The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

In Ballinrobe, the 1932 Corpus Christi celebration
coincided with the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. It
included a banner from the Pioneer Total Abstinence
Association of the Sacred Heart. The man is identified
as Martin Halloran.
from St. Mary’s included a huge banner created by the
Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart.
Our grandfather and Uncle Jim were supporters.
When Aunt Nora returned home, she presented the
souvenir pin to her mother. It’s uncertain what would have
happened to it when our grandmother died in 1942. Either
Nora took possession of it to keep until she died, or it
stayed in the Gallagher home in Cornaroya. In any event,
Uncle Owen had it after Aunt Nora passed and eventually
gave it to his nephew Pat Gallagher. He in turn gave it to
Aunt Delia’s daughter, Patsy, who wears it every Mother’s
Day.
SHAMROCKS AND FAMILY
Aunt Nora was born Sunday March 4, 1906. She
was the fifth child of Pat and Mary (Sheridan) Gallagher. In
addition to her parents, at home along the boreen in
Aunt Nora sits with her cousin Annie King, probably
around 1931. Annie was a niece of 'Peter Gallagher Next
Door.'
Cornaroya at the time were her paternal grandparents Peter
and Bridget (McCormick) Gallagher, brothers Michael and
John, and sister Delia. A sister Mary had died as an infant.
The farm at the time was still leased by Nora’s grandfather.
It passed to her father when Peter Gallagher died in March
1912. Nora’s grandmother died in March 1909.
On the day before Aunt Nora was born, there was
a poem published in the Western People newspaper titled
“A Bunch of Shamrocks.” It was about a woman longing
for a far-away love. The poem fits nicely with the affection
the girl born the next day in Ballinrobe had for her family.
It included the lines:
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