Search Results for 'Michael Conneely'

It was about this time of year, September 1910 that construction work started on the new diocesan college, St Mary’s. Our photograph shows the blessing of the school on August 26 1912, Monsignor Fahey preaching. The first students entered two days later. There were 17 day boys paying £6 per annum and 60 boarders who paid £30 per annum.

I was privileged several times to have been in Croke Park when Galway won All-Irelands but none of them compared to September 7, 1980 when we won our first hurling title in 57 years. All of those years of frustration, of being gallant losers, noble in defeat, worthy opposition, of being classed as also-rans, chokers, of being told we had some of the finest hurlers never to win an All-Ireland, were all forgotten in that never-to-be-forgotten moment when the final whistle went. All of the hard luck stories, the near misses, the controversial defeats, the emptiness, all vanished with the sweet music of that whistle. We had to look at the scoreboard to make sure it was true. Galway 2-15, Limerick 3-9. The tears. The huge outburst of emotion and frenzied celebration was beautifully captured in Stan Shields’ photograph, our first image today.

It was a joy to be a Galway person on the first Sunday of September 1980, the day our hurlers ended years of frustration, perennial underachievement, near misses, noble defeats, controversial defeats, the hard luck stories, the emptiness.

Shortly after dawn on Saturday, September 16 1944, Michael Conneely, a bachelor of 55 years, was asleep in his cottage at Ailleabreach, Ballyconneely, when loud banging on his door woke him. He shouted ‘who’s there?’ The storm of the previous two days had abated but he couldn’t make out what the voice said. Grabbing a pitchfork, he slowly opened to door. Outside were two men, wet to the skin, in deep distress. Michael put the pitchfork to the throat of the first man: “Who are you?”

In the year 1527, it was decreed in one of the Galway Statutes that “At no time to use ne occupy ye hurling of ye little balle with the hookie sticks or staves, nor use no hand balle to play without the walls, but only the great foot balle”. It seems the authorities of the day were trying to limit the playing of hurling, but they might as well have tried to hold back the tide.

When President Michael D Higgins, officially opened the new Our Lady’s Boys’ Club clubhouse in 2015, he said: “Like so many successful community initiatives, OLBC was founded and built on vision, a spirit of participation and a will to make a genuine and positive difference to the community. When Fr Leonard Shiel SJ established a club in 1940, I doubt that he realised just how enduring his vision would be. Today, OLBC is the longest running youth club in the country and has woven its way into the fabric of community life in Galway, welcoming members from many neighbourhoods including Shantalla, Westside, Ballinfoyle, Rahoon, Corrib Park, and Newcastle.

On April 1, 1954, 941 boys marched from the Bish National School, Nuns’ Island, and from the Old Mon in Market Street to their ultra-modern bright new school, St Patrick’s, which was situated at the corner of Lombard Street and Bridge Street. The new school was built on a site which had been the location of the Shambles Barracks, which was occupied by the British army for many years up until 1909.

2017 county senior champions Liam Mellows face near neighbours Castlegar in Pearse Stadium on Sunday (2pm), having produced a solid six-point victory over Craughwell in the first round of the county championship.

The last remaining county senior hurling semi-final berth is expected to be decided on Sunday in Kenny Park (2pm) when city side Liam Mellows take on Clarinbridge in an eagerly anticipated replay, following last weekend's dramatic draw.

This photograph was taken in 1900 of the staff of Robert MacDonald, the plumber from Dominick Street. The business was started by his father, Peter MacDonald (late manager for Ross and Murray), who advertised himself in 1887 as “Plumber, Brassfounder and Gasfitter”.