St. Joseph’s Hall 60th
Anniversary.
St. Joseph’s Hall was opened
with a Gala Concert 60 years ago exactly-1957- on the date I am submitting this
though the 16th of June then was a Sunday night. The need for a new
modern hall had been fully realised for a number of years. The old St.
Patrick’s Hall on Chapel Lane had served the community for decades. People will
remember it later as the location for Nire and later still Johnny Keville had
his metal work business there. We will treat of St. Patrick’s Hall later. By
the early fifties it was in poor shape and the community led by the parish
priest Canon Casey starting the drive to have a modern hall. The first
meeting to do this was held in April 1954. (Since I am only learning about the
story of the hall at the moment I will just give a brief outline here and
return perhaps with a more detailed article on it in due course).
At the first meeting a
formidable committee was formed to advance the project with Canon Casey as
Chairperson and Father Tiernan as assistant. Amongst those on the committee
were Messrs Callan, Burke and Sheerin, Michael O’Callaghan, T. P. Kennedy, A.
Martin, J.P.Dodd, H. J. Feely, P. Leonard, Mrs. Nan McGrady and Agnes Devine
Conlon and – I emphasise-a substantial number of other prominent individuals.
With Canon Casey as Chairperson, M. Candon was Secretary and Messrs John F.
Martin and H. F. Kerrigan as joint treasures.
A man who was to play a
significant role in overseeing the project was Mr.Rhatigan Architect from Sligo
(ironically, sixty years later, the architectural firm involved with the new
Health Centre being built at The Plunkett Home currently, is Rhatigan & Co.
Architects Sligo).
The process was dealt what
might have been a major blow with the untimely death of Canon Casey after a
short illness in February 1955. His successor in Boyle was Rev. Fr. T. Mahon
who ensured that the energy and momentum necessary, for what was a huge project
for the time, continued.
A site was sought and an
ideal one acquired between Ross Lane and Cootehall Street as it is today. The
Sligo building firm of Meldrum/Curran & McGowan were appointed after tender to carry out the building with an initial
cost of over £15,000. With the usual alterations and add ons the cost would
have been around £20,000 plus. Funding engaged the highest priority of the
committee and a multiple of sub-committees were formed. The strain of funding
showed and prompted Fr. Mahon to suggest that ‘he felt the strain of the
obligation very much’. The fact that it was carried through successfully
was in small way due to the clerical chair-people being in place with the power
and influence to drive the project. They were assisted by some outstanding
contributions from Mr. Rhatigan, the supervising Architect; Mister Kerrigan the
Treasurer and secretaries M. Candon, R. Mullarkey and Paddy Leonard with
outstanding committee members too numerous to mention fully.
St. Joseph’s Hall opened at a
grand (formal dress!) Gala Concert on Sunday June the 16th with
special guest performers being ‘The Irish Festival Singers’ acquired by Fr. Tiernan.
To show what a success it
proved to be I will give part of the list of events as noted in the Secretary’s
Report (Paddy Leonard) for 1960. “These included 46 Dances, 14 Ceilidhs, 4
concerts, 9 Plays, 2 Picture Shows, 1 Fashion Show, 7 Days of Pantomime, Bazaar
& Sale of Work, 2 Jumble Sales, 1 Carnival, 1 Feis, 36 Dancing Classes”. It
goes on nominating a multitude of meetings.
The record is a
well-documented segment of social history and hopefully I’ll return to it. I
will say that St. Joseph’s Hall was a really modern hall when built, has stood
the test of time and is a fine building very fit for purpose still. It is
credit to those who designed it, to the committee that enabled it being put in
place and also those who have retained it in good stead ever
since.
The Crescent South (Upper)
Side.
St. Joseph's Hall straddles a
few place names, Cootehall Street, Ross Lane and leans towards The Crescent. On
the Abbey Community School side of the hall, probably until the sixties there
were a number of small white houses with little gardens. That area is now
council property and some Feelystone street furniture is there one nominating
it as ‘Students Corner’.
1.
Up to the late
20s there was a big house with a business family called the O’Connors no connection
to the other O’Connor family on the opposite side. The house fell into
disrepair and seemingly became part of the hall site.
