Celebrating 65 Years of Arcadian Days

May Green and her friend, Paul Cushnan and son, Eamon Green

Throughout the world, there is not many 101 year old women overseeing their family business, however Athlone’s May Green has been doing that since she first built the Cova shop, sixty-five years ago this November.  The shop is still going strong, and is run full time, by May’s son, Eamon and his wife Nancy.

Family and friends of May Green piled into her house in Arcadia to celebrate the opening of the Cova shop.  The Cova shop opened for business in November 1948, just three years after World War 2 ended.

May's nephew, Paddy Egan and his wife Margaret

 
 May had already gained shop experience working in her cousin’s shop and newsagents in Dublin in the early 1930s.  Following her plan for the building of a shop in Arcadia, in 1948, her mother gave May a site on the edge of the family’s farm in Arcadia, facing the old Ballymahon Road.  On that site, she built the Cova shop.
She was reading a religious book at the time, and it gave her the idea to name the shop after the Cova in Fatima.
May had an eventful life up to that point, and witnessed the Black and Tans in Athlone, and after she married and went to live in London, she survived many bombing raids in the 1940s blitz.

Three generations of Green women, Carol, Nancy and May

Her maiden name was May Kilroy, and in her family there were five brothers and three sisters, and she and her sister, Alice are the only surviving members.  
May has been a widow since 1990, when her husband, Jack Green died.  May has two sons, Desmond and Eamon. 

Jose Carreras Influenced by Irish Tenor

McCormack Record in Liverpool Museum

 

One of the original international ‘Three Tenors’ said on RTE television recently that Athlone born tenor, John ‘Count’ McCormack was one of his greatest influences.

Jose Carreras, appeared as a guest on ‘The Late Late Show’ and told host, Ryan Tubridy that McCormack was one of the best tenors of his time.

Carreras is a Spanish tenor who gained a global audience, following his appearance with Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo in 1990, in the first of the Three Tenors Concert.  The concert took place in Rome on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final.  The tenors continued performing together in concerts for the next thirteen years.

“John McCormack was of his time, and one of the best, and one of the most prestigious people, and a favourite of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York for many many years,” said Carreras on the Late Late show. 

McCormack was born in Athlone in 1884, and up to his death in 1945; he was one of the world’s most famous tenors.  McCormack made £200,000 per year at the height of his fame and at 23 he became Covent Garden’s youngest tenor to play a leading role.  He was given a knighthood by the Pope, and was called Count.  He preferred to style his name, John ‘Count’ McCormack.

Athlone Town Council decided at their October 2013  meeting to re-name the town's Civic Square in honour of John ‘Count’ McCormack.

The Story of the Lough Ree Monster

Drawn by Athlone artist, Joe Moore during the summer of the monster in Athlone, in 1960

 

 

On May 18, 1960, Father Richard Quigly, Father Matthew Burke and Father Daniel Murray were enjoying a peaceful day of fishing on the shores of Lough Ree outside Athlone, Ireland when one of the men noticed an unusual object roughly 100 yards away. According to the men the creature’s length from the end of the coil to its head was 6 feet and roughly18 inches of head and neck appeared out of the water. The head and neck were narrow in comparison to the thickness of a good sized salmon and it received its propulsion from a source they could not see under the water.

The testimony of these three clergy men was more than enough to give credibility to the existence of the Lough Ree Monster and local newspapers soon picked up on the story.
"There were two sections above the water; a forward section of uniform girth, stretching quite straight out of the water and inclined at the plane of the surface at about 30 °, in length about 18-24 inches. The diameter of this long leading section we would estimate to be about 4 inches. At its extremity which we took to be a serpent-like head, it tapered rather abruptly to a point.
Between the leading and the following sections of this creature, there intervened about two feet of water. The second section seemed to us to be a tight, roughly semi-circular loop. This portion could have been a hump or a large knob on the back of a large body under the surface that was being propelled by flippers. As to the dimensions of this section, if a loop we should say the girth of a large fifteen pound salmon; if however, a round hump. . . we should put its base at about 18 inches. . . We would estimate the overall length to the two visible sections, measured along the surface from tip of snout to end of hump, at about 6 feet.
The movement along the water was steady. There was no apparent disturbance of the surface, so that propulsion seemed to come from a well-submerged portion of the creature. There was no undulation of its body above the water. It was cruising at a very leisurely speed, and was apparently unconcerned about our presence. We watched it moving along the surface for a period of two or three minutes in a north-easterly direction. It was going towards the shore; then it submerged gradually rather than dived, and disappeared from view completely. Another couple of minutes later it reappeared still following the same course. . . It reached a point 30 yards offshore, where it submerged and we saw it no more…"

although many other folk may also have spotted The Lough Ree Monster.......

