Search Results for 'Railway Hotel'

Two new walking trails of Galway city centre, launched this week by Galway City Council in partnership with the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, celebrate and highlight the rich architectural heritage to be found in Galway city centre.

By 1848, construction of the railway line west from Dublin had reached Mullingar and the following year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer agreed to advance a loan of £500,000 towards extending the line to Galway. The board of the Midland and Great Western Railway entered into a contract with William Dargan to construct the entire length of line from Mullingar to Galway. Dargan’s success in building the Howth to Dublin railway had earned him a bonus of £300 and this he used to set himself up a a railway contractor.

Galway is what it is because of the people who shape its character, those who dedicate their lives to making it an experience that so many wish to taste. At its heart is the iconic Hardiman, a hotel that has been an enduring symbol of hospitality, elegance, and tradition stretching back to the 19th century. And for the past 45 years, no one has embodied this spirit more than Margaret Glynn.

On Saturday night, October 28 1922, a large force of anti-Treatyites made their way carefully and with as little noise as possible, into the silent streets of Clifden. They had already ‘taken’ Clifden the previous July, but were unceremoniously driven out by the National Army who approached Clifden by sea achieving total surprise.

‘My dearest mother,

Clifden was not the only town to experience the terror of British forces running wild, shooting, and setting fire to buildings. The previous year, July 19 1920, Tuam suffered a similar experience as Clifden, only mercifully no resident was killed on that occasion.

Under the heading ‘Panic in the town last night’ The Connacht Tribune told the story of the attack on Clifden on March 19 1921: ‘Following the shooting of RIC Constable Reynolds, and the wounding of Constable Sweeney (who was to die from his wounds some hours later), at Clifden last night, panic reigned in the town and nine of the principal houses were burned.

In 1831 Patrick Broderick, from Loughrea, was charged with insurrectionary crimes at the Galway Assizes, and cruelly sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a criminal colony ‘beyond the seas’ in New South Wales, Australia. He was barred from ever returning to his native land. His wife Mary, son John and daughters Ann and Catherine, were left destitute on the infamous Clanricarde estate, one with more than 2,000 tenants.

This book, The Hardiman – An Amazing Story celebrates the history of one of the most iconic buildings in Galway. It opened in 1852 as the Railway Hotel and was designed in a classical style by John Skipton Mulvany.

Following the inability of Tom Martin and his daughter Mary, the Princess of Connemara, to meet the debts on their vast encumbered estate, they were sued by the Law Life Assurance Society and ordered to sell it in its entirety.