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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Above, Mary Mellet wears her
Communion dress while holding
a doll given to her by sister
Katie. Mary died at age 8. Below
is their sister Nelly in New York.
Above are Uncle Jim's
daughter Margaret and Peter
Gallagher Next Door's
daughter Margaret Burke at
her Ballinrobe home during a
visit in July 1997. At right, a
very young Eugene is with
cousins Margaret and Nora
Connell, two daughters of his
Aunt Sarah.
1967, his Mayo comrades and other members of the Old
IRA formed a guard of honor at his funeral. Margaret
passed away in 2002. They had one daughter, Breege.
As mentioned, Peter Gallagher’s sister Maggie
married Thomas Mellet around 1902. They had 10 children,
four of whom died early: a daughter as an infant, Sarah at
age 3, Mary at 8, and Thomas at 27. Three of their older
girls – Katie, Margaret (Mog), and Eileen, (Nelly) – all
came to New York. Katie and Mog married brothers Pete
and Tom. Tom was a commandant in the old IRA and
probably entered the U.S. through Canada. A picture that
Aunt Delia had shows Mary in her First Communion dress
holding a doll given to her for Christmas by sister Katie.
Another daughter of Maggie and Thomas, Bridie,
stayed in Ballinrobe and married Tom Butler. They had
three children: Gerard and his family are still in Ballinrobe;
Collette is in County Kildare; and Tommy lived in Balla.
Maggie and Thomas’ son Martin moved to Ballynew with
his family. Son Harry was the subject of a chapter in “Itchy
Feet and Thirsty Work.” The 1990 book by Bridie Mulloy
detailed Harry’s work as a carpenter and wheelwright. He
was known for his skills making doors, windows, carts and
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