 

 

Colm Revolutionised Sports Broadcasting

It was a testimony to his decade long stint with RTE that led to Colm Murray being headhunted for a newly created Sportscaster job in 1989.  His beginnings in the new television Sports Department that year was not as a result of the American style positive declaration, “You’re Hired,”.  Instead Colm heard some colourful orders which changed his professional life, and then he heard - “You’ll Do,”

Colm died early today, Tuesday, July 30^th after a three year battle with Motor Neuron disease.
The Westmeath man had since the early 1980’s, been one of the main newscasters on the national broadcaster, but following the setting up of the Six One News, there was a hunt for ‘Sportscasters’.  So Colm found himself sent for by head of news, Rory O’Connor, who told him that they were hoping to put sport on the news in a larger format than had been done in previous times.  Ironically Rory also died just a few weeks ago.  At the time, in 1989, he asked Colm to consider taking the job, but the Moate man believed that he knew very little about sport.
But the bossman said to him: “You play golf, you back horses, you go to an odd gaelic football match and you enjoy it, don’t you?”
Colm had to agree with him on everything, but still he was doubtful.
But then the bossman shouted at him in a blue fashion, followed by the welcome words, “You’ll do!”
Colm was in stitches of laughter when he remembered that incident, when this writer interviewed him in 2005.
“That’s how I got the job that I’m in today and that’s what I was told, whether I liked it or not,” laughed Colm, eight years ago.
Colm Murray was the first man who had to set the plan for the presentation of television sport on RTE in ’89, and had to do it fast!  On his first day he had three or four minutes of television to fill and hadn’t a clue what to put on.  He needed pictures for his broadcast, and he found an interesting, albeit humorous sports story.
“The battle for me was to get pictures and I got pictures from Shelbourne Park of a great greyhound of the time called Randy,” laughed Colm.  “So the first picture I put on was Randy the Greyhound, running around for sixty or seventy seconds.”
Although it was a battle, it was also a dream job for the Moate born and bred horse racing lover. 
It wasn’t a road he had envisaged he’d travel when he was growing up in the family home, which was situated over their grocery shop in Church St., Moate.  His main hobby at the time was drama, but he inherited his sports passion for horse racing from his late father, Michael.  His first meeting was in Kilbeggan and he was enthralled by the carnival atmosphere at Westmeath’s popular race course.  He loved the scene of the bookies out on the course, and looking at the horses, and seeing the colours of the jockeys’ silks.
“When I got older I used to study the form and when I could get my hands on a half crown I’d place it on an outsider, hoping to win it, those are my earlier memories of Kilbeggan, and Roscommon Race Course, and of course Galway,” said Colm.
Moate was a great town to grow up in the 1960’s, Colm said, and he was proud of it being the near the centre of Ireland.
Finding himself too tall to be a jockey, Colm decided to go the more conventional route of employment, by studying at UCG and Maynooth College, eventually ending up as a secondary school teacher.  Before his RTE days he taught at the Athlone Vocational School and then in Tullamore Vocational School. 
It was at the Co. Offaly school that Colm met and fell in love with another teacher, Ann, who became his future wife, Ann.  The couple had two daughters Patricia and Kate.
Ar Dheis De Go Raibh Anam Dilis

Athlone Folk Doing Charity Skydive

(as published in Westmeath Examiner)

 

A group of volunteer health professionals from Westmeath came together in 2009 and formed ‘Immunisation 4 Life’ to organise immunisation programmes and child health clinics for under 5s in the poorer countries of the world and to provide support to existing charities in emergency situations.

 The group consists of experienced Public Health Nurses and Doctors with Dr Kevin Connolly (former Consultant Paediatrician, Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe) as Medical Director. In addition to Dr. Connolly, founder members include Lucy Brady (nee Ledwith) originally from “Harristown” Ballymore and now living at Corr,  Walderstown, Athlone and Maura Moran, (nee Galvin) from Moate.

 

In 2011, ‘Immunisation 4 Life’ created a partnership with a well-established charity in Zambia, called the NERI Clinics, ( www.nericlinics.org ) which has a busy Primary Health Care clinic in the Linda Province on the outskirts of the capital Lusaka. The NERI Clinics are managed by two Irish GPs and run by qualified health professionals from Zambia. To date Immunisation 4 Life has undertaken six trips to the NERI Clinics involving 30 volunteers. The average trip lasts for 10 days and the volunteers travel on their own time, taking holidays from work and paying for the trip themselves.

Lucy Brady is one of the driving forces behind the group. She said, “We have such abundance here and it takes very little to make a huge difference in other people’s lives. Maura Moran, who I know from my schooldays, is a Public Health Nurse working in County Galway and through her we were able to make contacts with many health professionals and together we started this charity.

“In addition to looking at immunisation we are also very interested in providing support to address the problem of malnutrition which isn’t just a case of lack of food but rather lack of appropriate food. On one of our early trips to Zambia we surveyed the nutritional status of children under 5 years in the Linda Province and found that 2% were severely malnourished and 17% had moderate malnutrition. This has serious short and long term implications for the health and wellbeing of these children and in order to address the problem we developed a nutritional programme which involved recruiting and training the Community Health Workers to screen for malnutrition and then to assist in running a weekly nutrition and under 5s clinic where moderately malnourished children attend for extra feeding or supplementary feeding. Up to 150 children attend this weekly clinic at any one time where they are monitored for progress until they have achieved ideal weight for height, and maintain it for 4 weeks.

“Without this clinic many of the children with severe malnutrition would be referred to the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka where they would be admitted for at least 8 weeks. A family member, usually the mother has to stay with the child which is disruptive to family life and could compromise the wellbeing of other children at home. And also unfortunately the mortality rates are very high at 30%. It is too soon to gather data on the success of the nutrition clinics we have developed but we know that we are able to provide the necessary care to these children in their community without the disruption that a hospital stay would cause.

