Drogheda 1953 - Sport and Recreation

Here in Drogheda Museum Millmount's archive collection, there are a vast amount of various different sources and artifacts relating to the town down through the years. One interesting piece I came across the other day was a souvenir guide to Drogheda from 1953 (as far as I can tell) published as part of "An Tóstal". These were a series of festivals held across the country in the 1950's, the original purpose of which was a celebration of Irish culture, with an emphasis on drawing tourists into the country during the Easter off-season, like our more recent "Gathering" Festival. There were regional parades, as well as various arts and sporting parades. Many towns also began a clean-up operation for the festival every year, which became the National Tidy Towns Awards. Begun in 1953, An Tóstal continued on until 1958 when it died out in most towns, except for Drumshanbo Co. Leitrim and more recently, beginning again in 2011 in Salthill, Galway.

The guide offers a bright picture of the cultural activities to be had in the town, many of which are still continued on today. The article is as follows:

                                                        Sport & Recreation

"Most of the sports and pastimes indulged in today in Ireland are to be found in Drogheda and its neighbourhood but it must be admitted that only in the spheres of Gaelic football, golf, and, at one time, rowing, has this district reached the highest standards.

Football:  In Drogheda and the neighbouring counties of Louth and Meath Gaelic football is easily the most popular form of field sport. The Gaelic Athletic Association was established in Drogheda in 1885. All kinds of difficulties were encountered in its early days. Lack of playing fields, lack of social influence, and interference from the ruling powers only served to make its members more enthusiastic, and today the G.A.A. is one of the most important organisations in the district. The splendid playing park it now possesses on the northern extremity of the town, and, which, in spite of its size, is scarcely large enough to accommodate the huge crowds that patronize some of the major games, is a sufficient testimony of the esteem the G.A.A. enjoys among the sport-loving public.

There is also a Rugby Football Club and a fair number of Association Football Clubs in the town but the general standard of play is not very high.

Golf:  There are two fine 18-hole golf courses in the vicinity of Drogheda, one on the north side of the river at Baltray, the other on the south side near Bettystown. The Baltray course, one of the best known in Ireland, is used for Championship events and some of the best golfers in Ireland, male and female, have learned to play golf there.


Rowing:  was at one time a foremost sport here and Drogheda crews have won the highest honours in the country. For many years past the standard of performance has fallen considerably but the annual regatta on the Boyne has been revived in the past few years and Drogheda crews may yet attain their former eminence. The Rowing Club was established in 1863 and its possessions include a good boat-house, with attached tennis courts, on the south bank of the river.


Other Athletic Games:  Running, cycling and field sports are not very prominent in Drogheda but a number of clubs in nearby rural areas engage in these activities. The summer game of tennis has a good number of devotees and a small cricket club also exists. In the winter season table tennis is very popular and handball and badminton have made progress in the last couple of years. There is also a very promising boxing club.


Cultural Societies:  The Gaelic League plays a big part in the social life of the town. Irish language and dancing classes are largely attended. Lectures and socials are frequently held. The annual Feis na Boinne is now an institution and always draws a big attendance. A number of drama groups exist in the town and give regular public performances which draw big audiences. A Choral Society and a Pantomime Group attract many of their own characteristic types of performers and also give periodic pleasure to a large section of the populace. A flourishing branch of Town Associates of the Irish Countrywomen's Association exists. The Archaeological Society has not many members in Drogheda but these few are genuine and enthusiastic adherents. The town possesses an excellent brass band which is a very decided asset to the town, as its valued services are readily available for large out-of-doors functions.


Indoor Non-Athletic Pastimes: include public lectures of popular interest, ballroom dancing, billiards, card games such as whist and bridge drives, and cinema going.


Horse Racing: Drogheda has not a permanent race-course of its own but many of the townspeople are attracted to meetings held within reasonable distance of the town, e.g. the Dublin meetings, Bellewstown, Laytown Strand, Navan and Dundalk. A minor one-day racing fixture organised annually for the past few years at Beamore on the south-western outskirts of Drogheda draws a huge crowd from the town, including many who never attend any other race meeting.


Hunting:  can be had in districts fairly adjacent to the town. The Louth Foxhounds hunt the district between Louth and Ardee. Some of the finest hunting country in Ireland is in Meath where the Meath Foxhounds, the Tara Harriers and the Ballymacad Foxhounds operate.


