Category: History

Patrick J. O’ Malley retired president of the Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labour, at one time was the most powerful labour leader in the city. He rose through the ranks to become regional director of the United Auto Workers, a post he held for 19 years until his retirement in 1968.
Mr O’ Malley of Fairview Park was admitted to Lakewood Hospital on Sunday with congestive heart failure and died there yesterday. He was 80 years of age. He was a farm boy, born in County Mayo, Ireland, who first saw trade unionism at work when he was a coalminer in England at the age of 17. Four years later he immigrated to Cleveland where his three sisters had preceded him.
Mr. O’Malley brought with him a brogue and a feisty temperament. Both diminished somewhat through the years. His style as a labour leader was marked by fairness and a give and take. If his temper flared, he was quick to make amends, a long time colleague said. He became a naturalized citizen Jan. 22nd 1932. He had been a member of the Irish Republican Army, fighting the English but did not like to talk about those early days.
His first job here was in the mailing room of The Plain Dealer. He told a reporter about being fired from that job, and three other jobs soon thereafter because of his quick temper. In 1928 he got a job with White Motor Co. as an inventory clerk and timekeeper. When the old CIO union organized there five years later, he was one of the first to sign up. That was the start of his long career in Labour. The union at White became local 32 of the UAW and Mr.O’Malley eventually held every office. He was Cleveland Federation of Labour president from 1958 –1968 on a part time basis. At his retirement as regional director of the UAW in 1968 he became the federation’s full time president.
Ironically, 1968 was the year the UAW withdrew from the national AFL-CIO and Mr O’Malley became a member of the International Association of Machinists to keep his eligibility for the top job, which he held through the early 1970’s. He had also been vice president of the Ohio AFL-CIO.
In his early days in Cleveland he played soccer for Celtics and marched in the back of St. Patrick’s Day parades, playing the bagpipes in a marching band. In 1959 he was grand marshal of the parade.
In 1964 he received the Civic Award from the Greater Cleveland Knight’s of Columbus and in 1968 was named Irish Good Fellow by the Irish Good fellowship Club. He had been on the boards of many civic and welfare groups and in 1970 was appointed foreman of the September term of the county grand jury. In 1967 he received the distinguished service award from the United Appeal of Greater Cleveland. After his retirement he served five years on the Fairview Park board of zoning appeals.
His wife of 53 years, Mary died in 1981. He is survived by daughters Patricia Ratty and Nancy Mc Namara, 10 grand- children and three great grand- children and three sisters, Mary Annie and Betty.
Service will be at 10 a.m. at St.Angela’Merici Catholic Church, 20970 Lorain Rd. Fairview Park.

To compromise is to doubt your own convictions, run the old adage and it’s one that Padraig Joyce might well have coined himself.
Padraig who ?
Sorry we should have said “Seoighthe”, for that’s how he was known the length and breadth of his beloved Achill ,that fair place that he worked so tirelessly for throughout an all too short a life.
“Seoigthe” was born in Mewillian, Currane in 1920. He was educated at Currane N.S. Coláiste Einde, Galway and St. Patrick’s teacher training college in Dublin. He was principal of Derreens N. S. from 1948 to 1982.
He had a consuming life-long interest in the Irish language, Irish culture and Gaelicgames.
Together, they were the aphrodisiacs that gave him such a zest for life, and outside his school and his family, he dedicated his life to all things Irish.
“Seoigthe” was a man of considered opinion, but having made up his mind on an issue, he was steadfast in his views. The logic that he brought to debate in getting his message across often caused ire among his opponents but was rarely successfully challenged. He had an abiding concern for Achill and it’s people and this concern led him to be a founder member of the Achill Civil Rights Association in 1970 and later to the setting up of Comhar Chumann Forbartha Acla. Both are worthy of special articles in themselves, what can be said with certainty is that “Seoighthe” never spared himself in his efforts to achieve the goals of both bodies.
Sport to him meant only one thing, the Gaelic Athletic Association. He had a distinguished career in the Association, first as founder member of Achill G.A.A.Club and long-term administrator, and later as President of the West ;Mayo G.A.A. Board and the Mayo Minor Board. As with all his commitments to his own community his service to the G. A. A. was voluntary and unstinting.
A man of literary bent, it was only natural that he should write. His skills in this area found expression in a book of short stories “Diabhal Smid Bhreige Ann”, published in 1981 by FNT/ Mayo News. He had a long and happy association with “The Mayo News”, contributing to the “Flashes from Achill” for many years. Happily that association continues through his daughter, Dereens School Principal Catherine Seoigthe. His son Micheál, now based in Dublin, was also a valued member of our staff for many years and was the first full-time Advertising Manager appointed with “The Mayo News”.
Pádraig died in 1987 after losing his battle against terminal illness. In an action packed life-time he achieved more than most of his peers and certainly contributed more.
He will always be remembered with fondness and affection at “The Mayo News” and our special centenary supplement would not be complete without this small tribute to him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

Before 1880 there was very little emigration from Achill. Male farm labourers simply moved to Eastern counties for seasonal work. They were hired at hiring fairs for the season.
There was a major increase in emigration after 1880. The reasons for this were high rents, failure of the potato crop and the arrival of better transport.
It was around the early 1880’s that migration to Scotland began. Workers walked 100 miles to Sligo and from there caught the boat to Glasgow. They worked for the potato farmers from June to November and then returned home. In later times transport by boat was provided from both Achill and Westport for seasonal workers. In 1894 a rail – line was developed to Achill, it took the workers straight to Dublin where they boarded the boat to Glasgow. In June 1911 2,100 workers left Achill to pick potatoes in Scotland, they were known as “tautie hokers”.
Achill people began to emigrate to the U.S.A. in the 1880’s. The construction of the Erie Canal was in progress at this time. It linked the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie which is one of the “Great” Lakes. Thousands of men including many from Achill were employed on this construction. The canal ended in Cleveland, Ohio and the workers settled there when the job was finished.
Today 30,000 names common to the Achill area are visible in the Cleveland telephone directories. These names are Gallagher, Lavelle, Mc Ginty, Sweeney, Mc Samara, Burke, O’Donnell, Corrigan, Joyce, Ferry, Catalan and many others.
In the early part of the 20th Century the older members of families and almost all fathers of families in Achill worked as agricultural workers in different parts of England. They returned home to Ireland in the winter months. Younger workers, women and teenage girls migrated to Scotland until the late 1950’s.
After World War 2 many Achill emigrants took jobs in the building industry and this has continued to the present day. These workers returned home to their families for short holidays in summer and at Christmas.
Since the 1960’s the pattern of emigration from Achill has changed. The main reason for this is education. In earlier times people left school after National School. Nowadays young people do not leave until they have completed their Leaving Certificate. Even then most do not emigrate. They move on to 3rd Level Education and are then available for a better variety of jobs. Many find jobs in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and indeed emigrate to such countries as Britain and Germany or some if they are lucky enough to obtain a visa, emigrate to the U.S.A. Few return to set up home in Achill, and as a result of this the population is declining rapidly.

Population of Achill 1911:  6,800
Population of Achill 1991:  2,800

Deaths in Achill 1995: 101
Births in Achill 1995: 8

A recent mini – census compiled by Loch Gael Community Group (Fast) shows the present population of the Currane Peninsula. It is divided into eight sections. Those sections are Pre – School 20 National School 97 2nd. Level 86 3rd Level 40 Employed 172 Unemployed 108 Housewives 81 Pensioners 166, giving a total population of 770 approx. However this does not include fathers or youths who are forced by unemployment to work overseas.