 “We are also committed to providing a rapid response to provide vaccination programmes in emergency situations such as refugee camps, conflict situations and natural disasters. As a dynamic, flexible and motivated group of professionals, our priority is to implement a successful vaccination programme which will benefit thousands of children.  We have a special interest in the measles vaccination but are willing to participate in any vaccination programme that will help save lives.

“We are just at the start of a long journey but already we have seen the difference we can make which spurs us forward. We have recruited volunteers who are highly qualified with relevant medical and nursing experience and we have developed our clinical and administration guidelines. We can offer expertise in immunisation and child health to NGOs and Governments and we support the Millennium Development Goals through education, participation and collaboration with local agencies and relevant groups.

“We are very grateful to all the support that we have received. All the volunteers with Immunisation 4 Life pay for their own flights to Zambia and this means that all funds raised go directly to running the clinics.

“We are always looking at innovative ways to raise funds and I have been recruited to do a parachute jump on Aug 9^th 2013. I am very grateful for the support of friends and family and my fellow parachute-jumpers Conor Brady and Patrick Munnelly.

 

 

 

 

Athlone Castle – 800 Years of Irish History

 

It is more than 800 years since Lord John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, erected a stone tower, on the site of the present Athlone Castle.   The castle has the distinction of being the oldest building in the town of Athlone.  It was purpose build by King John of England to defend the ancient ford - Athluain - in which Athlone town takes its name.  The castle is situated overlooking the River Shannon on the edge of the Connaught side of the town, albeit in the towncentre.

A wooden form of the building had been built by Turlough O’Connor, King of Connaught in the summer of the year 1129, and after the Normans arrived in Athlone around 1199, a raised motte and bailey castle was constructed.  The earth on which the tower was built was probably too fresh causing it to collapse.  It was soon re-built, and laid the foundation of the great castle that exists in Athlone town today.
The outer walls enclose a solid platform of earth about twenty-five feet above the level of the present roadway; this platform probably represents the motte of Norman times. 
In the Williamite (protestant) and Jacobite (catholic) War, the Castle played a key role in the defence of Athlone, and perhaps the most dramatic events in the life of the Castle occurred during two sieges in 1690 and in 1691. 
In June 1691 Athlone Castle came under fire by King William’s army, and it was estimated that almost 25,000 men arrived in Athlone under the command of the Dutch General, Gordard de Ginkel. 
General de Ginkel attacked the bastion in the town, and with a minimum resistance from the Jacobite Army, the Leinster side of town soon fell.  When King James’s Jacobite army were retreating back over the bridge, they broke down arches to hinder and prevent the progress of the advancing General de Ginkel and his army.  For the next ten days, the Williamite army held the Connaught side of Athlone by firing an estimated 12,000 plus cannonballs.
As a result of the siege, the castle was virtually reduced to rubble.  Eventually the Williamites moved across the Shannon in a surprise attack on the Jacobites and forced them out and took over the town.  The advance guard quickly set about repairing the arches of the bridge, setting a pontoon bridge in place to enable a sudden attack by the Williamites into the Connaught side of town.
The scene was of total massacre and up to 500 Jacobites were killed in the final assault and these bodies were added to over 1,000 who were killed in the long week bombardment.  After the siege the castle was rebuilt by the Williamites.
For many decades the English flag had been hoisted over Athlone Castle as the British military had declared an Army post at the Castle. However, obviously that changed in 1922 with the signing of the Treaty. 
Throughout the centuries Athlone Castle has withstood many and various attacks, but as recent as 1967, the most unbelievable assault came not from outsiders, but from the town’s own fathers.
Athlone Urban District council called for the castle to be knocked so that a Civic Centre consisting of a town hall, library and conference centre, could be built on the castle grounds.
This is when the Old Athlone historical society instantly set a campaign in train, to protect the castle.
The Westmeath Independent newspaper, also supported, and advocated the preservation of the Castle as a museum or tourist centre.  Bord Failte, Inland Waterways, and Roscommon County Council joined forces with the Old Athlone Society in the campaign.  Five hundred post-primary students from Athlone held a procession of protest in the town.
The eyes of the world were on Athlone, and the council’s proposal to demolish the town’s castle.  However despite the council’s vote to go ahead with the destruction, the voices of the people was heard loud and clear and the council eventually reversed their motion of demolishing the castle.
A Festival of Athlone was planned for the summer of 1967, and the Department of Defence granted permission to the Old Athlone Society to use the central keep of the castle as a temporary museum for the duration of the festival.  The museum was staffed by volunteers, and remained open throughout the summer, after the festival had ended. 
‘The museum was a resounding success with 1500 visitors during its first week of opening,” said historian, Gearoid O’Brien in the Westmeath Independent, 1996.  “Many hundreds of thousands of visitors have visited the castle museum and many have returned to view the various exhibits there.”
The castle is really the centrepoint of the town, and even today, with all the large commercial buildings and shopping centres in the town, the castle still stands out among them all.  It is the true centre of the town, because of its strategic position on the edge of the town bridge and overlooking the River Shannon. 
Athlone Castle has been the first port of call to tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world when they visit the Irish midlands.
The castle came into the twenty-first century, aided by new technology and media, and now the tourist can view in interactive fashion, the story of the Siege of Athlone, and many other different aspects of the castle, before the Siege, and up to the present day.

