Vernacular artefacts of another age

At no time in Irish history has interest in local history been so popular.  Here in south Kildare we can see everywhere around us the outlines of man’s work on the landscape or in the streets of our town.  I was reminded of this when I passed a jostle stone in Duke Street and later in the day as I opened the gate to my house in Ardreigh and looked over the Ha Ha at the nearby field.  The jostle stone and the Ha Ha are just two of the many man-made objects of a bygone age which are still with us today.

Duke Street, formerly St. John’s Street, has a number of jostle stones at the edge of buildings with entrances to what were once stables.  The jostle stones were positioned to deflect carriage wheels away from the building as they entered the passage way leading to the stables at the rear.

The Ha Has is a strange name given to a sunken wall or a ditch constructed to form a boundary without interrupting the view.  There is a Ha Ha at the end of my front garden facing into the adjoining field.  I wonder if there are any other examples of Ha Ha’s in or around Athy.

On the Carlow Road which I pass every day can be found a kissing gate.  The small gate swings within a circular cage so that only one person can pass through at a time.  Its construction was primarily intended to prevent animals having access to the railway line.  Your guess is as good as mine as to why it acquired the name ‘a kissing gate’. 

Nearby in front of Dukes Lodge is the only example I’m aware of a mounting block in Athy.  This is a large stone with steps intended to enable a not very agile person to mount a horse.

At the rear of the Town Hall one can still see the irons which once formed part of the town’s ouncel or scales.  In my young days I remember the weighbridge which replaced the ouncel and the small building used by the weighmaster Mr. Dempsey.  Farmers and traders selling goods by weight at the local market had to have those goods weighed at the ouncel. 

I have in previous articles referred to benchmarks.  These consist of a broad arrow with a horizontal line along the top indicating the exact height above sea level determined by the Ordnance Survey office.  The name bench mark comes from the surveyor’s angle iron which he used as a ‘bench’ or support for his levelling staff.  A book prize to the first ten persons to tell me the location of all the bench marks in Athy.

The town’s cock pit is perhaps one of the most interesting reminders of Athy’s past.  It was the subject of a previous Eye on the Past when I dealt with its history and eventual restoration in a cooperative action involving the building’s owners Griffin Hawe Ltd. and the late Niall Meagher, the then County Architect.  The cock pit is a very real reminder of a popular 18^th century sport which continued well into our time, despite being outlawed in 1849.

A further reminder of our past, this time in a name are the outlying townlands of Grangenolvin and Grangemellon.  The town ‘grange’ refers to an outlying farm belonging to a monastery or friary which was generally worked by lay brothers or hired labourers.  The Dominicans, whose Friary was in the area known today as the Abbey, were the owners of the grange lands which were taken over by Royalists supporters following the dissolution of the Irish monasteries in the 1540s.

Another place name steeped in history is Gallows Hill.  As the name implies it was the site of the public gallows where executions took place.  It possibly marks the site of the original manorial gallows of Woodstock Manor.  Capital punishment was usually performed in public from an early age, and generally in a prominent site at the entrance to the medieval village.  The offender was brought through the High Street, now Leinster Street, of the medieval town of Athy to Gallows Hill where after hanging the body was left on the gallows.  The number of offences for which hanging was prescribed increased enormously during the 17^th century.  Executions in public were abolished in 1868.

In nearby Castledermot is to be found in the grounds of St. James Church a hog back stone.  This recumbent stone with sloping sides lying on a grave gives the impression of a hogs back.  Hog back stones, found mostly in the north of England, are regarded by English historians/archaeologists as Saxon monuments of the 8^th and 9^th centuries.  The Castledermot stone is for some reason or other regarded as a Viking monument and offered as evidence of a Viking invasion inland as far as the south Kildare village.

Whatever the explanations we should never forget that local history is to be found not just in the man made artefacts of our town but in lives of the local people of our town and countryside.  It’s a subject I will return to again. 

Clem Roche and his World War I book

Volunteers to help with the work of the local Heritage Centre are always welcome.  The Centre, which this year received full museum accreditation from the Heritage Council, is limited in what it can do with the funds available to it.  Regrettably with only two part-time staff members and a number of volunteers it is not possible to keep the Centre open on Saturdays and Sundays.  A very substantial part of its annual funding comes from Kildare County Council, with admission charges making up the balance.  I am firmly of the view that admission to museums and heritage centres should be freely available but unfortunately because of current financial constraints a small admission charge must be imposed for the foreseeable future.

