It was in 1983 that Athy Museum
Society was formed with the stated objective of developing a local museum here
in Athy. Since then the Society’s
volunteers, with the financial support and good will of the former Town Council
and currently Kildare County Council, together with several private benefactors
have made a huge contribution to the cultural heritage of our historic
town. The local Heritage Centre which
has been developed over the years since 1983 has provided a focal point for
people’s growing interest in the town’s past.
Our local history is something that
all of us have become more aware of in the last 30 years or more. Recalling my school days in the local
Christian Brothers School in the 1950s the only mention I ever heard or read of
Athy related to it being the place where the River Barrow and the Grand Canal
met. History lessons touching on the
1798 Rebellion, the Great Famine or any of the many Irish or overseas wars in
which so many young Athy men were involved, never disclosed any Athy links or
connections. We now know that Athy was
connected in so many ways with many of the great events in the nation’s
history. Athy’s history represents in
miniature the history of Ireland and the story of the town is bound up with our
nation’s history.
Athy Museum Society has done much to
highlight the hidden stories and the forgotten people of Athy’s past. This was
particularly important given that the contribution made by so many local men
and women to the fabric of life in the past was overlooked and lost to
succeeding generations. The Eye on the
Past series which has been appearing each week in your local newspaper for
almost 25 years has sought to create an interest in and an understanding of the
events and the people of Athy and the part they played in the town’s history. The interest generated in our local history
as evidenced by the queries I receive and the information shared with me each
week confirms that the people of Athy are proud of their town. Pride of place is understandably something
normally attributable to one’s place of birth, but Athy, the Anglo Norman town,
later the settler’s town, is today home to a lot of people who like myself are
not natives of Athy. Our interest in the
history of Athy is not in any way diminished by being born elsewhere, which in
my case happened 19 miles down the road in Castlecomer.
Several people having expressed an
interest in coming together to further their interest in local history,
arrangements have been made for a meeting to be held in the Heritage Centre on
Tuesday, 5th September at 7.30 p.m.
Its purpose is to consider setting up a local history society, which if
formed will give interested persons an opportunity to learn more of the town’s
history, to encourage research and arrange lectures and field trips. The setting up of a local history society can
been seen as a further contribution to the town’s regeneration plan which was
initiated by a group originally established two years ago by Athy Lion’s
Club. The contribution which a local history
society can make to the cultural heritage of the area and thus to the well being
of the town’s people is something readily recognised in the regeneration
plan.
Heritage ‘Week’ started on Saturday last and ends on Sunday 27th. Here in Athy there are a number of events
including a walking tour through Athy’s history on today, 22nd. Starting at 7.00 p.m. from in front of the
Town Hall the walk will present an overview of some of the more extraordinary
individuals and events associated with the town’s history. The guide will be yours truly.
The Heritage Centre has organised a
Museum treasure hunt and further details of this free event can be obtained
from the Heritage Centre. On Sunday 27th
August at 3.00 p.m. there will be a talk in the Heritage Centre on the
incredible voyage of the James Caird.
This voyage was one of the greatest seafaring feats of all time led by
the Kilkea-born Ernest Shackleton, accompanied by crew members, half of whom
were Irish. On the same day at 7.00 p.m.
there will be a guided walking tour of medieval Athy starting from the Heritage
Centre at 2.00 p.m.
All of the events during Heritage ‘Week’ are free and they give a unique
opportunity for anyone interested to savour elements of our town’s
history.
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