Pages Past: 'new hall in Kilbeggan'; 'St Loman’s farm'

Westmeath Examiner, April 27, 1935

Excitement in Longford

A report originally published in the Longford Leader and reprinted in the Westmeath Examiner stated that many residents of Longford Town had assembled at the courthouse in Longford on Thursday, April 11, 1935 to witness a demonstration on fire-fighting given by the members of the Mullingar Fire Brigade.

“There was no fire and the number of people who witnessed the demonstration was not as large as if there had been a fire,” the report stated.

The account went on to explain that Longford Urban Council was proposing to purchase a fire engine for the town and as the Mullingar Town Commissioners considered their engine too small, they were offering it for sale. In order to let the council in Longford judge for itself whether it would be suitable, the Mullingar Town Commissioners had agreed to bring the tender and give a demonstration in Longford.

Westmeath Examiner, April 28, 1945

New hall in Kilbeggan

What was described as “a historic event” had taken place in Kilbeggan the previous week, the opening and blessing of the new parochial hall called after St James, the patron of the parish.

The ceremony was performed by the Very Reverend James Flynn, PP VG, Tullamore.

The report stated that the hall, which was to serve mainly as a cinema, was an imposing structure and had been built at a cost of several thousand pounds. It has been provided with the most up to date furnishings and amenities.

Construction of the hall had started the previous September and, except for a few finishing touches, was now complete. The contractors were Michael Kelly and Son of Tyrrellspass, and the architect was Mr James Doyle, Suffolk Street, Dublin. The report stated that the hall could comfortably accommodate 500 people.

“There is a fine pitch pine floor so that the hall can also be used as a ballroom. A fine stage is provided, with spacious cloakrooms at each side, large supper rooms at the back of the stage and a balcony at the rear of the hall.

“During the construction of the hall, Mr Daniel Moran, Kilbeggan, was clerk of works, Mr Ciarán Kenny, Banagher, was foreman, and Mr Thomas Guilfoyle, Kilbeggan, was the cinema operator.”

The report credited Rev Fr Bartley, CC, Kilbeggan, with starting the project and driving it forward, and the report stated that the priest was the son of Mr PJ Bartley, one-time Commissioner for Westmeath and now county manager for Laois Offaly.

The report stated that Fr Bartley “threw in all his dynamic energies into this project” and that the beautiful hall was now a lasting monument to his zealous work.

Westmeath Examiner, April 30, 1955

New tunnel for Springfield

Westmeath County Council announced that it had decided to build a tunnel at a cost of £2,700 under the canal at the pumping station Mullingar, to be known as the Springfield Tunnel. The decision had been made some time previously, but was affirmed at a meeting of the Council that Monday, the Westmeath Examiner reported.

However, it was also agreed that a plebiscite of the people of Springfield be taken to see what their wishes were in the matter, since the erection of a bridge to link the Delvin Road with Barrack Street had also been suggested. At the council meeting, it was contended by Messrs L’Estrange and O’Brien that in order to rescind the council’s previous decision to erect a tunnel, six months must elapse or a motion signed by 11 members must be handed in.

Mr O’Brien said he understood secret plebiscites had been held in the area. The people of Springfield were anxious about the safety of their children. Mr J O’Callaghan spoke in favour of a bridge to link with Barrack Street, and a Mr Darcy said that Athlone was badly in need of a bridge, while Mullingar was a town of bridges. The county manager said that on account of the steps that would have to be erected, prams would not be able to traverse a bridge.

Westmeath Examiner, April 24, 1965

Dancing in New York

The Westmeath Football and Hurling Club and the Westmeath Men’s S&B Association had held a dance at Long Island City, New York, on March 13 and an account of the event was carried in the Westmeath Examiner on April 24, 1965.