As I mentioned in a recent Eye on the Past there is huge interest in local history and the Heritage Centre has helped to engender a sense of pride in our own history and in our own town.  The part played in this by volunteers attached to the Heritage Centre must be acknowledged.  One of those volunteers is a young man who has worked tirelessly over the last few years to provide a genealogical research facility as part of the Heritage Centre’s contribution to the local community.  Clem Roche of St. Patrick’s Avenue has recently obtained a Diploma in Genealogy from University College Cork following the completion of his thesis ‘British Military Records 1881-1920 and Family History”.   He had earlier completed a classical studies course through the Open University and obtained a Batchelor of Arts degree. 

Clem’s interest in genealogy was first awakened by his search for details in the World War I army records of a relation of his, James Roche.  James was a native of County Clare who enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and was killed in action on 25^th August 1918, just a few weeks before the war ended.  Another County Clare relation of Clems, his grandfather Michael Roche, was a member of the First Western Division of the Freestate Army who was killed in Tralee on 22^nd August 1922.   His son, Patrick Roche, enlisted in the Curragh in 1938 and two years later he married Mary Carey of Nelson Street, Athy.  The young couple came to live in Athy in 1942 or thereabouts and were one of the first tenants of the Pairc Bhride housing scheme which was built in the early 1950s.  The Roche family soldier tradition was continued by Patrick’s son, John and Patrick, who served in the Irish Army for many years.

Clem’s research of both English and Irish army records for information relating to his own family members led him to investigate the records of Athy men who fought in World War I.  His research in that area has added enormously to the work of others in that field including Pat Casey of Bray, Co. Wicklow.  Clem’s concentration on the men from Athy and district has unearthed information previously lost to memory.  He has made that information freely available and has never failed to offer his services and the results of his search to interested parties.  He is one of several volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the years to make the Heritage Centre an institution of which the people of Athy and south Kildare can be proud.

On 11^th November next, the 98^th anniversary of the ending of the Great War, a new book outlining the men of Athy and district who died in World War I will be launched in the Heritage Centre.  It represents the fruits of Clem Roche’s research over several years and promises to add another layer of knowledge to our understanding of a period in our history which witnessed the loss of so many young Athy men.

Not all of the Heritage Centre’s volunteers are engaged in research.  Their primary role is to help the Heritage Centre staff in running the centre and to assist visitors in understanding the stories which lie behind the artefacts illustrative of Athy’s historical past. 

The Heritage Centre is on the brink of embarking on the next stage of its development and there is an urgent need for more volunteers to assist in its work.  If you feel you could help in advancing the town’s bid to make Athy a tourist stop-off destination, why not contact the Centre’s manageress Margaret Walsh.  She would be delighted to hear from you.

On Thursday, 29^th September the Castlecomer male voice choir will take to the stage in the Church of Ireland hall, Offaly Street in a concert organised by Athy Lions Club in aid of local charities.  Also appearing with their conductor, Dean Philip Knowles, will be the In Cantorium choir.  If the Taaffe family had not moved from Castlecomer to Athy when I was three years of age I would probably be on stage on Thursday as a member of the Castlecomer Choir.  My absence will surely make the evening all the more enjoyable.  Do support this latest Lions Club event.

The role of the local authority in the ecomonic, social and cultural regeneration of Athy

The role and functions of local authorities have evolved and changed enormously over the years.  Borough Councils were brought into existence, usually by royal charters, as in Athy, where the 1515 charter of Henry VIII provided for the annual election of a Provost  and the appointment of a Borough Council.  Its functions were largely confined to control of the local market and collection of market tolls to finance the building of town walls.  Control and power rested with the Earls of Kildare and their nominees, a position which was to remain until many Borough Councils such as Athy were abolished in 1840.  It was succeeded a few years later by Town Commissioners elected by property owners in the town.  Their functions were extended to include paving and street cleaning and were further added to during the course of the 19^th century.  Replaced by an Urban District Council in 1901 the Council as we knew it up to more recent years played an important part in the economic and social life of the town of Athy. 