2.
Margaret Scanlon,
a lodging house with two lodgers in 1911 teachers Bridget Herons and Matthew
Brennan. Provided food on fair days. It too was probably included in the hall
site or apron.
3.
Robert Johnston,
Church of Ireland son Georgie and daughter Minnie. Paddy Kennedy N.T. resided
there for a short time.
4.
Army officer and
Garda Sean Tarpey linked to this house also. Jim Fitzpatrick dentist.
Doctor
Finn
5.
Callan’s
Solicitors, a number of generations; Christy Callan, Tom Callan and currently
Christopher.
Miss
Waters
6.
Joseph Gillespie.
‘Clerk of Petty Sessions’ (court) A daughter Margaret who became famous as
Margaret Cousins. She was a Suffragette, married to Cousins and became
prominent in Indian rights for women. Paddy and Frances McGee.
With a number of local people
such as Joe Mahon, David Gillespie –a connection- and Frank Geelan I was linked
into the placing of a plaque to her memory on the border of two house there,
since, apparently they had once been one residence in Margaret’s time.
The plaque details read;
“Margaret Cousins (nee Gillespie0 Born in this house 1878. Died in India 1954.
Irish Suffragette. Wife of Irish Poet Dr. James Cousins. Founder, in 1921, of
The Women’s India Association Madras. Co-founder in 1926 of the All India
Women’s Conference. First woman magistrate in India (Madras 1923). Plaque
unveiled by the President of the A.I.W. C. Smt. Shobhana Ranade 16th
Sept. 1994”.
.
7.
Pat O’Rourke who
had a small drapery at the entrance to what is now the Arcade in Bridge Street.
There were two sons Charlie and Gerry. Gerry was a member of the Garda in
Dublin, later in Lanesboro. Charlie went to Birmingham. Later it was Joe
Mahon's and currently The Open Table.
8.
Peter Phelan.
Paddy Mullarkey. Bertie Devine and family. Bertie a son of T.J. Devine who had
been a candidate in the famous 1917 By-election which elected Count Plunkett.
9.
J.H. Cox
‘Shamrock House’ in a 1934 advertisement Tea/wine/Spirits/Hardware/Furniture/Coal
Merchant. Always featuring native goods (Economic War). Currently Dodd’s
Crescent Bar. Mister cox may have
been a Co. Cllr. for a time. Proprietor during the fifties Joe Dodd Bar and Auctioneer.
10.
Ml. H. Drury,
wine and spirit merchant
Grehan’s famous as a music house and for the Grehan Sisters folk group. In
recent times Barry Lowe and Anthony Gallagher as The Moving Stairs; Barry Lowe.
Currently Sean Carroll/ Whistlers
Restaurant.
(Also
on the Crescent in 1910 was Edward J. M’Morrow with offices in Dublin and
Ballagaderreen).
*Cootehall Street was so
named as it was, back into the early 1800s’, the main road to Cootehall.
Starting at The Crescent went across what is now Marian Road, continued north
of the later railway line, coming out and continuing on the present Carrick
road near the present Maple Drive.
London’s Towering Inferno
A number of you will remember
a film called ‘Towering Inferno’ with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Well we
could all watch London’s own towering inferno at Grenfell Tower on Tuesday
night Wednesday morning. The speed with which it developed was frightening as
was the mass of film clearly showing the devastation in progress. The whole
scene was reminiscent of the 9/11 disaster with the Twin Towers in New York.
While a certain number have been nominated as dead -17- and 74 hospitalised and
I presume a number of people escaped unscathed but with the complex housing
around 400 people the death rate could reach devastating numbers.
The ongoing nightmare legacy
of this fire is the fear it will engender in the thousands of people who live
and work in high rise environments not just in London but world-wide. London
is certainly getting more than its share of heartache.
Death of Jo Cox M.P.
It is just a year ago on June
16th 2016 that the life U.K. M.P. Jo Cox was taken by a very
disturbed and ill man -Thomas Mair- in Yorkshire. It was during the Brexit
Referendum campaign which had a certain influence on it. Jo was an idealistic,
energetic, young M.P. and her murder was a shocking erratic act. Just
remembering, a year on.
