Liamy to give talk about growing up in Westport in the 1970s
Liamy MacNally will speak about Westport in the 1970s at the Plaza Hotel on March 24th.
Westport Civic Trust hosts a talk in the Plaza Hotel on Tuesday, March 24th, at 8pm on ‘Growing up in Westport in the 1970s’ by Liamy McNally, a native son of Westport. Admission is free to members and school pupils, €5 for everyone else.
Westport in the 1970s was a far cry from ‘the best place to live in Ireland’. Prospects were limited even with several small factories and businesses in the area. Jobs were usually for life. Time was BC – before coffee and before computers! Yet, it wasn’t all bad - The Tea Cosy existed as did two cinemas, Pake’s and The Ideal. The town had two dancehalls, The Pavie and The Starlight, with many more within travelling distance. It also had a few hotels and Belclare House Hotel even had a swimming pool!
The flotsam from the 1960s was being washed ashore across Ireland. We had a ‘hippy’ experience! There was Gaelic football, soccer and rugby. Golf was for the grown-ups. Handball was for the brave. And you dare not miss the annual mission when pent-up Redemptorists pounded pulpits, bodies and souls. There was no choice but to go on living and partly living. And that’s what everyone did in Covietown.
Liamy Mac Nally is a freelance journalist based in Westport. He previously worked in BBC Three Counties Radio and Midwest Radio in Mayo. He has made several award-winning radio documentaries, including (with colleague Teresa O’Malley), (on the Corrib Gas story) and (with Ronan Kelly, RTÉ Doc on One). Liamy writes a regular column, De Facto, with the .
Under the CPR (Covie Publications and Recordings) imprint, Liamy supports book publishing, with over fifty titles published to date by various authors. He also works part-time in an administrative role with the Association of Catholic Priests.
He is also completely devoted to his Áit Dhuchais and uses every opportunity to promote Westport at home and abroad. Liamy featured in the recent Sky Arts , where he welcomed the winning artist, Kim Day, to the town. He also features in promotional videos for the Wyatt Hotel where he highlights aspects of the local heritage and culture. He is very involved in organising local festivals such as Féile Mac Gréil and Covie Week.
