Galway In Days Gone By

1915

‘Seduction’ case

At Galway Quarter Sessions, Thomas Feerick sued Luke Connolly, Milltown, for damages for the alleged seduction of his sister. Mr. Concannon appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. McCormack (instructed by Mr. McDonogh, solr.) for defendant.

Miss Feerick said that on December 3, 1913, she met defendant near her brother’s house and he seduced her. They kept company on various occasions in February.

In May, she knew something was wrong with her, and she asked the defendant what he was going to do and he said that he would see that she would be all right, and promised to marry her, but she never saw him afterwards.

To Mr McCormack: Witness said it was at Christmas she knew she was in trouble. She was 28 years of age. She agreed to marry the defendant if he got rent receipts in his own name.

If he got the fortune, he said he would marry her. The parish priest, she heard, spoke publicly from the altar about the occurrence. He complained to her and her brother about the house they kept.

Connolly, the defendant, denied the charge. Father Diskin, the parish priest, when witness went to him, said he “would see him out of it”.

In cross-examination by Mr. Concannon, witness denied that he had ever even a conversation with the girl.

The case was adjourned to the following Thursday.

1940

Egg trade ruined

With the Department of Agriculture regulations regarding the marketing of eggs, Connemara has received its worst blow yet from the application of nationwide legislation to that area.

As a result of these new regulations, the egg trade has now been completely ruined in Connemara. In the course of enquiries throughout the area last week, our correspondent failed to find one rural shopkeeper who had not discontinued to handle eggs.

It appears that the shopkeepers do not object to paying the required registration fee of £1, but they find it impossible to comply with the regulation requiring them to market the eggs within two days.

Heretofore, lorries did rounds of all the rural shops in Connemara, at intervals of ten days, or maybe a week and collected all the eggs.

Under the new regulations, these lorries would have to call every second day. This, of course, would be unprofitable to the big egg dealers with whom the rural shopkeepers used to trade. The result has been that the egg lorries have ceased to call to the shops, and the shops in turn have ceased to take their eggs from their customers.

Country subsistence

One of the big mysteries at the moment in Connemara is how the families of relief scheme workers in the area manage to subsist on a net income of 13s. 7d. per week.

The average-sized family in places like Recess, Cashel, Carna and Rosmuc is composed of the father and mother and from eight to ten young children. Such a family will consume a sack of flour in a week costing 24s.

If we allow one pound of tea and five pounds of sugar, the weekly outlay totals about 29s. Butter and other odds and ends, including tobacco, would add an extra ten shillings, making a total of 39s. at a very conservative estimate.

Thus, the deficit in the domestic budget would amount to £1 5s. 11d. per week. Could any financial wizard tell us how this deficit is met? Is it any wonder that we have a decline in marriages and births and that the countryside is being abandoned.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.