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GALWAY’S <strong>HERITAGE</strong><br />
<strong>OIDHREACHT</strong> <strong>NA</strong> <strong>GAILLIMHE</strong><br />
VOLUME 24 - 25<br />
SPRING - SUMMER 2010<br />
I.S.S.N. 16492684<br />
UIMHIR 24 - 25<br />
EARACH - SAMHRADH 2010<br />
O I D R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 1
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S<br />
Our Front and Back Covers 2<br />
A Heraldic Carving with the Arms of Lynch and French dated 1784 at The King’s Head, Galway. J H 3-6<br />
A stroll round Galway’s renamed waterways by Michael Quinn 7-9<br />
An RIC Rugby Team 1906-1907. – Anne O’Toole 10<br />
Celebrating Irish-Australian Heritage Links 10<br />
Mutton Island Conservation Work Continues. – Jim Higgins 11<br />
Some Old Galway Memories. – J.H 11<br />
The Priest and the Submarine Man. – Michael Conneely 12-15<br />
Who Fears to Speak of ‘98’s? – Mícheál Higgins 16<br />
A Late Mesolithic Ground Stone Point from the River Corrib 17<br />
A New Swan Sanctuary at Lough Rusheen Park 17<br />
Book Reviews: 18<br />
- A New Farming Publication from the Heritage Council. – Jim Higgins 18<br />
- Ireland’s Maritime Archaeology: Our Ancient Coastal Landscapes – A publication 19<br />
of the Heritage Council. – Jim Higgins<br />
- Jellyfish in our Coastal Waters – A new and useful guide. – Jim Higgins 20<br />
- Merlin Park and Barna Woods Booklets Now Available from Galway City Council. – J.H. 21<br />
- Preserving and Enhancing Ireland’s Historic Churches and Graveyards – some useful tips 22<br />
from the Heritage Council. – J.H.<br />
* Conservation Grants Allocated<br />
O U R F R O N T A N D B A C K C O V E R P H O T O G R A P H S<br />
The front cover which has been provided courtesy of Jimmy Griffins shows Griffins Bakery, Shop Street. The<br />
photograph was taken in the 1920’s or 1930’s. The shop front has recently been restored with the same Irish<br />
language signage. This use of Irish is a very welcome development, Galway City Council and Gaillimh le<br />
Gaeilge are keen to promote the use of the language everywhere in the city.<br />
Our Back cover shows the Brides Hotel sometime in the early 20th Century. Courtesy of the late Professor<br />
M.V. Duignan. Does anyone recognise the two boys in the photograph? It would be wonderful to have<br />
them identified.<br />
2 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
A Heraldic Carving with the Arms of Lynch and French<br />
dated 1784 at The King’s Head, Galway<br />
Set in the wall of the bar of the King’s Head Public House,<br />
High Street is a fine heraldic panel dated 1784. It bears the<br />
arms of Martin Lynch FitzJohn and Mary French his wife<br />
(Fig.1). Some photographs taken in the 1930s during slum<br />
clearance in St. Augustine, Middle and Cross Street show<br />
both part of the building from which this stone came. One<br />
provides a good view of the door to this building which<br />
was built by Martin Lynch in the 18th century. The edifice<br />
later became known as “Guilfoyle’s Halls”. After the death<br />
of Miss Guilfoyle many families occupied rooms in the<br />
house including Bowens, Burkes, Griffins, McGraths,<br />
O’Donnells and Rogers families. This later name was given<br />
to the premises because it had been lived in (when it was<br />
still a town house) by Miss Guilfoyle. She had been a<br />
children’s governess and used to give piano lessons. The<br />
building later became known as ‘The Bride’s Hotel’ as<br />
rooms in it were rented cheaply and were often availed of<br />
by honeymoon couples after their wedding.<br />
The Lynches had extensive property in this area and John<br />
De Burgh Lynch owned the Stone House adjoining the<br />
house known as Mayoralty House (which was bought by<br />
Hugh Hannon from the Town Commissioners in 1870).<br />
The Georgian house from which the heraldic panel came in<br />
shown in Fig.2 a photograph taken in the 1930s by the late<br />
Michael Duignan who was Professor of Archaeology at<br />
UCG (now NUI Galway) until the late 1970s. This shows a<br />
large elaborate door case with a “Gibbs Surround” and a<br />
wrought iron, foliate style grid in its fan light. The scale of<br />
the door case can be judged from the two boys who can<br />
be seen standing on the flight of steps leading to the<br />
doorway. The plaque is shown set in the cut stone façade<br />
above the keystone and set on a moulded support. There<br />
seems to be a window sill above the panel. A wide plattband<br />
(or string course) runs across the façade of the<br />
limestone building. The fine Georgian house itself must<br />
have been an impressive structure originally and a costly<br />
one too.<br />
Another photograph taken by Professor Duignan (Fig.3)<br />
shows part of the building complex in a ruined condition<br />
with Mayoralty House in the background.<br />
It seems likely that the 18th century Lynch mansion was<br />
By Jim Higgins<br />
built of limestone ashlar and was a high Georgian town<br />
house similar to some of the slightly later Georgian<br />
examples in St. Augustine Street (including Oznam House<br />
and the two Georgian houses beside it for example). The<br />
area around it in general was a complex of late medieval<br />
houses of 16th century structures, some of them<br />
“Georgianised” by having new windows and doorways<br />
broken out through them, and others which were<br />
completely newly built late 18th (and early 19th century.<br />
The Pictorial Map of the 1660s shows a series of large<br />
houses built around a complex of courtyards in this<br />
position. Substantial portions of the ruins of a late medieval<br />
building survived here at the rear of the site of the<br />
Georgian building up to the 1980s. It was unfortunately<br />
demolished when the present Corn Store shopping<br />
complex (on the corners of St. Augustine and Middle<br />
Streets and facing onto Cross Street) was built in the early<br />
1990s.<br />
Fig. 1: The Heraldic Panel with the arms of Lynch and French in<br />
the wall of the King’s Head Public House, High Street.<br />
This building from which the panel came is one which is<br />
referred to by James Hardiman in his History of Galway<br />
which he refers to as follows:<br />
“Although most of the dwelling-houses are old, there are,<br />
however, several excellent private buildings interspersed<br />
throughout the town. Amongst these the following will<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H EE 3
H E R A L D I C C A R V I N G<br />
attract particular attention:- the handsome dwelling of Mr<br />
Daly, the late mayor, situate in Back-street,…and that<br />
opposite it built by the late Martin Lynch…”<br />
(Hardiman (1820), 282)<br />
Fig.2 A photograph taken by the late Professor M.V. Duignan in the<br />
1930s showing the heraldic panel in position above the Georgian<br />
doorcase of Guilfoyle’s Halls or The Brides Hotel.<br />
Fig.3 Parts of the corner of the Brides Hotel building can be seen<br />
in this photograph by Professor M.V. Duignan. Mayoralty House is<br />
shown in the middle.<br />
Fig.4 A drawing of the<br />
Barna House heraldic<br />
panel which bears the<br />
arms of Lynch and<br />
Blake and is dated<br />
1779. Drawing by<br />
Jenny McKenna (After<br />
Higgins (2004)).<br />
The former Mayor’s house is, of course, Mayoralty House<br />
and the building opposite it built by Martin Lynch is of<br />
course the building under discussion in which the panel was<br />
set and which later became known variously as Gilfoyle’s<br />
Halls and The Bride’s Hotel.<br />
It is unfortunate that Hardiman (1820) does not provide any<br />
more detail about either the building itself or its owners<br />
Panels bearing the heraldry of the ‘Tribal Families’ occur in<br />
Fig.5 The arms of Lynch and Bodkin on an 18th century slab which<br />
was reused and has a 19th century inscription. The stone is at<br />
Forthill Cemetery, Lough Atalia Road. It may have been carved by<br />
the same stone mason who carved the Lynch/French panel now at<br />
the King’s Head pub.<br />
Galway from the 16th and 17th century onwards. One with<br />
the Lynch Arms is located on the corner tower of the South<br />
Transept of St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church on the<br />
Churchyard Street side of the building. Another with the<br />
Lynch (and Penrise) arms occurs on the Fahy Foto building,<br />
a large medieval house at the end of Shop Street and<br />
beginning of High Street. Another with the arms of Joyce<br />
(later reworked in the 18th century) occurs in Church Lane.<br />
It has late 15th or early 16th century decoration. Such panels<br />
with heraldry also occur on Lynch’s Castle where the arms of<br />
James Lynch FitzStephen and Garret Mór FitzGerald occur.<br />
Such panels often with moulded frames and extremely<br />
common in places like Kilkenny City where they occur in<br />
Rothe House, the Shee Alms House and many other late<br />
medieval buildings. There are fine examples of heraldic<br />
panels of similar type at St. Mary’s Church of Ireland in<br />
Kilkenny City. Both funerary monuments and house facades<br />
bore similar heraldic panels, often with moulded surrounds.<br />
In Galway such panels must once have been much more<br />
common but they do not survive in large numbers. By<br />
contrast with Kilkenny, Galway has much more heraldic<br />
chimney pieces but fewer heraldic panels. The stone which<br />
is now at the King’s Head pub is an example of a heraldic<br />
panel. The Galwegian sculptural tradition was strongest in<br />
the late 15th and early 16th century. This tradition was<br />
4 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
oken in the Mid-17th century and sculpture in stone did<br />
not begin to revive until the late 18th century. The stone<br />
carving at the King’s Head is an example of this revival and<br />
sculpted heraldic plaques such as this are still relatively rare<br />
however. The best parallel for the style of carving is to be<br />
found in the heraldic panel bearing the arms of Lynch and<br />
Blake (the latter on an inescutcheon or escutcheon of<br />
pretence) from Barna House which is now in Galway city<br />
Museum. This bears the Lynch arms, crest and a mottoscroll<br />
while the arms of Blake is superimposed on its<br />
honour point in the middle of the shield. This form of<br />
representing two arms together was often used in cases<br />
where the male (Mr Lynch in this instance) married a rich<br />
heiress – Miss Blake who became Mrs Lynch in this<br />
instance. The Barna House panel is almost contemporary<br />
with the King’s Head / Guilfoyle’s Halls stone and is dated<br />
1779. The Barna House Stone has been published in detail<br />
