Connacht Tribune
Veteran fiddler still going strong as he marks 100 years
He celebrated his century with a return to the stage of An Taibhdhearc after 780 years – and drove himself to his 100th birthday party. Tom Quinn is still hale and hearty, and he sat down with Ivan Smyth to talk about his long and eventful life.
Tom Quinn greets me at the front door of his house on a rainy Saturday morning. We pass by pictures and plaques gathered from roughly 86 years of playing the fiddle. He rushes inside and cleans up his plate of toast as we enter his kitchen.
We sit in a corner as he stares out the window at the bushes before directing his attention to the back door which he insists on leaving open. On the windowsill lie leaflets on gardening and scraps of paper. He adjusts his seat and grabs a tea towel to clean up.
He plays with the button of his grey jacket and the collar of his blue shirt. Above his head hangs a balloon celebrating his 100th birthday. To the right, on a wall in the corner but still clearly visible is a clock in the shape of a fiddle.
He is tired but willing to talk about his love of music and his interesting life. He was only home at 12:30am the previous night after playing in the Emerald Bar in Ballinasloe, where he goes every Friday.
He first played the fiddle in 1943 at 14 years of age – but how did he end up doing so?
“My brother; he wanted to buy a gun and my mother wouldn’t let him. As a compromise she bought him a fiddle,” he says, struggling to contain his laughter.
Legendary South Galway fiddle player Jack Mulkere brought Tom’s brother in to the local hall where the Gort man would give lessons to young musicians. It was there that Tom realised he had a passion for music.
“I used to be listening and I was taking it up as quick as he was,” he remembers.
From there Tom decided to play and has continued to do so ever since. He was born on February 24 1919 and is still fit and healthy.
So what is the secret to living such a long life?
“Well I never drank or smoked. No matter where I performed growing up, there was always drinking and smoking but it never bothered me.”
He was raised in Athenry before moving to Ballinasloe in 1941. He worked in St Brigid’s hospital for 42 years and it was there that he discovered his second passion, gardening.
He states: “Halfway through my time there I was put in the garden. I spent half my time as a nurse and half as a gardener. I kept at it after I left in 1983.”
He continues to grow his own vegetables. On his table sits leaflets on different seeds and flowers.
He picks up one before showing me in to his sitting room where he houses potted plants alongside photos of his family and the various groups he has played with. Every item holds a memory for him.
As we return to the kitchen he stares out at his garden as the rain continues to beat down. A car sits outside in the narrow driveway.
The Athenry native says: “I do still drive. I am happy enough at it. All I do is drive down to the chapel and into Ballinasloe.”
He has five children, 14 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He married his wife Lily in 1951. They were together for nearly 60 years before she died eight years ago at the age of 87.
His youngest son Declan states: There was a void in his life when she passed away. He was lonely but he had great support from neighbours and friends while his music helped keep him active.”
Declan’s daughter, Niamh, plays the fiddle as her granddad encourages her to when they visit him. Tom’s son Tomás also plays and brings his father to perform every Friday evening.
Declan knows how important music is for his father and how much he has enjoyed playing with the Ballianasloe Comhaltas.
He says: “Dad loves the social aspect. He has a great grá for it. He has played all over the country and loves mixing with people.”
Former neighbour and Irish dancer Michael Cusack says: “When the feis’ would take place, he would start playing at 9am Saturday morning and might not finish until 10pm Sunday evening.”
Tom does not hesitate when asked what he enjoys most about playing the fiddle.
“The company,” he says. “It helps me feel part of the community. I love meeting and talking to people when I go and play.”
Alongside playing every Friday, he also performs in the social services in Ballinasloe on Tuesdays.
“I do play the social services every Tuesday and I am the oldest one in it,” he says, chuckling to himself.
And with that, he gathers his fiddle and plays a tune – one of many played along the way…with many more still to come.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