Leo Varadkar Taoiseach; A
Very Different Ireland
Ireland has been seen
historically as a very conservative nation but what a revolution has happened
in the last twenty years. Old certainties have been shattered and new mores
have risen with speed. The LGBT Referendum, the Enda Kenny speech in the Dail
critical of the Catholic Church and now the rise of Leo Varadkar to the head of
Government as Taoiseach. Only a short time ago Mister Varadkar was reluctant to
disclose his private life of being a gay man. Since that has become known it
has made little or no impact on his political progress. His appointment being a
gay man and being of mixed race was much more eye-opening news abroad than
here. India for particular reason was very interested. Anyway he is where he
wanted to be and good luck to him. He will need that
also.
National Bike Week
This week has been National
Bike Week. These dedicated days or weeks are there to highlight whatever issues
obtain around the subject. Not many years ago the use of the bicycle seemed to
be in terminal decline. However there has been a major resurgence in its use.
Perhaps this is the influence of continental Europe where cycling is a
significant mode of transport for a number of decades and has cultural grasp on
the mind-set of people. This is particularly the case in Holland but is also
widespread in Denmark and other countries.
As young people, decades ago,
the bike was our regular mode of transport. We walked to national school but
cycled to the C.B.S. in Roscommon which was over five miles away. Of course
there were those who cycled more than double that then also. The bicycle was
also the regular transport to matches, cinema, Roscommon town generally and
even for some to dances and carnivals. Particular locations in towns became
regular parking bays for the bicycle and they were rarely interfered with.
Locks were a rarity. When Roscommon won their two All-Irelands in ’43 and ’44
there were many people who cycled all the way to Dublin because of transport
restrictions because of the war.
Few youngsters cycle to
national or secondary schools today. Some schools are promoting a return to the
practise. The grant scheme where workers can buy a bicycle has meant an
increase in the numbers and this is evident in Dublin particularly. This is
supplemented by the availability of bikes for hire. I just clicked into Dublin
bikes and a map came up showing the very large number of locations and the
number of bikes available.
The issue in this country is
safety and respect between bike users and other road users such as motor car or
lorries drivers. The infrastructure for bike use is limited and often
dangerous. Sometimes it leads to frustration between the differing modes of
transport use. The regular complaint is that cyclists cycle two or more abreast
and hinder passing cars. Cyclists on the other hand often feel intimidated by
car or especially lorry driving. What of course is required is mutual respect
and appropriate practise. Of course there will be those who do not adhere to
these terms.
I think it is great to see
the return of the bike for the many roles it plays as a healthy, environmentally
friendly, flexible mode of transport and I hope that the life cycle of the
current resurgence is a long term one.
Plastic Whale
I meant to mention it last
week that the World’s Oceans also had ‘a Day’ to highlight concerns there last
week. The theme of the day was "OUR OCEANS, OUR FUTURE"
The main conservation focus
was on plastic pollution, prevention and cleaning the ocean of marine litter.
I saw on television a few
days ago a beached whale having a kind of autopsy. It was just amazing the
amount of plastic that was present in the body of the whale. The world’s oceans
are heavily polluted especially with plastic. Oceans are seen as so vast that
pollution cannot impact on them but this is not so and there is plenty of
emerging evidence to show it.
Hard Luck To
St. Joseph’s Boys National
School who went down to Creagh at Lanesboro in the Large Schools Gaelic final
on Wednesday evening. At half- time there was the curious score of Boyle 2.4
Creagh 5 goals, a five point difference. Creagh pushed their lead out to 9
points but with a big second half come-back came within two points of victory
and nearly stole it in the end. Still many of the players will have been part
of the winning team of 2016. The final score Creagh 6.5 Boyle 5.6.
Roscommon v Leitrim
We have been waiting a long
time to make our debut in this year’s Connacht Championship but do so on Sunday
next in Hyde Park v Leitrim. The expectation is of course that Roscommon will
progress from this one and on to the Connacht Final v Galway on July 16th.
This is in Salthill since Castlebar of the replayed Connacht Final last year
was deemed a home game for Roscommon. Anyway we will see how things go on
Sunday first.
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