Search Results for 'Paddy'

A man who claimed he hadn’t been carrying a hatchet during a family feud has had the case against him dismissed because there was no independent witness in court.

The quarter finals in the senior and intermediate grades were the main focus last weekend. Once again large crowds turned out at all venues to watch the drama unfold. The champions Ballyhale Shamrocks put their title on the line against Dunnamaggin at Hugginstown on Saturday afternoon.

A wonderful, warm and intelligent journalist/farmer passed away last week, leaving thousands of people who knew him saddened and in mourning following his loss.

Early on Friday August 18 1882, John Collins, a tenant farmer, having heard disturbances during the night coming from his neighbours’ house, the Joyces, went to check if all was well. He must have feared the worst because he brought with him two neighbours, Mary and Margaret O’Brien. They discovered an appalling sight. Even today, when our senses have been hardened by so many atrocities, it was a scene of savage murder that cried to heaven. No mercy was shown to this unfortunate family.

The year is pushing on folks. We’re almost into August, as the arts festival programmes that I see everywhere keep reminding me. As much as I like the festival, it’s a reminder that the summer is drawing to a close, and with the weather we’ve had this year we need something to brighten things up.

The Jennings family is the TF Royal. Pat, his wife Mary, and even their children Louise, Patrick, and Jessica have all in some way shaped and been shaped by this entertainment empire in the centre of Castlebar.

All-Ireland, Connacht championship, and minor medals decorate his walls, but Gort stalwart Ollie Fahy would gladly hand them all back for a county final win.

One could almost say that the Duggan family of College Road were born to play the game of hurling. A number of their predecessors had played for a famous College Road team in the 1890s, and their uncle Paddy played for Galway. They were given their first hurleys by Eddie Moore O’Flaherty from the Claddagh when they were very young children, so it was no wonder that Sean and Paddy and Jimmy would play for Galway and that Monica would become a very famous camogie player. Paddy and Monica have gone to their reward, but happily Sean and Jimmy are still with us.

Before the disbandment of the Connaught Rangers in 1922, it was customary on Sunday mornings for the Protestant members of this proud regiment to march in full uniform, with bagpipes and drums, out of Renmore barracks, through the town to attend service at St Nicholas Collegiate Church. It was an exciting spectacle for many of the girls of Galway. They would gather in small groups, or lean from windows, to catch the eye of a handsome soldier. Monsignor Considine would often precede the parade waving at the girls to go away. Pointing up to the girls at the windows (many of them apprentices, who lived above the shops whose trade they were learning), telling them ‘Not to be looking at those Protestant soldiers’. Most girls would quickly hide, and once the monsignor had passed, pop their heads out again.

Maybe not a lot of people know it, certainly not a lot of my generation, but it’s a fact – when Louth won the All-Ireland football title in 1957, there were two Mayo men on the team. And the two of them – Dan O’Neill and Seamie O’Donnell – actually played the entire second-half at midfield together, after Seamie moved out there from the half-forward line. Together, they drove Louth forward in what was a titanic struggle and, with their help, the Wee County’s perseverance paid off. Sean Cunningham scored a late goal to help them overcome Cork in the final that saw Padraig Harrington’s father, Paddy (since passed away, RIP) lose his second All-Ireland final on the trot.