As we approached the last decade of the 20^th century huge demands were made on Athy U.D.C. in terms of planning and economic development.  Those were the years of the Celtic Tiger, but even as other nearby towns were flourishing Athy began to feel the effects of several factory closures.  The shirt factory on the Dublin Road closed, followed by the loss of Peerless Rugs in 2001 and three years later the closure of the Shuttleworth factory.  These losses were the catalysts for the setting up of an investment, development and employment forum by the local Council.  Represented on that multi agency body with Athy U.D.C. were Kildare County Council, members of the Oireachtas and officials of the I.D.A., County Kildare Enterprise Board and Athy Chamber of Commerce.  The local Council’s involvement was indicative of its developmental role as one of its primary functions under the 1963 Planning Act.  As an extension of that role and with a view to regenerating the retailing sector in Athy the Council engaged consultants to prepare a retail strategy for the town in 2008. 

All of this work was carried out against a backdrop which saw the transfer to Kildare County Council of functions once the responsibility of the Urban District Council.  This was done in advance of the subsequent legislative changes which saw the abolition of Town Councils and the taking over of their functions by County Councils. 

One of those roles was the provision of local authority housing.  Perhaps the greatest change to the previously unrivalled role of local authorities in the provision of social housing was the emergence of voluntary housing associations.  A number of such groups have provided social housing in Athy in recent years.  RESPOND built 43 houses in Flinter’s field in 2001 and eight years later provided 28 house and a community building at Ardrew Meadows.  In more recent years TUATH housing association provided 37 houses in Clonmullin, 14 houses in Cois Bhearu and 4 houses in Ardrew.  The CLUID housing association provided 36 houses in Coneyboro in 2013. 

The role of the former Town Council in the economic regeneration of the town was complemented by a similar role in relation to the social and cultural life of the townspeople.  In about 1985 the Urban District Council established and funded a cultural recreational sub committee comprised of Council members with a large membership from the general public.  That sub committee did much good work in fostering and encouraging cultural activities which led in time to the setting up of Athy’s Art Centre in Woodstock Street.  That Centre is presently managed by Directors representing Kildare County Council and a number of cultural interests in the town. 

The former Town Council’s encouragement of the arts and cultural activities generally was first recognised with the official opening of Athy’s Heritage Centre in the Town Hall in 1992.   This again was a joint venture involving Athy U.D.C., Kildare County Council and Athy Museum Society.  The management of the Heritage Centre rests with Athy Heritage Company Limited which like its sister company, Athy Arts Company Limited, is a company limited by guarantee with directors representing Kildare County Council and various cultural and social interests in the town.  The former Town Councils role in fostering and encouraging cultural activity in the town was formally recognised with the winning of an Excellence in Local Government award in 2010. 

Kildare County Council has continued to exercise a highly commendable role in community affairs insofar as Athy is concerned.  The unveiling of the Shackleton statue as part of the Decade of Commemoration events planned for the county is further proof of the Council’s commitment to Athy.  It’s rather a pity that the positive story was somewhat lost in the unexpected headlined story which appeared in the front page of this newspaper last week. 

The Great Famine in Athy

It’s a quote I have used before but its use again is justified when announcing the holding of Athy’s annual Famine Commemoration Day to take place on Sunday 25^th September at 3.00 p.m. in St. Mary’s Cemetery near to the former workhouse, now St. Vincent’s Hospital.  Athy’s Literary Magazine in its edition of March 1838, just seven years before the start of the Great Famine, printed a letter from an Athy resident in which he claimed:

‘there is not a town in Ireland so completely neglected.  Ramble through our deserted streets and see the able bodied labourers at our corners, hoards of beggars at our doors, disease and famine in the hovels of the poor.’

Three years after that letter was published the census recorded Athy’s population as 4,698, with 1,005 families living in 790 houses.  147 of those houses were unfit one roomed mud walled cabins, while another 318 houses consisted of two roomed mud walled cabins which were undoubtedly unfit for family use. 