 

 

 

 

 

Syd Shine Keeps Right On.........

Syd Shine today (pic by Ann Hennessy)

 

He is one of the last surviving bandleaders of Ireland’s Big Band Era, and during his lifetime of 93 years, he also became one of the country’s biggest known showband legends.

Syd was born in July 1920, and the year before that, his father Martin built Hillside House in Bower View, Athlone which became the family home. 

Syd had three brothers and one sister, and all are dead except one brother.  His eldest brother was Frank who was a businessman, and second brother was Billy who was a doctor in Lancashire.  His youngest brother Noel is still alive and retired in Florida.  He was a Chemical Engineer with Gulf Oil (now Chevron).  Syd’s late beloved sister, Clare, was married to Leo Faller from Athlone, Ireland.

Syd, who was an accomplished pianist, in Athlone, was a leading tenor in St. Peter’s and Paul’s Church Choir from when the church opened in 1937 and for many years afterwards. 

In 1934, Martin Shine built the Crescent shop, in Athlone and extended it out bit by bit, until it became a very prestigious ballroom.  The Crescent Ballroom in Athlone was legendary throughout the forties, fifties and sixties, as one of Ireland’s best-loved dance spots.

“First my father built the shop, and then he built the first part of the ballroom, then the stairs and then the supper room,” said Syd.

Syd Shine himself was the bandleader of the resident Crescent Big Band, either with a quintet or a sextet or the thirteen piece.  Syd and his family continued to run the Crescent shop in the daytime and the ballroom at night.

“We put the best of everything into the Crescent, because we knew it was the people of the town’s ballroom and I’m glad we didn’t spare expense,” said Syd.

Syd started his own band the ‘Crescent Swingtet’ in the late 1930’s. In the years that followed, Syd, who was bandleader in all his various groups, also played at many countrywide venues, as well as at the Crescent.

One of the many highlights of those years was the Trinity College Ball.  Syd’s Orchestra played the college’s first ball in the 1950’s and then went on to play four more for the college in the Edmund Bourke Hall, over the next four years.  This gained the orchestra many accolades throughout the length and breath of Ireland.

“We were very lucky as a group because in Athlone there was a constant supply of sax, trombone and other brass players.  They came mostly from the Army Band, who were top class musicians, with tremendous experience,” said Syd.

The demise of the Big Band era happened in the early 60’s with the coming of the Showbands, so in 1963 Syd set up a five piece group called Syd and the Saints. The group was recorded by Peter Sullivan, the man who turned down ‘The Beatles’.

‘The Saints Showband’ in 1967 recorded a song written by Mary Flynn, entitled ‘The Broken Hearted Farmer’, a song which gained the band international media publicity when the song was denounced by the powers of the time, leading to its banning by RTE Radio. The song told of the Irish farmers fight against the government of the day and highlighted their campaign of marching, sitting on the steps of government buildings and blocking roads.

The British tabloids followed the story with interest and it helped build up the Saints following in England. During the Saints visit to the US in 1967, ‘The Broken Hearted Farmer’ got numerous airplays on the famous ‘Dorothy Hayden Radio Show’ in New York.

"It’s sad that they wouldn’t play us in Ireland, yet we were on every night for months on American radio," says Syd today about the ‘Broken Hearted Farmer’ story. 

Later Syd changed the format of his group to an eight piece band entitled - ‘The Saints Showband’. The original line up for this group were: Syd Shine on organ, Joe Flynn on vocals and bass, Frank Somers on drums, Pete Keighery on lead guitar and vocals, Finbar O’Keefe on rhythm guitar and vocals, Liam Meade on trombone, Frankie McDonald on trumpet and Brian Sullivan on lead vocals and tenor saxophone.

Syd and ‘The Saints Showband’ were very successful and played in dancehalls all over Ireland. The showband also had a following in Scotland, England and Wales, where they travelled regularly over their five year period. They travelled to America in May 1967, to such success, that they were asked back later that same year.  They played in New York venues such as The Red Mill in the Bronx, the Jaegar House on Lexington Avenue and the Ambassador in Flushing. 

Syd successfully circumnavigated the other aspect of his life around his music, and that of course was his love of the River Shannon.

It was in 1957; (while he was still leading his Big Band Orchestra) that Syd bought ‘The Fox’ barge.  However the Fox wasn’t his first home on the water, because in 1942, Syd bought his first barge which like the Fox was also a 60 ft. boat.

It was known as the ‘Chang-Sha’ – a Chinese name, meaning ‘River House’.

Syd has made many national television and radio appearances over the years including a popular appearance on the top-rated ‘Showband Show’ in 1965, and over the past two decades he made appearances on ‘Live at 3’ and ‘Open House’.  He also has the distinction of having performed three times on ‘The Late Late Show’.

Although Syd is modest about his life and his career, he is a most popular and well-received man in Athlone town. 

“I have to say when I go up the town, about 20 people would come up to me to talk, and sure it’s great, and lovely to hear them talk about the old days of the Crescent,” says Syd.

“I enjoyed the Showband Era very much, but my favourite time was the Big Band era of the 40’s and 50’s.”

