'That beats Banagher and Banagher beats the devil'

Two local historians have collaborated to create a new lavishly illustrated book exploring the meaning behind the regularly used phrase 'That Beats Banagher! and Banagher Beats the Devil!

The book was written by Kieran Keenaghan, a retired businessman and engineer living in Banagher, and James Scully, a retired primary school teacher originally from Tullamore, and now living just outside of Banagher in Clonfert, Eyrecourt, County Galway.

The book, designed and printed by the Guinan brothers, Ciarán and Diarmuid, at Brosna Press, Ferbane, explores the Banagher phrase that dates back to 1787 and how history formed the saying which became a humorous expression of amazement used since all around the country, throughout Britain and across several continents.

The story begins when the borough of Banagher, a legal entity distinct from the town and surrounding lands, was sold for £10,500 in1787, which would be the equivalent of £2 million today. From 1629 to 1800, the Irish Parliament included representatives from 117 boroughs each of which could elect two members. Gradually during the eighteenth century the borough of Banagher fell under the control of the Holmes family. Peter Holmes was one of the two Banagher M.P.’s from 1761 to 1787.

In 1785 Francis Grose published A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The phrase He Beats Banaghan was listed among the entries in this book. This colloquialism was explained as follows: An Irish saying of one who tells wonderful stories. Perhaps Banaghan was a minstrel famous for dealing in the marvellous.

Just two years later in 1787 a series of extraordinary events took place. The political borough of Banagher, King’s County now County Offaly, was sold by Peter Holmes to James Alexander of Caledon, County Tyrone. Within a matter of months Alexander swapped his newly bought borough for that of Newtownards, County Down with John Ponsonby, of County Kildare. A simple, clean swap with no grubby financials and the deal was done!! Such unheard-of shady dealings gobsmacked the political classes and soon with a slight tweak gave rise to the parliamentary quip That Beats Banagher! and Banagher Beats the Devil! particularly whenever similar political impropriety arose.

Within a few short decades the phrase was appearing in newspaper articles relating to strange or humorous events throughout the world.

When Daniel O’Connell espoused it in the 1830s and 40s it gained widespread currency, often preceded with the preamble ‘….. as O’Connell himself would say…’. Thanks to Mick Feeney’s regular feature in the Evening Herald called That Beats Banagher in the 1970s, the idiom took on a new lease of life. The arrival of the Barry’s Tea Christmas Radio advertisement in 1994 consolidated its currency by giving it an annual boost during the twenty-day build-up to Yuletide. In the 90-second-long soundscape masterpiece, the expression is spoken twice. The advert is played at peak listening times with the result that the foreseeable future of the idiom is guaranteed.

The phrase has endured for over two hundred years. Now it is your turn to ensure it will live on into the distant future by making unabashed usage of it. This book which will also serve as another welcome boost for the humorous phrase, will be launched on Friday, June 27, by sports historian and commentator Paul Rouse in the Crank House, Lower Main Street, Banagher at 5.30pm. The authors invite everyone interested to come along and show their support. The book will retail at € 20 and will be in most local newsagents outlets from Saturday next June 28. Beannchor Abú!