Talk on Love, Death & Building Public Infrastructure in a Time of Cholera by Dr. Michael M. O'Connor

LOVE, Death & Building Public Infrastructure in a Time of Cholera - The Contracting Firm of Denis & Hugh Clarke, 1818-1834, is the subject of a talk to be delivered by Dr. Michael M. O’Connor to The Western Family History Association, Lackagh Parish Centre, Turloughmore, Co. Galway, on November 8.

When the cholera came to Galway in 1832, it is said that it entered through the port, with the first recorded death occurring on May 12. By the end of July, the number of recorded cholera-related deaths in the city had reached 452.

Castlebar lay approximately forty-seven miles to the north. It was only a matter of time before the disease made its way from Eyre Square in Galway to the Green in Castlebar, using the intermediate settlements as stepping-stones. By early June, the disease was ravaging Tuam; by mid-June, it had reached Ballinrobe.

For several years, newspapers chronicled the gradual progress of the disease from India, west across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

The Asiatic Cholera was first reported in Ireland in Belfast in March 1832. A highly contagious disease, cholera was utterly impartial on matters of class, religion and position.

Poverty, lack of cleanliness, absence of hot water, social interactions, the mass movement of migratory workers, military regiments and travelling beggars all conspired to assist in the spread of the disease.

The arrival of cholera coincided with a public building programme in Galway and Mayo. The contracting firm of Denis & Hugh Clarke completed the Castlebar Infantry Barracks in 1831 and was immediately awarded the contract for the Mayo County Prison in Castlebar.

Work on Tuam Cathedral and Galway Port and Docks followed shortly after.

The Clarkes wallowed in the success. By the late 1820s, the men had amassed significant personal wealth. Cholera changed everything.

The story of Denis and Hugh Clarke is one of stellar success, terrible loss and profound sadness. Dr. Michael O’Connor’s talk, ‘Love, Death & Building Public Infrastructure in a Time of Cholera’, tells their story.