The committee in charge of the arrangements were James Ennis, president of the Football and Hurling Club, Joe Moore, president of the Westmeath Men’s S&B Association, together with James Merriman and Chris Corroon. Among the many people from the Lake County who attended the function were Mr and Mrs Peter Molloy, Ballymore, Jim Lynch, Ballymore, Drumraney, Anna and Horace Riker, Ballymore, Nicholas McCawley, Ballymore; William McKnight, Ballymore, Joseph Norton, Drumraney, Charles Norton, Drumraney, Michael Salmon, Tubberclair, Glasson, Cornelius McKnight, Ballymore, Bridie Molloy, Drumraney, Patrick Keegan, Glasson, Michael and Patrick Nolan, James Feeney.

From the Kilbeggan area were Mr and Mrs Patrick Rooney, Tommy Troy, Joseph P Horan, Rahugh, Brian Bracken, Peggy Mahoney, Cathleen Kenny, Thomas Cusack, Elizabeth Cusack-McAllister, Anna Cusack-Neary, Ballinagore.

From Mullingar, Frank and Mary McColgan, Mr and Mrs William Collentine, Russellstown, Mary Gowran, Coralstown, Mr and Mrs John Moran, Mr and Mrs Patrick Moran, The Downs, Mr and Mrs Jo Casey, Bryanstown, Mr and Mrs James Leavy, Mrs James Gibney, Mr and Mrs Joseph Duffy, Mrs Mollie McCormack-O’Grady, Andy Carr, Killucan; Johnny Leavy, Knockmant; Mattie Leavy, Tom and Patrick Leavy, Killucan; Tommy Shields, Killucan; Anne Shark, Killican; Rose, Pete and Kevin McAleer, Killucan.

Representing Castletown Geoghegan were: Patrick, Noel and John Keenan, Gerald Fallon, Mr and Mrs James Fallon, Mr and Mrs Gerald Fallon, Mr and Mrs John Fallon (visiting the States but due to return to Ireland a week later); Mrs Elizabeth Fallon-Connors, Mr and Mrs Thomas Hawkins and son James Hawkins, Mr and Mrs Jim Dalton, Pat Elliffe, Mr and Mrs James Hackett, Mr and Mrs Pete Tuite, Mr and Mrs Chris Brennan, Jimmy Cuskelly, Patrick Coffey, Mrs Annie Fallon Madden, Mr and Mrs Michael Martin.

Also there were John and Mollie Gavin-Egan. Horseleap; Gretta Keenan. Mount Temple; Mr and Mrs Peter Keenan, Rosemount; Mr and Mrs Jerry Johnson and James Johnson, Horseleap; Mr and Mrs Joseph Moore, Horseleap; Luke Boyhan, Coole; Patrick Kiernan, Coole; Jim Doherty, Coole; Bill Coffey and Josephine Cunningham, Castlepollard.

Westmeath Examiner, April 26, 1975

No ash to clash

The hurlers of Westmeath had a major difficulty in April 1975: they couldn’t get their hands on any hurley sticks, it emerged at the April meeting of the Westmeath GAA County Board.

“The situation is catastrophic at the moment, yet at the Leinster Council we were told that there was no shortage of hurleys,” said Mr C O’Sullivan, Turin, who was acknowledging the fact that locally there was a belief that there was a shortage of hurleys.

At the Leinster Council, Kilkenny and Wexford had said that they had no scarcity; however, Croke Park admitted there was a problem: Mr A Gilligan, the county board secretary, said news of the shortage of hurleys had been circularised to all clubs, and he had received a letter from a Mr Jimmy Smith of Croke Park which said “in reference to your report to me that your county was concerned of the shortage of juvenile and senior hurleys, I must admit that the complaints are justified”.

The view of Mr Smith was that there were three main reasons for the scarcity. The first was an increase in demand for juvenile hurleys by 33%. The second was that the St Lua Hurling Factory, which was the main supplier of hurleys – 20,000 per year – had not as yet delivered a hurley in 1975.

Three other manufacturers, M. Gartland, O. Watt and M. Tiernan, were not at that time producing hurleys. These between them would have accounted for a further 10,000 on top of the St Lua output. The third reason for the shortage was a scarcity in the supply of ash.

