This aerial photograph shows the main road into and out of town – An Bóthar Mór – c1950. You can see the end of the terraces, the hat factory and to the right, Grealishtown.
In the right foreground, you can see part of the ‘New’ Cemetery, the outer walls of which were finished by Thomas Nugent in 1880, resulting in this part of the road being known as ‘Cemetery Hill’ at the time. The cemetery opened in 1873, aiming to bring order and control to the question of internment and to give dignity to the last resting place of many Galwegians. The empty spaces seen in the graveyard here have all since been occupied by graves and headstones. The triangle of field seen here at the base of the photograph was part of the Sportsground’s lands.
The main feature on the opposite side of the road was “Les Modes Modernes”, known locally as the Hat Factory. This industry was originally set up before the war in Eyre Square, where they had an output of 50 hats per day. They were a progressive group and commissioned Stewarts to construct the large building in the centre of our photograph for £10,000. They moved here and Seán Lemass performed the opening ceremony on July 18, 1938. The building measured 140 x 90 feet. The offices were to the front, where there was also a large display room. It was one of the largest employers in Galway, and within two years, they were producing 3,000 hats per day. Changing fashion trends forced its closure in 1970.
The terrace to the right is known as Grealishtown, possibly named after a man named Grealish who built the houses at the end of the 19th century. The 17 houses were mostly two-storey, some single-storey. The design of the houses was simple enough, but each had a fine yard/garden, so most of the residents kept animals such as cows, pigs or chickens. As it was a terrace with no side entrances, these animals had to be brought in and out through the houses.
Those who lived there were, starting at the bottom of the hill (the thatched house ): No 1, David and Bess Daly; No 2, Mike Gavin; No 3, The Nolan family; No 4, Mr and Mrs Morrison, he was an officer in the British Army and saved his neighbour Peter Casserly’s life twice; No 5, Bridget Killilea who converted the front of her house into a little shop; No 6, the Quigley family; No 7, Paddy and Bridget O’Neill; No 8, Paddy and Mary Duggan; No 9, Peter and Celia Casserly; No 10, Martin and William Flaherty; No 11, John and Bridget Corcoran; No 12, Val Hehir; No 13, the Geraghty family; No 14, Patrick and Mary Murphy; No 15, Peter Concannon and family; No 16, Pat and Mary Scully; No 17, Pat and Nan Kelly.
The Headford Road runs along the top of the photograph and Sandy Road runs diagonally from there to what is known as Cemetery Cross today. The Galway Textile Printers Factory was not yet built, when it was, it was described as being “out the country”. All of the empty fields at the top of the image are developed today.
This photograph is another one taken by Norman Ashe, a flying ace during WWII who set up in business in Dublin after the war. He specialised in aerial photography. He emigrated to the US in the fifties and died there. His aerial negatives lay undiscovered for a long time until Patrick Kiersey uncovered them and began to put them online. Check out the Norman Ashe Collection online to see his wonderful countrywide collection.
