Athy had enjoyed a cultural feast in the last two weeks. It started with the Wexford Sinfonia which played a programme of classic pieces in St. Dominic's Church on Sunday the 11th of June. Fergus Sheil was the orchestra's conductor which was led by Theresa Doyle and soloist was Michael D'arcy, violin played of exceptional quality who is leader of the R.T.E. Concert Orchestra.
Athy's Lions Club in co-operation with the Friends of St. Vincent's Hospital were the promoters of the enjoyable concert which played to an almost full house. However it is to Bruce Yates of Grangemellon must go the accolades for organising the event. Bruce who is involved with other choral and orchestral groups first made contact with Wexford Sinfonia and almost single handedly organised what was a most pleasant evenings musical entertainment.
Six days later on Saturday 17th June Athy Writers Group organised what the programme described as a Literary Evening in St. Brigid's Church, Ballintubbert. Under the title of "On Hallowed Ground" the entertainment commemorated the life and works of C. Day Lewis, Poet Laureate.
Lewis was born in Ballintubbert House on the 27th of April 1904, the only child of Rev. Frank Day Lewis, Church of Ireland Minister and his wife Kathleen. He died in 1972 four years after being appointed Poet Laureate.
The evening commenced with a feast of renaissance music played by the Capriol Consort, a group of four young ladies from the Dublin area. Playing on what to my untutored eyes looked like mock medieval wind instruments the sound produced was cultivated to let ones mind slip back in time to the days of Manorial celebrations in Woodstock Castle.
Mary Thompson, a Dublin based educationalist, gave a resume of C. Day Lewis's life and work and highlighted his importance in the literary world. Others to contribute included John MacKenna, described in the programme as "a prolific writer" when surely he is more aptly named as one of Ireland's most promising young writers. James O'Keeffe who is making a name for himself with his writings gave us a number of short poems including one entitled "A Gardener of Sorts" which I heard him repeat on Sunday Miscellany the following morning.
A very talented writer whose work is surely deserving of publication in his own collection is Dom Brennan who gave us a reading which was well received. His poem on the bewigged gentlemen of the Law circling the Courthouse in Athy on Court day was a gem.
There were many other contributors both musical and literary but one which I thought was particularly good was Canon William Beere's rendition of a Thomas Moore ballad. I would have liked to have heard more from the Canon whose rich mellifluous voice easily filled the Church of St. Brigids.
During the break I paid a visit to the Kelly family vault which is in the Church grounds where Rev. Thomas Kelly is buried with his wife and some of his children. Founder of the Kellyites he is today remembered as Irelands foremost hymn writer. No less than seven editions of his Church Hymnal were published during his lifetime and the last edition included 765 of his hymns.
"We sing the praise of Him who died" and "The Head that once was crowned with thorns" are two of his many hymns which are still included in modern day Church hymnals. Three of his well known missionary hymns are "On the mountain top appearing", "Zions King Shall Reign Victorious" and "Speed Thy Servants, Saviour Speed Them".
In this year of commemoration for the victims of the Famine it is well to know what is written of him by Miller in "The Singer and Songs of the Church" published in 1869. There Kelly was described as "admirable alike for his zeal and his humility and his liberality found ample scope in Ireland especially during the years of the Famine". Tradition relates that his uncle who was the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam while on a visit to Judge Kelly's house in Kellyville lost a number of valuables following which the cleric rather unkindly is supposed to have claimed "The larks will not sing over Kellyville, Till the large oak falls against the wind".
Whether the oak ever fell I cannot say, but certainly Saturday night in St. Brigid's Church as the dusk fell around us was the place to be. Well done Athy Writers Group and well done Bruce Yates.
Friday, June 30, 1995
Friday, June 23, 1995
Henry Grattan Donnelly
Although of medium height, his distinctive appearance and bearing made him readily recognisable as he walked each day between his house in Emily Square and his office in Duke Street. He was always dressed on office days in the dark suit much favoured by the legal fraternity, and had a walking stick and a hat which covered a head of white hair. He was generally accompanied, even on this short trip through the town, by his wife Monica, because Henry Grattan Donnelly, bearer of a name famous in Irish history, was blind. Despite this disability, he successfully carried on a flourishing legal practice in Athy.
