Irish Republican News · August 17, 2023

Petition to name Galway bridge after local rebel

A petition has been launched to name Galway’s latest bridge after one of the county’s forgotten republican heroes.

A completely new bridge has been constructed to provide a passage for cyclists and pedestrians across the Corrib, removing the need to use the narrow 200-year-old Salmon Weir Bridge just a few metres away.

The City Council is currently seeking a permanent name for the bridge, and a campaign has commenced to have it named after a significant revolutionary figure.

This relatively lesser-known figure is Julia Morrissey, who played a pivotal role in the Galway division of Cumann na mBan. In 1916, Morrissey led a contingent of 50 female volunteers during the uprising in Galway, which was supervised by Liam Mellows.

Mellows and Morrissey developed a close relationship after she became Mellows’ landlady upon his initial move to Galway. Their bond was so strong that when Mellows was executed in 1922, it’s believed that Morrissey never fully recovered from the loss.

By 1930, Morrissey found herself in a mental asylum in Ballinasloe and applied for a state pension, a benefit intended for veterans. However, her application was never approved.

She passed away in 1974 in Ballinasloe, and without any surviving relatives, she was interred in an unmarked grave for over four decades. It was only through the efforts of the ‘Relatives and Friends of Galway 1916’ group that a headstone was eventually erected for her.

Recognising her significant contributions, Ian Ó Dálaigh, a political and community activist with Éirígí, launched a petition on change.org, advocating for the forthcoming bridge to be named in her memory. Currently, the petition has garnered more than 1,300 signatures out of its goal of 1,500.

Ó Dálaigh stated that this would be “a modest (and long overdue) tribute to her essential role in the struggle for Irish freedom.”

He added: “March 2024 will mark 50 years since Julia Morrissey’s passing in Ballinasloe’s ‘mental asylum’. Let’s ensure that she is finally honoured in her native county before that time!”

To sign the petition, visit: https://tinyurl.com/23ftddv4

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