Galway In Days Gone By

1916

Pint-sized drinker

Edward Cosgrave, licensed publican, Lower Dominick-street, was summoned for supplying drink to a child under 14 years of age, Mary Madden, mother of the child (Kathleen Madden) was also charged.

Very Rev. Father Davis, P.P., who described the case as a very sad one, stated that on April 1, at 5p.m., he saw a little girl at the Claddagh carrying an open jug. He saw her drinking some of its contents.

He got off his bicycle to inquire if she attended school that week. He thought she might be only drinking milk, but he saw the signs of porter on her mouth.

The case was such a bad one, that he immediately took the jug and brought it to Sergeant Golding and asked him to make inquiries into the matter, and ascertain the name of the publican who sold the porter to the unfortunate child.

The publican was fined £1 1s and Mrs. Madden 1s.

Rising appreciation

At Loughrea Petty Sessions, a small number of unimportant police cases having been disposed of, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

“That we, the Justices of the Peace, hereby place on record our high appreciation of the good services rendered by all ranks of the R.I.C. in this district during the Sinn Féin Rising.

“The we sign to submit to the notice of the Inspector-General the excellent manner in which the District Inspector of Loughrea acted throughout these disturbed times, always displaying energy, tact and resource.”

1941

Major city fire

A fire which destroyed the premises of Messrs. Thos. McDonogh and Sons Ltd., Merchants’-road, Galway, during the small hours of Whit Monday morning caused damage to buildings and stock estimated at £50,000 and consequential damage which, it is believed, will total another £50,000.

The premises which vanished in the great blaze that raged for four hours, and necessitated the temporary evacuation from their homes of some twenty families residing in the vicinity, included: sawmills, hardware dept., linoleum stores, main office, glass stores and polishing shop.

Members of the L.D.F. and the L.S.F., a contingent of Gardaí, and hundreds of civilians laboured strenuously to assist the fire brigade in the effort to prevent the flames from spreading.

Shortly after two o’clock, three hundred men of the National Army arrived with their fire-fighting apparatus and rendered yeoman service.

At one time, the authorities contemplated blowing up a number of dwellings in order to prevent the spread of the flames, but this drastic measure proved unnecessary, and the blaze was got under complete control after four hours’ strenuous work. At the height of the outbreak, it was visible thirty miles away.

Nearly one hundred employees were affected by the destruction of the premises, but work has been found for all, and it is hoped to keep them employed during reconstruction.

Potatoes failed

There are disquieting reports about the potato crop from some districts. A Leenane farmer said that something in the nature of dry-rot occurred in his sets and he was compelled to ‘stick’ his plot with new seed. In most cases, the failures occurred where farmers had used old seed while awaiting seed from the Department which arrived late or not at all.

Reclamation scheme

One hundred and thirty members of the Construction Corps arrived at Shanafeistin in the Cloosh Valley last week, where they have embarked on a land reclamation scheme. They are billeted in a small ‘town’ of wooden huts formerly used by other members of the Defence Forces. On Tuesday, lorry loads of turf barrows passed into the valley. The men will commence by cutting turf and then reclaim the cut-away bogs.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.