Search Results for 'Bill Haley'

Salthill Park was originally a large field with a small lake. It was landscaped in 1907, but a cesspool developed there. The newly formed Salthill Development Organisation asked the Urban District Council to clean it up, and eventually, after some years, they did.

After the war, there was a bit of a building boom of dance halls around the country. Radio had introduced popular music to the general public and more and more people wanted to move to the music, so dance bands began to form. Some of those in Galway were Des Fretwells’ Band, Maxie Dooley’s Musicmakers, The Bill Keaveney Orchestra, and Gerry Cahill’s Dance Band. They played the popular music of the day, were mostly seated on stage and reading the music from stands in front of them. Then along came Bill Haley and rock and roll and everything changed. The showbands had arrived. Music stands were forgotten, musicians played standing up and literally began to move with the times.