Galway In Days Gone By

1915

Street hurlers

At the City Petty Sessions, before Mr. Joseph Kilbride, R.M., and Sir James O’Donohoe, three young men named Griffin, King and O’Connor were summoned for hurling on the street.

A boy named Patrick Griffin, who stated that he was employed at the boot repairing shop of Mr. MacCarthy, Market-street, gave evidence of having seen the defendants play hurley.

Cross-examined by Mr Nicholls (defending solr.): Did you actually see Patrick O’Connor hurling there and hitting the ball? – I did.

Did you see the others on the same evening? – I did.

Were they walking out to practice at the time and hitting the ball before them? – I could not swear, they were hitting the ball from one to the other on the street.

Do you know anything about hurling? – No.

You have heard the kind of game it is? Must you not have a goal at each end before you can have hurling? – Certainly.

Were there any goals on the street at that time? – No.

And must you not have fifteen men on each side? – I am not well up in the game, but I think so.

Mr. Nicholls submitted that the case must fail because the defendants were charged with playing a game of hurley on the street, but that could not be so since they had no goals up, and had not fifteen men aside.

The Head-Constable asked that the full penalty of 10s be inflicted on the defendants, as complaints had been made as to the practice. He asked Mr. Nicholls what was the weight of a hurley ball.

Mr. Nicholls: It is not for me to tell you.

Head-Constable: I thought you knew a lot about the game of hurling?

Mr. Nicholls: And so I do (laughter).

The Chairman, replying to Mr. Nicholls, said the defendants might not be playing a hurling match, but they could be playing hurling. Each of the defendants was fined 2s. 6d.

1940

Lemonade prosecution

Stated to be the first case of the kind brought in Galway, Martin McIntyre, Upper Bohermore, was fined £1 (without expenses) by District Justice Mac Giollarnath for “unlawfully keeping a refreshment house without being licensed contrary to Section 9 of the Refreshment House and Wine Licences (Ireland) Act, 1860.

John Kelly said that in April last, he was attached to the Customs at Galway. On the 18th of that month, he visited the defendant’s premises, a small shop, at approximately 10.15pm, and called for a bottle of lemonade, paid for it and consumed it on the premises.

He asked the proprietor if he had a refreshment house licence, and he said that he was not aware he had to have one.

Cross-examined by Mr. O’Donnell (solr.), the witness said that he believed this was the first case of its kind to be brought in Galway. There was no entertainment provided on the premises.

Mr. O’Donnell held that the case would be decided on the interpretation which would be put on the word ‘Entertainment’. A lot depended on the case because it would come as a great surprise to many people to find out that they had to pay revenue in certain circumstances to sell lemonade.

He asked the Justice not to impose any penalty until they got in touch with the Revenue Commissioners. This shop had since been closed.

Unprecedented drought

Many rivers in County Galway have reached their lowest level within living memory, water supplies are being anxiously watched, and in many districts, water in barrels is being carried for miles and cattle driven long distances to drink, following a summer of almost unprecedented drought.

The real gravity of the situation was disclosed at the monthly meeting of the Galway County Board of Health, where it was stated that ‘six months’ continuous rain would be wanted in many areas.

The meeting had before it a letter received from the County Secretary, Mr. C.I. O Floinn, urging the necessity of making alternative arrangements for pumping water in cases where pumps are at present operated by electricity from the Shannon scheme, so that in the event of a breakdown of existing electricity supplies, the continuity of water supplies may not be affected.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.