Following the passing of the Poor Relief Act a workhouse was opened in Athy on the 9^th of January 1844.  It was appropriate recognition of the squalid poverty to be found in Athy and district of that time.  However, even that workhouse which was built to accommodate 360 adults and 240 children could not accommodate the large number of starving people requiring assistance.  As the Great Famine progressed through 1846, 1847, 1848 and 1849 workhouse additional accommodation had to be found in the town to meet the needs of 1,528 adults and children.  They represented the most helpless members of the local community, while at the same time outside the workhouse system 2,807 persons were in receipt of outdoor relief during the summer of 1848. 

The town gaol, opened on the Carlow road in 1830, held almost 100 prisoners as famine ravaged the countryside.  16 of those prisoners were awaiting transportation to Van Diemen’s land.  Their lot was in all probability better than many of those unfortunate local persons availing of outdoor relief, or even the inmates of the workhouse.  John Butler, Justice of the Peace, a native of Athy, obviously concerned by the activity of the Young Irelanders, wrote on 2^nd April 1848 to the Lord Lieutenant: ‘As the only resident Magistrate in this town I beg leave to state to your Excellency that a few days ago the troops quartered here were withdrawn and the town left to the protection of a few police ….. I don’t want my native town in these alarming times to be left to protection of ten or a dozen policemen.’  Butler had no justifiable grounds for expressing concern as the local population were so hungry, demoralised and down trodden to do anything other than to live from day to day courtesy of the food kitchens and the workhouse.

To add to the distress of the local families, just as the worst excesses of that time were being played out, an outbreak of cholera killed many more of the hungry and diseased population of south Kildare and the adjoining counties.  A total of 1,205 deaths were recorded in Athy workhouse between 1844 and 1851.  At the same time the town population fell by 825 persons and if one calculates an increase in population for the years to 1851 similar to that which occurred in the previous 10 years the notational drop in the town’s population was over 1,000 persons.

These are startling statistics for a town with a relatively small population.  Regretfully the names of those who died in Athy workhouse during the Great Famine are not known.  They were buried in the nearby cemetery of St. Mary’s which continued to be used to receive the unclaimed dead of the County Home up to recent years.  Sadly St. Mary’s Cemetery, the last resting place of so many from this community, tends to be overlooked in much the same way as the Great Famine was for decades after it occurred.

Next Sunday at 3.00 p.m. St. Mary’s will host a gathering of local people who aware of their past and the importance of remembering those who have gone before us, will commemorate the Famine dead of Athy and the local workhouse.  At the same time they will remember those men and women who left this area to emigrate overseas in an attempt to escape the disease and poverty which marked the Famine years in Athy. 

We should never forget our Famine dead.

Vernacular artefacts of another age

At no time in Irish history has interest in local history been so popular.  Here in south Kildare we can see everywhere around us the outlines of man’s work on the landscape or in the streets of our town.  I was reminded of this when I passed a jostle stone in Duke Street and later in the day as I opened the gate to my house in Ardreigh and looked over the Ha Ha at the nearby field.  The jostle stone and the Ha Ha are just two of the many man-made objects of a bygone age which are still with us today.

Duke Street, formerly St. John’s Street, has a number of jostle stones at the edge of buildings with entrances to what were once stables.  The jostle stones were positioned to deflect carriage wheels away from the building as they entered the passage way leading to the stables at the rear.

The Ha Has is a strange name given to a sunken wall or a ditch constructed to form a boundary without interrupting the view.  There is a Ha Ha at the end of my front garden facing into the adjoining field.  I wonder if there are any other examples of Ha Ha’s in or around Athy.

On the Carlow Road which I pass every day can be found a kissing gate.  The small gate swings within a circular cage so that only one person can pass through at a time.  Its construction was primarily intended to prevent animals having access to the railway line.  Your guess is as good as mine as to why it acquired the name ‘a kissing gate’. 

Nearby in front of Dukes Lodge is the only example I’m aware of a mounting block in Athy.  This is a large stone with steps intended to enable a not very agile person to mount a horse.

At the rear of the Town Hall one can still see the irons which once formed part of the town’s ouncel or scales.  In my young days I remember the weighbridge which replaced the ouncel and the small building used by the weighmaster Mr. Dempsey.  Farmers and traders selling goods by weight at the local market had to have those goods weighed at the ouncel. 

