Treasures of past inspire Brendan’s debut book

Date Published: 11-Jan-2013

The author of a new book on Eyre Square can well claim to be an authority on writer Pádraic Ó Conaire as it was his chosen subject for his second Masters degree.

Brendan McGowan, who turned 37 on Wednesday, loves his job as Mediator and Development Officer at the Galway City Museum and is thrilled with his new publication, which commemorates the 300th anniversary of the Square being handed over to the city.

He had already completed a Masters on the writer and Albert Power’s iconic limestone sculpture of Sean Phádraic, so had carried out a lot of research into Eyre Square.

“I have always hated the idea of spending one or two years on a Masters and then having all that work gathering dust just lying there on a shelf. It seemed only right to put together a book out of that research to coincide with the 300th anniversary year,” says Brendan.

That was his second Masters (and was awarded by the University of Ulster). His first was in Irish Heritage from the GMIT where he started out in civil engineering.

“I did engineering for two years but didn’t really like it but I liked Galway so stayed around.” After mapping graveyards in the Connemara area for the Galway Family History Society, he realised his real passion.

Brendan is a Mayo man whose father is from Donegal and mother is from Leeds, where his parents met and where his grandparents had a well known pub, The Regent.

His first Masters was on Irish emigrants (mostly from Mayo) in Leeds and he discovered having a connection with The Regent was a valuable entrée to the Irish community he needed to talk to for his research.

“I loved that research. I still have an uncle in Leeds so I spent the days talking to members of the Irish community and nights enjoying a few pints with my uncle! But often I felt bad enjoying myself in the evenings after interviewing people living in council flats in high rise buildings surrounded by drug addicts,” says Brendan who also interviewed Irish who had carved out a good life for themselves in Leeds.

He loves geography, history and folklore as much as he loves research and is already working on two more publications.

His knowledge of Eyre Square is wide and is not confined to the statue of Sean Phádraic which is now in the Galway City Museum.

The book charts the era from when it was a fairgreen outside the city walls in medieval times to it being handed over by the Eyre family to the city and focuses on the many monuments that were in the Square since then.

As it happens, it was not just the Sean Phádraic statue which proved controversial when it was removed from there during the most recent refurbishment works.

There was also the Lord Dunkellin monument which was removed in 1922 as soon as the British Army vacated Renmore Barracks. The Lord was hated locally. The bronze statue made by renowned artist, John Henry Foley, was removed from its plinth by a mob and dumped in the river – Brendan recently discovered that it was almost immediately retrieved and melted down. The plinth was subsequently used for the Castlegar Civil War Monument on the Tuam Road, which Brendan finds ironic.

Brendan loves hearing stories, even more so, when they throw more light on an historical event. It is no doubt his curiosity and genuine interest in people’s stories which make him a good researcher.

He appreciates how many people believe the Sean Phádraic statue should still be in the Square but he believes it is in the right place.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.