Galway In Days Gone By

1915

Disturbed family

At Oranmore Petty Sessions, a man from Ballinacourty was summoned by his father for assault. He made an information on the 4th March, in which he stated that he missed a sum of money from his box.

He did not charge his son with stealing it, but some parties took it. His son beat him on several occasions, and was generally very violent towards him. On account of the treatment he got in his own house he had to leave it, and on many nights he had to sleep with his brother.

He reported the matter to the Clarenbridge police, and he averred that he was afraid of his son. It was mentioned to the Court that the priests of the district were interesting themselves towards bringing about peace in the family, and the magistrates adjourned the case for three months with this view.

1940

Disastrous Tuam fire

The most disastrous fire that occurred in Tuam since the Black-and-Tans burned the town in 1919, broke out on Monday evening. Flames rocketing skywards lit the skyline for miles around. One drapery shop was entirely gutted, the grocery and licensed premises adjoining was almost burned out, and the outside portion of a licensed premises on the opposite side of the street was badly burned.

The fire originated in the drapery premises of Mr. H.T. McKay, Shop-street, formerly known as the Arcade when it was in the occupation of Mrs. O’Toole.

About nine o’clock on Monday evening Mr. O’Hara, shop assistant, Tuam, who was standing in the tailoring premises of Mr. Patrick Walsh on the opposite side of the street, noticed thick circles of smoke and a slight glare of light inside the plate glass window of McKay’s premises on the ground floor.

Alarm was given for the fire brigade by Garda Friel, who had been on duty in the town. There was no time, however, to save any property as the fire spread with alarming rapidity.

It would appear to have originated in the back portion of the kitchen and worked its way along the ground floor. At about 9.20 an observer on Shop-street saw through the plate glass windows of Mr. McKay’s shop a mass of flame and the bursting noise of glass was heard. Then the flames shot out the window and huge tongues of fire licked the shops on the other side of the road, where the licensed and grocery premises of Mr. Thomas Connolly were the most seriously affected.

When the town fire brigade arrived about 9.30, the fire had reached ominous proportions and it looked as if it could not be overtaken. The Galway fire brigade arrived about 10.30 and was followed shortly afterwards by the military fire brigade from Athlone. With the three brigades operating, the fire was soon got under complete control. It is estimated there was at least €10,000 worth of damage done.

Blackout to blame

The darkness and ‘blackout’ prevailing was given as an excuse for his stumble by John Healy, an ex-British service man, Gort, at Gort Court on Saturday, when charged with drunkenness.

Guard Diffley said the man was drunk; he stumbled on to the footpath from the roadway. Mr. Cahill, D.J. said drink did not apparently agree with Healy, and he fined him 2s. 6d.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.