I have in previous articles referred to benchmarks.  These consist of a broad arrow with a horizontal line along the top indicating the exact height above sea level determined by the Ordnance Survey office.  The name bench mark comes from the surveyor’s angle iron which he used as a ‘bench’ or support for his levelling staff.  A book prize to the first ten persons to tell me the location of all the bench marks in Athy.

The town’s cock pit is perhaps one of the most interesting reminders of Athy’s past.  It was the subject of a previous Eye on the Past when I dealt with its history and eventual restoration in a cooperative action involving the building’s owners Griffin Hawe Ltd. and the late Niall Meagher, the then County Architect.  The cock pit is a very real reminder of a popular 18^th century sport which continued well into our time, despite being outlawed in 1849.

A further reminder of our past, this time in a name are the outlying townlands of Grangenolvin and Grangemellon.  The town ‘grange’ refers to an outlying farm belonging to a monastery or friary which was generally worked by lay brothers or hired labourers.  The Dominicans, whose Friary was in the area known today as the Abbey, were the owners of the grange lands which were taken over by Royalists supporters following the dissolution of the Irish monasteries in the 1540s.

Another place name steeped in history is Gallows Hill.  As the name implies it was the site of the public gallows where executions took place.  It possibly marks the site of the original manorial gallows of Woodstock Manor.  Capital punishment was usually performed in public from an early age, and generally in a prominent site at the entrance to the medieval village.  The offender was brought through the High Street, now Leinster Street, of the medieval town of Athy to Gallows Hill where after hanging the body was left on the gallows.  The number of offences for which hanging was prescribed increased enormously during the 17^th century.  Executions in public were abolished in 1868.

In nearby Castledermot is to be found in the grounds of St. James Church a hog back stone.  This recumbent stone with sloping sides lying on a grave gives the impression of a hogs back.  Hog back stones, found mostly in the north of England, are regarded by English historians/archaeologists as Saxon monuments of the 8^th and 9^th centuries.  The Castledermot stone is for some reason or other regarded as a Viking monument and offered as evidence of a Viking invasion inland as far as the south Kildare village.

Whatever the explanations we should never forget that local history is to be found not just in the man made artefacts of our town but in lives of the local people of our town and countryside.  It’s a subject I will return to again. 

Danny Flood

One of the great sporting heroes of my teenage years passed away last week.  Danny Flood was one of several young Athy men who lined out with the Kildare County Senior football team during the 1950s and 1960s.  A towering figure over 6 foot tall with the physique to match, Danny manned the full back position on the county team for a period of 10 years from 1954.  His first game as a Senior Kildare player was against Wexford in a National League game played in Ferns on 10^th October 1954.  Ten years later he made his last appearance on the county team, this time against Meath in a game played in Croke Park on 7^th June 1964.

Danny was a key member of the county team during the course of the 1956 Leinster Championship when the Shortgrass county won the Leinster Championship for the first time in 21 years, only to lose to Cork in the All Ireland semi-final.  I remember those matches and the enormous goodwill that victory in the Leinster Final of 1956 generated amongst young and old alike within our local community.  Daniel Flood, a local man from Leinster Street, was assuredly Athy’s footballing hero after the success of the 1956 Kildare team.

As a young teenager I have vivid memories which I have never lost of a giant of a man whose spectacular fielding of the ball on the full back line was hugely impressive.  Equally impressive was his athleticism which seemed magnified by his huge frame and the energy with which he defended the Kildare goal.  I recall a match in Geraldine Park where the Kildare defence led by Danny were defending the goal nearest to the dressing rooms.  I was on the terrace looking across to the goal and can still see Danny charging from the penalty area across towards the side line where the ball was being gathered by a member of the opposing team.  When he was a few feet away from his opponent Danny launched at his opponent and sent him sprawling over the side line.  It had all the hallmarks of a foul, but I cannot recall if it was given as such.  What I remember is the athleticism of the man who appeared to me as a giant of a player. 

Youthful memories accumulated when one is 13 or 14 years of age always tend to magnify and unintentionally perhaps distort.  When I was a young follower of G.A.A. matches I looked upon Danny Flood and his county colleagues such as Seamie Harrison and Larry McCormack as a generation ahead of me.  Now that I have gathered in the years I find to my amazement that as a young teenager of 14 years of age I was watching and admiring Danny Flood, a young man of just 22 years of age.  The age gap between us was a mere 8 years. 