Born in Belfast in 1884, he attended Clongowes Wood College in Clane and later King’s Inns in Dublin where he qualified as a barrister. He had a short spell practising at the Bar before his eyesight failed him, and at 26 years of age he was blind. He retired from the Bar in order to qualify as a solicitor, and in 1915, he established a solicitor’s practice in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Residing at Griesbank, Ballytore, the former home of Abraham Shackleton, the third master of Ballytore School, his expanding practice necessitated the opening of an additional office at Duke Street, Athy, in the early 1920’s. Branch offices were maintained in Baltinglass, which he attended once a week and in Dunlavin, where his attendance was once a fortnight. In his work he was greatly assisted by his wife Monica who read to him the statutes, the law books and the case law, a knowledge of which, is an essential requirement for the efficient operation of any law office.
In 1931 Henry Grattan Donnelly and his family moved to the Abbey in Emily Square, Athy which was vacated by Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill and his family when they went to live in Mount Offaly House on the Carlow Road. The Donnelly children included Deirdre and Mairead, both now married, Desmond who is a Queen’s Counsel in Hong Kong, Barry who is still practising in the firm founded by his father in Athy, and Michael a solicitor in his own law practice in Carlow. The Abbey is that part of the building nearest to the River Barrow, while adjoining it, and to its rear, is another house which in 1931 was occupied by Telford’s. Following Telford’s, it was to be home of Dr. Joe O’Neill and his young family, before he purchased Athy Lodge from Dr. Denis Kilbride.
As Henry Grattan Donnelly’s law practice developed, he was assisted by staff which included an apprentice solicitor, Donal Carbery, a cousin of the late Joe Carbery of St. John’s House. Johnny Watchorn, now a stalwart of Athy Lion’s Club and a director of Maxwell’s Garage, was his law clerk for six or seven years in the early 1940’s. Secretary in the office was Alice O’Rourke. Johnny Watchorn attended the local District Courts in Athy, Castledermot, Baltinglass and Monasterevin with Henry Grattan Donnelly, helping him with his various papers and taking notes. In the evening Johnny took on an entirely different role when he appeared in the Town Hall and other local venues as Magino, a ventriloquist act, which proved very popular during the 1940’s.
Just before the outbreak of World War II, Henry Grattan Donnelly, who up to then, always used a walking stick, went to Liverpool to receive training in the use of a guide dog. There he stayed for a few days, where with the help of Captain Liakhoff, a Russian expatriate, he became acquainted with the guide dog which was to be his constant companion for the rest of his life.
When he returned from Liverpool, Henry Grattan Donnelly was only the second blind person in Ireland to have a guide dog. The first was Stuart Browne of Oldtown, Nurney, who died quite recently. The alsatian dog, which Henry brought from Liverpool, accompanied him everywhere and it was a familiar sight in Athy, bringing his master to and from his offices in Duke Street.
Donal Carbery duly qualified as a solicitor, and left to practice elsewhere, but he returned following the death of Henry Grattan Donnelly at the age of 61 years in 1945. By then his son Barry Donnelly was an apprentice solicitor, but the services of a qualified solicitor were required to keep the practice operating until he qualified. On qualifying as a solicitor, Barry returned to Athy as the second generation of the Donnelly family in a law practice which continues today, still retaining the name of its founder, H.G. Donnelly.
Born in Belfast in 1884, he attended Clongowes Wood College in Clane and later King’s Inns in Dublin where he qualified as a barrister. He had a short spell practising at the Bar before his eyesight failed him, and at 26 years of age he was blind. He retired from the Bar in order to qualify as a solicitor, and in 1915, he established a solicitor’s practice in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Residing at Griesbank, Ballytore, the former home of Abraham Shackleton, the third master of Ballytore School, his expanding practice necessitated the opening of an additional office at Duke Street, Athy, in the early 1920’s. Branch offices were maintained in Baltinglass, which he attended once a week and in Dunlavin, where his attendance was once a fortnight. In his work he was greatly assisted by his wife Monica who read to him the statutes, the law books and the case law, a knowledge of which, is an essential requirement for the efficient operation of any law office.
In 1931 Henry Grattan Donnelly and his family moved to the Abbey in Emily Square, Athy which was vacated by Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill and his family when they went to live in Mount Offaly House on the Carlow Road. The Donnelly children included Deirdre and Mairead, both now married, Desmond who is a Queen’s Counsel in Hong Kong, Barry who is still practising in the firm founded by his father in Athy, and Michael a solicitor in his own law practice in Carlow. The Abbey is that part of the building nearest to the River Barrow, while adjoining it, and to its rear, is another house which in 1931 was occupied by Telford’s. Following Telford’s, it was to be home of Dr. Joe O’Neill and his young family, before he purchased Athy Lodge from Dr. Denis Kilbride.
