Archive News
One of Galway’s best-known characters retires from work
Date Published: {J}
One of the best known characters in Galway can now kick back and enjoy more time to himself after he retired from working life this week.
Brendan Coffey has finished up working in Debenhams (formerly Roche’s Stores), where he held a position for more than 30 years.
He was born 65 years ago in Dublin on January 10 1945, the same day as Rod Stewart, and his work mates and friends this week honoured him with a big farewell party in the Imperial Hotel.
Brendan was born in Rathfarnham, Dublin on January 10 1945, he was cared for in his early years by the Sisters of Charity in Cabra, and later as a young boy transferred to the care of the brothers of Charity in Cork.
From there he moved to Galway and in his late teens he began a working career that saw him work in many Galway hotels including the Warwick, The Rio, The Timree, The Banba and the Corrib Great Southern before taking up his position with Roche’s Stores and, subsequently, Debenhams.
Brendan lives independently in Renmore under the Brothers of Charity semi-independent living programme. He has a beautiful modern home in which he is extremely happy.
At the farewell party for him in the Imperial Hotel at the weekend, Brendan was described by former colleagues as “a unique and generous man who has endeared himself to many sporting and charitable organisations in Galway for whom he works tirelessly”.
“Not a man for formalities he invariably self-appoints to the cause of many organisations and the fruits of his endeavours, for the causes, were always, without exception, deeply appreciated,” the tribute said.
It would be impossible to list all the organisations, but he is a familiar sight collecting for Western Alzheimers, Daffodil Day, Irish Kidney Association, Croí, CRY (Christmas Day swim), Brothers of Charity, Oranmore Senior Citizens, Abbey Church Sale of Work and St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church to name but a few.
On each St Patrick’s Day Brendan volunteers as steward for the dignitaries stand for the city’s parade and he also helps the Galway Vintage Motor Club, the Galway Solemn Novena and for years he helped the Renmore Panto.
“Another major role he plays is that of Mascot to the Galway Senior footballers and, as he says himself, he is the only one left from the John Dunne era. He is known throughout Ireland’s main GAA grounds, not least Croke Park where he has been on first name terms with Presidents and Taoisigh alike,” colleagues said in their tribute.
Those who know the man well say that his persona, despite being literacy and numerically challenged, is amazing and he never forgets a face although everyone he knows is invariably greeted by ‘Hello Boss’.
“He is one of Galway’s true characters who is happiest when he is with people let it be in his workplace, GAA stadia, travelling on the bus or train or sitting in Eyre Square, and it is our hope that he enjoys the long, happy and healthy retirement that he truly deserves,” the colleagues said.
People’s living conditions less than 100 years ago were frightening. We have come a long way. We talk about water charges today, but back then the local District Councils were erecting pumps for local communities and the lovely town of Mountbellew, according to Council minutes, had open sewers,” says Galway County Council archivist Patria McWalter.
Patria believes we “need to take pride in our history, and we should take the same pride in our historical records as we do in our built heritage”. When you see the wealth of material in her care, this belief makes sense.
She is in charge of caring for the rich collection of administrative records owned by Galway County Council and says “these records are as much part of our history as the Rock of Cashel is. They document our lives and our ancestors’ lives. And nobody can plan for the future unless you learn from the past, what worked and what didn’t”.
Archivists and librarians are often unfairly regarded as being dry, academic types, but that’s certainly not true of Patria. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she turns the pages of several minute books from Galway’s Rural District Councils, all of them at least 100 years old.
Part of her role involved cataloguing all the records of the Councils – Ballinasloe, Clifden, Galway, Gort, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Portumna and Tuam. These records mostly consisted of minutes of various meetings.
When she was cataloguing them she realised their worth to local historians and researchers, so she decided to compile a guide to their content. The result is For the Record: The Archives of Galway’s Rural District Councils, which will be a valuable asset to anybody with an interest in history.
Many representatives on these Councils were local personalities and several were arrested during the political upheaval of the era, she explains.
And, ushering in a new era in history, women were allowed to sit on these Rural District Councils – at the time they were not allowed to sit on County Councils.
All of this information is included in Patria’s introductory essay to the attractively produced A4 size guide, which gives a glimpse into how these Rural Councils operated and the way political thinking changed in Ireland during a short 26-year period. In the early 1900s, these Councils supported Home Rule, but by 1920, they were calling for full independence and refusing to recognise the British administration.
“I love the tone,” says Patria of the minutes from meetings. “The language was very emotive.”
That was certainly true of the Gort Rural District Council. At a meeting in 1907, following riots in Dublin at the premiere of JM Synge’s play, The Playboy of the Western World the councillors’ response was vehement. They recorded their decision to “protest most emphatically against the libellous comedy, The Playboy of the Western World, that was belched forth during the past week in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, under the fostering care of Lady Gregory and Mr Yeats. We congratulate the good people of Dublin in howling down the gross buffoonery and immoral suggestions that are scattered throughout this scandalous performance.
For more from the archives see this week’s Tribunes here
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
SLIGO 0-9
GALWAY 1-4
FRANK FARRAGHER IN ENNISCRONE
GALWAY’S first serious examination of the 2013 season rather disturbingly ended with a rating well below the 40% pass mark at the idyllic, if rather Siberian, seaside setting of Enniscrone on Sunday last.
The defeat cost Galway a place in the FBD League Final against Leitrim and also put a fair dent on their confidence shield for the bigger tests that lie ahead in February.
There was no fluke element in this success by an understrength Sligo side and by the time Leitrim referee, Frank Flynn, sounded the final whistle, there wasn’t a perished soul in the crowd of about 500 who could question the justice of the outcome.
It is only pre-season and last Sunday’s blast of dry polar winds did remind everyone that this is far from summer football, but make no mistake about it, the match did lay down some very worrying markers for Galway following a couple of victories over below par third level college teams.
Galway did start the game quite positively, leading by four points at the end of a first quarter when they missed as much more, but when Sligo stepped up the tempo of the game in the 10 minutes before half-time, the maroon resistance crumbled with frightening rapidity.
Some of the statistics of the match make for grim perusal. Over the course of the hour, Galway only scored two points from play and they went through a 52 minute period of the match, without raising a white flag – admittedly a late rally did bring them close to a draw but that would have been very rough justice on Sligo.
Sligo were backable at 9/4 coming into this match, the odds being stretched with the ‘missing list’ on Kevin Walsh’s team sheet – Adrian Marren, Stephen Coen, Tony Taylor, Ross Donovan, David Kelly, David Maye, Johnny Davey and Eamon O’Hara, were all marked absent for a variety of reasons.
Walsh has his Sligo side well schooled in the high intensity, close quarters type of football, and the harder Galway tried to go through the short game channels, the more the home side bottled them up.
Galway badly needed to find some variety in their attacking strategy and maybe there is a lot to be said for the traditional Meath style of giving long, quick ball to a full forward line with a big target man on the edge of the square – given Paul Conroy’s prowess close to goal last season, maybe it is time to ‘settle’ on a few basics.
Defensively, Galway were reasonably solid with Gary Sice at centre back probably their best player – he was one of the few men in maroon to deliver decent long ball deep into the attacking zone – while Finian Hanley, Conor Costello and Gary O’Donnell also kept things tight.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
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