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 Mike O'Brien had a lifelong connection with horse racing. He is the trainer at right in the fedora in this
photo from his days in Ireland. He would tell his grandchildren the story of how he once finished third as a jockey
in the Grand National steeplechase race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England.
sending American-style clothes back to Ireland for Ann and
Mary. Their big sister wanted to make sure they looked upto-date
when going to school. Her dedication to family also
showed as she met her brother Pete at the train when he
emigrated in May 1927.
Aunt Delia worked for the German family in
upstate New York for a year or so and would always hold
onto photos of the children she cared for there. But she
eventually joined Sheridan family members in the
Philadelphia area and later moved to Delaware. A passbook
from The Berks Building and Loan Association of
Philadelphia indicates she was in the City of Brotherly
Love by February 1927 through at least December 1934.
Before moving to Wilmington, tragedy struck the
family back in Ballinrobe. On Sept. 15, 1930, Delia’s
brother John was killed while cycling home from a fair in
nearby Kilmaine. The family sent her a newspaper clipping
detailing the inquest into John's death.
It took almost a year, but Aunt Delia made a trip
back to Cornaroya to join the grieving family, probably
leaving on the journey in mid-August 1931. While in
Ballinrobe, she helped arrange for a monument to mark the
graves of John and Michael at the Gallagher burial plot in
the Abbey Cemetery. The monument, topped by a Celtic
Cross, would eventually include their parents’ names, and
in time those of Uncle Owen and Aunt Mary. Aunt Delia
returned to America on Sept. 20, 1931, aboard the Stuttgart,
which sailed from Galway. The ship’s manifest lists her as a
waitress with the last known address in America of 2105
Mount Vernon St., the Philadelphia home of her Aunt
Esther Sheridan and her sons Francis and John. Her
immigration visa, issued that May 19, lists her as 5 feet 9
inches tall with brown hair and gray eyes.
UNCLE MIKE
Michael O’Brien was born in the townland of
Simonstown, just north of Navan, County Meath, Ireland,
on Dec. 15, 1897. He was baptized that Dec. 20, with
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