The report stated that the Department of Agriculture had now guaranteed to put sufficient ash on the market. However, those in the know pointed out that that was not going to ease the situation unless manufacturers were available to make the hurleys.

County Board PRO, Pat Flanagan, said that there was a lack of planning in evidence: “If we approach Matt Gartland, we should be able to get some hurleys and let Croke Park look after themselves,” he said.

Mr O’Sullivan said that someone should approach the counties that had hurleys and ash and ask them to make an allocation to get Westmeath out of its difficulties.

It was agreed to contact M. Gartland for Harney and look for hurleys.

Westmeath Examiner, April 29, 1995

St Loman’s farm decision

By a majority of one, members of the Midland Health Board decided that the farm at St Loman’s Hospital in Mullingar should be wound down. The stock and milk quota were to be sold and the land was to be either rented or put up for sale.

The 210-acre farm on which five people were employed had run at a loss for the previous two years and the projected deficit for the coming year was £6,247.

The report stated that in the previous two years, on account of the presence of bovine TB reactors among the stock, the herd had been locked up and because of Westmeath County Council’s concerns about pollution from the farm, £90,000 would have to be spent providing slurry storage facilities and improving the farmyard to the minimum standards consistent with EU and national milk production regulations.

The recommendation that farming operations cease at St Loman’s was made by the board CEO, Denis Doherty, who said he shared the view of the consultants appointed to examine the farm who reported that the operation would not in the future be able to break even. He said he was reluctant to spend £90,000 putting the pollution problem to rights.

“I cannot justify an investment of that amount of scarce funds in an enterprise that is a loss maker and which we estimate continues to be a loss maker,” he stated.

Westmeath Examiner, April 23, 2005

Maynooth research into Mullingar

A Maynooth University team doing in-depth research into Mullingar’s “new suburbs” was surprised to find that commuting was less a feature of life for Mullingar residents than had been believed. That was probably because, the authors found, many of those settling in the new estates around the county’s capital town were people from the area or people returning to the area.

The research team, Dr Michel Peillon, Dr Jane Grey and Dr Mary Corcoran, from the university’s social science department, who were examining social and civic life in Irish suburban communities, found that 66% of respondents in Mullingar who were employed worked in the town or its environs and just 20% were working in the Greater Dublin area.

Of those who travelled for work, 22% commuted for more than an hour. Other findings about the town were interesting. The labour force participation rate of women in Mullingar at 73% was considerably higher than the national average of 56%.

Nearly two thirds, 61%, of households were connected to the internet, compared to one third nationally.

The survey found the highest level of satisfaction with Mullingar. Some 77% of those surveyed expected to be still living in the town in five years’ time.

When thinking about Mullingar as a place to live, respondents in the new housing estates most commonly cited its character as a provincial and modernising town. However, its rural aspect, quietness and friendly community were also frequently alluded to. That the town was getting too big was the most frequently mentioned thing that people disliked about Mullingar, followed by its poor facilities for young people.

Westmeath Examiner, April 25, 2015

Albert Hammond visited Mullingar

The man who wrote some of Joe Dolan’s biggest hits had visited Mullingar for the first time the previous Saturday, the Westmeath Examiner reported on April 25, 2015.

Albert Hammond, along with his creative partner Lee Hazlewood, wrote Make Me An Island and Good Looking Woman.

However, Joe wasn’t the only famous artist for whom Mr Hammond had written songs. He was also the author of The Air That I Breathe, recorded by the Hollies, When I Need You, made famous by Leo Sayer, and a Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson hit To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before.

Other artists who covered Albert’s tunes in the 1970s included Johnny Cash, Elton John, Steppenwolf, Sonny and Cher, Johnny Mathis, Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clarke, Perry Como, Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Glen Campbell and The Carpenters.

Albert had fond memories of Joe Dolan, whom he had come to know in the late 1960s.

“Joe was a great human being, a good person and I’m just happy to be here,” said Albert.