Recording Galway: Recent Episodes
Mary Cunningham
The Galway Hooker Sailing Club Newsletter is back with a profile of Molly Curran who is involved in boat restoration, power boating, rowing and of course sailing.
The title of this documentary is taken from a headline in the Irish Press announcing the opening of a hat factory in Galway in 1938. Established by Jewish refugees Les Modes Modernes employed approximately 250 throughout the 40s and 50s. It continued to operate on a smaller scale until 1972.
Employees from the 40s describe the working conditions and speak of the economic impact of the factory in a town where employment opportunities were scare.
The circumstances whereby refugees came to the west of Ireland are outlined along with some insight into their personal lives during the war years and an account of reactions to their presence.
The final section concerns one man's solo effort to keep the Galway hat trade going. His daughter tells that story.
**Produced and narrated by Mary Cunningham.
Contributors
Workers from the 1940’s:** Veronica Joyce O’Toole, Margaret Long Casserly (recently deceased)
Daughters of workers: Heather Gardiner, Paula Scully.
Historians: Dr Trisha Oakley Kessler, Dr John Cunningham
Content voiced by: Brenda Foy, Eimear O’Meara, Margaret Molloy, Liam Cunningham, Brian Hanney, Miriam Hanney, Trish Mannion.
Music: Yeti Music "Ghost Piano" https://uppbeat.io/browse/artist/yeti-music
Musictown "Irish Jig". https://pixabay.com/music/search/irish%20jig/
JuliusH "50s Swing Music" https://pixabay.com/music/vintage-50s-swing- music-13480/
Sources: Dr Trisha Oakley Kessler. ‘Rethinking Irish Protectionism: Jewish Refugee Factories and the Pursuit of an Irish Ireland for Industry.’ In Irish Questions and Jewish Questions: Crossovers in Culture (2018)
Rachel Phillipson-Levy. Memoir: An Odyssey Revisited. http://migs.concordia.ca/memoirs/levy/levy_1.html
Eileen O’Faoláin. ‘Galway Hats’ in The Bell (1941)
George Clare. Last Waltz in Vienna, Pan Books (2007)
This is a recording of a walking tour through the streets of Galway focusing on aspects of the history of theatre in the city. It was recorded live on 19 October 2023. There are nine speakers introduced by John Cunningham, each of whom share interesting stories on their specific topics at significant sites.
Click on chapters above to access individual contributions.
The tour was curated by Dr John Cunningham and Dr Sarah-Anne Buckley of the University of Galway History Department in association with Galway City Museum.
Produced by Mary Cunningham,
Photo: Richard Peyton Headshots | Street | Event Photography
realrichardpeyton
Music : 'Fine Dining' by Track Tribe
Website: tracktribe.com.
instagram.com/tracktribemusic/?hl=en
Eileen Cameron from Co. Armagh tells us about her love of water sports. She has had lots of memorable moments while sailing and rowing. With all this she still finds time to publish the club newsletter, The Masthead, every month.
A native of The Netherlands, but settled here since 2016, Sebastian is involved in a range of the club activities. Sailing, power boating, maintenance, VHF training and rowing with the Gráinne Mhaol Club.
A chat with Italian native who came to live in Galway in 2015 because she liked a photo she saw on Google of Long Walk. Despite being very busy at work she finds time to sail, learn power boating skills, learn to row and join in KJS sessions.
Maura Tomei came to Galway from Italy a year ago. The vibrant music scene was the initial attraction but she quickly fell in love with the sea and was curious about the hooker boats. She went along to the Docklands Festival last October where she found the club and started her sailing adventures.
A chat with Gerry Hynes originally from Carraroe but living in Claddagh since 1995. Gerry has lots of skills which he uses to help in boat restoration. He is particularly proud of the work done to restore Caper Beag. Its launch at the Docklands Festival last year was a special moment.
Daniel Cronin talks about the opportunities he has had in the Hooker Sailing Club to fulfil a long held ambition to learn to sail. He is also working on his powerboat skills and is looking forward to the day he gets to sail to the Aran islands.
Tommy Keegan tells us about his time fishing on the river with his father, his interest in flying, sailing, power boating and making model hookers. A man of many talents.
Padraic Hernon joined the club in February 2022. Growing up on Inishmór he had lots of opportunities to work on all types of boats. sailing a boat however, is a n new experience that he is really enjoying.