elsewhere (Higgins (2002), 3 and Higgins (2004), 13-14,<br />
Cat.No.7, Plate 14). The achievement of arms (consisting of<br />
arms, crest and motto) are carved in low false relief. The<br />
inscriptions at the top and bottom of the stone read Martin<br />
Lynch FitzJohn 1784 and Mary French respectively.<br />
Ornamental scroll work across between the first and<br />
second name of the lower-most inscription. The<br />
inscriptions are excised and are cut in Roman capitals and<br />
so is the motto. The arms as shown on the stone are as<br />
follows: The arms of Lynch are as follows:<br />
Arms: Azure, a chevron between three trefoils slipped,<br />
or<br />
Crest: A lynx passant<br />
Motto: Semper Fidelis<br />
The arms of French are as follows<br />
Arms: Ermine, a chevron sable.<br />
The French crest and motto are not shown in this instance.<br />
In plain English trefoils are the ‘shamrocks’ found on the<br />
Lynch arms. Ermine and ermines are furs with black or<br />
white spots (black spots on white and white spots on a<br />
black harned pelt respectively). Chevrons are inverted “V”<br />
shapes.<br />
The use of the impaled or conjoined arms in a single shield<br />
indicate allegiance, alliance and marriage and Martin Lynch<br />
FitzJohn and Mary French were undoubtedly a married<br />
couple. The date on the stone is not necessarily the date of<br />
their marriage however; it could also refer to the year the<br />
house was erected.<br />
In impaled arms (where the two coats of arms are<br />
conjoined in a single shield) the arms of the man were<br />
displayed on the viewer’s left and those of his wife were<br />
shown on the viewer’s right (the Sinister and Dexter sides<br />
of the shield respectively) where a couples arms were<br />
impaled the crest and motto of the man were usually<br />
shown above and below the shield respectively. Medieval<br />
heraldry was invariably chauvinistic. The term “Marriage<br />
Stone” has often been used in Galway to describe such<br />
achievements of arms which, in Galway City, are found<br />
most often on heraldically decorated chimney pieces<br />
rather than on heraldic panels such as these are. In some<br />
houses (including that of Sir Peter French and Mary Browne<br />
in Market Street) there were more than one chimney piece<br />
with the exact same sets of impaled arms but with different<br />
dates (1599 and 1602 in the same complex of buildings). In<br />
such instances the dates are indicators of the period of<br />
construction of a building or building phase rather than the<br />
date of marriage of the couple. In two instances Galwegian<br />
chimney piece bears a line from the marriage ceremony<br />
however. This stone is in Jury’s Hotel and bears the arms of<br />
Lynch and Browne. It is unfortunate that it was covered<br />
over along with other stones a few years ago.<br />
James Hardiman, the great historian of Galway, quotes<br />
various folklore and traditions about the Lynch family and<br />
Fig.6 Photograph of<br />
the Lynch-Blake<br />
heraldic panel dated<br />
1779 from Barna<br />
House where it was<br />
once incorporated<br />
into the parapet of a<br />
small bridge. It<br />
bears the arms of<br />
Nicholas Lynch with<br />
those of his wife a<br />
Blake heiress<br />
superimposed in an<br />
inescutcheon in the<br />
middle of the Lynch<br />
achievement of<br />
arms. Photograph: J.<br />
Higgins.<br />
their heraldry. Some of it is far fetched but some of it<br />
reflects the interest that there was in Medieval times in<br />
Bestiaries and in the legendary (and historic) explanations<br />
attached to the origins of various coats of arms of notable<br />
families. In his History of Galway (1820), 17, footnote w,<br />
Hardiman has this to say:<br />
Tradition and some documents in possession of the<br />
family…state that they were originally from the City of<br />
Lintz, the capital of Upper Austria, from which they<br />
suppose the name to have been derived…<br />
…They also state that the Lynches obtained their armorial<br />
bearings from the following circumstances, one of their<br />
name and family, being governor of Lintz (long before the<br />
invasion of England by the Conqueror) defended that city<br />
with unexampled fortitude, against a powerful enemy; and<br />
though from the uncommon length of the siege, all their<br />
provisions were consumed, and the garrison reduced to<br />
the miserable extremity of subsisting on the common<br />
heritage of the fields, he was finally victorious. His prince,<br />
amongst other rewards of his valor, presented him with the<br />
trefoil on a field azure, for his arms, and the Lynx the<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 5
H E R A L D I C C A R V I N G<br />
sharpest sighted of all animals, for his crest, the former, in<br />
allusion to the extremity to which he was driven for<br />
subsistence during the siege, and the latter, to his foresight<br />
and vigilance, and, as a testimonial of his fidelity, he also<br />
received the motto, Semper Fidelis, which arms, crest and<br />
motto, are borne by the Lynch family to this day.<br />
In heraldry the Lynx or ounce is in fact a popular animal<br />
though it is not common in Irish heraldry. The heraldic<br />
animal is, according to Milbourne usually shown as a tawny<br />
white cat lie creature with an ash coloured lower parts and<br />
is usually depicted as being sprinkled all over with dark<br />
irregular spots (Milbourne (1950), 142).<br />
The Lynch lynx on the King’s Head crest is markedly similar<br />
to another lynx shown on the Lynch crest on an 18th<br />
century recumbent slab (Fig.5) at Forthill Cemetery.<br />
The Lynch Arms, Crest and<br />
Motto after Hardiman (1820).<br />
French Arms, Crest and<br />
Motto after Hardiman (1820).<br />
The parallels between the Barna House and the King’s<br />
Head panels are close only in the sense that they are similar<br />
heraldic panels bearing heraldry related to the Tribes of<br />
Galway. From a stylistic point of view the closest and best<br />
parallels for the King’s Head panel however is the Lynch<br />
and Bodkin heraldry found on an 18th century recumbent<br />
slab which bears a later, (19th century) inscription at Forthill<br />
Cemetery, Lough Atalia Road. The trefoils and their<br />
detailed modelling, the proportions and widths of the<br />
chevron of the Lynch arms (and the saltire cross of the<br />
Bodkin arms) and details such as the modelling of the crest,<br />
wreath and the lynx of the Lynch crest are all closely similar.<br />
It seems possible that the King’s Head heraldic panel and<br />
the Lynch-Bodkin funerary monument at Forthill Cemetery<br />
are the work of the same shield stone mason (compare<br />
Figures 1 and 5).<br />
How the stone ended up in the King’s Head is uncertain. It<br />
was already present in the building when the Grealish<br />
family took over ownership of the premises from David<br />
Lenihan in 1989 according to M. Paul Grealish. The stone<br />
was not yet present in the King’s Head when work was not<br />
there in the early 1980s when extensive renovations were<br />
carried out according to Mr Dickie Byrne who supervised<br />
the transformation of the building. Mr Byrne suggests that<br />
the stone may have been brought to the pub by one of its<br />
previous owners, either Mr David Lenihan or the O’Malley<br />
Construction Company who may have secured it form<br />
some of the demolition works with which they were<br />
involved.<br />
The stone is a wonderful piece of Galwegian heraldic<br />
sculpture and we are lucky that it has survived.<br />
Arrangements are being made to have a small information<br />
panel erected beside this important piece of sculpture in<br />
the King’s Head Pub. It would be wonderful if a replica of<br />
the carving could be made for the Galway City Museum /<br />
Musaem Cathrach na Gaillimhe.<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
I am thankful to the following for information on the King’s<br />
Head Stone and for photographs of it: The late Professor<br />
Michael Duignan, Tom Kenny, Kenny’s Bookshop, Brendan<br />
Geoghan, Dickie Byrne, Paul Grealish and the late David<br />
Joyce.<br />
References<br />
Hardiman, J. (1820) The History of the Town and County of<br />
the Town of Galway from the Earliest Period to the Present<br />
Time. Dublin, 1820.<br />
Higgins, J. (2002) “Donations and Purchases (stone carving<br />
with Arms of Lynch and Blake)”, Galway City Museum<br />
Newsletter/Nuacht Litir Musaem Cathrach na Gaillimhe,<br />
No.2, Winter 2002, 3.<br />
Higgins, J. (2003) Galway’s Heritage in Stone Galway City<br />
Museum Catalogue No.1: Catalogue of Late Medieval<br />
Sculpture Down to the 17th Century in Galway City<br />
Museum, Galway, 2003.<br />
Higgins, J. (2004) Galway’s Heritage in Stone Galway City<br />
Museum Catalogue No.2: Catalogue of the Post Medieval<br />
and 18th - Early 20th Century Sculpture in Galway City<br />
Museum, Galway.<br />
Milbourne, J.S. (1950) Heraldry, London, 1950, 142.<br />
6 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
A stroll round Galway’s renamed waterways<br />
Michael Quinn<br />
Recently, you may have noticed the appearance of a<br />
number of name plaques in the vicinity of Galway’s canals,<br />
rivers and streams funded by Galway City Council. The<br />
erection of these plaques is an objective of one of Galway<br />
City Council’s Strategic Policy Committees, the Natural<br />
Environment and Waterways Group which aims to highlight<br />
the heritage of our city’s many watercourses. In particular,<br />
these plaques seek to reflect the ecclesiastical, social and<br />
industrial history associated with these waterways.<br />
This project has been undertaken by Galway Civic Trust<br />
working closely with the Galway City’s Heritage Office in<br />
bringing this initiative to fruition. Galway City Council has<br />
very kindly funded the project. So why not discover the<br />
history of our city’s numerous rivers, channels and millraces?<br />
Take in our waterways walk below and acquaint<br />
yourself with the beauty and tranquillity of Galway’s<br />
watercourses and see how many of our river name-plaques<br />
you can spot! Incidentally, this walk also forms one of the<br />
walks in a recently published guidebook entitled Galway<br />
City Waterways Walks, this free booklet is available from<br />
Galway city tourist offices.<br />
Galway owes much of its unique identity and character to<br />
the fact that the River Corrib and associated waterways<br />
flow through its very heart. In Irish, the town was once<br />
known as Baile na Sruthán (the village of the streams) while<br />
more recently it has been referred to as ‘The Venice of the<br />
