The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe
IN MARCH 2020, Pat Gallagher had an idea. He asked his brother, Owen, what he thought of writing a book about the family of their father, James Gallagher, who grew up in the early decades of the 20th century in the West of Ireland in the small town of Ballinrobe, County Mayo. The shutdown from COVID-19 was just beginning, and the thinking was they would have more time on their hands than usual. What better way to spend quarantine than exploring the stories of our aunts, uncles and other relatives. The task turned out to be much more complicated (and rewarding) than anticipated. It involved sifting through ship manifests, census, birth and marriage records, newspaper archives, and, most enjoyable, sessions delving into the memories of extended-family members. Sorely missed was the chance to hear first-hand the tales from our deceased cousins John O'Brien and Pete Gallagher. This book's stories and more than 500 images are the result of the past year's journey. The goal was both simple and ambitious: making the memories of the Gallaghers of Ballinrobe ours forever.
IN MARCH 2020, Pat Gallagher had an idea. He asked his brother, Owen, what he thought of writing a book about the family of their father, James Gallagher, who grew up in the early decades of the 20th century in the West of Ireland in the small town of Ballinrobe, County Mayo. The shutdown from COVID-19 was just beginning, and the thinking was they would have more time on their hands than usual. What better way to spend quarantine than exploring the stories of our aunts, uncles and other relatives.
The task turned out to be much more complicated (and rewarding) than anticipated. It involved sifting through ship manifests, census, birth and marriage records, newspaper archives, and, most enjoyable, sessions delving into the memories of extended-family members. Sorely missed was the chance to hear first-hand the tales from our deceased cousins John O'Brien and Pete Gallagher. This book's stories and more than 500 images are the result of the past year's journey. The goal was both simple and ambitious: making the memories of the Gallaghers of Ballinrobe ours forever.
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Uncle Pete and Aunt May returned from their 1933 trip to Ireland on Oct. 9. They are standing at the far right in
this photo with some of their shipmates on the S.S. Stuttgart, which sailed from Galway.
boys of 15 and 13 when they last saw Pete, were now
young men. Owen was 17. And Ann and Mary, young
children in 1927, were now 12 and 11 years old,
respectively. Nora, two years older than Pete, was still 15
years from her own marriage. Uncle Owen remembered his
older brother’s trip home. Uncle Pete bought him a new
bicycle. This was not a toy; a bike was serious
transportation in those days, and it was much appreciated.
Uncle Pete and Aunt May returned to the U.S. on Oct. 9,
1933, on the S.S. Stuttgart out of Galway.
MR. & MRS. GALLAGHER
Not long after returning from Ireland, Aunt May
and her brother Jack purchased a house at 704 N. Clayton
St. The settlement was for $4,200 on July 13, 1934. A
probable explanation for why Jack was involved is Aunt
May and Uncle Pete couldn't get a mortgage for the house
themselves because they weren’t yet married. Neither could
get the mortgage alone because their incomes weren't large
enough; and it was also rare at the time for a single woman
to be allowed to buy any property. To get around those
issues, Aunt May and Jack co-signed for the mortgage.
After the wedding, Uncle Pete bought out Jack. Such a
maneuver uses the credit history of a “straw buyer” to get a
loan for someone unable to qualify otherwise. This level of
financial acumen was impressive for a couple with limited
formal education and less than a decade in their new
country.
Ten weeks after the purchase, on Sept. 26, 1934,
Uncle Pete and Aunt May were married.
The Rev. John J. Bolen led the 8 a.m. wedding
ceremony in the basement at St Ann’s School. Pete’s
brother Pat was best man, and May’s sister Delia the maid
of honor. Among their wedding gifts was a white linen
tablecloth from Ireland. The wedding was in the school
because of extensive renovations at St. Ann's Church,
located at Gilpen Avenue and North Union Street. From
1933 to 1935, the building’s 28 front steps were removed,
as was the upper church floor. The work left the basement
as the new floor of the church as well as the new entrance
level. New Gothic pews were added along with a new,
lower ceiling. The renovations were complete by the time
Aunt Delia and Uncle Mike were married there in 1937.
For that ceremony, changes to the building weren’t the only
difference. On the fine Indian Summer morning of Pete’s
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