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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The wedding party included, from left, Dot Conticello, Ann Gallagher, Ann Gilson, flower girl Mary Hoopes,
ring-bearer Bart Gilson, Uncle Tom, nephew Pete Gallagher and Franny Hoopes. Performing the ceremony
was St. John's Pastor the Rev. Anthony DiMichele. (See another wedding photo on Page 257.)
(Hartman) Conticello, a friend of Aunt Catherine’s from St.
Francis. The flower girl was Francis Hoopes’ daughter
Mary. (As an adult, Mary would always send her Uncle Jim
a St. Patrick's Day card.) The ring bearer was Ann Gilson's
son Bart. Among the guests were Eugene and Tommy
Gallagher, sons of “Peter Gallagher Next Door”; they had
recently come to the U.S. Of course, news of the
engagement had made its way back to Ballinrobe, where
Aunt Nora had written to Aunt Catherine saying how happy
everyone was “to know that Jim met such a nice girl.” A
video from their wedding day carefully captures the guests
lined up outside the reception at the Powder Mill and
includes the happy couple heading off for their honeymoon
at Niagara Falls.
For Uncle Jim and Aunt Catherine, children soon
started arriving: Pat in 1959, Owen in 1960 and Margaret in
1963. Aunt Catherine had retired from nursing to start the
family, but she was not forgotten at St. Francis. In 1963,
her Grandmother Jane McGovern passed away from an
illness while she was a patient there. The bill went to Aunt
Catherine’s father, who was unable to pay it and there was
fear the family could lose the farm in Hockessin. This
naturally had Aunt Catherine greatly upset. When the nuns
running the hospital learned of her distress, they tore up the
bill. It was never heard of again.
Pat was born while Uncle Jim and Aunt Catherine
lived in the Parklyn Apartments in Elsmere. But they
bought their own home at 43 S. Sycamore St. from Robert
and Eleanor Chambers on June 20, 1960. It was four
months before Owen was born. Uncle Tom ($5,000) and
Aunt Ann ($2,500) both gave their brother interest-free
loans, payable over seven years. Uncle Jim also borrowed
$1,300 from the DuPont Experimental Station Employee
Credit Union.
Their new neighborhood, Union Park Gardens,
was built in 1918 with the backing of the federal
government by the Liberty Land Co. The development at
the western edge of the city provided housing for
Wilmington shipyard workers during World War I. It was
modeled after homes in the English Garden Suburb
Movement. One example was Bournville, which the
Cadbury chocolate manufacturer built for its employees
around Birmingham, England, in 1900. The suburb was
designed like a village, with houses built of different sizes,
styles and materials. The Gardens were located in an area
previously known as Union Park, a shady area with a
merry-go-round, ice cream parlors, bandstand, baseball
diamonds and a football field. In 1916, Buffalo Bill’s “Wild
West Show” appeared there. Over the years, Union Park
Gardens became a desirable section of the city. In the 1960s
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