West’. Indeed, the banks of the Corrib were home to<br />
some of Ireland’s earliest settlers and the river has thrown<br />
up archaeological evidence which show that it supported<br />
human habitation from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages<br />
through to the arrival of Christianity in the fifth century.<br />
From its origin as a humble settlement site, Galway was<br />
established as a town with the arrival of the Anglo-Norman<br />
de Burgo family in the 13th century who found that with<br />
the natural defences of the sea to their south and the river<br />
to the west, the area could easily be secured. As the town<br />
began to take to shape and expand under the fourteen<br />
Anglo-Norman ’Tribes’, the River Corrib remained an<br />
important defensive barrier while its waters became a<br />
valuable source of fishing revenue during the 16th and<br />
17th centuries. By the 19th century the River Corrib as well<br />
as the recently constructed canals and tail races were being<br />
utilised to power the many mills which had sprang up along<br />
their banks as Galway underwent something of a mini<br />
‘Industrial Revolution‘. The river also gave rise to more<br />
leisurely pursuits and Galway has a proud rowing tradition<br />
associated with the Corrib. Pleasure cruises upriver to the<br />
lake can be taken today, just as they were over 100 years<br />
ago while anglers from all over the world are still drawn to<br />
the excellent fishing that the river provides. The ideal way<br />
to take in all of the natural, historic and social features of<br />
Galway’s waterways is, however, to take a long, leisurely<br />
stroll along their banks with our walk which commences<br />
outside the Musaem Cathrach na Gaillimhe / Galway City<br />
Museum.<br />
Starting outside the museum, the first thing we notice are<br />
the remains of the medieval town walls inside which the<br />
famous merchant families or ‘Tribes’ held sway. We walk<br />
through the Spanish Arch – a 16th Century extension to<br />
walls and find ourselves in an open area which once acted<br />
as the medieval quays. Later it became the site of the city’s<br />
fish market as the women of the nearby Claddagh sold the<br />
offloaded catch of village’s fishermen. In this area are two<br />
monuments – one to the memory of mariners who lost their<br />
lives at sea, and the other, to Christopher Columbus, who<br />
is believed to have stopped and prayed in St. Nicholas’<br />
Church. Carefully crossing the road we find ourselves on<br />
Wolfe Tone Bridge – named after the famous Irish patriot<br />
who initiated the 1798 Rebellion against British rule in<br />
Ireland. From here we can see a distinctive yellow building<br />
on the far bank of the river. This is the restored Fisheries<br />
Tower which was built in the mid-1800s as a netting station<br />
and also as look-out point to monitor fish stocks and to<br />
guard against poaching on the river. Although closed for<br />
repairs at present, the tower now houses a small museum<br />
and exhibition space and is an ideal place to spot swans,<br />
herons and cormorants which gather at its base. From<br />
Wolfe Tone Bridge we now make our way along the<br />
riverside walk known as Bruach na Coiribe (The Banks of<br />
the Corrib).<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 7
A S T R O L L R O U N D G A L W A Y<br />
As we walk on towards the next bridge we can see a tail<br />
race over to our left hand side which once served one of<br />
Galway’s many flour mills in the 19th century. The restored<br />
limestone building we see is known as the Bridge Mills and<br />
a working mill-wheel can still be seen inside it. Back on our<br />
own side we notice a body of water to our right which is<br />
‘Middle River / An Abhhainn Láir’. This channel once<br />
powered an industrial complex which stands today as a<br />
modern apartment block. We now reach the 19th century<br />
O’Brien’s Bridge, named after another patriot - William<br />
O’Brien. A bridge was, in fact, built across the Corrib in this<br />
area as far back to 1442. We again, cross the road and<br />
continue along Bruach na Coiribe passing the remains of<br />
the 19th century Persse Galway Whiskey Distillery on the<br />
far bank. This distillery operated from 1815 to 1908 and<br />
was once the largest employer in Galway City. A recently<br />
found bottle of its whiskey has been valued at over<br />
€200,000! In the river at this point are the remains of<br />
salmon traps which were once used to catch a percentage<br />
of passing salmon. Fish caught along this stretch of the<br />
river could be found for sale in London’s famous<br />
Billingsgate fish market the very next day. The buildings<br />
which we see on the far bank continue to be associated<br />
with fishing and stock monitoring to this day. Back on our<br />
side we climb a sharp incline at fisherman’s wharf and pass<br />
by the Nora Barnacle Bridge on our right hand side. This<br />
bridge traverses ‘Slaughterhouse River /Abhainn an<br />
tSeamlais’, so called as the city’s first official<br />
slaughterhouse was located in nearby Bowling Green. This<br />
was a popular fishing spot amongst young people up to<br />
the 1950s, as the run-off of blood and offal into this<br />
waterway had the effect of greatly increasing the river’s<br />
brown eel population.<br />
Continuing on, we<br />
leave the river via a<br />
footbridge over<br />
‘Friars River /<br />
Abhainn na<br />
mBráithre’ which<br />
was associated with<br />
the Franciscan<br />
Abbey, founded close to the site of the courthouse by the<br />
de Burgo family in 1296. From here we walk through an<br />
archway out on to the Newtownsmith area of Galway. We<br />
now turn left and cross over the Salmon Weir Bridge. The<br />
bridge is often a good location to spot anglers below in the<br />
water as they hook a passing fish. Opposite the Cathedral<br />
we can take a brief sojourn up the lane towards Fisheries<br />
Field. Here we can peer over a bridge on the laneway into<br />
what is ‘Persse River /Abhainn na Drioglainne’. This<br />
channel was constructed between the Persse family’s<br />
original distillery (established in the present grounds of the<br />
national University of Ireland, Galway, in 1815) and its new<br />
distillery building which we previously passed on the banks<br />
of the Corrib. Retracing our steps we now cross back over<br />
to the cathedral. Heading up University Road we now cross<br />
over a body of water known as ‘Gaol River / Abhainn an<br />
Phríosúin’ at Beggar’s Bridge. The bridge is so-called as<br />
inmates from the nearby workhouse used to congregate to<br />
beg at this location in the 19th century, while Gaol River<br />
was associated with the Galway Gaol which stood on the<br />
present site of the Cathedral throughout this same period.<br />
Continuing on, we pass the Millennium Children’s Park run<br />
by Galway City Council and opposite the entrance to NUI,<br />
Galway we can take time out to rest our feet at a neat<br />
canal-side bench in an area known as Mrs. McHugh’s<br />
garden. From here we turn left into Canal Road Upper and<br />
stroll on keeping the canal on our left. We are now, of<br />
course, walking alongside the Eglington Canal which was<br />
completed in 1852 to aid navigation between Lough<br />
Corrib and the sea. At 1.2km long this man-made channel<br />
provided vital work to locals during the harsh Famine years<br />
of the mid 1800s. The canal banks are rich in vegetation<br />
which is home to nesting swans, ducks and moorhens.<br />
Outside the perimeter wall of the Poor Clare’s convent we<br />
see a channel of water which diverges from the main body<br />
of the Eglington Canal. This is ‘St. Clare’s River / Abhainn<br />
na Siúracha’, owing to association with the Poor Clare’s<br />
who were granted the site of their present home by the city<br />
corporation as far back as 1649.<br />
8 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
Continuing forward by the canal, we cross over two further<br />
bridges and carry on along a footpath until we reach a<br />
wooden footbridge close to the canal lock-gate. Here we<br />
cross over the footbridge to the opposite side of the canal<br />
and into the area of town known as Parkavera. Indeed, we<br />
can note ‘Parkavera River / Abhainn Phairc an Mhéara’ on<br />
our right as we stroll forward towards Mill Street. Once on<br />
Mill Street, a quick detour into the public car park beside<br />
the Garda Station brings us into contact with yet another<br />
river. A mill wheel is still evidence here on what is ‘Madeira<br />
River / Abhainn Madeira’. In fact this waterway and<br />
Parkavera River once powered another industrial complex<br />
in this area which included a paper mill, a brewery and a<br />
saw mill. Returning to Mill Street we take a right turn into<br />
Dominic Street and continue along until we rejoin the<br />
Eglington Canal. Here we follow the flow of the canal again<br />
down Raven’s Terrace and see part of it diverge back into<br />
the Corrib while its main body empties into the Claddagh<br />
Basin.<br />
Crossing over the road, we are now at Claddagh Quay with<br />
the Dominican Abbey on our right. The Dominican Order<br />
was founded in Galway as far back as 1488 and continues<br />
to be closely associated with the Claddagh area. The<br />
Claddagh was Galway’s ancient fishing village and up until<br />
the 1930s was a pattern of whitewashed thatched<br />
cottages. It was then rebuilt with modern houses although<br />
many of its customs and traditions still abide as does it’s<br />
the famous Claddagh ring.<br />
Jutting out into the sea we can see a long pier named after<br />
the Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo who designed it<br />
and a number of others in the West of Ireland in the 1820s.<br />
Across the mouth of the river we see the colourful houses<br />
of ‘The Long Walk’ made famous in the lyrics of the song<br />
‘The Galway Girl’. Back on our side we are now in a popular<br />
location for feeding of the large numbers of ducks and<br />
swans which frequently gather here in front of the<br />
Claddagh Hall. Turning back on ourselves, we now turn<br />
right through a gateway where a monument is located to<br />
the Claddagh fishermen who lost their lives in the waters of<br />
Galway Bay in 1902. We are further reminded of the great<br />
fishing tradition of this area as a number of Galway<br />
hookers, the traditional sailing craft of the Claddagh<br />
fishermen are commonly docked in this vicinity. Crossing<br />
over a narrow lock-bridge we are now once again back at<br />
Wolfe Tone Bridge, close to where our walk commenced.<br />
