In 1904, MJ MacDonnell, Confectioner, announced the fact in the local papers, that he had just opened a TEA ROOM at Number 8, Wiilliamsgate Street where ladies and gentlemen ‘can have freshly made tea and cakes – all cakes made freshly on the premises with the purest ingredients only. Seed, Plum, Rich Plum, Madeira, Citron, Cherry, Sultana, Genoese, Pastry etc. White and Brown scones, Cream scones and Crumpets always in stock. Ice Creams in 24 hours’.
Jellies, Blanc Manges, Meringues, Pies, all could be made to order as could sweets in great variety. Large or small luncheon and tea parties could be catered for at 24-hour notice. Light Luncheons and Teas were ‘Comfortably’ Served. Wedding cakes could be ordered at the shortest notice and they were also agents for Fuller’s Confections.
They had a Wine and Spirits licence and advertised Hennessy’s XXX Brandy, Jameson’s Old Malt, Persse’s Whiskey, Old Port and Sherry Wines, Mineral Waters etc. And if that was not enough, they were an Agent for the County Fire Office and Scottish Union and National Insurance Companies.
In the weeks before Christmas, he advised his customers through newspaper advertisements, that he would be obliged if they would send in their orders as soon as possible for Plum Puddings (own make ), Mince Pies, Spiced Beef etc. Orders by post would be carefully attended to and he also offered a large variety of sweets from the best makers – Cadbury’s and Fry’s Chocolate, Collard and Bowser’s Butterscotch etc, and mixtures at sixpence, eightpence, tenpence, one shilling and 1s 2d per pound. In addition, he sold Preserved Ginger, Almonds, Creams, Satinettes and Rocks.
The premises became a great Galway meeting house. We have to presume Mr MacDonnell, in addition to being an entrepreneur, was a Nationalist as his Tea Room was much frequented by Volunteers, Republicans and Irish speakers. It was a regular haunt for Volunteers from places like Spiddal, Moycullen, Oranmore who had some business in town. They occasionally used to practice drilling in there, presumably by moving the tables and chairs, or maybe there was an open yard outside to the right as we look at the drawing.
The authorities may have occasionally sent a spy in there masquerading as a customer. When Eoin McNeill issued an order cancelling the 1916 Rising, there was a lot of confusion. On Easter Sunday, Mícheál Ó Droighneáin, a leading Republican from Spiddal, cycled into Galway to see what was happening and he met a Volunteer from Castlegar in MacDonnell’s. Fahy told him that the Castlegar men were planning to go to Oranmore in a few hours so Mícheál decided to return home and organise his men, but he had only gone a short distance when he was surrounded on the street and arrested. They found a revolver on him and he was arrested and imprisoned in a British naval ship on the docks where he was soon joined by several other arrested Republicans.
Our drawing of the interior dates from a 1909 advertisement and the photograph of the façade (which was given to us by Terry Small ) dates from roughly the same time. Our photograph of the streetscape was taken in 1903 when the place was all decorated for the visit of Edward VII. You can see MacDonnell’s to the left of picture. The three small shop windows were later knocked into one large on as seen in the façade photograph.
Last week, we wrote about a man from Barna who used to go to the market and when he had finished his business there, he used to tie his donkey to a pole outside Joe Reidy’s pub. When he came out after a few pints, he would untie the donkey, get up on his cart and promptly fall asleep. The donkey always took him home. Dick Byrne told me that one evening, as the donkey approached home, the neighbours spotted it. They unhitched the donkey, took it inside the gate and closed the gate. They then wheeled the cart up to the gate with the shafts through the gate and re-hitched the donkey to the cart. When our man woke up, he was completely mythered, how in the hell did the donkey get through the gate and himself and the cart could not?
On that note, I wish all readers of this column a happy and a healthy New Year, with a special thank you to all those who helped me with photographs, stories, suggestions and corrections. Blian Nua Fé Mhaise Díbh ar fad.
