Forgotten era of dinner dances

THE 1970s was the era of dinner dances, writes Tom Gillespie. Hotels across Mayo did a thriving business most nights of the week, with the exception of maybe Monday.

GAA clubs, in particular, led the charge with such celebrations, which became annual events, up to the early 1980s.

In Castlebar, Paddy Jennings’ Travellers Friend Hotel (TF) catered for such events, as did the Welcome Inn Hotel, under the watchful eye of Luke and Tom McHugh, and Una Lee’s Breaffy House Hotel.

The two main political parties in the county town, Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), also held such celebrations, each confined to their particular hotel - FF in the Welcome Inn and FG in the TF.

The adjoining photograph of this group of FF stalwarts was taken by Derek Mandel in the Welcome Inn. I recall that I attended that function and the photo was taken in the front bar before the group retired to the adjoining ballroom for the sit-down meal and the mandatory party political speeches.

Among the group is a young Padraig Flynn, at the rear right, a member of Mayo County Council at the time, and before he stood successfully for the Dáil in the 1977 general election, which proved a landslide for Fianna Fáil with the promise of the abolition of household rates, a much regretted move as we have all witnessed since the water and household charges debacle.

Also in the photo is the Minister for Justice, Michael O Morain (Mick Moran), fourth from left, who was the guest speaker on the night.

I was just a young reporter then with The Connaught Telegraph when I was dispatched with Derek Mandel to cover the function.

I recall the occasion vividly for one reason only. After I wrote down the names for the caption of those in the photograph for Derek, Tom McHugh, sixth from left with the glasses, slipped me a ten bob note, a small fortune in my eyes.

Tom McHugh was a leading building contractor in Castlebar and was father of the late Tony McHugh, a legendary developer who changed the face of Castlebar, and of Ann who runs Magoo’s shop at Newantrim Street.

There was not a great variety, food wise, on the menu at these functions.

The starter was usually soup and in the Welcome Inn Hotel there were seconds and often third helpings as the waitresses went from table to table with large jugs of piping hot soup.

The main course was inevitably turkey and ham. Again in the Welcome Inn, the same waitresses carried large trays of mashed potato to put on the plates of hungry guests.

The same fare was on the menu in the TF where guests sat down in the balcony, while in Breaffy House Hotel they occupied the ballroom.

At both the political and the sporting dinner dances there were spot prizes galore and bottles of spirits of all shapes and makes adorned the stage and were liberally handed out to those on the dance floor by the master of ceremonies.

Usually he asked for the first person to the stage - with a pair of nylons over his arm. This required the male of the dancing couple to lift his partner with her legs over his arm and present her at the stage.

Another call was for the first lady to the stage wearing her partner's coat, inside out.

It was most unusual to see any of the alcohol spot prizes being consumed at the functions as they were always taken home.

Another novelty back then was the distribution of party hats, and looking back in old Connaughts of that era, pictured in black-and-white were couples with ridiculous pointy hats with streamers hanging out of them.

Another thing I recall was that all of these dinner dances were timed to commence at 8.30 p.m. and we were always sitting down by 9 p.m.

This was a boom time for local bands who could be out five or six nights a week from November to the beginning of Lent, when, under the strict Catholic Church regime, all dancing and such like functions were taboo.

One of the most popular and eagerly awaited dinner dances among the local journalists was the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) functions. These attracted huge attendances and one I remember was staged in the Royal Ballroom at the TF, such was the crowd in attendance.

Likewise, the spot prizes here were generous and plentiful, and we seldom went home empty-handed.

Before I joined The Connaught Telegraph and while in St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar, I worked part time in the TF as a waiter, both in the bar, the ballroom and at functions.

One event, the prestigious Mayo Hunt Ball - I think it was on a New Year’s Eve night - was a posh dress affair. Before the guests sat down a pony was paraded through the ballroom, much to the admiration of all these present.

Because of the huge attendance, all waiting staff, both male and female, were on duty. We were instructed to get the soup course to the tables as quickly as possible.

The steaming hot liquid was brought down from the main kitchen upstairs to the snack bar in the ballroom from where we dished it out, each waiter carrying at least three plates - many was the burned thumb we suffered.

On that occasion, Houston Wells and the Premier Aces Showband provided the music and among the band members was legendary trumpeter Johnny Carroll.

 

* Pictured at a Fianna Fáil function in the Welcome Inn in the early 1970s were (from left): John Kennedy, John Hynes, John Jordan, Minister Mick Moran, Mark Sheridan, Tom McHugh, John Joyce, Padraig Flynn and Councillor Willie Cresham. Photo: Derek Mandel