Syd foresaw the demise of the Showband era at the end of the 1960’s, so he bought the land near Brick Island in 1968, and built a harbour, and the Jolly Mariner nitespot, and ran the venue for about five years.

In July 2001, Syd gained a special honour at Aras an Uactarain from President Mary McAleese for his contribution to the Irish showband scene in the1960’s.

He will always be known as the Syd of the Crescent Orchestra and of Athlone’s own showband – Syd and the Saints! 

Buttons and Bells of the Kiosks

I always remind my neighbour from the housing estate I grew up on, that one time the people of the terrace had to share the telephone at the end of the road.  Nowadays practically all of those people have phones in their pockets.

Telephone and Phonebooth
at Derryglad Museum, Curraghboy, Co. Roscommon
 

The first time I used the telephone kiosk at the end of Assumption Road in Athlone was sometime in the late 70's.  My now deceased mother had asked me to ring the television repair people.  In those days most people were renting televisions, and there always seemed to be loads of breakdowns.
She told me the details on how to make a phonecall from a callbox.  She explained that I had to lift the receiver, put in ten pence (I think that's how much it was then), dial the number on the circular dial, wait for a response, and when that is received, then press a button with the letter A on it.  It was important she said, not to push button A until the person I was calling responded.  If they didn't respond, then and only then, should I push a button with B on it, which would cause the money to drop back to me into a slot.
There was a queue of about four or five people outside the box before I went in, and while I was inside another queue gathered up.  The callbox serviced almost a dozen housing estates, so queues were inevitable.
I could just about reach up to dial the numbers on the telephone dial.
I was proud as punch when I made my first call, and everything went well.  I did as my mother told me, with the tenpence and Button A, and had no reason to bother with Button B.  It was so exciting to be talking to another person on the telephone, and it was like something I’d only seen on television to that point.  It was a voice on a machine, yet it was a human voice.  To a child of that time, that was amazing.
I was so excited when I went back to the house, that I asked my mother was there any other call I could make for her.  But sadly for me, there wasn’t.
In those days, it was pretty rare to see a phone kiosk empty, and a queue of at least one person outside.  Most people didn’t have phones in their houses up to the early 1990’s, and mobile phones were totally non-existent when I was a child.  So therefore the main means of communicating to people who were quite a distance away was by the public telephone.
Almost every housing estate had a phone kiosk with a telephone book, but the trouble was, bleeps would be played on the phone before the customer had used up their three minute allocation of time talking.  After that, the customer had to search frantically for coins to be put back in the slot, to prevent the call line from being cut off.
Sadly at times, many of the phones were vandalised, which was more than a pity, because many times these phones made a difference in whether a doctor or ambulance would arrive at a patients home in time to save them from illness or death.
Friendships were made outside the phone box, and there was more than a few arguments about who belonged where in the queue.  Also many people gave the phone number of the phone box on their application forms when they were looking for a job.  People in England and the USA who had family members on our road, would also have the phone’s number and would use it to contact their family.  Their family members would wait inside the phone box if they were lucky, and if it wasn’t in use, to receive the calls.  If they were unlucky it could be a cold wait outside waiting for the person inside to finish their call. 
Booking a taxi couldn’t be easier at that time thanks to the phone boxes, but if you made an appointment with another person you had to turn up on time.  There was no luxury of sending texts on mobile phones excusing yourself for being late, and telling the other person you’d be there soon. 
In the short few years since that time, it’s amazing how much has changed.  Certainly mobile phones are in the possession of almost every person in the land.  The remaining kiosks lie empty throughout the land, and one by one they are disappearing.
But I’ll never forget the excitement of talking for the first time to a human being from that machine at the end of the housing estate.

 

 

 

 

Sun Returns Rocks To Hodson Bay Island

The sun shone today in the Irish midlands, and brought back the group of rocks which exist in front of Hodson Bay Island in South Roscommon.

The rocks had disappeared sometime in the long wet spring and summer of 2012 and had not being seen since.  However a freezing cold, but dry March 2013 have brought back the rocks from the depth of Lough Ree.

Is this an omen of a hot Irish summer in the midlands this year?

Ireland’s Count McCormack Honoured in Liverpool Museum

McCormack Record in Liverpool Museum

 

It seems like a good deed is never forgotten, at least in the case of Athlone’s World Famous tenor, John 'Count' McCormack – who is proudly remembered in Liverpool for helping to build the city’s majestic catholic cathedral.

During WW1, McCormack, who was born in the Bawn in Athlone, and who spent his childhood and early adulthood in the town, began a tour of UK provincial cities, starting with Liverpool, in aid of the Red Cross.

However it was in May 1932, one month before he sang at the High Mass at the Eucharistic Congress in Phoenix Park, Dublin, that John McCormack gave a great gift to Liverpool by singing and recording ‘Hymn to Christ the King’.  The record was issued as a single-sided disc to be sold in aid of the building fund of Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.  On one side of the disc was, side by side, pictures of the Archbishop of Liverpool, and McCormack’s favourite portrait of himself. 

The old 78 speed record, with pictorial jacket, is on display at the Museum of Liverpool Life, which is in Albert Dock in the city.  The disc is viewed by the thousands of tourists who visit the famous museum every year.

In September 1932, McCormack gave a concert in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool in aid of the building of the cathedral.  It was an immense success, and had an audience of more than 2,500 people.