Danny Flood died last week, his wife and one son having predeceased him.  He retired many years ago as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Irish army and lived just outside Kilkenny city.  He is survived by a daughter and four sons.  My sympathy goes to his children and to the members of his extended family.

With the passing of my footballing hero of 60 years ago I am left with memories which can no longer be diluted or exaggerated.  They remain fashioned by six decades of intermittent recall to remind me of a time when Gaelic football and footballers were an important part of a young lad’s life.  Thanks for the memories Danny.

Local benefactors to Athy's Christian Brothers

During the week I received a query relating to Mark Hill from County Clare, a Christian Brother whose teaching career ran from the late 1860s to 1919 when he died.  His name was not familiar to me and so I referred to the Annals of the local Christian Brothers monastery which I was allowed to copy some years ago.  The Annals provide useful, if somewhat sporadic details relating to the affairs of the Christian Brothers in Athy.  Unfortunately for extended periods the designated annalist failed to keep the record up to date but nevertheless what remains is helpful for an understanding of what happened in the Christian Brothers schools in Athy from 1861.

An entry in the Annals for 1863 noted that at the beginning of the year Michael Lawler ‘who showed himself a warm friend from the commencement’ offered to pay for the gas consumed in the Brother’s Monastery and to continue doing so during his lifetime.  It was a commitment Michael Lawler, by then a Justice of the Peace, renewed on 5^th November 1885.

Another generous benefactor was Patrick Maher of Kilrush, whose daughter was for a time Superioress of the local Convent of Mercy.  He donated the sum of £400 to help finance the building of the school rooms in St. John’s Lane prior to the arrival of the Christian Brothers in August 1861.  Patrick Maher, who was also a generous benefactor to the local Sisters of Mercy, made many other financial contributions to the Christian Brothers over the years for various improvements to the schools and the monastery. 

In 1865 the local G.P. Dr. Thomas Kynsey paid for the provision of a house library for the Christian Brothers.  In April 1880 J. Delaney of Market Square died and left the sum of £100 to the Christian Brothers.  Strangely a week later his own son Denis also died and in his will he left the Christian Brothers the sum of £20.

An interesting entry for March 1901 referred to the sale of a property in Duke Street by Miss Ferris of Woodbine Cottage to a sitting tenant, John E. Duncan.  Apparently she had willed the property to the Christian Brothers but shortly before she died the property was sold for £200, a price considered to be excessively low, thereby depriving the Christian Brothers of a valuable bequest.

For a period of five weeks starting in November 1918 the Christian Brothers schools were closed due to the influenza epidemic.  Brother Alipius Cummins, a novice in the monastery, fell victim to what we now refer to as the ‘Spanish flu’.  Having failed to get a trained nurse in Athy or Dublin the Brothers turned to Minnie Murphy who had served in France during the First World War.  Referred to in the Annals as ‘Sr. Flora of the Square’ Ms. Murphy took charge of the patient for 4 nights.  He eventually recovered and the Annals noted ‘she took no fee, though a professional trained nurse.  For this charitable act the Brothers are deeply grateful.’

In 1925 the Annals recorded the success of Edward Behan at the examinations for executive officers and he was subsequently appointed to the Customs and Excise.  It noted ‘his success was of considerable advantage to the community, adding as it did to the prestige of the schools and demonstrating the efficiency of the teaching.  He was at the time of his appointment nearly 20 years of age.  His education had been to a great extent ruined through his having been interned for over 12 months in the troubled times.’  This is the first reference I have found to the internment of Edward Behan.  Was that internment during the War of Independence or the Civil War?  Can anyone help me identify Edward Behan?

John Bealin, formerly of Stanhope Street, died in New York on St. Stephen’s Day 1924.  In his will he left the sum of £200 to his former school in Athy.  His father Mark Bealin had a bakery business at 2 William Street and was secretary of the local committee set up in the town to build the original school premises for the Christian Brothers.  He died in 1866 and on the subsequent remarriage of his wife, his three sons, including the 14 year old John, emigrated to America.

