Galway In Days Gone By

Regulating traffic

At the Galway Petty Sessions on Monday, Head-Constable Killacky had a summons against Albert R. Cooke, J.P., Clonkea House, Eyrecourt, for driving a motor car on the public highway without a licence. Defendant was not in Court, but it appeared he had communicated with the Bench by letter.

The Head-Constable said the defendant, when challenged, drew himself up on the street and said: “Do you know whom you are talking to?”. At this point each listless person in Court pricked his ear and there was a dramatic pause in witness’s evidence, after which he added: “Well, I looked at him, and then told him that I did not see anything particularly striking about him” (loud laughter in which the Bench joined). “I also said: ‘Show me your licence, and I’ll know all about it’. He showed me his licence at it was out of date since the 13th September. To-day, I understand that he is a magistrate of this county.”

Mr. Kilbride, R.M., chair (consulting a letter with mourning edges): Yes, he is a new magistrate. Mr. Cooke does like to say that it was unintentional, and I suppose you would not say that it was not, Head?

Complainant: No, your worship. In fact, I would not have summoned him at all, only for the attitude he took up. He then got up on the car and drove away without a licence, although he could get one in the town.

Complainant: The fact is, sir, we are trying to regulate the traffic in this town a little.

Defendant was fined £1.

Eyre Square Fair

A fair for pigs, carrel and sheep was held at Eyre-square on Wednesday. About 300 pigs were for sale. Buying commenced at 6 0’clock and all were sold before nine. The price per cwt. was 80s to 90s. Sheep were well represented, but buyers were scarce

The highest price was £3 10s. There was a good demand for lambs, which were sold from 40s. to 45s. A fine lot of cattle were offered for sale, but it was late when buying commenced, with the result that many vendors had to sell at a loss. A buyer bought 36 cattle at an average price of £22 apiece. This price was considerably under that obtained at the May fair. A large number of calves were disposed of, but the prices were low.

1941

New hospital block

On the recommendation of Mr. A.E. Smith, Quantity Surveyor, Galway Hospitals and Dispensaries Committee, the tender of Messrs. W. and J. Bolger, Dublin, at £39,966 16s. 7d. – the lowest received – for the erection of the maternity block of the new Regional Hospital in Galway.

“The tender figure is definitely higher than the figure for similar work in 1939 before the European War commenced. On the face of the matter the increase would be about twenty-nine per cent.

“It is very strange that all contractors tendering – notwithstanding my written instructions to them all – failed to state on their tenders what steel and timber they had in stock. Reluctance to reveal these matters more or less publicly can be the only explanation.”

Mr. T.J. Cullen, Architect, told the members that all the steel for the building had arrived in Dublin on Wednesday morning last. Fifty tons of the 400-ton cargo were being reserved for this job so that there was nothing to stop them going ahead.

They estimated that it would take them seventy weeks from the date of signing of the contract to do the work.

Export ban lifted

The best news that has come out of England for many months, so far as this country is concerned, has been the announcement of the lifting of the ban on the exportation of cattle from Ireland. Nothing in the shape of idiotic official restrictions should be permitted to prevent the farmers from taking the fullest advantage of the new conditions.

As was made clear by the deputation which waited upon Mr. Sean Moylan during his recent visit to Galway, the West has suffered more proportionately than any other part of the country from the restrictions in force, despite the fact that the cattle pest had not obtained a foothold in Connacht.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.