The Athlone tenor sang two arias and four songs before the interval.  It was the first occasion that he would give a public performance of ‘Hymn to Christ the King’.  McCormack was accompanied on the organ by the composer, Vincent O’Brien.

Raymond Foxhall, writing about the concert in his 1963 biography of McCormack, paints a little known picture of the tenor:

‘He detected the sound of people beating time with their feet.  He stopped singing and said angrily: “Stop padding your feet.  I really cannot sing with that noise.”

He completed the song and left the platform for a short rest.  The hall was filled to capacity, but a further 200 people had been allowed to sit on the platform to hear him.  When he returned he showed his displeasure for the feet-stamping by turning his back on the main audience and singing the next song to those on the platform.

On another occasion a woman in the gallery was always a few moments ahead of everyone else with her ‘Bravo’ and when he was singing Eric Coates ‘Bird Songs at Eventide’ she got his last two lines drowned by applause.  He glared up at the gallery and there was no further interruption of his songs’.

 

 

 

 

Popular Irish Christian Names

Irish Writers, David (Dave) O'Connell and Ruth Dudley-Edwards, both of whom share fairly popular Irish names.

 

The naming of a child is a ritual in itself.  In Ireland, like in many other countries and cultures, a name is usually given to a child based on a family name, a religious name or, as a display of the cultural ethos of the parents.   Therefore many popular Irish Christian names of modern times and in our recent past reflect our unique history and culture. 

Padraig, Sean, Thomas, Michael, Eamon, James, Robert and Emmet, are just some of the names given to boys, to call them after nineteenth and twentieth century Irish freedom fighters.  Many of these are not necessarily Irish Christian names by definition, (Eamon is Anglo-Saxon, Emmet is the surname of patriot Robert Emmet and the Christian name, Robert is French) however they are deemed Irish names, by the fact that they were the names of brave Irishmen.

Many Irish names were translated throughout our history into Norman or English names, but also many popular ones survived.  Sean, Aileen, Siobhan, Tara and Turlough are a couple of examples. 

In Ireland it was traditionally considered important to name a child after a Saint, therefore the names of the Apostles, and many other latter day Saints became popular Christian names for children.  Strangely enough, biblical names never seem to have caught on in Ireland with the exception of occasional ones like David, Ruth, Luke, Matthew, Esther etc., but it is rare to find names like Jacob or Zachariah throughout the 32 counties.

Places, Events and Times also play a part in the naming of an Irish child.  Cork has produced many Finbars over the years (because of the city’s St. Finbar’s cathedral), as did Counties Offaly and Westmeath produce many Ciarans, named after the founder of the ancient monastic city of Clonmacnois.

Many Irish boys born in the late 70’s and early 80’s were given the name John Paul and many boys born in the 1960’s were given the name Paul.  These were names honouring the two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II.  

The Catholic Church named 1954 as the Marian year in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and in that year, many boys and girls were christened Marian, as either a first or second name. It was a trend in bygone Irish days to call children by their second names, eg, Mary Ellen could be called Ellen or Michael John called John.  It is a tradition that still exists in Ireland today, particularly with boys.

A boy born on March 17 is almost certain to be called Patrick and children born on Saints feastdays have, according to Fr. Patrick Woulfe in his 1923 book, ‘Irish Names For Children’ brought their name with them.  “The Saint on whose day a child is born or baptised has a special claim.  In such cases the child is said to have ‘brought a name with it’”. 

Christmas time brings many with the names Noel, Noelle, Nicholas, Nicola or the Irish name of Nollaig.

Currently in Ireland, celtic names are in vogue.  There are many more Darraghs, Clodaghs, Conans, and Dervlas living in Ireland than there are Johns, Catherines, Kenneths and Colettes.

Here are a sample (and their meaning) of 20 of the most popular Christian names in Ireland today.

Abigail:  A female name meaning ‘Father Rejoiced’, the Irish spelling being Abaigeal, and many such are called Abby. 

Aidan:   A very popular name, meaning ‘little fire’. It is sometimes popular in its Irish spelling, Aodhan. The earliest known recipient has been the seventh century monk, St. Aidan.

Aileen:   ‘Aileen’ has always been a popular Irish name and comes in many different forms such as Eily and Eileen.

Andrea:  ‘Andrea’ is the feminine of Andrew, which was a Greek name meaning ‘manly’. ‘Andrea’ has been very popular in the past few decades in Ireland

Brian:  A name popular in Ireland down through the centuries in history and culture dating back to the 11th century High King, Brian Boru.  The name means ‘hill’.

Cian:  This name which means ‘ancient’ is very much in use today in Ireland, although it dates back to early Irish times.

Damien:  This very popular name is French in origin and its Irish spelling is Daman.

Darragh:  This celtic name, popular again in recent decades, means ‘oak’.

Fiona: A very popular name,  Scottish in origin, coming from the gaelic word, fionn (fair).  It is reputed to have been invented by the Scottish writer William Sharp, who used it for his pseudonym, ‘Fiona MacLeod’.

Hazel: The name ‘Hazel’ is also reputed to have been a 19th century invention name, for a tree.  Lady Hazel Lavery was an early recipient of the name.  Lady Lavery, whose face appeared on the old Irish £1 note was involved in 1920’s Anglo-Irish politics, through her connections in London and her rumoured affair with Irish leader, Michael Collins.