Michael Quinn<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 9
R U G B Y T E A M<br />
An RIC Rugby Team 1906-1907<br />
I recently came across this photograph of a Royal Irish<br />
Constabulary Rugby team of 1906-7 and would like to be<br />
able to identify all the members of this team. I know that<br />
one of them was George Ryan.<br />
George Ryan is situated second from the left in the second<br />
row from back.<br />
George Ryan lived on Mary St. in Galway in 1901. Living<br />
with him at the time, according to 1901 census, was his<br />
father Michael Ryan (a retired RIC policeman), his mother<br />
Rose (nee Fallon), his brothers Michael, Danial, John and<br />
Patrick, and a sister Rose Ann. The Ryan family lived on<br />
Court House Avenue in 1898 – Rose Ann, the youngest<br />
child, was born there. According to the census of 1911, the<br />
family lived on a farm in Shantalla. In 1950 Shantalla House<br />
BY ANNE O’TOOLE<br />
(also known as Ryan’s House) was sold to the Presentation<br />
nuns. The Presentation order later knocked the old house<br />
and rebuilt it in the same design.<br />
George was 16 in this photo. He joined the RIC and was<br />
stationed in Newport, Co. Mayo. He married Bridget<br />
Maguire in 1915 and later was transferred to Coothill, Co.<br />
Cavan. Georg e and his wife Bridget sailed to Australia in<br />
1922 with two children. When Bridget was expecting her<br />
eighth child in Australia George was killed in a road<br />
accident. Two of their children are still living in Australia.<br />
They lost contact with their Irish relatives over time;<br />
however, they got in touch with their Newport relatives in<br />
2007 and travelled to Newport to meet them.<br />
Unfortunately, they did not have any information on their<br />
Galway ancestors – the Ryans.<br />
Celebrating Irish Australian Heritage Links<br />
The next issue of this magazine will feature the Robert<br />
O’Hara Burke and John Wills Victoria Expedition of 1860.<br />
Robert O’Hara Burke, a Galway man was baptised in St.<br />
Nicholas Collegiat e Church.. Anyone with memorabilia<br />
photographs or documents relating to Ireland’s Historical<br />
links with Australia is invited to contact the Heritage Office<br />
as we are creating a display relating to this theme.<br />
10 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
Mutton Island Conservation Work Continues<br />
Work on the<br />
Lighthouse and<br />
its ancillary<br />
buildings<br />
continues but<br />
lack of funding<br />
makes it<br />
increasingly<br />
difficult to get<br />
some of the<br />
works finished.<br />
The whitewashing of the boundary walls continues and the<br />
tower will be re painted externally and will also soon be<br />
painted internally as well. Sponsorship is urgently required<br />
to allow other works to be carried out. Corporate or<br />
private sponsorship and extra heritage funding would all<br />
be welcome and antiques suitable for display and<br />
furnishings some of the rooms would also be most<br />
welcome. Contact the Heritage Office at Galway City<br />
Council for details.<br />
Work on the paths to the light from the inner gate is now<br />
Successful catch<br />
One of our regular readers is Mr. Patrick J. Conneely, a<br />
Galwegian who is now residing in Plymouth in the U.S.A.<br />
He is still a regular visitor back to his native city and has a<br />
deep interest in local history. He has sent us a wonderful<br />
selection of old photographs of Captain Wooley and the<br />
Galway sea Scouts as well as views of Galway Docks. We<br />
reproduce one of these aerial views of the Docks in 1941<br />
below. We also reproduce a photograph and caption from<br />
nearing<br />
completion.<br />
An old Belfast<br />
Sink along<br />
with a press<br />
beneath it has<br />
recently been<br />
reinstated in<br />
the scullery. A<br />
replacement<br />
antique cast<br />
iron fireplace<br />
has replaced<br />
one of the<br />
Some Old Galway Memories<br />
Visitors from the Galway Family History Soceity<br />
(West) to Mutton Island<br />
missing ones in one of the small bedrooms. We are looking<br />
for additional antiques, overmantels and a dresser for<br />
display in the restored building. We believe that the<br />
Visitors’ Book for the Island is in private locally and would<br />
love to have it for display in the restored building.<br />
Work on cleaning and restoring the large number of<br />
lighthouse related artifacts which we hold on loan from the<br />
Commissioners of Irish Lights continues.<br />
Galway Dock 1941<br />
Feature Magazine of July 1948 which shows fishermen<br />
hauling nets on a Galway trawler off the Aran Islands. The<br />
man with his shirt sleeves rolled up in the middle of the<br />
photograph is Patrick Conneely’s father Mick Conneely.<br />
The trawler he is working on was owned by Marcheen<br />
(Catha) McDonough according to the magazine caption.<br />
We hope to print some of the other photographs and<br />
hopefully some historic articles by Mr. Conneely in future<br />
issues of this publication.<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 11
T H E P R I E S T A N D T H E S U B M A R I N E<br />
The Priest and the Submarine Man<br />
Michael Conneely<br />
Liscannor, Co. Clare, tucked away in the North corner of<br />
Liscannor Bay, was to have its association with one of the<br />
greatest engineering inventions, the submarine,<br />
committed to perpetual memory by the arrival, in the<br />
“Pope’s Parish”, in July 1959, of an unassuming curate and<br />
historian Fr. Martin Coen.<br />
Martin Coen was born in Raheen House, Kiltartan, Co.<br />
Galway on the 6th October 1933. He attended the local<br />
primary school at Kiltartan and St. Mary’s College, Galway.<br />
Martin Coen’s education was to continue at the Irish<br />
College in Rome. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest<br />
in 1958.<br />
Although a predecessor of Fr. Coen’s, Fr. P.A. Sharkey,C.C.,<br />
Liscannor had made reference to John Phillip Holland in his<br />
Pope’s Own Parish, information about the inventor was<br />
vague. On the national and international scene there were<br />
only short references to Holland in the major<br />
encyclopaediae. A local gentleman of great age brought<br />
the birthplace of John Phillip Holland to the attention of Fr.<br />
Coen and the poignancy of the visit to the Holland house<br />
in Castle Street (now Holland Street) stimulated the<br />
historian into positive action and painstaking research. The<br />
absence of recorded information made research very<br />
difficult.<br />
Fr. Coen referred to the Liscannor baptismal Register and<br />
discovered two Holland names: Robert Holland and<br />
Michael Joseph Holland, brothers of John Philip Holland<br />
and in Kilmacreehy cemetery on the Lahinch Road he<br />
obtained some family information. An enquiry to the British<br />
Admiralty revealed that John Holland, Senior, had been in<br />
the Coastguard Service having formerly served in Kilkee<br />
from where he was transferred to Liscannor, on September<br />
16th 1831. His first wife, Anne Foley, died in 1835 and is<br />
buried in Kilmacreehy cemetery. John Holland later<br />
married Mary Scanlon.<br />
The precise date of John Philip Holland’s birth has been<br />
the subject of some uncertainty. Some publications give a<br />
date of 24th February 1841. This would appear to be<br />
incorrect. Fr. Coen published a date in Dal gCais 1982 of<br />
February 29th 1841. This date is manifestly wrong and is<br />
likely to have been a typing error. The 29th of February<br />
could only have occurred in 1840, a leap year. Fr. Coen<br />
learned of Holland’s insistence that he was born on 29th<br />
February 1840. Holland celebrated his birthday only every<br />
four years.<br />
Holland’s Cottage, Liscannor.<br />
Education.<br />
Holland attended St Macreehy’s National School and spent<br />
some time in the Christian Brothers School in Ennistymon.<br />
A great deal of uncertainty surrounds details concerning<br />
John Holland Senior at this time. Fr. Coen assumed that he<br />
died in the late 1840s as no record of him exists after this<br />
time. In more recent times information suggests that<br />
Holland senior was ill and was taking medicine for his<br />
illness. It is reported that he died after taking medication.<br />
Fr. Coen established that the Holland family moved to<br />
Limerick in 1853.<br />
Fr. Coen had a meeting in Galway with an old Christian<br />
Brother, Br. O’ Brien and was surprised to learn that John<br />
Author visiting Holland’s Cottage 1996.<br />
Philip Holland had been a Christian Brother for some years.<br />
Fr. Coen then wrote to Br. E.G. Clancy, CBS in Dublin and<br />
on February 2nd 1960 he received a full chronology of<br />
Holland’s teaching appointments whilst in the<br />
Brotherhood.<br />
12 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
The information revealed the following timeline.<br />
• 1853: Limerick CBS<br />
• 1858: Holland entered CB Order, Sexton St.,<br />
Limerick (15th June).<br />
Initial teacher training!<br />
• 1858: Christian Brothers Cork - further<br />
teacher training.<br />
Bro. Dominic Burke: science and<br />
maths professor.<br />
Holland’s interest in flying and<br />
submarines encouraged.<br />
• 1867: Jules Verne- 20,000 Leagues Under the sea.<br />
• 1861-1873: Cork, Portlaoise, Enniscorthy, Drogheda,<br />
Dundalk (1869)<br />
“Tonic-sol-fa”.<br />
• 1873: Dispensation from Final Vows on grounds<br />
of ill health.<br />
• 1873: Emigrated United States (Boston) Preceded<br />
by his mother and two brothers.<br />
Whilst in Brotherhood<br />
Holland maintained his<br />
interest in science.<br />
It was natural that the<br />
young man who had been<br />
born in Liscannor with its<br />
legends of Kilstuiffeen, the<br />
city under the sea, and the<br />
stories of the Spanish<br />
Armada, should have an<br />
obscession with sea travel.<br />
Holland was also interested<br />
in flying and during his time<br />
in Cork he drew up designs<br />
for an aeroplane.<br />
Fr. Coen learned of<br />
The young Holland Holland’s good fortune<br />
whilst in Cork, to have an<br />
excellent science teacher in Bro. Dominic Burke, a Limerick<br />
man. Bro. Burke encouraged him in his designs for a<br />
submarine and in 1859 Holland completed his first drafts<br />
for a submarine design. The publication of Jules Verne’s<br />
novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in 1870, greatly<br />
excited him and motivated him to turn his own dream into<br />
a reality.<br />
Armed with newly acquired information Fr. Coen<br />
proceeded to publish a preliminary article entitled Father<br />
of The Submarine, in The Mantle, a Galway Diocesan<br />
