, as stated by Mr. Fallon, were that Mr. E.J. Concannon, Tuam went to set some lands at Waterloo to tenants for conacre. The men wanted the conacre for three crops, but Mr. Concannon refused to let it for more than two seasons.

The tenants then refused to take the land, and one of the men, who appeared to be the ringleader, said: “There is no fear of us starting. We are not going to till land and send the stuff over the feed the English.”

Mr. Concannon subsequently set ten acres of land to Michael Costello (one of the applicants), Pat Scanlon and John Kelly. There was much local feeling against Costello getting the land, and a song was composed in reference to the affair.

His Honor: I would like you to sing it, Mr. Fallon (laughter).

Mr. Fallon: No; but I will read it. It is not set to music yet (renewed laughter).

Mr. Fallon then read the song, amidst laughter.

His Honor: It is not a correct metre, I am afraid (laughter).

Mr. Fallon said the plough was taken one night, and no trace of it could be found. Mr. Concannon admitted malice.

The only question was whether the plough was maliciously destroyed or stolen. He admitted that it was a case of larceny.

His Honor reserved judgement until next Sessions.

1943

New mail sorting

No appreciable benefit has yet been conferred on Galway City by the operation of the scheme whereby the mails are sorted on the train from Dublin to Galway. Mr. J. Kelly, Superintendent at Galway Post Office, told a Connacht Tribune reporter that it would be unfair to look for an improvement so far in view of the fact that since the scheme came into operation on January 4th the incoming train to Galway has been running late every day.

Asked if the sorting of the mails on the train by men who are unfamiliar with the topography of Galway City had led to any confusion in the delivery service, Mr Kelly said that no confusion had been caused.

As Galway City is one of the most difficult places in Ireland in which to conduct a good delivery service in view of the duplicating and triplicating of street names – many streets have not been officially named yet.

Mr. Kelly thought that it would be unfair to criticise the work of the sorters on the mail train at this stage. Should the work be unsatisfactory after they had had a reasonable opportunity to become acquainted with the city topography criticism would be justified.

Road freight

Mr. J. W. Rattray, Superintendent of all the G.S.R. road and rail services other than passenger train services in the Galway area, has undertaken a vast reorganisation of the road freight services in West Galway.

Already, Mr. Rattray has prepared a scheme for a big extension of the road freight services, and has appointed agents in many country centres for the collection and delivery of goods.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.