The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

the effect, “This is America; we don’t do that sort of thing
here.”
Uncle Jim also would recall the story of his
brother accompanying him as he looked for a house after
marrying Catherine Hoopes in 1958. Uncle Jim enjoyed
repeating Tom's comment about a home they looked at
along the more exclusive end of Bancroft Parkway. “I
agreed to help finance a house, not a splendid edifice,”
Tom joked with his brother.
In the years after the war, Uncle Tom was back
living with the O’Briens on Van Buren Street. But by the
end of 1949, he had purchased a splendid edifice of his
own, at 611 N. Broom St. in Wilmington.
A copy of the mortgage from Artisans’ Savings
Bank in Wilmington, recorded Nov. 28, 1949, shows Uncle
Tom borrowed $7,000 at 5 percent interest to purchase the
house. Written over time on the front of the mortgage is the
new balance due after at least 19 payments, typically about
$50 or $100. That was up to twice what was required. A
typical monthly payment on a 15-year loan at the time
would have been about $55. With the typical Gallagher
aversion to debt, Uncle Tom paid off the loan in five years.
The mortgage is stamped “Satisfied” on Aug. 12, 1954. For
a while, at least, Uncle Tom’s income would have been
supplemented by renting out some of the home. A
Wilmington News Journal newspaper ad from Halloween
1950, headed “Completely Private,” lists four rooms
available with a bath on the second floor at 611 Broom.
Call after 6 p.m., it says.
Aunt Ann and Uncle Jim lived with Uncle Tom on
Broom Street, possibly from the beginning. The city
directory lists Aunt Ann as a resident by 1952 at the latest.
The same directory puts Uncle Jim at 611 N. Van Buren.
But it’s unclear if that was a mistake that should have said
Broom Street or if Uncle Jim was actually renting a room
across the street from where Aunt Delia had lived. In any
event, the years on Broom Street were often the topic of
conversation when Tom, Ann and Jim would get together
regularly as they grew older.
With Uncle Jim married and living on Sycamore
Street, Aunt Ann and Uncle Tom moved from Broom to 41
E. Champlain Avenue in Middleboro Crest Manor,
Richardson Park, in the mid-1960s. A Realtor’s June 10,
1964, classified ad lists about a dozen Wilmington homes
for sale, ranging in price from $3,500 to $10,900. The sale
price for 611 N. Broom is noted only as “S-O-L-D.”
Six years after settling in their new home, Uncle
Tom and Aunt Ann made a visit to Ireland, in 1970. The
trip gave them a chance to see family members whom they
Ever helpful, Uncle Tom pitches in with some yard work
during his visit with Uncle Owen in 1970.
hadn't seen in over a decade. They were able to spend time
with Uncle Owen, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Nora and her
husband, Pat Murphy, who were living on New Street.
It turns out the 1970 trip was not the only one
Uncle Tom made back to Ballinrobe. There’s no specific
memory of him talking about it, but Uncle Tom’s passport
shows he also traveled to Ireland in 1959. He flew into
Shannon Airport that July 5 and stayed until Aug. 30. The
trip may have been planned to coincide with Uncle Owen
building his new home across the boreen from the old
Gallagher cottage. Records show the home's construction
was completed that year.
Uncle Tom apparently picked a busy time to visit
his old hometown. Irish newspapers said Ballinrobe was
seeing a record number of visitors that season. On Saturday
Aug. 15, The Western People reported the town and the
“scenic countryside around it is filled with visitors here on
holidays. Many caravans are parked at various beauty spots
near the shores of the Mask and on up towards
Tourmakeady. Most of the visitors, or their parents,
originally came from the district.”
On the day after that report, Uncle Tom was on his
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