Freshwater Fishing: in the upper reaches of the Boyne for salmon and brown trout is good and can be obtained in certain sections at moderate charges. A District Angling Club is in vigorous being. Sea-fishing for bass gives good sport in the Boyne estuary but particularly at the Clogherhead pier in the summer months."

An Tóstal - Drogheda 1953

Following on from our sporting post, the very same An Tóstal guide offers a look at Drogheda at the time and certainly offers an optimistic view of life in 1953 in the article "Life in Old and Modern Drogheda - A Contrast":

"Coming to more recent times, letters and records of pre-Famine days tell of a busy town and crowded streets, men on horseback, four-wheeled carts, and the sailing ships passing in and out of the River Boyne on their paths of commerce. The town then housed more than 20,000 inhabitants, but in a much smaller area than the present population enjoys. Thousands were herder together in lanes and courts at the back of the main streets, in tenements and cellars, with surroundings dark and drear and sanitation of the most primitive type. Working hours were long, leaving scant time for leisure or play. The rewards of labour were small and scarcely sufficient for the necessities of life. The gulf between the working classes and the upper classes were very wide indeed.

The Drogheda of today has changed in many ways and mostly for the better. The town is prosperous and progressive. The establishment of several large new industries brought an enlarged labour market, and most of the youth of Drogheda can, if they so desire, find employment at home. The population is now about 16,000, an increase of 3,200 in the last twenty-five years, and is steadily rising. The housing of the people has been improved out of all knowledge. Open spaces outside the limits of the old town have been transformed into residential areas where our people live in a comfort undreamed of by their forefathers.

The ordinary citizen in this democratic age can elect local representatives who are prepared to give their time and energy to promoting the general welfare of all sections of the Community. Working hours are shorter and pay much better than formerly. There is more time for leisure and, though much of it is still spent unprofitably, signs are not wanting that many people are beginning to put their spare hours to good use. Most of the new houses have small gardens attached where the raising of vegetables and flowers gives gainful and pleasurable occupation. Evening classes in the Technical School are availed of to increase educational attainments and to attain proficiency in the arts and crafts. Local societies for the promotion of the drama, instrumental and choral music etc are steadily increasing. An excellent public library gives access to the pleasures of reading in all its branches, cultural, educational and recreational. A new Art Gallery and Museum containing the nucleus of a permanent collection has been established; periodic exhibitions of the works of well-known artists are held. A fine public park and the provision of playing grounds for children in the new housing schemes are also much appreciated amenities. Outdoor sports and games of all kinds cater for the physical well-being of the populace. Dancing and whist drives are popular forms of amusement and a couple of splendidly equipped cinemas offer occasional hours of light relief from the daily grind.

Modern advances in science have in a large way revolutionised the lives of the people. The provision of electric power has added immeasurably to the comfort of town and rural life, and to the productivity of our factories. Formerly very few people travelled more than a few miles from their places of habitation unless compelled by the stress of war or similar impetus. The advent of the railroad, the bicycle, the motor car and the 'bus has completely changed this. The workman can now live farther from his work, his bicycle or the bus takes him there easily and speedily. Clogherhead and Laytown are within easy reach on a summer evening after the day's work. A day in Dublin is now no novelty to a Drogheda man, such visits are a regular part of his life. The motorist can range much further afield. Day tours to places of interest are common place and most of our people have progressed beyond the Boyne Valley to the Hills of Donegal or the Glens of Antrim. The town is easily accessible to the rural population, their children can take more advanced educational courses in the larger town schools. Many Drogheda people live at home and travel daily to Dublin to work or to attend University.

In many other ways also the lot of the ordinary person has been improved with the passage of time. Educational facilities are now provided for all children. State and locally administered schemes attend to the health of both the adult and school going population. Drogheda is singularly fortunate in having excellent hospital accommodation, which caters not only for its own citizens but for the people for many miles around. Most of our industrial firms have excellent superannuation schemes for the workers with accompanying medical and health services. Poverty is very much diminished and the ministrations of the St. Vincent De Paul Society and other charitable organisations do much to mitigate its hardships. Undoubtedly in its social services Drogheda is both up to date and progressive.

Yes, Drogheda today is a prosperous, expanding town, its way of life is Christian and edifying; no wonder its people are in the main healthy, pleasant and cheerful."

A somewhat rose-tinted view undoubtedly; what is interesting is to compare then with now and count the differences, most noticeably in the employment and population figures!



Here also is a timely article about An Tóstal from thejournal.ie in April: http://www.thejournal.ie/an-tostal-1953-the-gathering-854877-Apr2013/