In the 1940s the seeds of great social change were sown in Ireland; Irish society began to “feel the full force of the cold blast of social change”. In 1940s Ireland, the State gave no assistance to the out-of-school education of young people. The need to provide social and recreational activities for young people was enormous. The Jesuit Community responded to this need by setting up Our Lady’s Boys Club in 1941, which began to provide organised recreational activities to the youth of Shantalla, Bohermore, Claddagh and ‘the West’.
The main object of the club initially was to provide for the relief of poverty, to encourage the boys’ development, to give their lives a dignity which is their birthright, and to foster and encourage civic spirit among the youth of Galway. The critical core of the club has, from the beginning, always been its generic youth club, which meets several evenings a week and offers a mixture of spiritual direction, games, camaraderie and training in basic skills.
In the fifties, it was about preparing boys who were leaving for England, teaching them how to drive a car, how to prepare for an interview, how much overtime to work, how much money to send home, where to go if in trouble and most importantly, how to employ their leisure time. In the sixties it was about developing their skills and finding them jobs.
Sport has always been an important element in their work, and they are well known for producing soccer teams, rugby teams, boxers, Irish dancers, swimmers, life savers, and table tennis players. Many have proudly represented the club and some have represented the country, but it is the behind-the-scenes work that the club does is what is far more important, invaluable. They rehabilitate boys, help keep them out of trouble, find them jobs, encourage them, give them a sense of loyalty. If they fell by the wayside, they were visited in prison.
From the beginning, an annual ‘camp’ was organised, a week-long holiday for boys who would never otherwise have a holiday. They were always well fed, often clothed better and made much healthier by this week. The recreational element of the week is its central benefit. Competition and achievement are important, but not competition that promotes the exclusion of those who might not be as adept as others. Participation and cooperation are also very important and for this reason, the boys assist with the cleaning, tidying and washing up duties in the hope that these chores would imitate and reinforce values that are associated with family life. The club is entirely run by past members.
This weekend, a large group of boys and volunteers will head off to St Colman’s College in Claremorris for the annual ‘camp’. They have organised a terrific programme for the boys which includes the usual competitions and some very exciting outings. It all costs money of course, so if you would like to help these boys have a memorable holiday, please send a contribution to Calum Kelly, C/o Our Lady’s Boys Club, Columban Hall, Sea Road, Galway or to their iDonate page — https://www.idonate.ie/cause/OurLadysBoysClub and please be generous to this great Galway institution.
Our first photograph shows a group on camp in Lough Inagh in 1951. Back row: Michael Parslow, P Glynn, Michael Hennigan, F Crowe, S Hynes. In front are Miko O’Connor, Michael O’Connor, P Casey, S Beatty, N. King and J. Cooke.
Our second image is a Club soccer team from the 1960s. They are, back row; Joe Cunningham, Tommy Carr, John Rushe, Martin Noone, Peter Griffin, Seán Flaherty, Michael Burke. In front are Michael ‘Bomber’ Browne, John Carr, Gus O’Connor, Leo Crane and Tom McDonagh.
Our final image shows all of those who were on camp in 2004 posing outside the Basilica in Knock with the then mayor, now President, Catherine Connolly.