These are just some of the persons who over the years helped the Christian Brothers to maintain a presence in Athy.  There are many more unnamed and forgotten individuals without whose assistance the early Christian Brothers schools in Athy could not have continued.  As to the original query regarding Brother Mark Hill I discovered that he came to Athy in 1892 and five years later was appointed Director of the local Christian Brothers community.  He moved to Kells, Co. Meath in July 1900.  The only other entry in the annals concerning Brother Hill noted how he organised a bazaar in Easter week 1900 to help pay the cost of building a new oratory in the Christian Brothers monastery.

The role of the local authority in the economic, social and cultural regeneration of Athy

The role and functions of local authorities have evolved and changed enormously over the years.  Borough Councils were brought into existence, usually by royal charters, as in Athy, where the 1515 charter of Henry VIII provided for the annual election of a Provost  and the appointment of a Borough Council.  Its functions were largely confined to control of the local market and collection of market tolls to finance the building of town walls.  Control and power rested with the Earls of Kildare and their nominees, a position which was to remain until many Borough Councils such as Athy were abolished in 1840.  It was succeeded a few years later by Town Commissioners elected by property owners in the town.  Their functions were extended to include paving and street cleaning and were further added to during the course of the 19^th century.  Replaced by an Urban District Council in 1901 the Council as we knew it up to more recent years played an important part in the economic and social life of the town of Athy. 

As we approached the last decade of the 20^th century huge demands were made on Athy U.D.C. in terms of planning and economic development.  Those were the years of the Celtic Tiger, but even as other nearby towns were flourishing Athy began to feel the effects of several factory closures.  The shirt factory on the Dublin Road closed, followed by the loss of Peerless Rugs in 2001 and three years later the closure of the Shuttleworth factory.  These losses were the catalysts for the setting up of an investment, development and employment forum by the local Council.  Represented on that multi agency body with Athy U.D.C. were Kildare County Council, members of the Oireachtas and officials of the I.D.A., County Kildare Enterprise Board and Athy Chamber of Commerce.  The local Council’s involvement was indicative of its developmental role as one of its primary functions under the 1963 Planning Act.  As an extension of that role and with a view to regenerating the retailing sector in Athy the Council engaged consultants to prepare a retail strategy for the town in 2008. 

All of this work was carried out against a backdrop which saw the transfer to Kildare County Council of functions once the responsibility of the Urban District Council.  This was done in advance of the subsequent legislative changes which saw the abolition of Town Councils and the taking over of their functions by County Councils. 

One of those roles was the provision of local authority housing.  Perhaps the greatest change to the previously unrivalled role of local authorities in the provision of social housing was the emergence of voluntary housing associations.  A number of such groups have provided social housing in Athy in recent years.  RESPOND built 43 houses in Flinter’s field in 2001 and eight years later provided 28 house and a community building at Ardrew Meadows.  In more recent years TUATH housing association provided 37 houses in Clonmullin, 14 houses in Cois Bhearu and 4 houses in Ardrew.  The CLUID housing association provided 36 houses in Coneyboro in 2013. 

The role of the former Town Council in the economic regeneration of the town was complemented by a similar role in relation to the social and cultural life of the townspeople.  In about 1985 the Urban District Council established and funded a cultural recreational sub committee comprised of Council members with a large membership from the general public.  That sub committee did much good work in fostering and encouraging cultural activities which led in time to the setting up of Athy’s Art Centre in Woodstock Street.  That Centre is presently managed by Directors representing Kildare County Council and a number of cultural interests in the town. 

The former Town Council’s encouragement of the arts and cultural activities generally was first recognised with the official opening of Athy’s Heritage Centre in the Town Hall in 1992.   This again was a joint venture involving Athy U.D.C., Kildare County Council and Athy Museum Society.  The management of the Heritage Centre rests with Athy Heritage Company Limited which like its sister company, Athy Arts Company Limited, is a company limited by guarantee with directors representing Kildare County Council and various cultural and social interests in the town.  The former Town Councils role in fostering and encouraging cultural activity in the town was formally recognised with the winning of an Excellence in Local Government award in 2010. 

Kildare County Council has continued to exercise a highly commendable role in community affairs insofar as Athy is concerned.  The unveiling of the Shackleton statue as part of the Decade of Commemoration events planned for the county is further proof of the Council’s commitment to Athy.  It’s rather a pity that the positive story was somewhat lost in the unexpected headlined story which appeared in the front page of this newspaper last week.