James Hardiman, in his history of Galway lists the fuels available in Galway long ago as coal, turf and bog deal. Bog deal was mostly the roots of trees that had been grown over by the bog over the centuries. It was regarded as a nuisance by the turf cutter who likes nice clean lines as he used his sleán. The turf men usually threw this timber up on top of the bog. It gave out a lot of sparkle, like a mini firework, while it burned in the grate.
Coal was imported. The main fuel for firing was the most accessible, turf. Some of this was also ‘imported’ to Galway in the sense that boat loads of turf from Conamara would arrive daily at the docks. This turf was bought as soon as it was cut by boatmen from the Aran Islands and Clare. They usually paid the turf cutters one shilling and one penny per ton. Then, they would bring it in to Galway to sell for about a guinea (one pound and one shilling ) per four-ton boatload.
Another source of supply for the city was, of course, the boglands around Lough Corrib. Again, boatloads from around the lake would arrive daily, and unload their cargo near the end of Woodquay, up beside Eyre Street.
Then, there were the farmers from areas such as Rahoon or Barna near the city who would occasionally fill their carts with turf and bring them into town to sell directly to the public. Many of these would have their own private customers, but often, they gathered together to form a turf ‘market’. In the 19th century, this was based in Market Street, and later, another was formed across the Salmon Weir from the Courthouse. A third market developed at the end of Raven Terrace, around where the fire station is today. We have two photographs of that market for you today, each taken from a slightly different angle, each dated from c1900-1920.
These markets took place regularly as farmers, mostly from the Barna/Furbo area but sometimes as far away as Spiddal, brought their cartloads of beautifully stacked turf hoping to barter or sell their product for cash so that they might do some essential shopping in town.
Sometimes, they would carry loads of hay, often loose, occasionally tied, and also large cans of milk, all for sale. There was a weighbridge to the left of our photographs, to help with the various transactions.
Of course, it was only the well-off who were able to buy turf by the boatload. The poor were unable to purchase in bulk and they had to depend on the Corporation to lay down bye-laws regulating measures, weights and prices. A standard size of turf kish was approved and in 1762, it was priced at nine pence. By 1820, it cost twice as much.
In the 16th century, many of the townspeople went outside the walls to cut turf on property belonging to the town. In 1585, bye-laws were brought in to regulate many of the abuses of the time. One of them specified that nobody should cut turf or dig any area between Suckeen and the crag of Castlegar. Obviously the area was being denuded and people were encroaching on the common highway.
The building to the left of our main photograph was Ned Finneran’s forge. Ned was a farrier who went blind in later life. His nephew, Tom Madden, worked with him. This building would later become Michael Murphy’s butcher shop. The three-storey building to the right of it belonged to Martin Hanley, later to Mr Glennon and later still to George Gay who had a furniture shop there.
The sloping roof we partially see to the right of that was John Beatty’s forge. The folklore tells us that the Beatty family once had a foundry in Mill Street. John Beatty was a prominent athlete and sportsman – handball, rowing and greyhounds were his sports. He was a smithy and an ironworker who made many heavy implements like anchors and he was famous for making oyster dredges. His last job, by his own hands, was to make the gate for the Lourdes Grotto at the Dominican Church. The gable we see behind Beatty’s forge was of Cahill’s pub, later Keane’s and later still, Haverty’s which faced on to Raven Terrace.
Much of the above information is take from an article written by TP O’Neill for this newspaper.