As Henry Grattan Donnelly’s law practice developed, he was assisted by staff which included an apprentice solicitor, Donal Carbery, a cousin of the late Joe Carbery of St. John’s House. Johnny Watchorn, now a stalwart of Athy Lion’s Club and a director of Maxwell’s Garage, was his law clerk for six or seven years in the early 1940’s. Secretary in the office was Alice O’Rourke. Johnny Watchorn attended the local District Courts in Athy, Castledermot, Baltinglass and Monasterevin with Henry Grattan Donnelly, helping him with his various papers and taking notes. In the evening Johnny took on an entirely different role when he appeared in the Town Hall and other local venues as Magino, a ventriloquist act, which proved very popular during the 1940’s.
Just before the outbreak of World War II, Henry Grattan Donnelly, who up to then, always used a walking stick, went to Liverpool to receive training in the use of a guide dog. There he stayed for a few days, where with the help of Captain Liakhoff, a Russian expatriate, he became acquainted with the guide dog which was to be his constant companion for the rest of his life.
When he returned from Liverpool, Henry Grattan Donnelly was only the second blind person in Ireland to have a guide dog. The first was Stuart Browne of Oldtown, Nurney, who died quite recently. The alsatian dog, which Henry brought from Liverpool, accompanied him everywhere and it was a familiar sight in Athy, bringing his master to and from his offices in Duke Street.
Donal Carbery duly qualified as a solicitor, and left to practice elsewhere, but he returned following the death of Henry Grattan Donnelly at the age of 61 years in 1945. By then his son Barry Donnelly was an apprentice solicitor, but the services of a qualified solicitor were required to keep the practice operating until he qualified. On qualifying as a solicitor, Barry returned to Athy as the second generation of the Donnelly family in a law practice which continues today, still retaining the name of its founder, H.G. Donnelly.
Friday, June 16, 1995
Letters from the Front - Leslie and Ian Hannon
I received in the post quite recently, a small bundle of old letters neatly kept together in a box, which itself was evidently of great age. They were sent to me by David Hannon, brother of Bishop Hannon of Clogher, both of whom are sons of the late Archdeacon Gordan Hannon. It was the second time that some of these letters were delivered to Ardreigh House. On the last occasion their letters arrived in Athy, Leslie Hannon and his brother Ian Hannon were writing to their parents, John and Martha Hannon.
Mr. and Mrs. Hannon and their eight children moved to Ardreigh House Athy in 1910 from Prumplestown House, Castledermot when John took charge of the Ardreigh Mills, following the death of his brother Harry. Their four sons Reggie, Gordon, Ian and Leslie and their daughters Gladys, Marjorie, Eileen and Ethel spent many happy days in the idyllic surroundings of Ardreigh, an area immortalised in the poetry of Rev. J.J. Malone who was a native of Barrowhouse.
Gordon Hannon entered Trinity College Dublin and studied for the Church of Ireland. He later began his clerical career as a curate in Dublin. His brothers, Norman Leslie, commonly known as “Leslie”, and John Coulson known as “Ian”, enlisted in the British Army during the first year of the Great War, as did so many of their neighbours from Athy. Both were commissioned as Lieutenants in the 7th Kings Liverpool Regiment.
Leslie’s letters home to his parents and to his brother Gordon are full of the excitement of a young man barely out of his teens who found himself caught up in the comraderie and friendship known only to men who endure common hardship and deprivation. “More power to your elbow”, he wrote in pencil on a scrap of paper to his brother Gordon, not yet a Minister of the Church of Ireland, from somewhere in France just eight days before he died. The letter dated Saturday 8th May was enclosed in an envelope postmarked 9th May 1915, and it may have reached his brother Gordon before 20 year old Leslie was killed in action in Festubert on the 16th of May 1915. The line, “Remember me to all the lads”, written across the side of the one page letter, strikes a poignant note even now after the lapse of 80 years.
Another letter dated 18th August 1915 was sent to the Hannon family by a companion of their son Norman Leslie who relates how he went to Richborg and “settled up Leslie’s grave”. Reference was also made to a poem written by the Brigade Doctor, which had earlier been forwarded to Mrs. Hannon in Ardreigh House. The opening lines ran :
“Staunch comrade, brave soldier, too soon fallen out,
I think of you stretched near the German redoubt,
With your blue Irish eyes gazing far into space,
And the pallor of death on your fearless young face.