publication in the Summer of 1960.<br />
In June 1960 Fr. Coen began corresponding with Dr.<br />
Richard Knowles Morris, a grandson of one of Holland’s<br />
engineers. Dr. Morris had a good deal of information<br />
regarding Holland’s work and activities in America but his<br />
Holland’s dynamic model (tested in tanks in Dundalk)<br />
information about the Irish part of Holland’s life was ‘scant’.<br />
Numerous letters crossed the Atlantic as correspondence<br />
developed between Fr. Coen and Dr. Morris. Eventually a<br />
fuller picture of John Philip Holland’s early life began to<br />
emerge.<br />
Fr. Coen embarked on a comprehensive tour of the U.S. in<br />
the Summer of 1962 where he discovered that the memory<br />
of Holland’s engineering achievements were well<br />
documented. The Library of Congress produced new<br />
information and a Newark newspaper carried an article on<br />
him. His hometown of Paterson continued to remember<br />
him. St John’s school, where Holland once taught, was still<br />
functioning and Fr. Coen was shown a plaque near the<br />
Passaic River where Holland once launched an<br />
experimental submarine. Fr. Coen also saw the Fenian Ram<br />
which was mounted on a pedestal in Paterson’s main Public<br />
Park.<br />
Accompanied by Dr. Morris Fr. Coen visited the General<br />
Dynamics Corporation, at Groton, Connecticut. The<br />
company incorporated Holland’s old Electric Boat<br />
Company. From Dr. Morris Fr. Coen ascertained that all of<br />
Holland’s children had died except one daughter,<br />
Marguerite. Fr. Coen wrote to Marguerite but she died<br />
before replying.<br />
Fr. Coen had accumulated a significant body of information<br />
following his conversations with Dr. Morris, and others, in<br />
America. He now had a more complete picture and was<br />
therefore able to publish two long articles in the Clare<br />
Champion in 1963.<br />
Holland joined his mother and brothers in America upon<br />
leaving the Christian Brothers in 1873 and worked for a<br />
time with an engineering firm. However he took up<br />
teaching again for a further six years in 1874 (St. Johns<br />
Catholic School) in Paterson New Jersey. During this<br />
period he submitted his submarine design to the U.S. Navy<br />
only to have it contemptuously rejected as “a fantastic<br />
scheme of a civilian landsman”.<br />
Holland was brought into contract with the Fenian<br />
Movement, now reorganised as as Clann-na-Gael. The<br />
organisation, under John Devoy, had devised a<br />
“skirmishing fund”. The purpose of the fund was to wage<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 13
T H E P R I E S T A N D T H E S U B M A R I N E<br />
a campaign of terror against England and to rescue<br />
Fenians from English jails. It was thus that Holland set<br />
about designing and building a submarine to use against<br />
the British Navy. The plan was to construct a three man<br />
vessel which would be carried aboard a merchant ship and<br />
deployed in harbours and saboutage British Navy ships.<br />
The fund allowed $6000,00 as an initial payment towards<br />
research and development.<br />
The first submarine, Holland 1, was designed in St. John’s<br />
School with the help of an engineer William Dunkerley. The<br />
experimental craft measured fourteen in length, carried<br />
one man, and was launched in the Passaic River in 1877.<br />
The experiment failed due to a leaking bung and the<br />
submarine sank to the river bed. However the following<br />
day Holland made two successful dives. The Fenians were<br />
impressed and more money was allocated to build a vessel<br />
“suitable for war”. The additional funding enabled Holland<br />
to resign from his teaching post and work full time on the<br />
project.<br />
That first experimental craft, together with Holland’s<br />
papers, is preserved in Paterson town Museum.<br />
The second craft was built under great secrecy, reporters<br />
found it difficult to get information. It was thus that one<br />
Blakely Hall, New York Sun, unable to get information on<br />
the new submarine labelled it The Fenian Ram. The vessel<br />
was built at Delameter Iron Works, New York. It was<br />
launched in May 1881. It was 31 feet long and with a 15hp<br />
engine could be driven at 9 m.p.h. It had a displacement of<br />
19 tons. It was armed with an underwater cannon fired by<br />
compressed air. It was a significant development in and the<br />
Fenians, having paid out some $60,000.00 wanted more<br />
vessels quickly without further payments.The Fenians had a<br />
falling out with Holland and he severed all connections with<br />
them.<br />
Holland 2 – The Fenian Ram.<br />
Holland went to work with the Pneumatic Boat Company,<br />
as a draughtsman, in 1883.<br />
In 1887 Lt. William W. Kimball (later Rear- Admiral)<br />
persuaded the U.S. Navy to set up a fund for submarine<br />
development. Kimball encouraged Holland to develop his<br />
designs for presentation to the Navy. The U.S. Government<br />
held open competitions in 1888 and 1889. The<br />
competition was a hard one with significant submissions<br />
from others but Holland won both. No Government<br />
contract followed. Another competition was held in 1893<br />
which Holland also won. The Government offered a<br />
contract to Holland in 1895 to build a submarine for<br />
$150,000.00.<br />
Holland set up the John Holland Torpedo Boat Company<br />
in 1896.<br />
His chief engineer was Charles A. Morris (grandfather of Dr.<br />
R.K. Morris). Together they constructed, after many trial<br />
and tribulations and interference from the U.S. Navy<br />
representative, a vessel some 84 feet long. Much of the<br />
work was done during Holland’s absence from work due to<br />
illness. Holland was very disappointed with the result and<br />
pronounced it “over engineered and cumbersome” and<br />
abandoned it as useless. The Navy refused to comply with<br />
Holland’s request to modify the vessel and he withdrew<br />
from the project .<br />
Holland set about to design and build Holland 6 which<br />
would compete with the Plunger in a series of trials to be<br />
devised by the Navy. It was to be his most successful to<br />
date and was launched on May 17th 1897 two months<br />
before the Government Plunger. Holland found it easier to<br />
get financial backing at this stage. It was 53 feet long,<br />
driven by a 45 h.p. gas engine for surface travel and a 45<br />
h.p. electro dynamo for underwater travel. It was capable<br />
of doing 8 knots on the surface and 7 knots submerged. It<br />
made its first dive on Saint Patrick’s Day, 1898, in New York<br />
Harbour. The Navy, under Theodore Roosevelt, eventually,<br />
following a final test in March 1900, bought the Holland 6<br />
on April 12th 1900. It was commissioned on October 12th<br />
1900 the first submarine of the U.S. Navy.<br />
S.S.1. Holland - first American submarine<br />
Holland was to face other trials and tribulations in the years<br />
ahead and the gifted designer was no match for the<br />
machinations of big business. Recognising that the<br />
company he established would not promote further<br />
development he was forced to resign.<br />
Holland resumed his research into flight. The knowledge<br />
14 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
he acquired regarding “Three Axial Control” in his earlier<br />
researches into aeronautics was applied to the control of<br />
his submarines.<br />
Three axial control enabled the Wright Brothers to achieve<br />
the first controlled flight of a heavier than air machine. The<br />
distractions of submarine research caused Holland to<br />
postpone his aeronautical pursuits. Had submarine<br />
research not intervened perhaps Holland might be<br />
remembered for other reasons.<br />
British Navy’s first of five Holland submarines.<br />
The basic Holland specification was adopted by Vickers<br />
when designing the special Midget Sub for use in World<br />
War II.<br />
World War II Midget Sub.<br />
John Philip Holland died on August 12th ,1914 . His<br />
passing went unnoticed. News of the death of Pope Pius X<br />
and the great conflict unfolding in Europe grabbed the<br />
headlines.<br />
Fr. Martin Coen died on December 2nd 1997 and was laid<br />
to rest in Ballymore Cemetery Craughwell.<br />
The seminal work he did on John Philip Holland was the<br />
inspiration for others and he certainly played a significant<br />
role in bringing about Dr. Morris’ biography: John P.<br />
Holland 1841(sic 1840)-1914.<br />
He was indeed plagued by illness of mind and body for<br />
many years yet managed to produce a large body of<br />
articles for learned publications.<br />
This author was greatly encouraged by Fr. Coen and the<br />
assistance he gave me by making available his own<br />
research notes was the deed of a committed historian.<br />
Fr. Martin Coen rescued Holland’s name from obscurity and<br />
he conveyed to this author his wish for the perpetuation of<br />
the name of this great Irish genius.<br />
The names of Coen and Holland will be forever linked<br />
because of a chance encounter in The Pope’s Parish in<br />
1959.<br />
Rev Fr. Martin Coen John Phillip Holland<br />
Refercences:-<br />
Father of The Submarine: Martin Coen article in The Mantle, Galway<br />
Diocesan Publication, Summer,1960.<br />
Liscannor and Holland: Martin Coen a series of articles in Clare Champion,<br />
Sept., 1963.<br />
John Philip Holland:Pioneer in Submarine Navigation, article in North<br />
Munster Antiquarian Journal, Vol X, 1966-1967.<br />
John P. Holland, 1841-1914, Richard K. Morris, published by U.S.Navy<br />
Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1966.<br />
The Fenians And The Submarine, Fr. Martin Coen, article, Irish Times April<br />
14th 1967.<br />
JGAHS, 50, (1998), 218-219<br />
Sculpture in Liscannor.<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 15
W H O F E A R S<br />
Galway City has a long history of involvement with the<br />
Gaelic Athletic Association and Gaelic football and hurling<br />
was played in the city before the foundation of the G.A.A.<br />
over 125 years ago. Many teams such as College Road<br />
Stars, Galway City, Claddagh, Wolfe Tones, Shantalla,<br />
Thomas Aches, John F. Kennedys, John Mitchells,<br />
Commercials and more recently Fr. Tom Burkes, Fr. Lallys,<br />
St. Patricks, Guth na n-Óg, St. Augustines, St. Kierans, to<br />
name but a few, are now no longer in existence but were<br />
the forerunners to the teams that exist today in the city –<br />
Liam Mellows, Fr. Griffins, St. Michaels,<br />
Salthill/Knocknacarra, Rahoon/Newcastle and St. James. It<br />
is interesting to note that in many cases the names of the<br />
clubs are to commemorate an individual with a connection<br />
