Galway Notes

The Tuam Herald, Saturday, April 21, 1923.

I am tempted to recur to Sir Henry Robinson's book "Memories: Wise and Otherwise" noticed last week. He tells an extraordinary story of a former Viceroy of Ireland, Lord Dudley, who was careless about money matters: —

One instance of his extravagance was told me by a member of his staff. Perceiving on getting out of bed at the Viceregal Lodge that his hair wanted cutting one morning, he ordered Truefitt (the fashionable London hairdresser) to be wired for. Next day his man told him Truefitt arrived by night—mail and wanted to get back to London by the evening boat. But Dudley said he had an important race at Kingstown and could not stop to have his hair cut, and Truefitt's man must wait until the next day. Next day he motored down to Meath, and on returning found that he had to go to London, and he was only just able to catch the boat, and had not time to think of Truefitt or his hair.

On arriving in London he observed, to his surprise that his hair still wanted cutting, so he had Truefitt summoned by telephone, and his hair was cut before he went out. Next day he returned to Dublin, and his man reminded him that Truefitt was waiting to cut his hair.

"Too late, too late," said Dudley; send him back to London. Why can't these people come when they are wanted!

One of his best stories is about the highly successful visit of King Edward. On arrival at Killary Harbour the royal party came ashore, looking very ill after an awful night at sea, but they were soon revived: —

The Oldest Inhabitant, thinking he could make his presence felt, shouted for three cheers for the King, when he suddenly realized that he did not know what his title was. However, he made a shot at it and roared out "Three cheers for King Henry the Sixth!" The populace were quite satisfied, and "Three cheers for King Henry the Sixth" was the cry all along the roads and on the mountain sides. The King did not understand this at first, and back??? to me, and asked me what the people knew about Henry VI, and when I explained that they thought that was His Majesty's title, he accepted the cheers with the usual acknowledgement.

Sir Henry once heard a speech by a lady who delighted in Blackening the British Army: —

I was at Belmullet one day and heard her making an oration on the coming downfall of England. "The Irish soldiers alone were brave men," she said; "The Scottish soldiers had a few brave men in their ranks, but the English soldiers invariably turned and ran whenever they faced the foe." "England is done," she continued, "she cannot defend her colonies. Russia will take India, France will take Australia, Germany will take Africa, America will take Canada" — but here there was an anti—climax. The doctor, who had just come in wet and dripping from the Innisken Islands, six miles off the coast, where he had detained all night, was listening to her, and he shouted out, "Look here, madam, I wish to God you could get Switzerland to take Innisken! Couldn't ye manage that, now, for us?

It was sometimes difficult to get at the truth in Sir Henry's days in Ireland. One old priest sent a letter to Mr. Gerald Butler, then Chief Secretary, declaring that his parishioners 'were subsisting entirely without food.' and Balfour sent Sir Henry to inquire: —

As I was in the district I called on the P.P. (parish priest), and asked him how his parishioners were getting on who were living entirely without food. "Well, it's a fact," he said; "terrible bad way". 'But what is keeping them alive?' I asked, "Nothing," he said, "but the memory of what yourself and Mr. Balfour are going to do for them". 'And how long will that keep them going?' I asked, "Not one day after Christmas," he assured me.

"send relief or coffins," was another dramatic effort on the part of a Galway priest to waken the Government to the necessity of relief works, and the effect of this portentous telegram would have alarmed the Government very much less then aid did had they seen the parish priest taking it round the town and showing it with the utmost hilarity to his friends. This was told of the late Father O'Donoghoe, P.P., of Aran.