Architect and engineer, of Dublin and Galway. Michael John Tighe, a son of John Malachi Tighe, of Dublin, and his wife, Honoria Burke, was born on 9 June 1864 at his father's house, 8 Belvedere Place. After serving his articles with WALTER GLYNN DOOLIN WALTER GLYNN DOOLIN from 1883 to 1887, he was employed as a draughtsman by Boland's bakery and others and, from 1890 to 1893, as a first-class draughtsman in the Royal Engineers department. In 1893, having successfully sat a competitive examination, he joined the staff of the Board of Works as an assistant surveyor. This did not prevent him from applying - without success - for the post of Dublin City Engineer in December of the same year. He worked initially in Dublin, but by 1901 he had been posted to Galway, where he remained until his retirement in 1927. After his retirement he practised privately in Galway in partnership with an engineer named J. Moran, possibly JOHN PATRICK MORAN.& JOHN PATRICK MORAN.& #160; According to his obituary in the Irish Times he designed 'several schools and churches in and around Galway' in this period. In June 1935 he moved to Malahide, Co. Dublin, though he still continued to visit the office of Tighe & Moran in Galway every week. He died in a home Malahide on 21 November 1936 from the after-effects of having been knocked down by a car two months earlier, and was buried in Malahide cemetery. He had married Anna, daughter of George Ball, of Clontarf in 1901 or 1902 and at the time of the 1911 census had two sons and a daughter. His elder son John Vincent Ball Tighe (1904-1974) was a mechanical engineer, who, from 1925 to 1828, was on the staff of Siemens Bauunion, sub-contractors for the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme, and, from 1928 to 1964, worked for Shell in Ireland.
Tighe is described by his obituarist in the Irish Builder - probably HARRY ALLBERRY - HARRY ALLBERRY - as a man of 'sound judgment, of complete sincerity and of considerable architectural attainments, one who retained even during the most strenuous periods of his official career, that sense of humour that alone can combat sustained pressure of work…who, avoiding publicity of any kind, quietly pursued many notable architectural, antiquarian, and literary activities'. According to his obituary in the Connacht Sentinel, he was writing a history of Galway at the time of his death. He was also involved in amateur dramatics and was the author of a play about the Lynch family of Galway, which was produced in America. From 1905 he was honorary secretary of the Galway branch of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
AAI: elected member, 1896; vice-president, 1899-1901; reads paper, 'Naples & Pompeii', 7 January 1908; ceased membership, 1929.
RIAI: elected member, 1898; raised to fellow, 1924, having been proposed by THOMAS JOSEPH BYRNE THOMAS JOSEPH BYRNE , GEORGE PATRICK SHERIDAN GEORGE PATRICK SHERIDAN and HARRY ALLBERRY. HARRY ALLBERRY.
RSAI: elected member, 1 October1901, having been proposed by PATRICK JOSEPH LYNCH PATRICK JOSEPH LYNCH ; fellow, 1907.
Galway Historical & Archaeological Society: vice-president, 1923.
Addresses: 8 Upper Sherrard Street, 1895-1896; 8 Belvedere Place, Dublin, 1898-1900; Hillside House, Galway, 1901-1903; Merville, Galway, 1907; St Anne's, Maunsel's Road, Galway, 1931; The Cottage, Sea Park, Malahide, at time of death.
See WORKS.
References
All information in this entry not otherwise accounted for is from the obituaries of Tighe in IB 78, 28 Nov 1936, 1064, and the Connacht Sentinel, 24 Nov 1936, and from Thom's and Post Office directories and Jones's transcripts from the former. Details of his early career are from IAA, RIAI office archives (Acc. 93/136), membership forms 1878-1909 (extremely fragile). Tighe appears in a group photograph of members of the AAI circa 1900 which is reproduced in IB 69, 15 Oct 1927, 759.
Information from Michael Ball Tighe, grandson of Michael John Tighe (2009) and www.familysearch.org
Jones transcripts from OPW records in Jones file T32a.
Irish Times, 5 Dec 1893.
A partnership named Tighe and Moran was practising from the Munster & Leinster Bank Chambers, Galway, in 1936.
Information from death certificate, where Tighe's age is given as seventy-two; on his 1911 census return, however, Tighe gives his age as forty-four.
From lists of members and past office bearers in AAI Green Books.
IB 50, 11 Jan 1908, 5.
Thus in RIAI membership lists; however his name does not appear on the list of members for 1899.
JRIAI (1925), 7; RIAI council(?) meeting minutes, 2 Jun 1924.
JRSAI 31 (1901), 443.
JRSAI 37 (1907), 317.
Galway Archaeological & Historical Journal 13 (1923-24), 64; Tighe's death is recorded in the same journal, Vol. 17 (1936-1937), 186.
RHA Index, III, 210.
JRSAI 31 (1901) and 33 (1903), lists of members.
JRSAI 37 (1907), list of members.
IB 73, 18 Jul 1931, 646; information from Michal Ball Tighe, as above.
Information from death certificate.
