Old Galway
GREALISH’S SADDLERY
by Tom Kenny
Michael Grealish served his apprenticeship (it cost him 100 guineas) in Garret’s Saddlery in Eyre Square, roughly where the Imperial Hotel is today. When he finished, he decided to set up his own saddlery business at the beginning of the last century at Number 2, Eyre Square. At the time, the horse reigned supreme. There were regular horse fairs in Eyre Square at the time and this obviously helped his start-up.
His business flourished, largely thanks to World War 1. Most of the other saddlers in Galway had joined the British Army as both the cavalry and artillery units desperately needed horses and their equipment for the war effort. The War of Independence and the Civil War, in contrast, were a disaster for the firm of eight men and one apprentice. They had made thousands of Sam Browne belts for the Volunteers, but they never got paid for them, in spite of many requests to successive governments. There were no written records.
Michael’s son Peter was born in 1924. As his predecessors were all saddlers, it was natural for him to go into the business. He was known as ‘Peadar the saddler’. After World War II, there was a huge increase in the demand for motor cars and this meant a serious decline in the demand for Peters’ product. So, he decided to go to London where he joined the Oxford Street branch of Champion and Wilton, saddlers to the Queen.
KAVANAGH BROTHERS
by Tom Kenny
Seamus Kavanagh grew up in the village of Finod, near Easkey in Co. Sligo. He went to the Technical School there and the principal suggested he apply for a position as a trainee electrician with T. Naughton & Sons in Galway. His colleague at work, Paschal Spelman introduced him to the Order of Malta which became a life-long interest. He did a correspondence course and qualified as an electrician. Rural electrification brought about major changes in the home and new electric appliances were in high demand and Seamus found himself selling these and travelling throughout the county installing them.
He saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market and in 1953, set up his own business in Cross Street, selling electrical goods. His window display in our photograph highlights Bush and Pye radios. He was soon joined by his brothers Elmer and Des. Des had been trained in refrigeration repair service in the Oxford factory of the Prestcold Company. He took over the service department and Elmer was in charge of company sales activities.
Trading as Kavanagh Brothers, they quickly built up reputation for reliability. In addition to the radio and electrical business, they devoted a lot of attention to the growing public interest in Hi-fi and tape recorders. In 1957, they diversified further when they took over the distribution in Galway city of Kosangas cooking and heating appliances. They regularly organised demonstrations to introduce new appliances as they came on stream. For a time, they took over the running of The Regional Service station on University Road.
CÚIRT, THE EARLY YEARS
by Tom Kenny
When Fred Johnston was appointed as literary officer in the embryonic Galway Arts Centre, he was asked, on his first day, if he had any plans. He told the then director Dick Donoghue of a dream he had ever since reading Daniel Corkery’s book Hidden Ireland in which the author discussed how ‘courts of poetry’ which had been set up after the Flight of the Earls where poets would gather and recite their works. Fred’s idea was to establish such a court that would introduce international, national and local poets to a Galway audience, a sacred place for the celebration of poetry where it might sing again to big audiences. He did not want poetry to constitute a cultural hidden Ireland.
And so the idea of Cúirt was born. A small group set about organising the first festival, looking for sponsors, generating publicity, putting up posters. Initially, the reaction was fairly negative – “No one would last the pace of an entire festival devoted to poetry”, “A poetry festival? Sure that would never take off.” But take off it did, and how!
Sponsors were found, letters written, a poster (illustrated) was designed by Tom Taheny and appeared all over town, a reception was held in the Kenny Gallery to announce details of the first festival which, as you can see from our photograph was attended by James Harrold, Michael Mullen, Conor Bowman, Gerald Dawe, Jessie Lendennie, Mike Allen, Eoin Bourke, Fred Johnston and Raghnall Ó Riordan. Seated are Eva Bourke and June Grey Smith.
“YOU WOULDN’T HAPPEN TO BE WILLIAM JOYCE, WOULD YOU?”
by Tom Kenny
William Joyce was born in Herkimer Street, Brooklyn, New York in 1906 to Gertrude (who was originally from Lancashire) and Michael Joyce, a native of Killour, Co. Mayo. Michael had taken American citizenship, which automatically made his family citizens. In 1909, the family returned to Ireland, initially to Mayo, then to Galway.
