Search Results for 'Lourdes'

It was about this time of year, May 26, 1910 that the foundation stone of St. Mary’s College was laid. It was not, however the first St Mary’s College. Father John Paul O’Toole, born in Galway in 1804, was one of the last priests ordained during the wardenship. He was based in Paris and Rome but was always conscious of his own difficulty in obtaining a food secondary education in Galway, so he decided to return to Galway in 1843 and open a school here. His main difficulty was finding a premises but happily, he managed to secure “West House”, a detached residence with extensive grounds situated on Helen Street. He bought it from John Lushington Reilly, a great benefactor of the town and neighbourhood, especially during the famine of 1822.

A city couple, who set up a grotto at the end of their road, are inviting people to make time for prayer during May, which is traditionally the month of the rosary.

Four artists who live and work in the Midlands region will this week launch their ‘Winter Wonders’ art exhibition to the beautiful surroundings of Savoury Fare at Fernhill Garden Centre, Athlone.

An era comes to an end next week when the Galway Lourdes Pilgrimage Trust will cease its activities because of the rising age profile of its members.

Reading through William Henry’s comprehensive digest of the story of Galway * from its original foundation on the banks of the Corrib to the present day, I am reminded that there was an extraordinary burst of optimism and creative energy in the middle of the 19th century despite the ravages of the Great Famine barely a decade before.