Search Results for 'Colm Powell'

John J Taaffe and his wife Henrietta came to Galway in the mid-1920s from Co Cork. He had been associated with Bantry Woolen Mills which unfortunately went out of business when the factory was burnt down during the War of Independence. With his background in the textiles business, it was probably natural for John to set up a drapery shop at Number 12 William Street. As you can see from the beautiful Gaelic script on the façade, he was a fan of the Irish language. He and Henrietta had five children, Joseph, Eddie, Netta, Una, and Flo.

The first people to sell produce along the Promenade were women who carried buckets of cockles and mussels and sold them to tourists. They would sit on the concrete seats and announce their wares. I don’t know if they sang “Alive alive oh” in a Galway accent or not.