The local Heritage Centre is currently holding an exhibition of
medieval texts which includes facsimile copies of the book of Kells and the
book of Lindisfarne. It follows on the very successful South Kildare Medieval
Festival which took place last Sunday week.
A most enjoyable event, the festival took place in the spacious public
spaces in the centre of Athy which commemorate Emily, the wife of the second
Duke of Leinster. Nearby is the site of
Athy’s Medieval Dominican Friary the remains of which no doubt lie underground
as yet undiscovered awaiting the day when its secrets will be laid bare.
A few days later I visited the Royal Irish Academy premises at 19
Dawson Street, Dublin to see some of the Medieval Manuscripts currently on
display. The Academy was founded in 1785
by Lord Charlemont to “advance the
studies of Science, Polite Literature and Antiquities”. Originally housed
in Grafton Street, Dublin the Academy moved to Dawson Street in 1852. It has
been responsible for much of the historical antiquarian research carried out
during the 19th Century and it was the first to acquire many of the nation’s
treasures which are now held in the National Museum. These treasures include the Ardagh Chalice,
The Cross of Cong and several medieval manuscripts, some of which are currently
on display. Most famous amongst these is the Cathach of Colmcille which we will
recall as the cause of dispute between Colmcille and St. Finnian when Colmcille
had a copy made of the original work.
The resulting feud was settled with the famous decision “to every cow its calf, to every book its
copy”. The Cathach is currently on
display in the Academy in Dawson Street and the oldest Irish manuscript written
about 600 A.D. is well worth a visit.
While I was there a number of other manuscripts were also on display
including the book of Ballymote which was written by various scribes towards
the end of the 14th century.
It contains genealogies of the principal Irish families and amongst much
else, a history of the early conquests of Ireland. A large volume of approximately 500 pages, it
contains an elaborate copy of the dinnsheanchas or the lore of famous places
which recounts legends about places in Ireland which were assembled in the 11th
and 12th centuries. These
accounts were generally to be found in verse and prose in a variety of medieval manuscripts. The dinnseanchas section of the book of
Ballymoate is elegantly written with each place name highlighted by an
elaborate capital. On the day I visited
the exhibition, the book of Ballymote was open to display two pages which
contain explanations of three place names in the Athy area. These were Maistiu lying between Athy
and Ballytore, Roiriu Í nUib
(Mullaghcreelan) and Mage Mugna lying in the Barony of Kilkea and Moone.
Another reason to encourage anyone with Athy connections to visit
the Academy in Dawson Street is the presence there of 28 busts of Roman
Emperors and other figures from the Capitoline Museum in Rome which were copied
by Simon Vierpyl in the 1750’s. Vierpyl, who was born in London in 1725, lies
buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Athy.
What connection he had with Athy I have not yet been able to confirm but
certainly the Church of Ireland records disclose that after he died on the 10th
February 1810, he was buried in St. John’s Cemetery. The burial record merely states that Vierpyl
was “father to Mrs. Feranges from the
Batchelors Walk, Dublin”. The
explanation for his burial in Athy may lie in the second marriage to Mary
Burrowes whose family had connections with counties Kildare and Laois.
The busts on display in the Academy were commissioned by Reverend
Edward Murphy who was tutor and travelling companion to Lord Charlemont who
bequeathed them to his master. His
descendents later presented the busts to the Royal Irish Academy in 1968 and
they are now to be seen in the Library in Dawson Street.
While in Dublin, you should also seek out other works by Vierpyl as
the National Museum has on display a marble bust of William the 2nd
Duke of Leinster which was executed by Simon Vierpyl. Decorative stone works in Dublin City Hall,
the Law Society Headquarters in Blackhall Place and a fascade of St. Thomas’s
Church in Marylborough Street are all examples of Vierypl’s legacy to the city
of Dublin.
If you get a chance within the next week, visit the exhibition in
the local Heritage Centre and also the outstanding original manuscripts on
display in the Royal Irish Academy in Dawson Street.
Finally this week I am showing a photograph of an Athy soccer team
with a number of club officials taken I believe in 1956. I can identify most of
those photographed but several remain unknown to me. Can any of my readers tell me the names of
the 15 men photographed and the occasion on which the photograph was taken 54
or so years ago?
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