to the cause of Irish freedom or with a religious connection<br />
and in some cases both. This is common with clubs in the<br />
G.A.A. throughout the world.<br />
One famous hurling team that was formally in existence<br />
towards the end of the 19th century and affiliated to the<br />
County Board, was 98’s who were based in the Bohermore<br />
area of the city not far from the famed College Road Stars<br />
hurling base. However, it is known that hurling was played<br />
in the Bohermore area as far back as the late 18th century.<br />
It was reported by a French writer in 1791 during his travels<br />
that he had observed hurling being played in Bohermore.<br />
Hurling in Galway City was popular at that time and there<br />
are reports of matches that indicated there was fierce<br />
rivalry between Claddagh, Galway City and 98’s. The City<br />
Challenge Cup was the prize during that era and matches<br />
were full of controversy and notoriety. Although records<br />
are scant on trophies and competitions won by 98’s it was<br />
in 1903 that Bohermore 98’s reached the final of the county<br />
championship and faced a team from Ardrahan.<br />
Unfortunately there was an “all out strike” by the team<br />
when one of their players was sent off. The 98’s team<br />
walked off the pitch in support of their player and the<br />
game was awarded to Ardrahan.<br />
Bohermore 98’s continued in existence up to the 1930’s<br />
and appeared to have disbanded when the new Liam<br />
Mellows Hurling club was established in 1933 in<br />
Bohermore. Many members of the 98’s club formed the<br />
nucleus of the Liam Mellows team that won their first<br />
county title in 1935.<br />
The photograph below appeared in the Connacht Tribune<br />
in July 1985 and pictures the 98’s team sometime during<br />
the 1920’s. It can be seen from the nicknames that the<br />
Who Fears to Speak of ‘98’s?<br />
Mícheál Higgins<br />
team had many characters and personalities. One of the<br />
members, Tom Fleming, a native of Bohermore was on the<br />
All-Ireland winning Galway Team of 1923:<br />
Photograph reproduced with thanks from the City Tribune,<br />
Friday, July 5, 1985.<br />
Back Row L-R: John Crowe (with cap and coat), James Tonery, John<br />
Crowe, Josie Hehir, Tom Fleming, George Power, Tom McHugh (Ginger),<br />
John Brown.<br />
Middle Row L-R: Pady Barrett, Willie Skerritt, Paddy McHugh, Billy Lally,<br />
Willie Crowe, Joe Kelly (Waller), Paddy Ruffley (Hamo), Willie Brooks<br />
(Snookey).<br />
Front Row L-R: Eddie Lynskey, Michael John Kennedy, Sonny Henry, John<br />
Power (Bina).<br />
According to the Connacht Tribune article:<br />
“The name 98’s was resurrected again in G.A.A. circles<br />
when the City Leagues (Coiste na nÓg) was established in<br />
1957 by a number of forward thinking individuals whose<br />
aim was to develop and foster G.A.A. games within Galway<br />
City. This time 98’s had both hurling and football juvenile<br />
teams and the catchment area was Bohermore and<br />
Woodquay. This was extended in the 1970’s and 1980’s to<br />
include College Road and Eyre Square. The other teams<br />
around the city in the late 1950’s included St. Anthony’s<br />
representing Newcastle, Western Stars representing “The<br />
West”, Sarsfields from College Road and Renmore, Fr.<br />
Lally’s from Shantalla, St. Nicholas’ from Claddagh and St.<br />
Joseph’s from the Christian Brothers School in Lower<br />
Salthill.”<br />
Note: Mícheál Higgins is researching the history of various<br />
G.A.A. Clubs in Galway City and would like to hear from<br />
anyone with information, memorabilia, photographs or<br />
press cuttings, medals, trophies and other items<br />
associated with such clubs.<br />
16 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
A Late Mesolithic Ground Stone Point from the River Corrib<br />
JIm Higgins and Aodán McDonagh<br />
A highly important and relatively rare discovery was<br />
recently made by one of the writers (A. McD) while<br />
snorkeling in the River Corrib in the area of the river<br />
between Dangan House and Menlo Castle. The object is a<br />
Ground Stone Point of Mesolithic date and is one of only<br />
between eighteen and twenty definite examples of such<br />
objects found in Ireland to date. Until recently few of these<br />
have been found in scientifically datable archaeological<br />
contexts, but Dr. John Bradley’s excavations at Moynagh<br />
Lough, Co. Meath where six examples were found in Late<br />
Mesolithic levels in that excavation.<br />
The Mesolithic Groundstone Point from the River Corrib (Front)<br />
The Mesolithic Groundstone Point from the River Corrib (Back)<br />
What may be variations or rough-outs for two similar<br />
objects were found in archaelogical excavations at<br />
Ferriter’s cove, a mesolithic site in County Kerry excavated<br />
by Dr. Peter Woodman in the 1980’s. One of these<br />
Ferriter’s Cove items showed traces of having been hafted.<br />
There are about a dozen or so definite and several other<br />
possible examples of this type of object in the collections<br />
of the National Museum of Ireland. Most are of shale, slate<br />
or mudstone though examples of slate/sandstone also<br />
occur. The Ferriter’s Cove examples are of siltstone.<br />
The stone from which the Corrib object is made is a type of<br />
stone usually associated with the Late Mesolithic Doolin<br />
axe factory in Co. Clare. The new example emphasises<br />
again the<br />
importance of the<br />
Corrib catchment<br />
area as a major area<br />
of importance in the<br />
Irish Mesolithic in<br />
the period from<br />
approx 6500 to<br />
4000BC.<br />
Since the 1980’s<br />
numerous finds of<br />
Late Mesolithic,<br />
Neolithic, Bronze<br />
Age, Stone Age,<br />
Medieval and Post<br />
Medieval dates<br />
have been found in<br />
the River Corrib.<br />
Helen Birmingham<br />
of the Galway City<br />
Aodán McDonagh with his prehistoric find<br />
outside Galway City Museum<br />
Museum/ Musaem Cathrach na Gaillimhe is working hard<br />
to bring a selection of these finds back to Galway for<br />
permanent display in the museum. It would be wonderful if<br />
this new discovery could be displayed alongside other<br />
important prehistoric finds from the city.<br />
Finds of this significance are rare, but many new<br />
discoveries continue to be made. The discovery of a Bann<br />
Flake from Streamstown Bay in Connemara and the recent<br />
dating of a shell midden at Tullybeg near Renvyle, Co.<br />
Galway to the Late Mesolithic have been important<br />
developments.<br />
We would like to thank Maura Stewart, Galway, Mary Cahill<br />
of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr, Peter Woodman, Dr.<br />
John Bradley and Helen Bermingham of Galway City<br />
Museum for their help and comments.<br />
References:<br />
McCormick, F. in Bennett, I. (ed) 2009 “785 Culfin Shell Midden”,<br />
Excavations Bulletin Excavations 2006, Bray 2009, 192-3.<br />
Gibbons, M. and Gibbons, M. (2004) “Dying in the Mesolithic?”<br />
Archaeology Ireland 17(4) 2004, 28-31.<br />
McCormick, F., Gibbons, M., McCormack, F.G. and Moore J.<br />
(1996) “Bronze Age to Medieval Coastal Shell Middins near<br />
Ballyconneely, Co. Galway”, J. Irish Archaeology, 7 (1996), 77-84.<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 17
S W A N S A N C T U A R Y<br />
A New Swan Sanctuary at Lough Rusheen Park<br />
Land and facilities for the provision of a sanctuary of swans<br />
and other wildfowl is to be provided to the Galway and<br />
Claddagh Swan rescue by Galway City Council. The group<br />
hopes to provide a holding pen with high fencing which will<br />
protect recuperating injured finds from predators. The<br />
sanctuary is to be developed at the City Council’s Lough<br />
Rusheen Park which along with nearby Barna Woods is a<br />
haven for wildlife. Both areas have Natural Heritage<br />
protections and are preserved by Galway City Council for<br />
recreation, wildlife and leisure. Lough Rusheen is already<br />
protected under the Wildlife Act as it is an important<br />
nesting and breeding area for birds.<br />
The Lough Rusheen Swan Sanctuary will be the first<br />
For anyone interested in Ireland’s Farming Heritage there<br />
is a new publication with that exact title now available from<br />
The Heritage Council. The full colour A4 sized leaflet folds<br />
out to become a double sided A3 poster printed on both<br />
sides. Sections on the history and Heritage of Cultivation<br />
Farm Cross and Livestock are combined with a short<br />
introduction entitled “Ireland’s Farming Heritage”. There is<br />
also a list of Irish Breeds and Types of Livestock both<br />
surviving and extinct and in addition there is a very useful<br />
designated<br />
swan<br />
sanctuary<br />
in the state<br />
and this<br />
will be a<br />
wonderful<br />
asset for<br />
the natural<br />
heritage of<br />
Galway City. It is hoped to have the facility opened in 2011.<br />
The Galway and Claddagh Swan Rescue can be contacted<br />
through Mary Joyce Glynn at 086 8155361<br />
Book Review:<br />
A New Farming Publication from the Heritage Council<br />
section at the back which provides a list of Places to Visit<br />
and Useful Contacts. A small Further Reading section is<br />
also included.<br />
The publication is an initiative of the Heritage Council<br />
with the text by Jonathan Bell and Mervyn Watson edited<br />
by Hugh Maguire. The publication is illustrated with<br />
photographs supplied by the writers of the text and by<br />
the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. A visit to Bunratty<br />
Folk Park, Co. Clare, the Kerry Bog Pony Village at<br />
Glenbeigh, An Daingean (Dingle), Co. Kerry are just two<br />
of the places mentioned amongst the places to visit. The<br />
Irish Agricultural Museum at Johnstown Castle, Co.<br />
Wexford or the Museum of Country Life at Turlough Park,<br />
Turlough near Castlebar, Co. Mayo (which is a branch of<br />
the National Museum of Ireland is also well worth a visit).<br />
The Ulster American Folk Park at Castlehill Omagh, Co.<br />
Tyrone and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at<br />
Cultra Hollywood, Co. Down are also well worth a visit.<br />
Muckross Traditional Farm at Muckross House, Killarney,<br />
Co. Kerry is also mentioned. Many more could be added<br />
to the list – a list which also includes mention of the<br />
National Ploughing Association whose headquarters is at<br />
Fallaghmore, Athy, Co. Kildare!<br />
The publication is a very welcome one and is an ideal<br />
classroom-aid and should be in every school in the country.<br />
Copies of the publication in English and in Irish are<br />
available free of charge from the following address: The<br />
