Leisureland is delighted to present Old Salthill, a photographic exhibition by guest curator Tom Kenny of Kenny’s Bookshop and Gallery, who is well-known for his long-running and popular local-history column, Old Galway, in the Galway Advertiser.
These photographs were taken over a period of about 100 years. In the mid-nineteenth century, Salthill was known as a wholesome if uninteresting place to be visited for the fresh air and for the water.
The village of Salthill extended roughly from where the Bal is today to Seapoint, and consisted of some small guest houses, shops and public houses. There were occasional houses on the Prom and on the road to Galway.
The area gradually evolved into a resort, but change was slow until about 1950 when the rate of construction accelerated as new hotels, tourist facilities and estates appeared and open spaces were gradually filled in.
These images record some of those changes on the main road between Blackrock and Lower Salthill as they happened.
Donal Lyons, Chairman of the board of Leisureland said this is a fantastic opportunity for people who may not have seen the exhibition in the museum and is open to the public free of charge for the coming months.
Ian Brennan, Operations Manager at Leisureland thanked Tom Kenny for facilitating this superb exhibition in Leisureland. The exhibition will open on Wednesday August 8 at 5pm in Leisureland and everyone is welcome to attend.
