Peg Broderick-Nicholson and the War Of Independence

Thu, Jul 02, 2015

Peg was born at 17 Prospect Hill of parents with a strong nationalist outlook. She went to school in ‘The Pres’, where after the 1916 Rising there was a pitched battle between the wearers of the red, white, and blue badges (common during World War I) and those wearing green, white, and gold badges. The green side won, but then all the badges were confiscated by Mother Brendan.

Getting rid of the troublesome women

Thu, Jul 02, 2015

One of the remedies in dealing with overcrowding, and rebellious behaviour from frustrated and angry women in the workhouses during the famine years, was assisted emigration. This was done on a massive scale. Between 1848 and 1850, 4,175 women were sent direct from the workhouse system to Australia. This was in addition to the thousands already sent away assisted by landlords and other schemes to clear the land of unproductive tenants. The only cost to the individual Poor Law unions was for new clothes, and travel expenses to Plymouth, from where the girls embarked to the colony. 

Elegant streetscape

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

There is a lovely vintage quality about this photograph of the most elegant corner in Galway, which was taken about 1950 at almost 6.15 in the afternoon. It shows how the three corner buildings, all of which are slightly rounded, complement each other. It was always known as Moon’s Corner or Dillon’s corner, never McNamara’s corner.

Ballylee - ‘To go elsewhere is to leave beauty behind’

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

In 1960 Mary Hanley forced open the wedged shut door of the cottage at Thoor Ballylee. She walked into the large damp room. For 12 productive and happy summers, the cottage and its adjoining Norman tower had been the home of WB Yeats , his wife George Hyde Lees, and their two children Anne and Michael. Now, however, the floor was covered with manure. For years it had been used as a cow barn. Pulling aside stones that had blocked exits to keep the cattle enclosed, Mary walked into the dining room, with its magnificent enlarged window overlooking the Streamstown river as it races under the four-arched bridge.

Award winning chef Stefan Matz launches new concept restaurant at Delphi Adventure Resort & Spa

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

Delphi Adventure Resort & Spa is celebrating the launch of The Chef’s Table, a concept restaurant created by newly appointed and award winning executive head chef, Stefan Matz. 

Delicious cocktails and tasty bites at Nova

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

Galway has for some years revelled in the midst of a cocktail revival that has seen several venues offer cocktails, from mojitos to crisp Martinis, that replicate the very best cocktail venues from around the globe. Galway has also had its role in the creation of new cocktails that compete at national level, along with events hosted in the city to foster new creations in Galway's bars and clubs. In recent weeks a new venue has opened in the West End that looks to gather the best of Galway's cocktail talent under one roof. This, combined with the very best in spirits, aims to show what good cocktails are all about.

Nova cocktail bar opened its doors six weeks ago, offering a dedicated venue where great drinks are served in a cool, speakeasy atmosphere by fully trained mixologists from 12 noon daily. The menu comprises some 54 select cocktails including many Nova original creations. The team is also more than happy to cater to individual tastes and spirit preferences. Nova is also offering a snack menu from 12 noon daily, including a delicious fillet steak sandwich on offer for only €8. The kitchen also serves up an amazing lunch menu with fresh sandwiches with soup served up for only €6. 

Coming soon… Galway's newest restaurants, cafés, and gastropubs

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

Summer in Galway is showing no signs of hotting up just yet. That's not the case in the food scene though. The city's culinary entrepreneurs are working hard to open a seemingly never-ending flow of new restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and more. Want to have your finger on the pulse of what's new in the Galway restaurant scene and keep one step ahead of friends and colleagues on where's going to be the next must-try new place to eat? Here is the latest news and gossip on what gastronomic delights are heading our way and the best new restaurants coming soon to the city of the tribes.

Celebrity chef to attend Joyce’s food and wine celebrations

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

Galway’s leading local supermarket, with five locations throughout the county, will host two evening celebrations of local food and international wines this month. The evenings, which are in aid of Pieta House, will see celebrity chef Neven Maguire on hand to give top cooking tips and specialised cooking demonstrations using fresh produce from Joyce’s and its suppliers.

The Best of the New Beauty Products...

Thu, May 28, 2015

Its Beauty review time at Matt O Flaherty Chemists, and having rigoursly sampled all the new launces, to bring you the best foundations, blushers, you name it, these are the ‘musts’ you have to try, selected by their team of beauty experts.

John Hosty, 1916 veteran

Thu, May 28, 2015

For John Hosty from Shantalla, the ‘physical force’ movement originated some time before 1910 with the publication of The United Irishman, a newspaper which kept a lot of young people from following ‘the constitutional movement’. When the 1913 Oireachtas was held in Galway, Seán McDermott used the occasion to swear in a number of young Galwegians to the IRB, and from then on they did all they could against the Irish Party, including distributing anti-enlisting literature at all hours of the night.

Thoor Ballylee - The perfect home for a poet

Thu, May 28, 2015

In August 1896 WB Yeats and his friend Arthur Symons went on a tour of the west of Ireland. The poet was 31 years of age. They stayed with Edward Martyn at Tulira Castle, Ardrahan, visited the Aran Islands, and Yeats made his first visit to Lady Gregory at Coole Park.

During this visit to south Galway, which was to prove so significent in his life, Yeats  came to Ballylee, with its own square castle and  cottage where a farmer and his wife and their married daughter lived.  He rested there during an afternoon, enchanted by the beauty of its old cut stone, its Norman history, its bridge and stream; and the stories of Mary Hynes. He later wrote to a friend his pleasure in hearing about ‘A beautiful woman whose name is still a wonder by turf fires, [who] died there 60 years ago; for our feet would have lingered where beauty has lived...’ It was a most fortunate visit for Yeats. Lady Gregory would become a wise and supportive friend to him, and for years he would stay at Coole, which, under the guidance of Gregory,  became the centre for the Irish Literary Revival in the early years of the 20th century.

