Search Results for 'Castlegar'

The man described as the ‘most important person ever to visit Ballybrit Racecourse’ will be remembered with fondness there on Sunday at a special thanksgiving Mass at noon.

A report from the Educational Commission in Ireland in 1826 lists two hedge schools in the parish of Castlegar. The first of these was at Merlin Park, built by the landlord Mr Blake. The 40 boys and 20 girls who attended got free tuition. The second school was at Ballygurrane, a few hundred yards north of where Scoil Colmcille Naofa stands today. It was a thatched house which doubled as a church on Sundays. Each pupil paid one shilling and eight pence per quarter. There were 30 boys and 15 girls on the rolls. The thatched house was accidentally burnt down in 1827, and the school transferred to a stable in the village of Castlegar. Here, without desks or books, the teacher named Duggan from Bohermore taught his pupils as they sat around on stones as seats. Each morning he rode out on his donkey from Bohermore. His salary depended on the few pence he got from his students. He taught the three Rs through the medium of English.

As St Columba’s Credit Union start preparations to celebrate their upcoming 50th Anniversary next year, they take a look at where it all started. On February 9 1963, with nine crowns, (€3.43) St. Columba’s Credit Union was the first credit union formed in Galway City and County and the second in Connacht.