PAGES PAST: 1886 report says Westmeath in 'quiet and peaceable condition'

Westmeath Examiner, January 16, 1886

‘A quiet and peaceful condition’

The local county court judge, John Adye Curran, in an address to the Grand Jury when opening the quarter sessions in Mullingar, declared Westmeath to be in “a quiet and peaceable condition”.

The Westmeath Examiner commented fairly caustically that if Mr Curran said that was the case, then it must definitely so, since he “could not be charged with partiality towards showing the quiet and peaceable side of the question”.

“On the contrary, when he so speaks we have the voice of a man who has several times highly exaggerated the crime of the county. So when he speaks as he now has spoken additional weight should be attached to such words. For quiet and peaceable indeed must be the condition of the county when Mr Curran describes it as such,” stated the item.

The writer went on to ask whether it was not a strange thing that this county – “which is now so peaceable, and which has been so for so long a time”, should be saddled with an extra force of police – “for which the poor, over-burdened, we fear in many cases, impoverished ratepayers have to pay from their scanty earnings?”

The writer stated that it not require all the police who are stationed in Westmeath to preserve the peace.

“Surely Mullingar does not require 40 policemen to keep its inhabitants within the confines of law and order,” he declared, going on to state that the force should be reduced in size – but that if all were required in order to carry on the imperial government of the county, they should be paid from imperial rates and not the local taxes.

Westmeath Examiner, January 18, 1896

‘Jobbery and corruption’

A discussion over outdoor relief in Mullingar at a meeting of the local board of guardians saw accusations of “jobbery and corruption” levelled at the system.

At the meeting, Mr Levinge said he felt compelled to draw attention to what he described as the alarming state of outdoor relief in the town. He said it was hardly surprising that the Railway Company objected to being assessed for the water rate when the ordinary rate in Mullingar stood at 2s 2d per head of population.

Mr Levinge told the meeting he had been informed of at least one street in Mullingar where every tenant was in receipt of outdoor relief, and some households were receiving between 10s and 15s per week. That, he said, amounted to a wholesale system of jobbery and corruption and reflected severely on the Mullingar guardians. If the situation was allowed to continue, he warned, the union would inevitably attract the attention of the Local Government Board, which could not be expected to ignore it. According to Mr Levinge, twice as much outdoor relief was being paid in the Mullingar division as in any single division in any other union in Ireland.

Mr Sullivan said he agreed with Mr Levinge’s remarks, acknowledging that there was great fault on the part of the Mullingar guardians, himself included. He said he dealt with many applications for outdoor relief and was well aware of complaints from ratepayers. In some cases, he sent applicants to ratepayers to seek signatures, and some managed to obtain 10 names in support of their claims.

He insisted he never granted a shilling of outdoor relief without the consent of the other Mullingar guardians and said he would not support any such relief unless the ratepayers had signed the papers. A revision of the system in Mullingar was badly needed, he said, particularly in relation to the work of the board.

Westmeath Examiner, January 20, 1906

Temperance and temptation

The temperance movement was clearly aiming at gaining some traction in Mullingar in 1906, amid concerns that the demon drink was flowing all too freely.

An item in the Westmeath Examiner of January 29 stated that it was understood that a proposition was to be made to the Mullingar magistrates to in future grant occasional licences in open court only.

“This is of special interest in view of the fact that an effort is being made, very properly, to establish temperance refreshment stalls at county fairs,” the item explained.

Continuing, the story went on to state that the town of Mullingar was “very liberally supplied with public houses”, and that up near the Fair Green, there was no lack of opportunity for those who preferred alcoholic refreshments on the fair mornings.

“On the other hand, complaints have often been heard of the fact that in addition to those places of refreshment, tents from various parts of the county are erected, and, by all accounts, sometimes not the very best of drink sold therein,” said the writer.

“Further, if the temperance stall is to be started, it will be an unfair handicap to the objects which it is meant to promote, that right up against it should be tents on the Green for disposing of alcoholic beverages, whilst plenty of shops are to be had round the Green Bridge and whose owners contribute to the rates of the town. It would more or less stultify the project.”

The journalist went on to opine that the system of granting the occasional licence in every case in open court would have the effect of enabling the police to oppose undesirable licences and of the magistrates more fully investigating the grounds for the application.

Westmeath Examiner, January 15, 1916

A Soldier’s Letter

A soldier who had been visiting Mullingar for Christmas submitted the following letter to the Westmeath Examiner for publication.

“DEAR SIR,– When in Mullingar for a few days’ furlough at Christmastide, it was very conspicuous to me the number of young men who were promenading the streets, many of whom to my knowledge have no ties sufficient to prevent them from joining his Majesty’s forces.

“When my soldier comrades and myself approached these men with an endeavour to persuade them to take part in the great struggle and ‘do their bit’, as every man who has a spark of patriotism in him should, they simply laughed, scorned, and treated us with contempt, and remarked that they would be pleased to see the Germans ruling the country.

“This is not very encouraging for my soldier friends and myself, who have spent 3, 6, and 12 months in the midst of the fighting, especially when we have been risking our lives to save such men as these. If only these men would exercise a little brain power and think of the consequence should the Germans invade the British Isles, they would realise that our fate would be far worse than that of the gallant Belgians. I could only come to the one conclusion, that it is the duty of every able-bodied man who can be spared to come forward now whilst he has the chance to come voluntarily.

