Swinford - the town

After I escaped from the Airbnb on Sunday, August 4, we spent time in Swinford (known historically as "Swineford"), County Mayo, population approximately 1,400. Matt's paternal great-grandfather Thomas Gallagher was born here in 1866 (d. 1944), AND Matt's maternal great-great-grandmother Bridget Stenson was born here in 1842 (d. 1925). In addition, Thomas Gallagher's parents both had the surname Gallagher before marriage, so we figured any Gallaghers discovered here, living or dead, would be related to Matt.

We ate breakfast at the Gateway Hotel on Main Street (was Market Street; this is also where we ate dinner the night before). We had hoped to stay here, but there were no rooms available during the dates we were in the area. It turns out that there is a huge festival held in Swinford every year during the first week of August (Siamsa Sráide Swinford, aka Fun in the Streets of Swinford), and this year is the 250th anniversary of Swinford, so there are even more events and festivities going on than usual.

The hotel also had some old photos that turned out to be perfect for our research. For example, the main streets are named Bridge, Main, and Market, which was confusing, because we knew the Gallaghers were shoemakers who had a shop (that they probably lived above) on Market Street and then on Barrack Street. Then we saw this photo, which says, "A view of Swinford Square c. 1900. Main Street was then called Market Street; Market Street was called Chapel Street; and Bridge Street was known as Barrack Street":

The reason for the name change was that the Garda barracks moved to another location. This photo says, "'The Final Day at the old barracks.' Tim Byrnes removing the plaque from the Garda Barracks in Main Street Swinford Co. Mayo":

Here is Matt at what is now the intersection of Bridge and Main Streets, but was the intersection of Barrack and Market Streets:

Looking down Main Street (was Market Street):

Looking down Bridge Street (was Barrack Street):

A mural on the wall of a pub:

A statue on the corner of Bridge and Market Streets, dedicated "To the memory of the women who remained at home while their men sought work abroad during the mass emigration of the 1950s":

Another plot device, this time on the streets of Swinford!

Here is the office of the 250-year anniversary festivities. It was open, so we went in and talked to the people there (who weren't actually associated with the anniversary). A woman there was fascinated by Matt's story, and said she knows several Gallaghers in the area, "And they are all very nice people":

This building was part of the Swineford Workhouse. From workhouses.org.uk, it was "...built in 1840-42, [and] occupied a 6-acre site on the southern side of Barrack Street to the east of the town. It was designed to hold 700 inmates...It was declared fit for the admission of paupers on 30th November 1842 but did not admit its first inmates until 14th April 1846" (in other words, about 20 years before Thomas Gallagher's birth). The building is now part of a medical complex: