Search Results for 'Columban Hall'

Jimmy Cranny was born in Dublin in 1905. He was orphaned early in life, came to Galway when he was eight and it became his home from then on. He grew up to be a champion swimmer, a winner of the Prom Swim and a springboard diving champion of Connacht. He was a member of the Royal Lifesaving Society and became one of their first lifeguards. He later joined the Irish Red Cross.

Cyril Mahony was born in February 1913 in the family home on Prospect Hill. His mother was Mary Teresa Cunniffe from Loughrea and his father Gerry was a member of the RIC who at one time was stationed in Belfast. He eventually left the force and came back to his mother’s house on Prospect Hill. She was Anne Flaherty from Conamara, a native speaker and a well-known maternity nurse.

Jarir Al-Majar, formerly Gerry Mulholland, was a singer, musician, songwriter, poet, artist, peace activist, a man of principle and bravery and one of Galway’s most remarkable and beloved citizens. Majar was from a noted musical and sporting family. His father, Ned Mulholland had a fine tenor voice and won an All-Ireland football medal with Galway in 1938.

The 20th edition of TULCA Festival of Visual Arts will take place in venues across Galway City November 4 - 20, featuring a programme of multi-venue exhibitions and events including seminars, workshops and an Education Programme with artist talks and gallery tours that focus on looking at and responding to contemporary visual art.

“There is nothing as Galway as Our Lady's Boy’s Club,” was how our president Michael D Higgins described OLBC some years ago at a function in the Columban Hall. It is more than 80 years since it was founded and it is the longest-running youth club in the country. It was set up by Fr Leonard Shiel SJ at a time when there were was a lot of grinding poverty in Galway and no recreational facilities or extra-curricular activities for young people in areas like the Claddagh, Bohermore, Shantalla, and ‘The West’. The club provided these and has been a source of guidance and inspiration to thousands of young men and boys since, especially those from a working class background. From that first day of nervous membership, right through their teens, and even after they had taken up the challenges of adult life, the spirit and watchful eye of the Club is ever with them.

“There is nothing as Galway as Our Lady's Boy’s Club,” was how our president Michael D Higgins described OLBC some years ago at a function in the Columban Hall. It is more than 80 years since it was founded and it is the longest-running youth club in the country. It was set up by Fr Leonard Shiel SJ at a time when there were was a lot of grinding poverty in Galway and no recreational facilities or extra-curricular activities for young people in areas like the Claddagh, Bohermore, Shantalla, and ‘The West’. The club provided these and has been a source of guidance and inspiration to thousands of young men and boys since, especially those from a working class background. From that first day of nervous membership, right through their teens, and even after they had taken up the challenges of adult life, the spirit and watchful eye of the Club is ever with them.

The Penny Dinners committee was a name given to a voluntary group who used to provide free dinners for 40 to 80 impoverished children four times per week in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In fact the title was a misnomer, in no sense were they penny dinners. The children could not afford to give a penny for them, nor could the committee provide a dinner for a penny. The funding for these meals came from the people of Galway and also from fundraising productions they put on, mostly in the Columban Hall.

FRIDAY SEES the return of Galway’s international visual arts festival, TULCA, with exhibitions in the An Post Gallery, Galway Arts Centre, Columban Hall, 126 Gallery, Nun’s Island Theatre, and Pálás Cinema.

“I'M UP and about and living again without realising that that’s what I’m doing.” So says a woman Galway will meet during the 2021 Galway International Arts Festival.

DESPITE ALL the obstacles the Covid-19 pandemic has put in the way, the 2021 Galway International Arts Festival has emerged triumphant, with an impressive, and exciting array of events for the autumn.