And I picture the night when our friendship was sworn,
When you stood up and sang us “The Mountains of Mourne.”
Many of the letters and field service postcards from Ian Hannon were sent to his brother Gordon and in a letter dated 2nd August 1916, just sixteen days before he was killed, he mentions having met “Tom Perse on one of my rambles.” Tom was an Athy man from the Ardreigh area who survived the War.
On the 27th of May of the same year, in a letter to his father, Ian wrote :
“there was a great festival on in the Square yesterday, about 20 French and 70 English heroes were decorated by an English and a French General. There was a Russian chap present also and I believe Conan Doyle was there.”
Later in the same letter, Ian referred to the good days fishing which his father had recently enjoyed. On the 18th of August 1916 Ian Hannon was killed in action aged 24 years.
The loss of his two sons proved a severe blow for John Hannon and he was to die tragically by his own hand at Ardreigh House, just ten days before his son Gordon’s wedding in April 1923. Within two years, the Hannon Mills at Ardreigh and at the bridge in the centre of Athy, were to close for the last time.
Mr. and Mrs. Hannon and their eight children moved to Ardreigh House Athy in 1910 from Prumplestown House, Castledermot when John took charge of the Ardreigh Mills, following the death of his brother Harry. Their four sons Reggie, Gordon, Ian and Leslie and their daughters Gladys, Marjorie, Eileen and Ethel spent many happy days in the idyllic surroundings of Ardreigh, an area immortalised in the poetry of Rev. J.J. Malone who was a native of Barrowhouse.
Gordon Hannon entered Trinity College Dublin and studied for the Church of Ireland. He later began his clerical career as a curate in Dublin. His brothers, Norman Leslie, commonly known as “Leslie”, and John Coulson known as “Ian”, enlisted in the British Army during the first year of the Great War, as did so many of their neighbours from Athy. Both were commissioned as Lieutenants in the 7th Kings Liverpool Regiment.
Leslie’s letters home to his parents and to his brother Gordon are full of the excitement of a young man barely out of his teens who found himself caught up in the comraderie and friendship known only to men who endure common hardship and deprivation. “More power to your elbow”, he wrote in pencil on a scrap of paper to his brother Gordon, not yet a Minister of the Church of Ireland, from somewhere in France just eight days before he died. The letter dated Saturday 8th May was enclosed in an envelope postmarked 9th May 1915, and it may have reached his brother Gordon before 20 year old Leslie was killed in action in Festubert on the 16th of May 1915. The line, “Remember me to all the lads”, written across the side of the one page letter, strikes a poignant note even now after the lapse of 80 years.
Another letter dated 18th August 1915 was sent to the Hannon family by a companion of their son Norman Leslie who relates how he went to Richborg and “settled up Leslie’s grave”. Reference was also made to a poem written by the Brigade Doctor, which had earlier been forwarded to Mrs. Hannon in Ardreigh House. The opening lines ran :
“Staunch comrade, brave soldier, too soon fallen out,
I think of you stretched near the German redoubt,
With your blue Irish eyes gazing far into space,
And the pallor of death on your fearless young face.
And I picture the night when our friendship was sworn,
When you stood up and sang us “The Mountains of Mourne.”
Many of the letters and field service postcards from Ian Hannon were sent to his brother Gordon and in a letter dated 2nd August 1916, just sixteen days before he was killed, he mentions having met “Tom Perse on one of my rambles.” Tom was an Athy man from the Ardreigh area who survived the War.
On the 27th of May of the same year, in a letter to his father, Ian wrote :
“there was a great festival on in the Square yesterday, about 20 French and 70 English heroes were decorated by an English and a French General. There was a Russian chap present also and I believe Conan Doyle was there.”
Later in the same letter, Ian referred to the good days fishing which his father had recently enjoyed. On the 18th of August 1916 Ian Hannon was killed in action aged 24 years.
The loss of his two sons proved a severe blow for John Hannon and he was to die tragically by his own hand at Ardreigh House, just ten days before his son Gordon’s wedding in April 1923. Within two years, the Hannon Mills at Ardreigh and at the bridge in the centre of Athy, were to close for the last time.
Friday, June 9, 1995
Minch Nortons
In the days before the licensing laws became all pervasive ale houses, taverns and inns were to be found everywhere. The ale house sold ale and beer only while the tavern in addition supplied wine. The inn not only provided drink but also food and shelter.
