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 Tom and Aunt Ann sit outside their brother Owen's home on their visit to Ballinrobe in 1970.
The bond between the two continued to grow throughout their lives.
that the surrender was due more to his arrival rather than
any military victory. According to Uncle Owen, when Tom
landed in Liverpool, he had a three-day leave. Wanting to
visit Ballinrobe for a longer time, he delayed any
homecoming trip until he would get a full week’s leave
before his unit headed home. Uncle Tom’s outfit was
eventually called back to the U.S. on short notice for some
reason or another, and Tom did not get to Ballinrobe for
that visit.
Uncle Tom’s duties apparently took him at least
briefly to Paris, where he visited the Tuileries Gardens. And
he ended up stationed in Germany for a time. Uncle Owen
told the story of how Tom and another soldier in his unit
from Ballinrobe met a woman working in a German field
with a scythe and offered to help her out. Uncle Owen said
the woman told Tom he obviously had done such work
before. Owen said that was odd, because his brother was
always better working with his mind than in the fields at
home. He said Tom and the other soldier joked with the
German woman about her husband, who was away serving
in the German military. She hadn’t heard from him for
some time, and the two American soldiers gently teased
that there was probably little hope for him.
Another story from the time suggests there may
have been hope for that woman’s husband, after all. Patsy
DeAscanis remembered Uncle Tom telling her about living
with a German family at the end of the war – and the
husband was there. Patsy said they had a friendly
relationship and one day the husband asked Uncle Tom to
go hunting with him. Uncle Tom was reluctant, but went
along, due in part to his German not being strong enough to
explain why he did not want to go shooting at deer. Patsy
said she is reminded of the story and her dear uncle
whenever she watches a family of deer coming and going
in the yard of her home in New Castle.
During his military career, Uncle Tom was
assigned to headquarters of the 8th Armored Infantry Bn.
His main job was as a telephone switchboard operator, but
he also would have carried an M1 rifle. It's likely Germany
surrendered without him ever firing a shot in anger. He
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