Where was Kelly's Lane in Rahoon Parish in 1850?

Sean:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I was looking at the 1837 OSI maps for Galway city  http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,529730,725606,12,9    I know Kelly's lane is in the West Ward of Galway city but i was unable to find it on the map.

Here is a link to the Galway library  http://www.galway.ie/en/services/library/galwaylocalhistory/    Send them an e-mail and I'm sure they can help you.

Have a great trip!

Roger McDonnell

Kelly's Lane, off Henry Street Galway city c1890 on OSI Map the street appears to have been renamed, and is now Saint Joseph's Avenue (google street view)

Also shown on the earlier c1840 OSI map but difficult to make out

Thank you, Roger and Shane!   What a wonderful website this is--and what wonderful answers--smack on point, solving my problem with just one go.  And thanks for the library web address; I am sure it will come in handy. 

And now I'm wondering--why did they rename the street?  Did the city fathers have anything against Kelly?  I'm reminded of my own address:  I live in a small development in Greensboro called Howard's Walk, on Retriever Lane.  I always thought, "How nice, the developer used to take his dog Howard (a retriever) for walks in this piece of land, before they cut down all the trees, and he named it after Howard."  I was very disappointed to learn that he actually named it after his (female) wife, Howard.  Well, maybe he took her for walks and threw sticks for her to fetch, too.

Hi Sean

The info below doesn't say why the name change happened, but is interesting nonetheless:

“On April 8th, 1911, a sworn enquiry was held by Mr. J.F. MCabe, Local Government Board Inspector, into the application of the Urban Council for a loan of £6,520 for the erection of 40 artisan or working class houses in Henry Street and Kelly’s Lane. A plot of land of two acres in Kelly’s Lane and Henry Street was to be sold by a Mr. Seddle to the Council for £475 upon which the houses would be built at an estimated cost of £140 each. The Houses were to be two-storey cottages, with a kitchen and bedroom at the back, and two bedrooms overhead, porch and shelter to back door, a w.c., a small yard and water supply through a 3” main in the back yard. The yard was to be 14 feet in depth and the width of the house”.

This Connacht Tribune report also informed that the Town Engineer, Mr. Billy Binns and the Council medical doctor noted the dreadful condition of the houses in the area at the time, many had collapsed and the place was almost a ruin. Mr. McCabe’s enquiry resulted in the loan being sanctioned to the Council. Tenders were sought and the successful applicant was Herbert McNally who proposed to build the 40 cottages at a total cost of £5,910. It was proposed that the new street at Kelly’s Lane be renamed St. Joseph’s Avenue and that the new houses to the rear of Henry Street be called St. John’s Terrace. The rents were fixed at 3/3 per week for Henry Street and 2/9 for the remainder. The rent collector selected the tenants giving priority to those with large families.

The Council took over the new houses in July 1914 when they were satisfied that all conditions on the contract were complete. The tenants moved into their new homes, the number of which had by now been expanded from the original 40 to 75, the last remaining six houses being named St. John’s Place. The residents settled in and quickly developed a sense of community. Most of the girls went to school in ‘The Pres’ or Claddagh N.S and the boys went to ‘The Mon’ or Claddagh N.S. Many went on to attend Greally’ Commercial College or the Technical School. The kids played their games of Cad, marbles, Hop-step-and-jump and skipping on the streets as there was very little traffic. Our delightful photograph, courtesy of Christy Hession, captures the traffic-free environment in which the kids grew up."

Taken from ‘The West’ 100 Years'

http://www.kennys.ie/news/west-100-years-02-10-2014/

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support 

My ancestrors lived in Kellys lane,Munsters lane and Henry st in Galway city i did presume some of them were in caravans at the time. 

What was your grandfathers name? i know some of my family emigrated from here to the same place roughly around the same time.