The production of alcohol, now very much a large scale operation centred in but a few locations in Ireland, was once a cottage industry. Every town and village, indeed every ale house and tavern produced its own alcoholic drink. Breweries and distilleries were few and far between but in time they were established in large towns where a good supply of water was to be had and where there was ready access to markets. Athy, long famous for its substantial number of public houses was the centre of small scale brewing and distilling industries in the 18th century.
An important element of the brewing and distilling process is malt which is germinated barley. The grains of barley are allowed to begin germinating in controlled conditions of humidity and temperature and then dried to arrest the conversion of starch to sugar. This was originally done by soaking the barley grains and leaving them to germinate on floors requiring extensive premises easily recognisable by their pyramidal roofs with capped vents.
The largest producer of malt in Ireland is Minch Nortons which was first established in Athy in 1847 by the Minch family. It was not until 1921 that M.J. Minch & Son amalgamated with P.R. Norton to form Minch Norton Limited.
The original Minch Maltings was believed to have been in Offaly Street on the site of the former Picture Palace and in Stanhope Street between the Parish Priest's house and a small house once occupied by the Wall family. Here floor malting was carried out on the large floor space provided for the soaked grain to begin to germinate. Men were employed to turn the barley and upwards of 130 men once formed the backbone of the Minch Norton Malting Works in Athy.
Nowadays with machine malting, first introduced to Ireland and to Athy in 1959 with the commissioning of the Wanderhaufen plant the numbers employed have dropped dramatically. Despite this additional new plants have increased the malting capacity of the Athy factory so that today it has become the largest producer of malt in Ireland.
Some of the older residents of Athy and certainly the Minch Norton workers will recall the names which were given to some of the malting buildings over 90 years ago. Immediately opposite the Duck Press Restaurant is "Ladysmith", so called because of the involvement of a number of employees of Minch & Son in the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War. On the 2nd of November, 1899 the Boers laid siege troops to the English at Ladysmith and the entrapped garrison was not relieved until the 28th of February, 1900 in an action which marked a turning point in the Boer War. Unfortunately I have not been able to identify the Athy men who were involved. I also understand that the first batch of asbestos corrugated sheeting produced in Ireland at the then new Asbestos Factory in Athy was put on the Ladysmith building to replace the original timber roofing.
Directly opposite the small houses on Canal Side is another malting building which like its neighbour bears a name which recalls another long forgotten battle. "Port Arthur" was the name of the siege which took place during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/1905. There can be no question of any Athy men participating in that conflict so presumably the siege, which lasted from May 1904 to January 1905, captured the publics imagination and being so reminiscent of the earlier Ladysmith Siege prompted the naming of the building.
Nowadays Minch Nortons, as it is still called by the locals despite the inter-Company amalgamations and take-overs which have occurred in recent years, continues to occupy an extremely important place in the economic life of Athy. The intake of barley in July and August leads to a year long activity centred around its drying, storing and malting, giving employment to upwards of 60 or so persons at managerial, staff and operative levels.
In two years time Minch Nortons will celebrate 150 years in Athy and perhaps it is now an appropriate time to consider the possibility of recording and displaying the history of malting in Athy in a manner and in a setting which will complement the Company's present operations and add to the heritage status of our town.
The production of alcohol, now very much a large scale operation centred in but a few locations in Ireland, was once a cottage industry. Every town and village, indeed every ale house and tavern produced its own alcoholic drink. Breweries and distilleries were few and far between but in time they were established in large towns where a good supply of water was to be had and where there was ready access to markets. Athy, long famous for its substantial number of public houses was the centre of small scale brewing and distilling industries in the 18th century.
An important element of the brewing and distilling process is malt which is germinated barley. The grains of barley are allowed to begin germinating in controlled conditions of humidity and temperature and then dried to arrest the conversion of starch to sugar. This was originally done by soaking the barley grains and leaving them to germinate on floors requiring extensive premises easily recognisable by their pyramidal roofs with capped vents.
The largest producer of malt in Ireland is Minch Nortons which was first established in Athy in 1847 by the Minch family. It was not until 1921 that M.J. Minch & Son amalgamated with P.R. Norton to form Minch Norton Limited.
