Galbally archivist, Jim Fitzgerald, can call on a vast store of local historical material
A community leader of outstanding ability for several decades, Galbally’s Jim Fitzgerald is now devoting much of his time to developing a fascinating archive of local historical material.
His forte is, of course, social history by way of material, much of which was recoded on cine camera, and is now being uploaded online to view by not just locals in Galbally but also emigrants throughout the world.
Just like ‘Rolling Back The Galbally Years’, the photo feature which has aroused considerable interest amongst readers of the Vale Star over the past four months and more, Jim’s material opens a fascinating window to the past, while also providing an invaluable record for future generations.
Film footage from 1930s
Recent footage, originally recorded on 35mm film by Fr Peter Scanlan while home on holiday from USA in the mid 1930s, and given to Jim by Tim Ryan, has proven to be of exceptional interest on being uploaded to Galbally Community Facebook page.
The film features footage captured locally, including farmers saving hay in Ardrahan, Casey’s Public House, the priest’s house in Galbally, a car journey taking in the passage to Jimmy O’Donnell’s house, locals such as John Joe O’Brien and others from that era, as well as material filmed in Anglesboro and Killarney.
Of quite good quality, given that the footage is well over 80 years old, the value is further enhanced by an informative voice over commentary from Jim Fitzgerald.
That is, of course, just one of many items of note from the Galbally man who has also been the recipient of countless plaudits for a recent interview with John Joe Fahey, who availed of the opportunity to look back on over more than forty years of top class community work in Galbally.