Bridge St.

Information on the History of each Building

Name of the man with his dog??

Construction Workers who built Brownes

Names: ?

View of upper Bridge Street and a section of the Market Square.

Then

NOW a view of lower Bridge Street

View of upper Bridge Street

Then

From Sean Jarleth Manning <jarlethman@hotmail.com>

9/28/16

to Gerry Ahern

Hi Gerry,

Thanks for your reply.

I will get a photo of my dad to you soon.

Dad (John Dermot Manning) was born in 1921 in Mannings Bar Bridge Street. It was my grandfathers pub and he was born out in Gloves. Although the original family name was Mannion, it changed to Manning sometime in the early 1900s. Dad had four sisters; only one remained in Ireland and she lived out in Renmore Galway.

My grandad, Joe Manning (inset photo, left) and dad used to run the bar for the Galway races. I have a few newspaper clippings stored online regarding Athenry from the 1940s. You may already have access to them if not I can forward them onto you if you would be interested? I have a couple photos of the old bar in Bridge Btreet I can also forward them if you haven’t already got them?

Dad used to tell me many anecdotes about growing up in Athenry, especially some of the characters who used to frequent Manning’s Bar. He had a good boyhood friend called Christy Flynn who apparently was a bit wild in his youth and well known in Athenry back then.

Dad, John Dermot Manning (pictured left) often talked affectionately about his boyhood, playing in the abbey (before it was gated) or the hand ball alley, fishing for trout in the river, catching the train into Galway or buying comics and boiled sweets in the green booth at the railway station – the booth is still there on the platform. He met my mum who was working in the bookies at Athenry in the early 1940s. Her name was Julia Wynne from Mace, Corrandulla out on the Headford road.

I have also attached one of my Granddad’s Guinness

labels from 1946 (left),

which I thought may be of interest to you.

Later in life my Dad (pictured standing on the left)

was stationed in

Renmore Barracks, Galway

in the 1940s.

One character I remember from visits back to Athenry, who I think died recently, was Séamus Lynch. The last time we were there he gave us a tour around the old Dominican Abbey near the old ball alley. Séamus was like an encyclopedia when it came to the history of the local area. He was a real Athenry character – we won’t see the likes of him again!

I shared your site on my Facebook page – keep up the great work Gerry.

Now

Owners: 1. Tom Curran`( Owner but didn’t live there). 2. Joe and Margaret Mannion (Publican). 3. Claire Parr( Hair Dresser). 4. Tommy Lally. Noel Lally. 5. Luca’s Fast Food Restaurant)

View of Bridge Street

Owners: 1. Tom Curran built it.. 2. Peter Curran sold it to the Brownes. 3. Gerard Browne and Millie Browne operated a grocery shop there. 4 Mrs. Rose Loughnane has it rented to a Salt Inhalation Clinic and there are apartments upstairs

Owners: 1. Tim Curran. 2. Peter Curran. 3. Michael Whelan (rented it from Peter Curran). 4. Clem McGuinness

Owners: 1. Malachy Glynn (rented it. he worked on the Railway). 2. Jimmy and Nellie McCormack (Jimmy worked in Corbetts). 3. Nurse O’Gorman (District Nurse). 4. Bina Bane.

Owners: 1. George (died 1923) and Mary Fahy (Family of one son and three girls – Maureen, Kitty and Detta (worked in the Bag factory). (After George’s death Mary married Cornelius Fitzpatrick.) 2. Cornelius and Mary Fitzpatrick (Cornelius worked a a railway Clerk). 3. Kitty Fahy operated the Railway Bookshop). 4. Bernadette Healy-Ruane (retired nurse).

Owners: 1. Sonny Curran. 2. Watt Doherty ( grandfather of Gerry Doherty, died in the 1930s). 3. Jimmy McCormack (worked as a road sweeper). 4. Paddy and Eileen Corley. 5. John Hickey.