Galway's Claddagh the beginning of the end — The last days of the Claddagh

Galway Advertiser, April 29 1999

This photograph shows the beginning of the end of the old Claddagh, as roads and footpaths were being built into the village. By the late 1920s many of the thatched houses werein poor condition — not all of them, of course. Many were kept in immaculate shape. But in February 1927 plans were being drawn up to replace the old Claddagh with a new urban housing scheme.

Of 250 buildings surveyed, 51 were classed as 'poor' 60 were 'bad', and 106 were 'very bad' under normal housing conditions at the time. Cleaning and sanitation costs were high and eventually the medical officer for health declared the area to be unhealthy.

There was a lot of debate and argument about the knocking down of the old village, a great deal of opposition to it. Eventually building began, and by April 1932 95 houses had been erected at the cost of £34,000. Over the following years the remaining thatched houses were gradually replaced by rows of neat two—storeyed houses with gardens. The main section in the 'Big Grass' area was finally demolished when Mrs. Sarah Curran's house, the last of the old houses still standing, was demolished in 1938.

The next area to be built was on the Garra Glas — near where the fire station is, in spite of the following suggestion from a Dublin architect in 1944: "Garryglass —This little area adjoins the Claddagh and contains a small group of thatched cottages which are representative of the original Claddagh. The consultant hopes that the planning authority will give favorable consideration to the retention and preservation of this group as a folk centre. He does suggest that the cottages be inhabited but is of the opinion that, if preserved, it will more than pay for itself as a tourist attraction to the city."

Now, maybe that could be a Millennium Project?