Heritage Council, Áras na h-Oidhreachta, Church Lane,<br />
Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny. Tel: 056-7770777; Fax: 056-<br />
7770788; email@heritagecouncil.ie; www.heritagecouncil.ie<br />
18 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
Ireland’s Maritime Archaeology: Our Ancient Coastal<br />
Landscapes – A publication of the Heritage Council<br />
The significance of Ireland’s Maritime Archaeology has only<br />
begun to be understood and appreciated in the main, over<br />
the last thirty years or so. Though there has always been<br />
some awareness, the interest has increased exponentially<br />
in recent decades and we are now seeing inventories of<br />
ship wrecks in Irish coastal waters being published and<br />
important new pilot schemes on GIS and Irish Coastal<br />
Heritage underway. The latter study under the auspices of<br />
the Heritage Council is being undertaken in the areas<br />
covered by Galway City Council, Galway County Council,<br />
Clare County Council along with Kerry and Fingal County<br />
Council. This Pilot Scheme will get underway during<br />
Summer 2010 with Heritage Council Funding. Surveys of<br />
traditional boats have also been completed for Galway City<br />
and for much of County Galway, Fingal and other areas –<br />
again with Heritage Council Funding. One of the easiest<br />
ways of demonstrating the increased interest which has<br />
occurred in matters maritime over the past few decades is<br />
to dip into the massive tome entitled Biblio Mara which<br />
was published in 2005 by the Heritage Council.<br />
The publication under review is miniscule in size by<br />
comparison of course, but is a wonderful addition to the<br />
range of short succinct group of heritage related booklets<br />
produced by the Heritage Council. It is a useful publication<br />
which should help immensely in the promotion of<br />
awareness of Ireland’s Maritime Heritage.<br />
A full colour A4 sized booklet, the brochure unfolds to an<br />
A3 form and is printed on both sides. The wonderful<br />
photographs and short but highly informative chunks of<br />
text provide a useful and thought provoking introduction<br />
to the subject of Ireland’s Maritime Archaeology. The<br />
topics dealt with include the main chronological periods in<br />
archaeology from prehistory to modern times with a<br />
mention of some of the developments relating to Maritime<br />
archaeology mentioned very briefly. The past is divided<br />
into the following chronological phases: (1) Mesolithic<br />
hunter gathers to Neolithic farmers (8000 – 2500BC); (2)<br />
Bronze Age and Iron Age (2500BC – AD400); (3) Early<br />
Medieval Coastal Life and Traditions (AD400 – 1100); (4)<br />
Anglo-Norman and Gaelic lordships (AD1100 – 1550); (5)<br />
Post-Medieval maritime landscapes (AD1550 – 1840) and<br />
finally, (6) Archaeology of the modern coastline (AD1840 –<br />
2000). Only a very brief and potted overview can be given<br />
in such a document so a flavour of the past alone is<br />
imparted.<br />
The inside of the fold-out has its lower third or so<br />
dedicated to the topic of threats to our maritime<br />
archaeology. These threats can and do include climate and<br />
sea-level changes, natural coastal erosion, fishing and shellfish<br />
farming, off-shore developments and, finally, coastal<br />
developments and other human pressures. Among the<br />
threats that could be added to the list are the following:<br />
indiscriminate rubbish and litter dumping – an increasing<br />
blight on land and coast as well as at sea, along with<br />
vandalism treasure hunting. The driving of cars and<br />
motorbikes, quad bikes and buggies onto dune systems<br />
are also damaging archaeology wildlife and natural<br />
heritage habitats.<br />
Another section is devoted to Ireland’s Maritime Cultures<br />
and Traditions. Ireland’s Maritime Heritage includes a<br />
range of very diverse features from traditional boats to<br />
lighthouses, piers and archaeological sites such as shell<br />
middens, Fish palaces, fish traps and kelp drying kilns as<br />
well as a huge range of other structures and features could<br />
be added to the list.<br />
There are also sections on the topics of “How to Get<br />
Involved” and on “Where can I get Further Information”.<br />
With over 7,500km of coastline Ireland has more shoreline<br />
than most European countries and it is vital, therefore, that<br />
local communities get involved in helping to preserve,<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 19
B O O K R E V I E W<br />
study, investigate and survey the rich archaeological<br />
heritage that abounds around the shoreline.<br />
Further information on archaeological monuments in the<br />
maritime and coastal zone may be available in the Republic<br />
of Ireland from the National Monuments Service of the<br />
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local<br />
Government, Dun Scéine, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2 (website<br />
at www.archaeology.ie). If you discover a previously<br />
unknown monument in the Republic of Ireland, you should<br />
report it to the National Monuments Service. (Phone 01-<br />
8882000).<br />
If you find an archaeological object in the Republic of<br />
Ireland, you must report it to the National Museum of<br />
Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2, phone 01-6777444 (website at<br />
www.museum.ie/).<br />
In Northern Ireland, information may be available from the<br />
Environment and Heritage Service at Historic Monuments,<br />
Waterman House, 5-33 Hill Street, Belfast, Northern<br />
Ireland, BT1 2LA (website at<br />
www.ehsni.gov.uk/default.asp).<br />
Jellyfish in our Coastal Waters – A new and useful guide<br />
The Heritage Council has recently produced an attractive<br />
booklet on jellyfish which is a most useful guide to the<br />
species and their significance. Five species of jellyfish –<br />
Barrel Blue Common (Moon), Compass and Lion’s Mane<br />
are indigenous to Irish waters. A sixth species (Pelogia Noc<br />
tiluca) is usually found in the ocean around Ireland but only<br />
rarely appears in Irish coastal waters. Jellyfish are a part of<br />
a group of animals called Cridarians (pronounced “nighdare-ree-annes”)<br />
and have a simple body which is devoid<br />
of a brain, liver, heart, lungs or bones. They are composed<br />
of up to 96% water and use their muscles to push against<br />
their internal fluids. This causes a pulsating action which<br />
allows them to swim about. They use stinging cells to<br />
capture food and for protection. They feed on plankton,<br />
fish eggs and larvae and jellyfish themselves are eaten in<br />
large numbers by leatherback sea turtles and sun fish.<br />
These fascinating creatures are then described in a<br />
beautifully succinct text in this recent publication by the<br />
Heritage Council. The text is written by Tom Doyle and<br />
Ailish Murphy. The booklet is an A4 size one which unfolds<br />
to produce a double sided A3 poster with text and<br />
illustrations on both sides. A general introduction deals<br />
with “Jellyfish in our Coastal Seas” and there are short<br />
sections on the following themes: “What are jellyfish”,<br />
“Composition”, “The polyp”, “Jellyfish in Irish Waters”,<br />
“Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee”, “Lifecycle of<br />
Jellyfish”, “Jellyfish and Fisheries”, “Are Jellyfish<br />
increasing globally?” and “Jellyfish as food”.<br />
Very useful sections on “Where to find jellyfish” and<br />
“Where can I get further information” occur on the back of<br />
the booklet. On the same page there is a list of useful<br />
books and website addresses.<br />
The publication is an initiative of the Heritage Council and<br />
is available free of charge from the Heritage Council whose<br />
address and website details are as follows:<br />
The Heritage Council, Áras na h-Oidhreachta, Church Lane,<br />
Kilkenny City,<br />
Co. Kilkenny. Phone: 056-7770777; Fax: 056-7770788;<br />
Email: mail@heritagecouncil.com<br />
20 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
MERLIN PARK AND BAR<strong>NA</strong> WOODS<br />
BOOKLETS NOW AVAILABLE FROM GALWAY CITY COUNCIL<br />
Two new booklets have recently been published by Galway<br />
City Council. Both are available free at City Hall. The first is<br />
entitled Merlin Park Woods Coillte Pháirc Mhuirlinne and<br />
the second is entitled Barna Woods Coillte Bhearna.<br />
Both booklets<br />
are bilingual<br />
and both are<br />
based on<br />
summaries of<br />
Biodiversity<br />
and<br />
Management<br />
Reports which<br />
have been<br />
compiled at<br />
the behest of<br />
Galway City<br />
Council which<br />
owns both<br />
pieces of<br />
woodland.<br />
The Barna<br />
Woods Project<br />
B i o d i v e r s i t y<br />
Report and<br />
Management<br />
Plan was carried out by A. Brown, K. Connolly, R.<br />
McDonnell, C. Peppiatt, S. Springer, C. Williams and J.<br />
Fuller who submitted a detailed survey and report on the<br />
woods at Barna to Galway City Council. The project formed<br />
part of an action of both the Galway City Heritage Plan<br />
2006-2011 and of the Draft Galway City Biodiversity Action<br />
Plan. The project was carried out in 2008 and was funded<br />
by the Heritage Council and Galway City Council.<br />
In 2009 it was decided to carry out a similar survey of<br />
Merlin Park Woods and a study of the woods and an<br />
extensive report was compiled by Janice Fuller and<br />
Amanda Browne. Again the project survey was part of an<br />
action of the Heritage Plan 2006-2011 and of the Draft<br />
Galway City Biodiversity Action Plan. Again the detailed<br />
survey was part funded by the Heritage Council.<br />
Barna Woods are particularly significant from the<br />
ecological point of view as well as being a beautiful place<br />
to walk. The woods are linked to other natural habitats of<br />
international conservation significance within the Galway<br />
Bay Complex Special Area of Conservation. As well as the<br />
natural heritage there are archaeological sites including<br />
middens ancient field wall systems and so on within the<br />
woodland.<br />
The 2008 study of Barna woods provided an overview of its<br />
wildlife diversity and its potential for further study.<br />
The study<br />
recorded thirty<br />
species of<br />
birds, a<br />
heronry,<br />
mammals such<br />
as the<br />
Natterer’s and<br />
Soprane<br />
pipistrelle<br />
bats. Pygmy<br />
shrews,<br />
badgers, foxes<br />
are also<br />
present. Many<br />
types of<br />
beatles and<br />
flies occur<br />
including some<br />
uncommon<br />
species several<br />
species of<br />