Joanne:  The feminine form of John, more recently used as Joanna, but now the Joanne name is proving to be more popular.

Kevin: A widely used name (meaning ‘comely birth’) down through the centuries.  The earliest known recipient was sixth century monk, St. Kevin of Glendalough. The Irish form, Caoimhghin is used today by Irish politician Caoimhghin O’Caolain.

Michael: Usually called for religious reasons after Michael the archangel and for Irish nationalist reasons after Michael Collins.  It is looked on as a completely Irish name, although the name is hebrew in origin, meaning ‘who is like God.’

Niamh: A name used in Irish mythology by heroines such as Niamh from Tir na nOg.  It means ‘bright’ and is used widely in Ireland today.  Stage and screen actress Niamh Cusack is a well known recipient.

Orla:, The name means ‘golden lady’ and can also be spelt Orlagh.

Patrick:  A name that is synonymous with Ireland, because of it being the name of our patron saint.  However the name is of Latin origin, meaning ‘noble’.  Its Irish spelling is Padraig and 1916 Rising rebel Padraig Pearse is a famous recipient of the name.

Rory: A name given to those fair or red haired, it can belong to a boy or girl and the Irish spelling is Ruairi or Ruaidri, of which Rua (Red) is short for. It was the name of the last Irish High King, Rory O’Connor.

Tara:  Usually, but not always a girls name, named after the famous hill of Tara in Co. Meath.  Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.  The late Guinness heir Tara Browne was a male recipient of the name and screen actress Tara Fizgerald, a female recipient.

Turlough:  The name dates back to 11th century Ireland, where it was the names of two High Kings, Turlough O’Brien and Turlough O’Connor, the name is still widely used among O’Brien and O’Connor families.  It was anglicised to Terence and became a very popular name.

Siobhan:  The Irish spelling for Joan.  The name is very popular among females of all ages.  A most notable recipient was the late famous Irish actress of stage and screen, Siobhan McKenna.

 

Moate Train Movie Brought to Life By ‘Jurassic Park’ Creator

Each time a Hollywood movie which was largely shot in Co. Westmeath at Moate Railway Station in the 1970’s is screened on television, it brings back memories to the town, of the time when they were invaded by an all-star cast and crew, including legendary writer and director, Michael Crichton.

The movie, ‘The First Great Train Robbery’ which boasts an all-star cast such as Sean Connery, Lesley Ann-Down, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Sleep and Michael Elphick, drew large local interest while filming took place in the summer of 1977.

Children in some of the schools in Moate were allowed out to watch some of the scenes being filmed and many local people became extras on the shoot. 

The cast and crew of ‘First Train Robbery’ were accommodated ten miles away at the Royal Hoey Hotel in Athlone during the filming.  The Royal is gone now, and the Athlone town shopping centre, is now on the site.

Also closed is Moate Railway Station, which featured in the movie, as did several parts of the railway line.

The movie told the semi-fictional tale of a train robbery in England in the 1850’s, although the low walls alongside the featured railway is a giveaway of the movie’s Irish origins.

The writer/director of ‘The First Great Train Robbery’ was American, Michael Crichton, who went on to create the dinosaur movie epic ‘Jurassic Park’ and the hit award-winning television series, ‘ER’.

Legend has it that Crichton, then thirtysomething, was frustrated at the pace of filming with an Irish and British crew and he felt they had no respect for such a young director.  To combat their attitude, he ordered an early copy of his latest film ‘Coma’, (which starred Michael Douglas) to be flown to Ireland.  It is said that he had it screened at a location in Moate, for his cast and crew.  It is also said that after watching it, the crew decided he was a good director and they began working harder for him. 

‘The First Great Train Robbery’ went on to win the Edgar Allen Poe movie award for Best Motion Picture.  When it got its first Irish television screening on RTE 1 in February 1982, ratings soared, and a large Irish audience tuned in.  It was screened a few nights later on Britain’s ITV, and also got a huge audience there.

 

Growing Up in Athlone in the 30s and 40s

Bridge of Athlone over River Shannon

'The town' was a garrison one and most families had a connection to the Free State Army, and the factories, Gentex and the Woollen Mills.  The dance halls and the Celli Houses was the hub of young people's entertainment in the town and that was added to with the coming of the cinemas to Athlone town.

