alway was always well-known for its great and wonderful characters. One of them was Michael Tuite, known as ‘Shoots’ by all who knew him. He was brought up near Artane in Dublin and later moved to Galway. Michael was a low-sized fun-loving man with a big moustache and glasses. Some people say he looked a little like the old actor, ‘Groucho’ Marx.
He delivered newspapers for a living cycling all over the town. Sometimes he carried a toy gun to point and pretend he was shooting at people he met along the way and this is how he earned his name. If he didn’t have the gun then his pipe was used and on other occasions he would use his finger to shoot at people. It always had the same effect and raised much laughter among both children and adults going about their daily business. He attracted a lot of attention and people old and young engaged him every time, many pretending to be shot or by shooting back at him.
He loved cowboy films and even in the cinema people weren’t safe as they could be challenged to a draw and children took full advantage of the fun. An imaginary gunfight was always possible in the streets as he stood facing his opponent in a cowboy stance ready to go for his gun. All challenges were accepted and you had to be extremely fast on the draw, as his speed as a gunman was legendary. As in the old west when his repetition grew so did the challengers and no one was refused a chance at beating the fastest gun alive. He was sometimes banned from attending the cinema when cowboy films were being shown. This was not really a reflection on the man’s behaviour, but rather he was too much of a distraction to the audience.
Shoots was respected by all who knew him. There were many stories told about him and this is one of them. On 29 June 1963, President John F. Kennedy arrived in Galway. President Kennedy was greeted by Councillor Paddy Ryan, Mayor of Galway. He was presented with the Freedom of Galway at Eyre Square by Mayor Ryan. After the ceremony, President Kennedy was to travel to Salthill. Thousands of people lined the streets. People all along William Street were attracted by the loud cheering and applauding coming from Shop Street. It was non-stop like a ‘Mexican wave’ and they thought that President Kennedy was coming from the opposite direction. The reason for all the applause and cheering soon became apparent. It was for Shoots who came cycling up through the streets on his ‘High Nelly War-bike’ shooting at the hundreds of people lining both sides of the road.
On another occasion, Shoots went to visit a friend in the hospital. There was a fifteen-year-girl in the same ward that Shoots was visiting. She was after having an appendix removed. As Shoots entered the ward, she spotted him and called out, ‘Hello Shoots’. He immediately dived behind one of the beds and began shooting at her. She roared out laughing, so much so, that the girl ‘burst’ her stitches in the process.
Shoots even graduated to using an imaginary machine gun in ‘drive-by’ shootings from his bicycle. This usually occurred outside cinemas where people were queuing up for films. Groups of youngsters would pretend to be falling to the ground with shouts of laughter echoing around the streets. These shootings had all the hallmarks of the gangster films that were sometimes as popular as the westerns. Shoots lived for a time on the premises of P. King, who had a grocery shop on Market Street. However, time and years took their toll on this wonderful man and eventually Michael ‘Shoots’ Tuite was sent to the County Home in Loughrea. He died there on 22 October 1971. His passing had a deep impact on the people of Galway as the city lost one of its greatest and best-loved old characters. He was a man who brought smiles and laughter everywhere, and brightened the day for everyone he met.