Athy Quiz (1)

This week and next week I am devoting the ‘Eye on the Past’ to a series of questions relating to Athy, its people, its buildings and events of the past. I am offering copies of my recent book to the first five persons to provide the highest number of correct answers to the questions. Let me have your answers before Friday 3rd January, either by email at frank@taaffe.ie or if, like me, you are unable to master the intricacies of computers and mobile phones, feel free to send your answers to me care of the Kildare Nationalist. NO. QUESTIONS ANSWERS 1. Athy’s corn exchange was opened a few years after the Great Famine. Where was that corn exchange? 2. How many arrow loops and gun loops can you find in the walls of White’s Castle? 3. Where can you find jostle stones in Athy – give the location of three such pairs? 4. What streets in Athy are named after family members of the Duke of Leinster ? 5. Which street in Athy retains the name it was given in medieval times? 6. Where was ‘Dirty Row’ which was referred to in a letter to the press in 1863? 7. When did the first train arrive in Athy and what was the next station it reached after Athy? 8. If you attended a cock fight in Athy prior to the abolition of the sport in 1849, where did you go to? 9. What was the previous name of the street renamed Woodstock St. in 1884? 10. In the Shackleton Museum you will find a large keystone taken from Augustus Bridge in the 1890s during the rebuilding of that bridge – where is Augustus Bridge and who does it commemorate? 11. How many All Ireland finals were played in Geraldine Park? 12. Who was the first and only Athy man to win an All Ireland football medal? 13. Who was the first Athy man to win an international rugby cap playing for Ireland? 14. Who was the man, now buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery, who played international soccer for Scotland and won six Scottish cup medals with Queens Park Rangers 15. Another man, not a native Irish man, buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery had an involvement in two revolutions, one in his native country, the other in Dublin in April 1916. Who was he? 16. Edmund Rice Square recalls the Christian Brothers School established in Athy in 1861. Who were the last two Christian Brothers to serve in Athy? 17. Famous people born in South Kildare include polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and the first Irish Cardinal, Paul Cullen. Where were they born? 18. What was Jane Austen’s connection with Athy? 19. Where in Athy will you find a drinking trough presented by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association? 20. At the start of the 19th century Athy had two handball alleys. Where were they located? 21. Who was the young teacher who founded the Athy Farmers Club in 1944 which later led to the formation of Macra na Feirme 22. The Town Hall, erected in or around 1725, was originally intended to be used for what purposes? 23. St. Michael’s Catholic Parish Church was burned following an arson attack on 7th March 1800. Where was that church located? 24. Why is the lane off Emily Square now known as Meeting Lane and what is its full name? 25. Who was the Athy resident whose experiences in Belsen Prison of War Camp were recounted in the book, ‘Hidden Memories’? 26. Name the Athy resident whose potions and lotions got him into trouble with the law and whose story prompted local author Niamh Boyce to write ‘The Herbalist’? 27. Athy’s Fever Hospital was built in 1836. Where was the Hospital located? 28. What was the name of the book published in 1958 which gave a semi fictional account of life in Athy and South Kildare? 29. What was the surname and occupation of the brothers known to everyone as ‘Smiler, Hocker and Gus’? 30. The façade of the seven small houses built in 1872 in Connolly’s Lane still stand. Where was Connolly’s Lane? 31. Who was the legendary uilleann piper who died in St. Vincent’s Hospital on 19th January 1950? 32. What is the connection between Bert House, Trinity College Library and Dr. Steeven’s Hospital, Dublin? 33. Name the Athy footballer who was sensationally deprived of playing for Kildare in the 1935 All Ireland football final? 34. What major event took place in or around Athy on Wed. 2nd July 1903? 35. Name the two Athy Gaelic Football Club players who won four Kildare senior championship medals playing for Athy? 36. What brought the liberator, Daniel O’Connell, to Athy on 1st October 1843? 37. Name the Athy man who was the first British Army officer killed in the Boer War? 38. Name the two priests who served in Athy, one the Parish Priest whose two brothers were bishops, the other a curate whose brother was a cardinal? 39. Where are the 1205 inmates of the Athy Workhouse who died during the Great Famine buried? 40. It was known as ‘Sydney Terrace’ for many years by older members of the community. What is the correct name of that terrace? 41. Who was the Athy girl who at different times was secretary to Piaras Beaslai, General J.J. O’Connell and Oscar Traynor, all senior members of the I.R.A. during the War of Independence? 42. Where was Athy Picture Palace located? 43. Athy ’75 – what was that? 44. Name the two young members of the I.R.A. who were killed during the Barrowhouse ambush on 16th May 1921? 45. Where was Tynan’s Row? 46. What Athy Club is part of the world’s largest charitable organisation? 47. Around Athy you will find benchmarks. Can you identify where benchmarks are located in the town? 48. Turnpike or toll roads were financed by private individuals in expectation that tolls collected would return a profit after road maintenance costs were met. How many turnpike gates were in Athy at the end of the 18th century? 49. Who was the former chairman of Athy Town Commissioners who is remembered in a memorial tablet erected in the Methodist Church? 50. Can you describe the exact location of the medieval Preston’s Gate which was demolished in 1860? (don’t be misled by misplaced signage).