Meet Susanne Lally who joined the Galway Hooker Sailing Club in 2021 after meeting Ciaran Oliver on a walking tour of the Claddagh. Having completed the Hooker Skills Course she was out for her first sail four weeks following her registration. Having never participated in any water sports she is delighted with her new hobby and all the new people she has met in the club.
This month Mary and Brenda chatted with Clodagh Durkan who arrived in Galway in 2021 after being away from Ireland for over a decade. She decided to settle in the West to be near family and was delighted to join the Galway Hooker Sailing Club to meet people with a shared interest in water activities. She was just in time to lend a hand in the Loveen restoration project.
Mary and Brenda chat with Orla Curran a member of the Galway Hooker Sailing Club. Orla speaks about growing up around boats and that special feeling she gets when she is at the helm of the 95 year-old Gleoiteog Loveen which she helped restore.
Mary Cunningham and Brenda Foy chat with Galway Hooker Sailing Club member Elizabeth Steede
Music by Olexy on Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/acoustic-group-old-photos-acoustic-background-music-15489/
Mary Cunningham and Brenda Foy chat with Galway Hooker Sailing Club member Gina Gardiner
Music by Olexy on Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/acoustic-group-old-photos-acoustic-background-music-15489/
This provides an overview of the activities of the Galway Hooker Sailing Club . https://www.galwayhookersailingclub.ie/.
The club focusses on restoring and sailing boats used traditionally by communities off the coast of counties Galway and Clare in the west of Ireland. Club members speak about the history of the Hooker boats, their latest restoration project and give a sense of the satisfaction they get from involvement in the club along with the passion they have for sailing.
Producer: Mary Cunningham
Thanks to all the participants: Colie Hernon, Ciaran Oliver, Colette Furey, Tina Concannon, Loretta Croke, Orla Curran, Patrick Conneely and Daniel Concannon.
A special thanks to Brenda Foy who contributed to the podcast and helped out with recording.
Music by :JuliusH from Pixabay . https://pixabay.com/music/folk-celtic-irish-scottish-tin-whistle-background-music-10455/
Olexy from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/music/acoustic-group-morning-garden-acoustic-chill-15013/
This tells the story of my efforts to home 5 kittens born in my back garden and my involvement in a humane approach to controlling the feral cat population in my area . During this journey I came in contact with Galway Cat Rescue- a non-profit organisation devoted to cat welfare. Thanks to volunteer Jeanette the 5 kittens were neutered/ spayed along with the mother cat and a number of other strays.
Interviews with Maude O'Donohoe and Jane Hogan who have fond memories of swimming at Salthill, Galway in the sixties, reveal the rules that were in place at the behest of the local bishops in relation to where people could swim. Believing that men and women bathing together was an occasion of sin the bishops requested that bathing places be designated for men, ladies and families.
Jane and Maude tell of one young woman's rebellion against the rules sometime in the mid sixties when she swam up to the male section at Blackrock when all was quiet and left her bikini top on a flagpole. Though this caused consternation in the community more women began to venture past the Men Only sign.
P.J. Flaherty, a year round swimmer, describes the camaraderie that existed among the men who frequented the area and the resentment of some at the arrival of women.
A final attempt to stem the tide of change was spearheaded in 1971 by a local councillor who requested that Galway Corporation ban 'Bikini Girls' from the male enclave on the basis that they disturbed the older men and priests who swam there. At this point attitudes had changed and the councillor's concerns seemed quaint and old fashioned. The Men Only sign was quietly removed in early September 50 years ago.
Sources:
Bishop Michael Browne of Galway (1937–76) and the Regulation of Public Morality Author(s): James S. Donnelly, Jr.
Source: New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua , EARRACH / SPRING 2013, Vol. 17, No. 1 (EARRACH / SPRING 2013), pp. 16-39
Published by: University of St. Thomas (Center for Irish Studies) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24625062
Bishop Michael Browne of Galway and Anti-Communism, 1937-1976 Author(s): Gerard Madden
Source: Saothar , 2014, Vol. 39 (2014), pp. 21-31
Published by: Irish Labour History Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24897247
Music: https://pixabay.com/music/folk-krainer-waltz-traditional-austrian-and-slovenian-music-3358/?fbclid=IwAR18M4lYC5uIye9s6DFzgSK7FcS1g0VdAuE2ybd5ltPHuL1yCV-HzerASj0#:~:text=Music%20by%20JuliusH%20from%20Pixabay