Galway In Days Gone By

1915

Rotten eggs

At the City Petty Sessions, Patrick Nolan summoned Edward Kiely, shop assistant, in the employment of Mr. Thomas Keane, Shop-street, Galway for assault.

The complainant said that he was doing a little job for Father Davis, P.P. – picking weeds. He went out to Mr. Keane’s to get some grass seed, and when passing the gateway near the shop, there were a number of boys nearby who threw rotten eggs at him. The eggs were all scattered over his clothes. He identified the accused as being one of the party. There were at least 12 or 13 eggs thrown.

Chairman: Sort of electioneering eggs?

Witness: Bad eggs.

Sergt. Rogers, in reply to the Chairman, said the youngsters of the street had the old man annoyed everywhere he went.

They called him “Big shilling”, which annoyed him very much.

Chairman: It is no fun to be annoying an old man like this. A fine of 10s. and 2s. 6d costs was imposed.

Mr. Nicolls subsequently entered the Court, and asked, on behalf of the defendant, for liberty to impose a cross-summons for abusive language, which was granted.

In cross-examination by Mr. Nicolls, he said young people around the town call him “Big shilling.”

Chairman: There is no harm in that, man.

He did not know if “big shilling” was called before the eggs were thrown; he was so much excited by the shower of rotten eggs. He would swear he saw Kiely throw one egg. He forgot if he abused or shouted at Kiely.

Mr. Nicholls said his client was a most respectable boy. He was in Mr. Keane’s employment for four years. Mr. Kiely heard a noise outside and came to the door to look out, and then Nolan started to abuse him. His client never threw an egg at all.

Chairman: The conviction stands. I hold if he did not actually fire the eggs himself, he aided and abetted. He (defendant) does not bring anybody here to corroborate his evidence.

1940

A lucky omen?

Sea-going folk are a superstitions people, a little incident, unpleasant in itself, which happened a short-time before the United States liner, President Roosevelt, turned out towards the Atlantic and home on Sunday afternoon, was regarded by many whose lives are connected with the sea as an augury of a happy and uneventful voyage.

As the pilot was climbing the rope ladder up the side of the liner to take it out from port, he received an unpleasant douche directed from the liner’s side by some innocent passenger or member of the crew.

Even the launch from which he had climbed, the property of Mr. Patterson, the American vice-consul at Cobh, was well bespattered and both pilot and launch had to undergo a cleansing operation.

According to the superstition of the sea, as told by Mr. Arthurs, the Éire Government surveyor, this would have been an augury of misfortune had it happened to any other but the pilot or the captain of the liner. As it was, it was looked upon as a lucky omen.

In any case, when the liner with its complement of 720 passengers and 250 tons of baggage hauled anchor and turned towards the sea. With the exception of one elderly lady, there was not a person on board who feared anything untoward on the trip.

But there was one man who was evidently unhappy. It was not however, that he feared the passage; it was merely that he had left behind him his most treasured possession.

This was a collection of crates containing metal castings and other material for the manufacture of bakelite. He claimed to have had invented the machinery which, he said, would produce the bakelite substitute much cheaper than bakelite can be produced.

Regarded as other than baggage by the Customs authorities, the materials had to be left behind. The owner was a Mr. Monaghan with a New Jersey address.