mushrooms or<br />
fungi occur.<br />
The woods contain a variety of woodland types including<br />
native oak – ash and willow mixes, wet-woodlands<br />
dominated by alder and willow. Beech woods also occur.<br />
Maintaining a mosaic of woodland habitats is vital in<br />
keeping a variety of wildlife in the woods.<br />
The Merlin Woods survey carried out in 2009 and produced<br />
some very interesting results small areas of karst landscape<br />
within the woods provide habitats for a wonderful range of<br />
plants. These small limestone areas have a flora<br />
reminiscent of the Burren area of Co. Clare. The Merlin<br />
Woods contains a mix of native ash and hazel woodland<br />
along with stands of conifers and beach woodland.<br />
The castle on Merlin Park (Doughiska Castle) is a wonderful<br />
example of a late 15th or 16th century townhouse. It<br />
belonged at one stage to the Lynch family. The lands<br />
became part of the Waithman families’ Merlin Park Estate<br />
in the 19th century and the estate was sold for a nominal<br />
sum to the Irish state in 1945 for the establishment of a<br />
tuberculosis sanatorium. The Forestry Commission and<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 21
M E R L I N PA R K A N D B A R N A W O O D S<br />
local farmers cleared much ground and planted large<br />
swathes of conifers mainly Norway Spruce in the 1950s.<br />
The castle is owned by the O.P.W. Parts of the excavated<br />
buildings relating to the castle are on City Council land and<br />
were excavated archaeologically on behalf of the Heritage<br />
Office of Galway City Council a few years ago. Apart from<br />
this the woods contain a number of ruined vernacular<br />
houses, midden sites, and various 19th century garden and<br />
landscape features.<br />
Both Barna and Merlin Park Woods are great recreational<br />
resources. They are amenities for walkers and orienteers<br />
and educational resources for local schools, second and<br />
third level institutions and community groups. They are<br />
places of interest for wildlife enthusiasts and<br />
archaeologists, scientists and nature lovers. Urban<br />
woodlands like these provide havens and habitats for<br />
wildlife, improve our quality of life, offer opportunities for<br />
lifelong learning, soften the landscapes of cities, improve<br />
air quality and have immense recreational potential.<br />
In light of the above it is all the more infuriating to see<br />
wonderful places like this being subjected to filthy littering,<br />
vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Dumping and burning<br />
out of cars is a frequent problem in Merlin Woods. Some of<br />
the vernacular houses which were conserved by Galway<br />
City Council have been burnt and their stonework<br />
knocked. The locks to Doughiska Castle are frequently<br />
broken and the inside of the castle is used for drinking in.<br />
Vandalism at the castle has been a periodic problem. The<br />
conserved walls outside the castle have been vandalised.<br />
Builder’s rubble and pallets, washing machines and<br />
computers are dumped along with domestic refuse to the<br />
rear of some of the new houses in Merlin Park. Casual<br />
littering occurs throughout the woods. Bottles and alcohol<br />
tins occur in and around the castle. Barna Woods is not as<br />
bad but minor littering occurs there as well.<br />
It is hoped to organise a cleanup of both woods in the near<br />
future. The leaflets are available free of charge from<br />
Galway City Council, College Road.<br />
Preserving and Enhancing Ireland’s Historic Churches and<br />
Graveyards – some useful tips from the Heritage Council<br />
The Heritage Council has recently published a easily<br />
readable well illustrated and short publication entitled<br />
Ireland’s Historic Churches and Graveyards.<br />
This clearly written A4 size booklet folds out to become an<br />
A3 poster which is printed in full colour on both sides. It<br />
makes an attractive poster and is an ideal teaching aid for<br />
schools – in fact it is a useful guide for the interested adult<br />
and the school child alike.<br />
Illustrated with good clear photographs there are brief<br />
pieces of text on Grave markers: from Early Christian crossslabs<br />
to Modern Headstones. This includes stones with<br />
symbolism of both a religious and a secular type. Some<br />
stones have vocational symbols showing the trade craft or<br />
occupation of the deceased. One showing a farmer<br />
ploughing with his team of horses is one of a group to be<br />
found at St. Coman’s Cemetery in Roscommon Town.<br />
Others have a carpenter’s saw and axe. One from Donegal<br />
from Glencar, Co. Donegal has a hurling stick, ball and a<br />
sword! Gravest ones with Masonic and military motifs as<br />
well as flights of angels and crosses in an infinite variety of<br />
forms also occur.<br />
There are sections tracing the history of Irish churches<br />
dealing with the topics of “The Early Church”, “Medieval<br />
Reform and Re-organisation”. These sections set out the<br />
historic and archaeological contexts and sequence of<br />
development of churches and graveyards. In addition,<br />
there are highly important sections which deal with the<br />
topics of “Looking After your Graveyard” and “Conserving<br />
and Enhancing Wildlife in Historic Graveyards”. The<br />
“Looking after your Graveyard” section rightly places the<br />
emphasis on keeping it natural not overly ‘tidying’<br />
cemeteries to make them look like golf courses but leaving<br />
hollows and banks, bumps and lumps well enough alone<br />
especially because these are often archaeological features<br />
with provide evidence for the history and evolution of the<br />
site. No works should be carried out in a graveyard that<br />
22 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E
would damage<br />
its character.<br />
Instead<br />
practical,<br />
traditional<br />
maintenance<br />
methods –<br />
light grazing,<br />
k e e p i n g<br />
vegetation at<br />
bay on a<br />
regular bases – are recommended. Cemeteries are places<br />
for prayer, burial and places of immense historical,<br />
archaeological and architectural interest. They are also<br />
places of immense importance for natural heritage – for<br />
flora and fauna and are valuable habitats.<br />
The importance of cemeteries to local communities is<br />
immense. The publication also deals with the topics of<br />
“How to Get Involved” and “Where Can I get Further<br />
Information”. Getting involved with a local historical or<br />
archaeological society is an easy first step. Your local<br />
Heritage Office can put you in touch with a variety of such<br />
societies and with organisations involved with built, natural<br />
or cultural heritage in general. Your local University or<br />
Institute of Technology will usually have a department<br />
which is involved with many of the aspects of built, natural<br />
or archaeological heritage associated with churches and<br />
cemeteries.<br />
You should contact your Heritage Officer for advice before<br />
carrying out any work in a graveyard and before doing so<br />
a short list or schedule of works should be submitted to the<br />
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local<br />
Government and to the local Heritage Officer. Permission<br />
for many types of work should be sought both from the<br />
DoEHLG, the National Museum and the cemetery<br />
owners(s).<br />
A lot of further information is available. It is always<br />
recommended that interested parties read a booklet<br />
entitled “The Care and Conservation of Graveyards” which<br />
is published by the DoEHLG and which may be<br />
downloaded from the DoEHLG website at<br />
www.archaeology.ie<br />
The Heritage Council publication has some wonderful<br />
illustrations including an imaginative reconstruction of the<br />
Early Christian Monastery at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow as<br />
it may have looked around 1150AD. Some of the other fine<br />
quality photographs include illustration of a variety of<br />
noteworthy features – the lynch gate of a cemetery at the<br />
Curragh, Co. Kildare built in 1869 is given the same<br />
prominence as the 10th – 11th century high cross at<br />
Drumcliffe, Co. Sligo – the point being that these features<br />
and monuments are all part of the varied heritage of our<br />
Irish cemeteries.<br />
The text of the booklet is by Caimen O’Brien who also<br />
provided many of the fine photographs with additional text<br />
by Ian Doyle of the Heritage Council. The publication is<br />
available free of change from the following address: The<br />
Heritage Council, Áras na h-Oidhreachta, Church Lane,<br />
Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny. Tel: 056-7770777;<br />
Fax: 056-7770788; email@heritagecouncil.ie;<br />
www.heritagecouncil.ie<br />
Copies are also available from the Heritage Office, City<br />
Hall, College Road, Galway. (091) 536547.<br />
Conservation Grants for Protected Structures Allocated<br />
Protected Structure, Galway City<br />
There has been a marked reduction in the amount of<br />
Grants and for Protected Structures this year. Each year<br />
Galway City Council, like other local authorities receives<br />
and allocation for Protected Structures in Private<br />
Ownership rfom the DOEHLG. This has gone from over<br />
€160,000 to just over €50,000 from 2009 to 2010. With<br />
over 600 protected structures in Galway City, there is very<br />
little conservation work that can be carried out for that<br />
amount of money. It is hoped that the allocation for 2011<br />
will be better. Galway City Council provided grants for<br />
seven structures this year. Applications are available from<br />
the Heritage Officer, the Planning Department.<br />
Galway City like every Local Authority in the State keeps a<br />
record of Protected Structures and copies of this record are<br />
stored at the Planning Department at City Hall, College<br />
Road.<br />
O I D H R E A C H T N A G A I L L I M H E 23
Galway’s Heritage/Oidhreacht na Gaillimhe is a<br />
publication of Galway City Council and is edited<br />
by Jim Higgins, Galway City Heritage Officer. It<br />
is also available on the Galway City Council<br />
website @Galwaycity.ie. Copyright of the<br />
Heritage Office and other contributors.<br />
GALWAY’S <strong>HERITAGE</strong><br />
<strong>OIDHREACHT</strong> <strong>NA</strong> <strong>GAILLIMHE</strong><br />
Back Issues of Galways Heritage /<br />
Oidhreacht na Gaillimhe<br />
Back Issues of this publication can<br />
be consulted on the Galway City<br />
website at www.galwaycity.ie<br />
24 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E