Search Results for 'Edward VII'

The regular use of the words “post” and “Litir” in 15th century Irish manuscripts suggests that by that time, a postal system was already in existence here. In 1657, a Bill was passed ‘for settling the postage of England, Scotland and Ireland’ which set up a Government monopoly of the service. The Galway Post Office had been established in 1653, and the network of Post Offices throughout the county gradually grew.

In early October 1884 a journalist from The New York Times, whom we only know by his initials HF, left Galway for Cong by steamer, in the company of Mr TP O'Connor, MP for Galway, and Mr Healy, MP for Monaghan.

Mitchell Henry’s final days in Kylemore were sad ones. His adored wife Margaret had died at 45 years-of-age, and rested in a simple brick mausoleum in the grounds of his palatial Kylemore Castle. His political life, into which he put a great deal of personal effort, advocating on behalf of all Irish tenants the rights for them to own their own land, was out manoeuvred by Charles Stewart Parnell and the Land League. Henry described the Land League methods as ‘dishonest, demoralising and unchristian’. He probably was not surprised to lose his Galway seat in the general election of 1885. He blamed ‘Parnalite intimidation’.

The arrival of British royalty on Irish shores in recent times, is usually greeted with genuine interest and curiosity, and a sense of welcome and respect, while extreme nationalists have to grin and bear it.

Tommy Holohan is a living history of Galway city, and more particularly, a living history of one of its most unique areas - The Claddagh - and his passion for both has led him to discover and collect an extraordinary array of photographs, postcards, and documents charting the evolution of the city.

This ancient site on the southern end of what we now know as Eyre Square was occupied by a Knights Templars convent in the 13th century. By the 17th century Robert Martin had a large house on the site, but this was taken from him by the Cromwellians and given to Edward Eyre. The Eyre family held on to the property and on May 12, 1712, Edward Eyre, son of the above, presented the land in front of his house to the corporation as a place of recreation for the people of Galway. In 1827, a man named Atkinson built houses at this end of the Square and by 1845, the site was occupied by a block of tenements owned by Fr Peter Daly.

PERSONAL BELONGINGS of IRA volunteer Seamus Quirk and Fr Michael Griffin; Bronze Age artefacts from Dún Aonghasa; the myths of the River Corrib; and an exploration of Gaelic Ireland - there is a wealth of local and Irish history to be experienced at the Galway City Museum.

This was Shop Street, Galway’s main street, decorated for the visit of Edward VII in 1903. The poles along the footpath were especially erected to carry bunting and decorations and many buildings had their own flags and other forms of decoration. It was a big occasion in the city. The prince came into the station on the railway from Clifden, was taken by horse and carriage around the Square, through the streets, and around by Raven Terrace and back to the Docks where his royal yacht was waiting.

I have often wondered how the unusual name of Zetland found its way to the head of Cashel Bay in the heart of Connemara. It is, of course, the name of a well known hotel today. The hotel was founded in the closing years of the 19th century, by the son of a mountain farmer, JJ O'Loughlin, who had a canny instinct for business. The hotel was originally called The Zetland Arms, and before that The Viceroy's Rest. All these names allude to the hotel's distinguished patron Lawrence Dundas, Viceroy or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1889 to 1902, in which year he became the Marquis of Zetland.

The recent royal visit of William and Kate prompted us to dig out this photograph of Williamsgate Street taken in August 1903. It was taken just before or after King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra passed through. There were more banners and flags up while they were in the vicinity. The Royals had sailed into Killary Harbour on the royal yacht, then toured Connemara and then travelled by train to Galway. Their visit here was full of pomp and ceremony.