They lived at Ruttledge Terrace in Salthill. William attended the Mercy National School and later the Jes, where ‘the staff and the students were rough’. But he was always grateful for the sense of discipline and a love of language they instilled in him. His best subjects were Latin, French, German and English poetry. He enjoyed the rough and tumble of the playground and had his nose broken in a fight which left him with a nasal tone of voice. He was a bombast, precocious and a gang leader.
CLARE SHERIDAN
by Tom Kenny
“She was beautiful, fearsome, an English aristocrat, a communist spy, a loose woman, a middling novelist, a doting mother, an impossible parent, a successful sculptress, a respected journalist”. This was how Anita Leslie described her first cousin in “My Cousin Clare”, her wonderful biography of Clare Sheridan.
Clare was born in London in 1885. Her father was Moreton Frewen who was known as ‘mortal ruin’ for his extraordinary capacity to fritter away the family fortune. Her mother was one of the fabulous Jerome sisters who dazzled London’s Edwardian society with their beauty and style. She was educated at home by governesses and later at a convent school in Paris. She was a debutante at 17 but turned away from that social scene. She married William Sheridan, a descendant of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. They had three children, one of whom died. Her husband was killed in World War 1.
While mourning her child, she was encouraged to make some kind of memorial so she worked on a model of a weeping angel for her daughter’s grave. She realised she had ability as a sculptor and took up the art form as a career. She was commissioned to sculpt heads of well-known people and held a successful exhibition. As a result she was invited to Russia and against the wishes of her cousin Winston Churchill, she went and stayed for two months. While there she made portraits of a number of eminent Russians including Lenin and Trotsky, and apparently had affairs with some of her sitters. When she returned to London she was shunned and so left for America.
COMPETITIVE ROWING IN GALWAY
by Tom Kenny
Rowing ‘matches’ or ‘badge races’ have been taking place on the Corrib for about 170 years. Initially, when there was only one club, The Corrib Rowing and Yachting Club, competitions were confined to members. Then the Commercial Boat club was formed in 1875, and a meeting was held to promote a regatta at the river beside Menlo Castle. This regatta proved to be a success and was a great boost to the sport of rowing.
It was decided that the regatta should be independent of both clubs and should encourage friendly rivalry and competition. It quickly became an important annual event. Soon, other clubs were formed. St. Patrick’s Club aka The Temperance club was followed by the Royal Galway Yacht Club; Hibernian Rowing Club aka Galway Rowing Club; Galway Athletic Rowing Club; The Citie of the Tribes Rowing Club and Emmett’s Rowing Club. Later, U.C.G. set up a club as did Coláiste Iognáid and St. Joseph’s College. The rivalry between these two powerful school rowing nurseries meant standards in the sport in Galway would always be high.
THE TURF MARKET
by Tom Kenny
James Hardiman, in his history of Galway lists the fuels available in Galway long ago as coal, turf and bog deal. Bog deal was mostly the roots of trees that had been grown over by the bog over the centuries. It was regarded as a nuisance by the turf cutter who likes nice clean lines as he used his sleán. The turf men usually threw this timber up on top of the bog. It gave out a lot of sparkle, like a mini fireworks, while it burned in the grate.
Coal was imported. The main fuel for firing was the most accessible, turf. Some of this was also ‘imported’ to Galway in the sense that boat loads of turf from Conamara would arrive daily at the docks. This turf was bought as soon as it was cut by boatmen from the Aran Islands and Clare. They usually paid the turf cutters one shilling and one penny per ton. Then, they would bring it in to Galway to sell for about a guinea (one pound and one shilling) per four-ton boatload.
ALTAR BOYS IN THE ABBEY
by Tom Kenny
An altar boy is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy.
‘Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutum meum’ was the first of many Latin responses altar boys had to learn to answer the priest. You might not have a clue what the words meant but you needed to know to put them in the right sequence. You had to get up earlier in the morning than your mates, have your clothes hands and face clean, your hair combed, your shoes polished, know when to ring bells, how to light candles, how to separate all the chains on the thurible and do all of this with grace and dignity. Above all, you had to remain attentive throughout mass, if you allowed your mind to drift, some of your responses might come out in a language of unknown origin.