Dwyer family

[irlpol]

My name is Pól Ó Duibhir/Paul O'Dwyer and my father was from Ballyhaunis. His brother Paddy drowned near the Red Bridge on 28 May 1922 - hence my interest in Ballinasloe.

I got material in the Connacht Tribune on the event and Damian is coming back to me regarding any further reporting in the local paper.

I have put up material on my website at
http://www.photopol.com/james_st/paddy_dwyer.html
and will add to it as further material becomes available.

I hope it's OK to have nicked and tweaked your map (see hotlink at bottom of page referenced above) which I have credited.

Looking forward to participating in this forum.

[irlpol]

Passed through Ballinasloe the other day on the way to Galway. Took picture of Suck from Red Bridge. This is the area where my uncle drowned. It's up at http://www.photopol.com/james_st/paddy_dwyer.html.

Paddy was working in Mrs Finnegan's drapers in 1922. Anyone know where that shop was and what is there now, so I can take a photo next time I'm in town?

Thanks.

 

[damomac]

I believe Finnegan's was located on the site where the AIB is now located (on the corners of Society and Dunlo Streets. It was also known as "The Irish House" and is visable on the old Lawrence photographs of the town looking down towards the Market Square. Finnegan's was burnt down in the 1920s and the ruin demolished. The Munster and Leinster Bank built the red-bricked building that stands there today.

Found a pic:

[irlpol]

Thanks Damo for all that info.

And, thanks for searching out the photo. Do you have an online reference, or is it a hardcopy postcard that you scanned in yourself. If the latter, would you have any problem with me copying it and referencing it in the cameo of Paddy Dwyer?

I see from the National Library that they have 4 shots of Ballinasloe, apart from the Asylum, and  including  a shot of the main square but they don't reproduce it online. I'll drop in to the archive in Temple Bar one of the days I'm in town and get a look at what they have. If there is anything promising I'll order a copy and let you know how I get on.

Congratulations on your Ballinasloe website. It is miles ahead of most of what's out there. The discussion seems lively and interactive. I had queries up on a few other boards (Ballyhaunis and Kiltimagh) and I got either no reply or misleading information.

Rath ar an obair.

Pól

[Jesus]

You're right Damo, Finnegans was located where the AIB stands today. What's now known as the 'Bank Corner' was then known as 'Finnegans Corner'.

irlpol, Damos photo was lifted from an Ebay auction by the look of it.
I spoke to my father (84) about uncles your drowning today. He doesn't remember it, probably because he was only 1 at the time, but he remembers his father telling him about it years later.

[irlpol]

Thanks be to Jesus.

Much appreciated. Thank your father also from me.

Beir bua.

 

[Jesus]

irlpol, I came across this picture that was taken from St. Michaels Church looking up the square.
You can see Finnegans draper shop in the background but the quality is poor.
I've marked it with a red arrow. I don't know what year it was taken.



Click on the image for a bigger version (without the arrow )

[irlpol]

Jesus,

You're a wonder. Thanks a million.

I'll post the shot of the Irish House when I get it and they can sue me if they like.

How there could be any question of copyright on a 100 yr old Lawrence shot I don't know. Maybe photos have eternal copyright. I must look it up.

Praised be the holy name.

Like I said great site.

Pól

[damomac]

Jesus,

Well spotted. That pic did come from ebay, but I bought the item in the end (for half nothing) and will upload a proper scan of it to the Picture Gallery shortly.

That's a great photograph of the Square. Where did you come across that?



 

[Jesus]

Jesus,

Well spotted. That pic did come from ebay, but I bought the item in the end (for half nothing) and will upload a proper scan of it to the Picture Gallery shortly.

That's a great photograph of the Square. Where did you come across that?

The little camera in the corner of your photo was the giveaway.

The photo of the square is a good one alright and one I didn't see before, but it's a pity about the quality.

It's a scan from a book I bought last week but the quality in the book is poor aswell.

Lots of good info in it.
Church records.
1894 & 1934 Pub listings (43 pubs in 1894 )
1901 Census
1934 Thoms Directory
1911 Census
1894 Slaters Directory
1940 Electoral List
1858 Griffiths Valuation
And a numbered town map matching up with Griffiths.

[damomac]

Jesus,

Well spotted. That pic did come from ebay, but I bought the item in the end (for half nothing) and will upload a proper scan of it to the Picture Gallery shortly.

That's a great photograph of the Square. Where did you come across that?

The little camera in the corner of your photo was the giveaway.

The photo of the square is a good one alright and one I didn't see before, but it's a pity about the quality.

It's a scan from a book I bought last week but the quality in the book is poor aswell.

Lots of good info in it.
Church records.
1894 & 1934 Pub listings (43 pubs in 1894 )
1901 Census
1934 Thoms Directory
1911 Census
1894 Slaters Directory
1940 Electoral List
1858 Griffiths Valuation
And a numbered town map matching up with Griffiths.

Is that Noel Farrell's book on Ballinasloe genealogy?

[Jesus]

It is indeed. Did you see it before?

[Skinner]

While reading irlpol's description of the death by drowning of his uncle Paddy at the red Bridge - which indeed is very interesting and in great detail, it brought to mind an incident involving my late brother Ignatius at that very spot sometime in the 1950s.

My brother, like many young lads of his age, was prone to partaking in wild adventures akin to Declan Burke's escapade where he lay in the box girder beside the railway track

'The 10 year old lad shook and shivered in the summer heat in the iron coffin of a box girder where he crouched rattled and vibrated while a train sped past, unseen, within arms length ...

'

Ignatius anyway thought he would try a bit of diving where be carried out the act by jumping off the bridge into the river only to hit the bottom where he got a lot of lacerations to the front of his body in the chest and abdomen areas - it seems the river was quite shallow at his point of entry.

[irlpol]

I think that might have been part of the problem with the uncle Paddy. He probably went in where it was shallow ( I think the earlier article said it was only 4ft in places) and got carried out of his depth.

[irlpol]

I said above I'd post the shot of the Irish House when I got it, so it's here:
http://www.photopol.com/bios/ballyhaunis/ballinasloe_irish_house_squ.jpg .

It's well below the quality I had come to expect from Lawrence plates based on photos I bought in the 1970s. I would have expected to be able to identify the people in it (if I knew them). Both resolution and range of tones seem below par. I wonder if this is caused by compression to jpg or just sloppy copying. In any event, it is an interesting shot.

I scanned it in at 300dpi but then let Photoshop optimise it for the web, so there is some loss on the print I got, but not very much. I've substituted the Irish House in this print for Damian's postcard in my cameo on Paddy Dwyer ( http://www.photopol.com/james_st/paddy_dwyer.html ).

I'll be back on this thread if I pick up any more stuff and meanwhile thanks to Damian and Jesus.