Caroline Whelan went to visit the amazing spa at the Lough Rea Hotel

Thu, May 28, 2015

There is a hidden gem in the south Galway town of Loughrea and it is called the Shore Island Spa. The spa is located in the newly refurbished Lough Rea Hotel and the rural town is blessed to be home to a facility of such immense quality.

Succulent steaks on the butcher’s block at the Gaslight Bar & Brasserie Supper Club 

Thu, May 28, 2015

The latest in a line of successful foodie events at the Gaslight Bar & Brasserie will take place on Saturday June 6 from 7pm. The Butcher Counter will introduce a new pop-up butcher block concept with a range of luscious meats, all sourced from local farms and showcasing the Angus, Hereford, and Dexter breeds. 

A must for lunch in Cong

Thu, May 28, 2015

The village of Cong in County Mayo is famous as the location where much of The Quiet Man was filmed. Although you can retrace the steps of the actors throughout the town, Cong is so much more than just a movie set for tourists. The village is small and intimate with friendly pubs. There are the ruins of the old abbey right in the town to explore, and a path along the river where you can stroll through one of the loveliest woods. Adjacent to the village stands the dramatic and magnificent Ashford Castle. Dating from the 12th century, you are able to stroll around the grounds and get a feeling of what Ireland was like hundreds of years ago. For all the elegance and splendour of the castle, you should consider looking further afield for lunch. Sure, it has speciality teas, champagne, and finger sandwiches, and there may be talk of tasty pastries and cupcakes, but after many decades in the shadows of the grandeur of Ashford Castle, Cong is at last is defining itself and carving out an identity of its own.

May Sunday at Menlo

Thu, May 21, 2015

Maytime was traditionally considered a time for festivals, and Galway was no exception to this. In fact it used to be said that the citizens had an almost reverential attachment to the old custom of going out to Menlo for three Sundays in May to partake in the pleasure of the open air and the early summer sun. It was known as ‘Maying in Menlo’.

Protecting Edward VII - A ‘friend of the Pope’, in Connemara 1903

Thu, May 21, 2015

Pleased with his friendly reception in Dublin in 1903, His Majesty King Edward VII determined to visit the wilds of Connemara and Kerry. Such a visit presented a number of problems for Dublin Castle, not least was security at a time when nationalism was rearing its head, and seldom lost an opportunity to express itself by demostrations and protests. I learn something of these concerns from a delightful book Memories: Wise and Otherwise. by The Rt Hon Sir Henry Robinson, Bart, KCB. (Published by Cassell and Co, London, 1923). Robinson was head of the Local Government Board in Ireland, and a man, who in the tradition of Somerville and Ross, saw humour in the Irish character, and indeed in the efforts of Britain to maintain control in Ireland.

Father Patrick Peyton, the Rosary Priest

Thu, May 14, 2015

Patrick Peyton was born on January 9 1909 in Attymass, Co Mayo, one of nine children. When they were growing up, the rosary was central to their lives. His family were subsistence farmers and unable to afford to send him to a seminary, so for a number of years he worked on the farm to help them earn a living as his father was too ill. Then he and his brother emigrated to America. They eventually entered a seminary in Notre Dame to study for the priesthood, but their hopes of being ordained together seemed to be dashed when Patrick got TB. The doctors told him his only hope was to pray, and pray he did, to the Blessed Virgin. He promised her he would dedicate his ministry to her and to the family rosary if he was saved. And so it came to be the two brothers were ordained as Holy Ghost Fathers together on June 15, 1941.

DruidShakespeare - A magnificent presentation of four great plays

Thu, May 14, 2015

Let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings,

And tell sad stories of the death of kings,

Some awful things that George Moore said...

Thu, May 07, 2015

You might think that those at the core of the Irish literary renaissance at the beginning of the 20th century, were one big happy family beavering away in their rooms at Lady Gregory's home at Coole, Co Galway. In those early days it was a house full of voices and sounds. Sometimes you heard WB Yeats humming the rhythm of a poem he was cobbling together; or the click-clacking of Lady Gregory's typewriter as she worked on another play for the Abbey. There was the sound of the Gregory grandchildren playing in the garden; the booming voice of George Bernard Shaw, as he complains that he is only allowed to have either butter or jam on his bread, but not both to comply with war rations (He cheated by the way. He put butter on one side of his bread, and when he thought no one was looking, piled jam on the other!); or the voices of the artist Jack Yeats and JM Synge returning from a day messing about on a boat calling out to a shy Sean O'Casey to come out of the library for God's sake and enjoy the summer afternoon.

And then there was the flamboyantly Bohemian Augustus John, who was her son Robert's best man at his wedding. Everyone liked Augustus, despite his childishness. He loved to pinch maids' bottoms as he swept by ("Oh! Mr John!"). It was unlikely, however, he ever pinched Marian. She was the kindly but formidable Lady Gregory's right-hand 'man' in all domestic arrangements. Marian saw that guests dressed properly for meals, which were always served punctually. Despite his wickedness, she had a soft spot for Augustus. Augustus would climb to the top of the highest trees at Coole, and lie on the uppermost branches swaying in the breeze. Marian's voice could be heard shouting up to him to come down or he'd be killed, and that dinner was on the table.

Me2UFitness Official Opening on Friday 8th May

Fri, May 01, 2015

Me2UFitness opened its doors in the middle of January and Christina Dillon has been very busy since welcoming clients old and new.

E-paper

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