“Some men have the illusion that we have no room for more men, but this is decidedly a rumour without foundation, as we have enough room to accommodate volunteers, also enough room to accommodate those men who won’t volunteer; but the men who volunteer will have, by far the best time, so I should advise them, as an old soldier, not to hold back any longer.

“In concluding I would ask all those to whom this letter refers to kindly treat soldiers with the respect which, at least, they fully deserve from them.

“Kindly take the hint.

“Thanking you in anticipation for this favour,

“I remain, yours truly,

Private W Reilly.”

Westmeath Examiner, January 16, 1926

The knowledge of salmon

In the early years of the Saorstát, the preservation of Ireland’s rivers and lakes was already a matter of public concern. Writing in this newspaper a century ago, a contributor signing himself “one who understands them” set out to explain the implications of the newly enacted Fisheries Acts of 1924 and 1925, legislation which the government said was essential to safeguard the nation’s fish stocks.

The acts, readers were told, were fully in force and represented a significant departure from previous law. Their reach was wide, and their penalties severe. Salmon and trout, once freely traded in many quarters, could no longer be sold or even kept for sale unless the seller was properly licensed. Buyers, too, risked prosecution if they purchased fish from an unlicensed source, with fines of up to £10 for a first offence. Only the fisherman himself, selling fish he had lawfully caught, was exempt.

The powers granted to the Garda Síochána were equally robust. Members of the force could stop and search anyone suspected of conveying fish or fishing gear, enter premises where illegally caught fish were believed to be stored, and seize fish taken in breach of the law. Obstructing a garda or a fisheries bailiff could result in a £10 fine or a prison sentence of up to six months.

Particular emphasis was placed on the close season. Possession, sale or purchase of salmon or trout during the protected period carried a minimum fine of £25, with an additional £2 levied for every fish found. Such sums, considerable by the standards of the day, underlined the seriousness with which the state viewed the offence.

Even the post was not beyond regulation. Fish sent by parcel had to be clearly labelled ‘salmon’ or ‘trout’, and the sender’s name and address legibly marked. Failure to comply exposed carriers to prosecution unless they could show they had no reasonable knowledge of the parcel’s contents.

The article concluded with a warning that echoed across the decades. With the acts in law, and with strict enforcement anticipated, the writer observed that the life of the poacher in the years ahead was unlikely to be a happy one.

Offaly Independent, January 18, 1936

Giving men ‘a fair chance’

At a meeting of the Westmeath Vocational Education Committee members were discussing the appointment of a successor to Miss F Sweeney, who had resigned her position as commercial teacher in Athlone.

Mr O’Byrne, chief executive officer, told the committee he had long urged that, when the next opportunity arose, a male teacher should be appointed. A sub-committee considering the vocational scheme for the year had unanimously agreed that the next teacher of commerce and general subjects should be a man.

At the time, Mr O’Byrne noted, there was only one male commercial teacher in the county. While some might see the proposal as prejudice against women, he said that was not the case, but rather a matter of doing what was thought best for the scheme.

In remarks described as giving men “a fair chance”, Mr O’Byrne pointed out that in earlier years most commercial students were girls, but now almost half of the pupils were boys of 18 years. Issues of discipline, games and social activities also had to be considered.

The shortage of male staff in Mullingar was also highlighted. At the time there were only two men teaching there, one of them the engineering instructor. Support was needed, particularly for subjects such as mathematics in the engineering section, for which suitably qualified female teachers were said to be difficult to find.

Mr Boland said the arguments put forward were sound and proposed that a male teacher be appointed. Mr Gorry, however, disagreed, citing the satisfaction given in Athlone by Miss Sweeney as proof of what a female teacher could achieve.

Westmeath Examiner, January 19, 1946

Westmeath backs Army Benevolent Fund

A meeting held in Mullingar during the Emergency years highlighted both the county’s gratitude to the Defence Forces and the determination to support soldiers returning to civilian life.

The gathering, which took place in the Council Chamber, was convened to establish an active County Westmeath branch of the Army Benevolent Fund. The meeting was presided over by the county manager, Mr A G McGeeny, and was attended by a wide cross-section of clerical, civic and military figures.

In his address, Mr McGeeny said the purpose of the fund was to assist members of the Defence Forces who were leaving and returning to civilian life. While the government had treated them fairly generously through gratuities and employment schemes, he said there would inevitably be cases where additional help and sympathetic treatment would be required. He told the meeting that the men of the army “deserved well of the people of this country”, adding that it was thanks to their bravery that Ireland had been left comparatively free from the ravages of war.

Mr McGeeny also drew attention to the economic benefit Mullingar had gained from the presence of a large military garrison during the Emergency. At its height, he said, the garrison numbered about 1,200 men over a period of five or six years, an investment he estimated had brought at least £2,000 a week into the town. In light of that contribution, he said it was only right that the town and county should now support the Army Benevolent Fund, which was being organised to meet the needs of former soldiers as they returned to civilian life.