Methodism in Athy

One of the many interesting exhibits in Athy’s Shackleton Museum refers to the town’s religious diversity. On its formation in the 12th century and for two centuries thereafter the inhabitants of the medieval village of Athy were French speaking Catholics. The French language in time gave way as English settlers came to live in the settler’s town on the Marches of Kildare. Following the Reformation, the developing town witnessed a change in the religious makeup of its citizenry and over the following generations the religious diversity widened to include not just Catholics and Church of Ireland, but also Presbyterians and Methodists. The first Methodist Minister appointed to Athy in 1790 was Rev. John Mullen. This was a time when Methodism was still closely associated with the Church of Ireland, with Methodists attending morning service in the Parish Church and later attending their own preaching services in the evening. In 1813 approval was given for the erection of a Methodist chapel in Athy. It does not appear to have been built as the 1837 map of Athy shows the former Quaker meeting house in Meeting Lane described as ‘a small house of worship formerly belonging to the Quakers and now to the Methodists.’ The Methodist Minister appointed in 1813 was John Rogers who was replaced two years later by Robert Bowen. Athy was then part of the Carlow circuit and was to remain so until 1970 when it was included in the Portlaoise and Tullamore circuits. In 1824 Rev. Robert Banks, who had been appointed to the Carlow Circuit in 1812, was appointed a supernumerary and settled in Athy. He was apparently the first Methodist Minister to reside in the town, the other appointees dating back to 1790 having lived in Carlow. The Methodist cause was by then very low in the town but soon revived under the guidance of Rev. Banks. The rent for the Chapel approved in 1813 payable to the Duke of Leinster remained unpaid for 10 years or so until Rev. Banks took the matter up with the Duke. The Landlord visited Athy, inspected the Chapel and immediately remitted the arrears of rent and reduced the annual payments from four pounds to twenty shillings. A Sunday School was provided in the Chapel under the superintendence of the Church of Ireland curate Rev. F.S. Trench, while his colleague Rev. Bristow, frequently attended the Methodist preaching service. When asked why he did so he replied, “Many of my people go there and I must hear what it is said to them”. The close co-operation between the Church of Ireland and the Methodist did not continue as it was alleged that Rev. Trench subsequently became narrow and exclusive in his views and removed the Sunday School from the Methodist Chapel. As a result of the formal separation of Methodist and Church of Ireland the Methodist cause in Athy prospered and grew. By 1832 the level and fervour of participation in Methodist services in Athy were such as to excite the interest of a Wexford man, Moses Rowe, who was in the town on business. Moved by what he witnessed he returned to his home town where he held many meetings describing the glorious scenes he had witnessed in Athy. During the Great Famine the Methodist Mission continued and in 1847 two itinerant preachers, Henderson and Huston, reported that in Athy they had at least 15 conversions and “several backsliders were restored.” Rev. Banks was still living in Athy, while one of the principal members of the Methodist congregation were the Duncan family of Tonlegee House. The death of Rev. Thomas Kelly in 1854 resulted in the closure of his meeting house in Duke Street and the disbandment of the 30 or 40 strong Kellyites. Their members returned for the most part to the local Church of Ireland and Methodist communities. With the growth of Methodism in Athy it was felt that the former Quaker meeting house was no longer large enough for Sunday Services and the Sunday School which was also located there. In 1867 Alexander Duncan who was then on his second term as Chairman of Athy Town Commissioners purchased some ground at Woodstock Street and offered it to the local Methodist congregation as a site for a new Methodist Church. In April 1871 the Methodist congregation of Athy decided to construct the first purpose built Methodist Church and Sunday School in Athy on the site donated by Alexander Duncan. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on 12 June 1872 before a large and representative crowd of local people by Mrs. Alexander Duncan whose husband had donated £600.00 in addition to the site. The first Sunday Service in the new church was held on the following Sunday when Rev. G.T. Perks, President of the British Methodist Conference, preached the sermon. The Sunday School opened at 4pm on the same day. During the 1870s the average Sunday service attendance was 120, while a similar number of children attended the summer school. The Methodist Church in Woodstock Street now serves both as a church and as Athy’s Art Centre.