Galway: Hags, Hangs and Hookers

Now, I know what you're thinking... Hags, Hangs, and Hookers. What sort of a place am I in right now? Well, let me speak frankly, you're dead wrong if you've got the wrong impression. Today I spent a few hours at the Galway City Museum, and boy, did I learn some new things about the right kinds of Hags, Hangings and Hookers!

Hags:

The Harvest Knot and two Cailleach

These lovely hand woven "hags," or Cailleach (Cahl-e-ah) are a festive tradition in eastern Ireland. Hags, better known to us as witches, hold a place in traditional Irish mythology. It was once thought that witches possessed livestock or animals, or that they simply shape-shifted into an animal form. During the last harvest, the farmer and shepherds would drive their flocks from one paddock to another, causing the disguised witch to flee in fear of being found. To signify that the farmer had finished his final harvest, and rid his flock or land of the witch, he would weave a Cailleach out of the final pieces of wheat from his harvest and hang the finished Cailleach above his door. The woven piece on the left is called a Harvest Knot, and it was given to a lover as a sign of endearment or to a good friend for good luck. 

Hangs:

Original Lynch's Castle with Lynching Window

Not to be confused with the (in)famous Irish Hanger sandwich, Galway hosts a very (in)famous hanging of its own. In the seventeenth century Galway's mayor was a man by the name of John Lynch, who also happened to be a judge. Lynch's son was engaged to be married to a young woman, but she fell in love with a visiting Spaniard before the nuptials. As to whether or not the young Lynch son realized his fiancee was flirting with someone else is debated, however, the facts are these: the young Lynch and the Spaniard went out one day to play a friendly Gaelic game and the Spaniard was killed at the hand of young Lynch. Now, young Lynch's father was in a sticky situation. As a judge he had to uphold justice, as the mayor he could easily save his son, and as a father he would never want to see his son hanged. However, being a figurehead and a staunch believer in justice, Judge Lynch tried and sentenced his son to death by hanging for the murder of the Spaniard. The hangman of Galway refused to hang young Lynch, as most people believed the incident to have been an unfortunate accident (he was probably also afraid that Lynch would regret his decision and blame the hangman later), making the hanging unnecessary and wrongful. Thus, Lynch himself, was forced to carry out justice and hang his own son from the third window of the Lynch Castle (now home of the Galway branch of the Allied Irish Bank). The original wall of Lynch's Castle still stands, with the (in)famous window displayed, outside of the St. Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway City. 

Hookers:

A monument in Eyre Square depicting a traditional Galway Hooker

As all good cities located in harbors, Galway has many boats, though none so notable as the Galway Hooker. The Galway Hooker is an blanket term that describes four types of traditional sailing boat, used mainly by sea fishermen. The boats employ a vast line of baited hooks to catch individual fish, thus giving rise to the sailor nickname "hookers." As I stated before, there are four types of Galway Hookers, the largest is the Bád Mór at 25-44 feet in length. The second largest, called the Leath Bhád (half-boat) is about 32 feet in length. The smallest vessels, Gleoiteog and Púcán, are about 24-28 feet in length. The Galway hooker has a unique design which helps to differentiate it from other sailing vessels. There is always one main, large, four angled sail, that will be accompanied by either one or two smaller, triangular foresails attached to a single mast. The sails were either black or maroon in color. The vessels have sharp bows and curved sides which allow for efficient maneuvering in tricky waters. Today, Galway Hookers are not used daily except for tours and special events, although they remain a source of pride and identity for the harbor city and its residents, the Galwegians (I was informed today that residents of Galway like to refer to themselves as Galwegians). 

For more information on Galway Hookers or the Lynching Window please see the following links, as I used them to cross reference my own understanding:
http://www.claddaghboatmen.com/history.html
http://www.joeheaney.org/default.asp?contentID=760