Galway In Days Gone By

1916

Dangerous Docks

No year passes that a reporter is not despatched on at least a few occasions from these offices on a melancholy mission to the Docks. Some hapless wanderer, or some person on business-intent, has fallen in, and the waters have closed about him.

There is the inquest, and the vote of sympathy with the relatives; perchance a perfunctory recommendation that the Docks be better protected – a few tears and a funeral.

Thereafter, things are allowed to go on in the old careless way, as if “whatever is, is best” applied even to the means to be taken to preserve human life.

This week we have had the melancholy tale of a double tragedy. An aged sailor engaged in the work of protecting our coastlines and securing that we shall have food brought over the seas, and his little boy companion, who had scarce looked out over the threshold of life, have gone to their death.

The Coroner, speaking without expert knowledge, but with human feeling, made a passionate protest.

The Harbour Master replied that the Board of Trade was satisfied, and that the trade of the port would be impeded by hand-rails or life-protecting chains.

So was the Board of Trade satisfied before the Titanic took fifteen hundred souls to their doom, and proved that the facilities hitherto recognised for life-saving at sea were miserably inadequate.

Could not the Docks of Galway, like the Docks of Limerick, be enclosed? Some years ago Mr. James Purcell, of Meelick, walked into the basin at Wellesley Bridge and was drowned. The city rose in indignation; and for the last 20 years, no preventable tragedy has occurred.

Will Galway longer tolerate a careless ineptitude that is content to bask under official approval, and that accepts no inconvenience or cost to protect the lives of its citizens?

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” It is for the people to enforce their will, and insist upon the Harbour Commissioners finding the way.

1941

Blow to cattle trade

The position which I outlined in the Tribune some weeks ago in connection with the export of store cattle has now been officially announced. When cattle exports are resumed – and that may be longer delayed than had been generally expected – the British will not take from us young store animals.

They will, it appears, only take store cattle which are approximately two years old, or technically speaking, animals which have two teeth “set”.

They may even insist that, in addition to two teeth fully grown, two other teeth must have made an appearance. That would certainly mean the end of the young cattle export trade for the present.

Search for plots

Members of Galway Corporation who conducted a search for allotment land – they had received 650 applications for ‘plots’ – found many landowners in and around the city loath to part even temporarily with a square foot of soil.

They did not approach the golf club because, as the Town Clerk pointed out, it would be very expensive to relay the sod afterwards if they had succeeded in getting land there.

The Sports Ground – described by one solicitor as “the Lansdowne Road of Galway” – was not available because it was “almost continuously” in use for sports.

Petrol rationing

“It is very hard to know how the petrol ration is arrived at, because you will see people whose business is not important running around in private cars.”

This statement was made by the Secretary of the County Galway Committee of Agriculture at the monthly meeting.

The Secretary had reported that instructors employed by the Committee were complaining of the shortage of petrol. They were only getting what would be best described as a ridiculous allowance and they were forced to hire cars the rates for which had gone up to ninepence a mile.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.