Red Sails in the Sunset, Way Out on the Sea
The distinctive triangular red sails of the Báid can be seen replicated in Galway city's signature fountain, by Eamon O'Doherty, in Kennedy Park. The Hooker class of boats actually covers the Bád Mór, the Leathbhád, the Gleoiteog, and the Púcán, but is usually taken to refer to the Bád Mór.
We are indebted to Dr. Bodamer Jürgen, of West Coast Equine, Athenry, for these wonderful photos.
Last Sunday, the first of May, saw a magnificent display of traditional Connemara sailing craft in Salthill at the revived An Tóstal festival.
Pride of place among the Currachaí, Gleoiteoga, Leath-Bháid, went to the majestic Húicéirí, pictured here. The famous Galway Hookers have a great deal in common with the Connemara ponies – what the ponies brought along the roads, the Hookers brought by sea. They were developed for the strong seas off Ireland’s Atlantic coast, and specialised in bringing Galway turf west to the Aran Islands and south to Co. Clare, where bogs do not exist. The boats often brought limestone on the return journeys, to help fertilize Connemara’s acidic soil.
Like the ponies also, the Bád Mór Hookers went out of fashion in the fifties, when roads were improved and lorries handled freight requirements more efficiently. It wasn’t until the late seventies that Hookers made a comeback as leisure craft, and they are now, happily, a far more common sight at festivals throughout the Summer months. A further note of interest for our American readers – the Irish of Boston built hookers there, which became known as Boston Hookers, Irish Cutters, or Paddy Boats.
