Galway In Days Gone By

1918

Arms raid

Another raid for arms is reported from the Headford district, where, in the village of Ballyconlaght, lying on the shores of Lough Corrib, the house of Thomas Connell was entered by two masked men on Sunday night week, and a shotgun taken away.

Connell, who is a small farmer and lives alone with his sister, was not home at the time of the raid, having left to sell a horse at Claremorris fair, which was held on the following day. Along with Miss Connell in the house were four young men from the neighbourhood, who had come in on a visit and a young lady named Miss Jennings.

They were all sitting at the fireside, chatting, about 8.30, when the door was opened, and two men, with masks, and handkerchiefs ties on their heads, walked in.

One of them carried a gun, which he presented at Miss Connell, while the other mounted a chair and took down Mr. Connell’s shot gun, which was placed over the fireplace.

Miss Connell remonstrated with the man, but the other moved closer to him, until the gun muzzle was almost touching her, thus frightening her to silence.

While in the house they did not speak a word, and were not spoken to by any of those present except Miss Connell.

House fired into

Early on Friday night, a moon-lighting party made an attack upon the house of Thomas Molloy, at Belville, about four miles from Athenry, and riddled the kitchen and bedroom windows with shot. In all, nine shots are reported to have been discharged at the premises, but, fortunately no one was injured.

Molloy is a herd in the employment of Patrick Raftery, Woodlawn, who some time ago acquired lands in the Belville district, which are said to be claimed by the people in the vicinity. This supplies the only motive for the outrage.

1943

Three robberies

Galway City was the scene of three burglaries on Friday night when the following premises were broken into: The Estoria Cinema, Irish Shell Ltd., The Castle Hotel. The robberies were reported to the Galway Gardaí early on Saturday morning and investigations started immediately.

Excellent work by the Galway Gardaí led to four arrests on Saturday night and at a special court on Sunday before Mr. R. Powell, P.C., at Eglinton-street Barracks, four men were charged in connection with two of the offences.

Salthill on the wane

At a meeting of the Galway Branch of the Irish Tourist Association, Mr. O’Neill, Eyre-street, referred to the condition of the ladies’ bathing pool at Salthill and said that a stranger who saw the condition of that pool would say that Salthill was on the wane.

That pool should be repaired within the next three months. The men’s bathing place at Salthill was without sanitary convenience or a shelter and there were no sanitary conveniences at the women’s bathing place.

Ald. Owens agreed with Mr. O’Neill that it was a disgrace that the bathing pool at Salthill had been left so long in a bad condition.

Murder charge

At a Special Court in Eglinton-st. Barracks, Galway, on Monday, before Mr. S. Lee, P.C., Martin Griffin (48), Bushypark, Galway, was charged with the murder of his wife, Bridget Griffin (53), at their home in Bushypark between the hours of 10pm on Feb. 28th and 7am on March 1st.

The inquest into her death heard her face was markedly bruised, there were twelve separate deep wounds on the forehead and head, and the injuries were consistent with being struck with a hatchet. A blood-stained hatchet was produced.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.