At one stage there was three cinemas in Athlone.  The Savoy, the Ritz and the GardenVale.
The Ritz, which opened in 1940, evokes many strong memories with people of 'The Town'.
The cinema was built beside the town bridge on the banks of the River Shannon.  One of the first movies shown in 'The Ritz' was 'Three Smart Girls' starring Deanna Durbin.
The poster advertisement for the film prompted one young man to run to the home of the Flynn family who had three daughters.  As he arrived gasping at the house, he shouted to the mother of the family:  "Mrs. Flynn, Mrs. Flynn! There is a sign up outside 'The Ritz' looking for three smart girls. Get your daughters down there now and apply!"
It was probably the first time the well-meaning man had ever saw a movie poster.
The town has a long soccer tradition dating back to the 1890’s.  'C'mon The Town' was the affectionate catchphrase used to cheer on the Athlone Town soccer team.  'C'mon The Town' could be heard on the terraces at St. Mel's Park and among the schoolchildren and adults of Athlone, on the week leading up to an important game.
There were many bars and groceries in Athlone during the 30’s and 40’s including Priors, The Palace, Williams, Maguires, Butlers, 41's, Molloy's, Stephen Kelly's and Coyles.
Other shops include Liptons, Parson's Corner Shop, Macken's Drapery and Miss Prices Drapery, Boushell's Shop, Parson's Corner Shop and Morrissey's Sweetshop.
The Woollen Mills factory employed men and women of all ages, some as young as 14 years old.
One morning in November 1940 a fire erupted in the factory and created an enormous amount of damage.
"There was a huge storm the night before." said Mick Carroll, who was a 22 year old man living in Athlone, at the time.  "The Athlone Gasworks was right beside the factory, and the gas was released to save the town, otherwise it would have ignited and the town would have blown up."
"I worked in the Woollen Mills, like countless other girls from the town.  My uniform and my shoes and apron were burned inside the building, but Thank God, there was nobody inside." says Elsie Carroll, Mick's wife. 
The residents of the nearby, Northgate Street, Railway View, St. Francis Tce. was evacuated to The Crescent Ballroom. 
Sparks flew across the early morning November sky, windows were broken and wooden planks flew in the air, to a radius of a mile.
"The Army was called out and we were taken out of our beds and evacuated to the Crescent." says Kathleen Moriarty, who lived in Athlone at the time.  "The whole town could've went up that morning."
Lemonade was the main beverage consumed by young people in the 30’s and 40’s.  There was no such thing as buying bottled mineral water in shops then, although Spring Water was consumed a lot.  People used to walk to the Springwell Road, on the Connaught side of town, close to the Railway line, to visit the Springwell and collect some beautiful cool spring water.
Ice cream was a great treat and it was consumed in The Genoa, which was a popular ice-cream parlour, set up by an Italian man, Frank Magliocco in 1943.
The Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd. resided on the banks of the Shannon, on the Leinster side of the town bridge.
"Everyone went for long walks in those days - out to the Thatch or the Park or to Sandy Bay to bathe." says Mick.  "They were lovely times.  You could walk out the door and leave it open then.  They were hard times but better times."
"Times were also stricter.  I remember when I was off sick from school, the school garda visiting the house." says Elsie.  "In fact he came up to the bedroom to see that I was really sick."
The Gaelic League Hall was fondly nicknamed the Sweatbox.  This was one of the nighttime entertainment venues in the town.  The Gaelic League mostly catered for people interested in Irish traditional music and dancing. 
The Longworth Hall, The Crescent Ballroom, The Foresters Hall, the Sportex Gym and St. Mary's Hall were other dance venues of the time.
"Most of us were sitting in the garden at the back wall, listening to The Eucharistic Congress in the Phoenix Park on a radio in a house behind the wall." says Kathleen Moriarty.  "It was a bright day and it was great, it was really something different for us, because there was no television, and very few people had radios at that time."
It was a great treat for Athlone families to go to Galway by train.  They would bring packed lunches and travel to Salthill and be back in time for the evening train back to the town.
"My father used to keep pigs and chickens and had the garden sowed with all kind of vegetables.  In those days most people in the town used to sow their garden." says Kathleen.
"There was also no such things as coffee shops and going out for coffee.  Although coffee was drank in the house.  Irel Coffee was very popular because there was no tea because of the rations." says Kathleen.
"There used to be people selling apples on horses and carts and somebody always came into the town to the houses selling country butter on an ass and cart.  For Christmas you got Custard and Jelly and grey turkeys were always cooked.  There was a really lovely flavour off them."
In Athlone in the 30's and 40's the main reading material was 'The Westmeath Independent', 'The Irish Press', 'The Irish Independent, The Messenger', 'Dublin Opinion' and 'Ireland's Own'.
Mick Flynn remembers reading 'The Dandy' and 'The Beano'.  " I also remember reading about a character called 'Fireworks Flynn' in 'Hotspur". says Mick.
"I loved watching the westerns of Buck Jones and the movie 'Clancy of the Mounted' in the Ritz."
'Clancy of the Mounted' is a long forgotten feature film from 1933, which starred Tom Tyler
"We didn't think the world was large at all, we thought we were all close together." says Mick.
Children played on the streets with spinning tops, and were generally safe from traffic with the exception of the occasional horse and carts.
Dr. Kerley, Dr. Power and Dr. Coen were the main family doctors in Athlone of the 30's and 40's era.
Fr. Pinkman and Canon Crowe were parish priests from the two neighbouring parishes of St. Mary's and St. Peter's and Pauls' respectively.
Athlone is the birthplace of the world famous tenor John 'Count' McCormack in 1884.
"I remember listening to Delia Murphy on record, in the early 40's singing 'If I were a Blackbird' and Three Lovely Lassies'. Also I remember the beautiful voice of Vera Lynn singing We'll Meet Again and 'White Cliffs of Dover'. Radio Luxembourg 208 MW's Top 20 was the highlight of our week." says Joe Flynn.
"We used to come home from school to do the weeding in the garden and to sow potatoes or we'd have to work in the bog.  There was no fruit available, but a great recipe was parsnips blended with some kind of vanilla which was used to make to bananas."
Those were the days of the 30’s and 40’s in the place Athlonians called ‘The Town’.