Galway In Days Gone By

House tarred

A startling occurrence is reported from Athenry, where, on Wednesday night week, the house of Mrs. K. O’Neill, The Square, was tarred. Mrs. O’Neill’s house has been under police supervision since the beginning of the New Year, and the only reason that can be assigned for the tarring of her premises is that a relative of hers bought at a public auction recently a certain house property situated at the Square.

A representative of the “Tribune” learned that the house property in question, which fronts the Square, and adjoins Mr. Lynch’s drapery, was built by a Mrs. Broderick. Portion of the premises then built, but not included in the recent sale, is at present occupied by Mrs O’Flynn, a daughter of Mrs. Broderick. After Mrs. Broderick’s death, the larger and main portion came into the possession of her son, Mr. John F. Broderick. His interest was bought by a Mr. Bernard Nolan, on whose death the business was carried on by his wife, who married a Mr. Leavy.

For the past two years or thereabouts, she has ceased to do business in the premises, and on the 29th December last, the house was auctioned by order of the Courts.

A number of bidders, including solicitors and auctioneers, attended at the auction, and the property was knocked down to Mr. Hayes at £445.

Asked if she had any statement to make regarding the tarring, Mrs. O’Neill named certain parties as being responsible. She denied that it was for her use Mr. Hayes bought the property. It might have been for his sister that Mr. Hayes bought it. The auction was open to any person who wished to bid. She denied that her house had been fired into.

Mrs O’Flynn, The Square, said that she had hoped she would have been able to secure ownership of the house, which had been built by her mother, and she did not expect she would have any opposition at the auction. She had been prepared to pay more than any reserved price.

1943

Port for Connacht

Somewhat in the manner of the Skibbereen Eagle which became famous long ago by announcing that it was “keeping an eye on the Tsar”, our Waterford contemporary, the Evening News, has warned us that it is watching Galway with dark suspicion.

Because we commented on the fact that Tramore had been given pride of place in the Irish Tourist Board’s development schemes at a time when there was no suggestion of anything being done for Galway and Salthill our contemporary declares that “for some time past Galway has been displaying a hostile complex about Waterford” and it reads a deeply sinister meaning into the decision to send a deputation to Dublin with a view of getting more ships for our hard-hit port.

“This move,” says the Evening news, “looks rather like an effort to exert ‘undue influence’ on the Government to divert traffic from other ports,” and it goes on to proclaim “Waterford will endeavour to prevent any diversion of what little shipping now comes into our fine, safe and conveniently located harbour.”

Truly, all is yellow to the jaundiced eye, but for sheer unadulterated ráiméis, we have seldom read an editorial pronouncement to equal this. Nobody will be more surprised that the members of the Galway deputation to learn that they are going up to Dublin to “exert undue influence” on the Government.

They are under the impression that the object of the deputation is to place before the responsible authorities the full facts as to the complete absence of shipping from this port for the past year and more, and to suggest that it should be possible to send at least one cargo boat a month to discharge and load at Galway docks.

Military ‘attack’

From 2p.m. to 6p.m. on Sunday, large-scale exercise in which all of the voluntary services of the district took part, were carried out in Loughrea. The town was “attacked” at 3 o’clock from all sides by L.D.F. units from neighbouring villages, while units from the town defended.

Incidents arising from these engagements brought the L.S.F. into action and this branch had a busy time dealing with attempted “bank robberies”, “looting of food depots”, etc.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.