The first postcards of Athy were produced over 100 years ago. Using the Lawrence photographs taken in the
last decade of the 19th century these early postcards showed the
town unchanged as it was for many years past.
Of course, what has now become the iconic image of Athy, Whites Castle
and the adjoining Crom a Boo Bridge has proved to be the most popular postcard
image of the town. This was also the
case when the Valentine and the Eason postcard collection featuring Athy were
subsequently issued.
Over the years several local shopkeepers contracted to produce
postcards of Athy including James’s of Duke Street and Ernest O’Rourke Glynn
who had his premises at the corner of Woodstock Street and Duke Street.
Bernadette Gibbs who moved to Athy some few years ago and who is a
prominent member of the Athy Photographic Group has recently produced a number
of postcard images of Athy which are currently on sale. Her stunning photographs are a visual
reminder of the important, if somewhat limited building heritage we have here
in Athy. The Gibbs postcards will no
doubt, in time to come, be an important part of the photographic record of the
town or the ‘Marches of Kildare County’.
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