Search Results for 'Hugh Watson'

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.

After the war, there was a bit of a building boom of dance halls around the country. Radio had introduced popular music to the general public and more and more people wanted to move to the music, so dance bands began to form. Some of those in Galway were Des Fretwells’ Band, Maxie Dooley’s Musicmakers, The Bill Keaveney Orchestra, and Gerry Cahill’s Dance Band. They played the popular music of the day, were mostly seated on stage and reading the music from stands in front of them. Then along came Bill Haley and rock and roll and everything changed. The showbands had arrived. Music stands were forgotten, musicians played standing up and literally began to move with the times.

In 1925 there was a major debate in the Urban Council about a Garda report that two men from County Offaly who had been swimming in the sea in Salthill without any bathing costumes had been apprehended, and how the gardaí should deal with them. The debate was about the evils or otherwise of mixed bathing in Salthill.

Many people will remember ‘Shoots’ as one of the most lovable and delightful characters on the streets of Galway. He was a small man with a big moustache, big glasses, and a big personality. His real name was Michael Tuite. He was reared in Artane in Dublin but came to live here at a time when it was mostly cowboy pictures that were shown in our cinemas. Michael was a fan and began to act as if he himself was a cowpoke. Galwegians gradually changed the greeting “Howya Tuite” to “Shoots”, probably with a little help from the man himself.