Why is there an air of confidence about Athy?

There is a noticeable air of confidence in Athy town of late. It’s evidenced by the recent opening of several coffee shops and an Italian restaurant on the town’s main street. Yet south Kildare has the highest level of unemployment in the country and Athy has an excess of closed business premises which present an unhappy picture of the town. Nevertheless the ancient town which is handsomely traversed by river and canal, continues to receive many compliments with claims that it is the most attractive town within the boundaries of the short grass county. As a young fellow growing up in Athy I knew nothing of the town’s history and like everyone else had no understanding or appreciation of the town’s built heritage. Athy is truly a gem of an Irish provincial town, something which our visitors readily acknowledge. Sometimes however they wonder why the buildings on the main streets are not being properly maintained. Many unpainted and somewhat dishevelled buildings take from the town’s appearance. Kildare County Council have in the past encouraged shop front improvements by offering grants. Would the County Council consider extending the shopfront scheme by engaging a colour consultant to provide colour schemes on a street by street basis to brighten up the local streetscape? The outer relief road is expected to have a huge effect in reducing traffic in the town centre, thereby affording local businesses an opportunity to attract a bigger footfall. However, it needs the business people to come together to plan and execute the necessary steps to attract shoppers back into the town centre. Different sections of Athy’s residents have in the past taken a lead in promoting the town’s interest. The building of the Parish Church and the Dominican Church necessitated the prolonged involvement of many local volunteers during the 1950s and beyond. Later still another group of Athy men came together on Athy’s swimming pool committee to spearhead the town’s drive for a local swimming pool. Their initiative and voluntary work over several years convinced Kildare County Council to proceed with the building of County Kildare’s first municipal swimming pool in the grounds of the People’s Park. The Shackleton Museum and the Arts Centre came about because of local initiatives taken by local volunteers coming together and working for desired objectives. Indeed the outer relief road, championed for so long by the townspeople as opposed to an inner relief road, is a prime example of what can be achieved by collective action. The retailing life of Athy’s main streets rests in the hands of the present day shop keepers. Unfortunately we no longer have a Chamber of Commerce in the town, but there is a need for the collective voices of the business people and residents of Athy to be heard. There is so much which can and should be done to improve business in Athy. The one common complaint from newly arrived residents is what they describe as the town’s poor shopping experience. All of those whom I have interviewed recently regard Athy people as very friendly and the town as one with great potential. Might I hope that the shopkeepers get together to plan and improve our town’s shopping experience, so that instead of locals travelling out of town to shop we can instead encourage local shopping and attract outsiders to shop in Athy. One of my own favourites for a new independent shop in the town would be a book shop. Athy residents as they faced into three more years of famine in 1846 had a book shop in Duke Street owned by John Lahee. The present Lions Club second hand book shop is a wonderful facility but any town with a population in excess of ten thousand people surely deserves a book shop selling the latest new titles. I don’t know if John Lahee was still selling books from his Duke Street premises in 1857 when gas lights were introduced into the principal shops of Athy. The Leinster Leader reported on Christmas Eve of that year ‘on Monday evening (19th December) the streets were thronged by persons admiring the tasteful manner in which the shops were lighted’. The gas lighting of the shops 166 years ago was a momentous event and heralded decades of successful business in Athy which justified the oft repeated claim that Athy was the best market town in Leinster. The opening of the outer relief road offers an opportunity to revive Athy’s main shopping streets. If that revival or regeneration takes place Athy can reclaim the honour which the Leinster Express of 30th July 1859 bestowed on the town ‘there is not in Ireland an inland town that can boast a more public spirit than Athy.’ As I finished this week’s Eye I learned of the passing of St. Dolores O’Grady, a locally based Sister of Mercy who did so much as a community leader within the Ardrew Meadows estate. She led by example to empower her local community on the Barrowhouse road. As a member of the local Sisters of Mercy community she dedicated her life to helping others, especially those in need. In doing so she made a huge contribution to the Sisters of Mercy mission here in Athy. Our condolences go to her family, especially to her sister Mary English and to the Sisters of Mercy.