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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Common items on an Irish farm at the turn of the twentieth century would have been a pot and tongs for cooking
(with the lid often heated and wrapped in a blanket to warm a bed) and the multi-purpose donkey. At right, Mary
Theresa is with Helen and Mary Murray, who lived around the corner from Aunt Delia and Uncle Mike O'Brien.
Their mother was the former Delia Toher, Aunt May's aunt.
clothes from America.
Three of the Toher children immigrated to
America: James, Winnie (Cunningham), and Delia
(Murray). James had his name formally changed to
Tucker after he arrived in America.
By the early 1900s, the Tohers were a
considerably well-off family. They had close to 100
acres and a big orchard in Ballynalty. They owned
their own sire bull.
AUNT MAY’S PARENTS
JOHN TIERNEY AND MARY TOHER
Around 1900, Mary Toher lived with her
parents Denis Toher and Biddy McHugh along with
her siblings in Ballynalty, County Galway, about nine
miles south of Ballinrobe. She was not much more
than 20 at the time. She had an aunt, Ellen (McHugh)
Coleman, who lived in Carrowmore just outside
Ballinrobe. Mary used to bicycle after Mass on
Sundays to visit her aunt. Unbeknownst to Mary, a
young man in Carrowmore had taken notice of her
comings and goings. He was John Tierney, who lived
there with his family. John was not much more than 20
himself. With her honey blond hair and blue eyes, he
thought Mary the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
John would watch every week as Mary came and went
from her aunt’s home. But, alas, he couldn’t think of a
way to get her attention without being too obvious.
Then luck, or Providence, intervened. One Sunday,
Mary’s bicycle tire went flat while visiting her aunt.
Mary thought for a moment she would have to walk
the nine miles home to Ballynalty. But quickly, the
kindest man she had ever met was by her side. Not
only did John fix the tire, but he would go on to marry
her on April 17, 1902. Mary received a gold sovereign
coin from her mother on her wedding day.
John and Mary Tierney had 11 children: Jack
(1903), Mary, aka Aunt May (1905), Delia (1906),
Pake, or Patrick, (1908), Michael (1910), James
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