Fr. Benny in the newsroom
By Tom Gillespie
THIS photograph is 46 years old this month. It was taken in the old upstairs newsroom of The Connaught Telegraph on Cavendish Lane, Castlebar, in June 1974.
It was shortly after the ordination of Fr. Benny McHale, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack McHale from Marian Row in the town.
Prior to his ordination Benny had been a journalist with the Telegraph, having been taken on by Bernie Gillespie who had an eye for the makings of a budding reporter.
Under editor John McHale (no relation), Benny was an integral part of the newsroom, specialising in sport.
GAA was his forte and Benny had been a member of the successful Mayo minor team who took All-Ireland honours in 1966.
Derry entered the championship as defending champions, however they were defeated by Down in the Ulster final.
On September 25, 1966, Mayo won the championship following a 1-12 to 1-8 defeat of Down in the All-Ireland final. This was their third All-Ireland title overall and their first title in 13 championship seasons.
The members of that Mayo team were: E. Rooney, S. Hughes, T. Snee, B. Meenehan, G. Nevin, T. Cafferkey, B. McHale, S. O'Dowd, A. Joyce, J. Timoney, T. Fitzgerald, D. Griffith, P. Glavey, J. Smyth, A. Kelly. Sub: S. Kilbride.
Ironically, that Sunday in September 1974 was the first and last time I was in Croke Park.
I was there to support Benny who lived just three doors from me in Marian Row, he being in number 12 and our house being number nine. And I also knew Gay Nevin from Brize, Claremorris.
I remember standing on an embankment at Mons Terrace, Castlebar, close to where the entrance to Davitt House is today, the following night as a huge crowd of supporters gathered to welcome the heroes home.
Twenty-one years later (1995) I met goalie and Kiltimagh native Eugene Rooney in his pub, The Irish Pub, on 7th Avenue.
When I joined The Connaught Telegraph in August 1968, Benny was already on the staff and I believe it was Bernie Gillespie who encouraged him to go for the priesthood, and on the day of his ordination Bernie was as proud of Benny as if he was his own son.
Back then John McHale and Bernie Gillespie were correspondents for the national newspapers. So being the cub reporters, Benny and I had the daily task of phoning in the copy to the Dublin newsrooms.
In today’s electronic age this can be achieved in seconds through the internet. But back then we had to firstly ring the operator and request a reverse charge call to the particular newspaper. In due course the operator would ring you back and say you were through to the requested number.
Once connected you requested to be put through to a copy-taker who typed up the story as we dictated it to her, breaking it into paragraphs and telling her when you were quoting someone.
Then you had to start all over again and ring the next newspaper.
It was a seven-day week requirement as we filed stories to the Irish Press, Evening Press, Sunday Press, Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent, Cork Examiner, Evening Echo, Irish Times and the Daily Mirror.
There was a tiny office just outside the door of the newsroom where a phone was connected and from where we rang in the reports. There was just room for one person and it was freezing in winter, so much so that I used to go to the phone box in the Kingsbridge Inn, the Sunflower or the Cobweb bar for a bit of comfort and heat.
It you wanted to file a story that was not time dated we would send them, often with an accompanying photograph, in the post.
Once Benny went to study for the priesthood I was left with this onerous task, later to become correspondent myself for the Irish Press Group until its demise in 1995.
As a cub reporter, dictating the various stories gave me a great insight into journalism and it was a tremendous training ground for further advancement in the profession.
One of Fr. Benny’s first Masses was for the staff of the Connaught and it was celebrated in the newsroom, with the altar being on Fr. Benny’s former desk.
Our boss Tommy Gillespie gave instructions that the newsroom was to be in a suitable condition to host the celebration of Benny’s Mass.
Any 'offending’ photographs or calendars were to be removed from the walls, even though they had been all in place during Benny’s sojourn in the office.
With the newsroom in pristine condition the journalists - John McHale, Bernie Gillespie, John Melvin, Tom Rowley and myself - adjourned to nearby Padraig Flynn’s Sunflower lounge for a few pre-Mass tipples and returned for the appointed time to greet and congratulate Fr. Benny.
After Mass, and as it was Friday afternoon, all the staff were taken out by management to mark the auspicious occasion.
Fr. Benny is now based in Athenry and is highly noted for his insightful sermons.
* Pictured, at back, from left: Tom Rowley, Tom Courell (Western People), P.J. Hennelly, John Melvin, John McHale, Sean Rice (Connacht Tribune), Bernie Gillespie, Joe Bradley, Tom Gillespie, Joe Redmond, Johnny Mee, Todd Bourke, John Jordan and Frank Burke. At front: Dick Gillespie, Joan McDonnell, Fr. Benny McHale, Mary Sweeney, Chris Bourke, J Mee and Tommy Gillespie. Photo: Tom Campbell