The original Minch Maltings was believed to have been in Offaly Street on the site of the former Picture Palace and in Stanhope Street between the Parish Priest's house and a small house once occupied by the Wall family. Here floor malting was carried out on the large floor space provided for the soaked grain to begin to germinate. Men were employed to turn the barley and upwards of 130 men once formed the backbone of the Minch Norton Malting Works in Athy.
Nowadays with machine malting, first introduced to Ireland and to Athy in 1959 with the commissioning of the Wanderhaufen plant the numbers employed have dropped dramatically. Despite this additional new plants have increased the malting capacity of the Athy factory so that today it has become the largest producer of malt in Ireland.
Some of the older residents of Athy and certainly the Minch Norton workers will recall the names which were given to some of the malting buildings over 90 years ago. Immediately opposite the Duck Press Restaurant is "Ladysmith", so called because of the involvement of a number of employees of Minch & Son in the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War. On the 2nd of November, 1899 the Boers laid siege troops to the English at Ladysmith and the entrapped garrison was not relieved until the 28th of February, 1900 in an action which marked a turning point in the Boer War. Unfortunately I have not been able to identify the Athy men who were involved. I also understand that the first batch of asbestos corrugated sheeting produced in Ireland at the then new Asbestos Factory in Athy was put on the Ladysmith building to replace the original timber roofing.
Directly opposite the small houses on Canal Side is another malting building which like its neighbour bears a name which recalls another long forgotten battle. "Port Arthur" was the name of the siege which took place during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/1905. There can be no question of any Athy men participating in that conflict so presumably the siege, which lasted from May 1904 to January 1905, captured the publics imagination and being so reminiscent of the earlier Ladysmith Siege prompted the naming of the building.
Nowadays Minch Nortons, as it is still called by the locals despite the inter-Company amalgamations and take-overs which have occurred in recent years, continues to occupy an extremely important place in the economic life of Athy. The intake of barley in July and August leads to a year long activity centred around its drying, storing and malting, giving employment to upwards of 60 or so persons at managerial, staff and operative levels.
In two years time Minch Nortons will celebrate 150 years in Athy and perhaps it is now an appropriate time to consider the possibility of recording and displaying the history of malting in Athy in a manner and in a setting which will complement the Company's present operations and add to the heritage status of our town.
Friday, May 26, 1995
Offaly Street
In May 1945 the Allied Troops having gained the upper hand against the German Army were advancing on Berlin. They met little resistance as the calvacade of men and war machinery swept speedily over the tortured soil of Germany. Back in neutral Ireland the Irish people went about their business as usual. In the coalmining town of Castlecomer a young Garda Sergeant and his family were preparing to move house yet again. He had done this four times since getting married but this was to be the last occasion that he would pack furniture and belongings into a hired lorry to journey to a new town.
The Garda Sergeant was my father who in May 1945 brought my mother and her five young sons to Athy. The transfer was at his request so that he could get his sons into a Secondary School where none was to be had in Castlecomer. The short journey to Athy ended at No. 6 Offaly Street in a two up two down terraced house rented from Myles Whelan.
Offaly Street has shown little structural changes in the intervening fifty years. What has changed are the families who live in what was then a very close knit community. Paddy Garrett is still in No. 1 while in No. 2 was the Smith family with Joe Murphy next door. Joe who worked on the railways was a wonderful character, passionately involved in both the G.A.A. and Fianna Fail. Mrs. Murphy, and in those days every female of indeterminate age was called Mrs., had with her a niece Loy Hayden who is now herself married and living in my old home, No. 6 Offaly Street.
John Murphy and his family were on the far side of Janeville Lane next to Tom White and his family. I can vaguely recall Tom's involvement in the musical shows of the late 1940's and particularly an outdoor carnival type parade which started in the pub yard opposite our house and ended up in Emily Square. Andrew and Basil White were two of my Offaly Street mates when I was growing up and sadly both are dead as is their younger brother Leo. When the Whites moved to Athgarvan in 1954 or thereabouts the Taaffes who lived next door in what was a smaller house transferred into No. 5 Offaly Street.
In No. 7 lived Tom Moore and his family. Tom, a gentleman in every sense of the word, was surely the longest serving G.A.A. Club Secretary in the history of the association. His allegiance was to Rheban and with his encouragement even I ended up playing football for Rheban G.F.C. for a short while. Willie Moore and the late "Micky" Moore were also members of the younger generation of the Offaly Street fellows whose exploits during the 1950's are still fondly remembered.
Tom McHugh and his wife lived in No. 8 and many an hour was passed watching the men at work in Tom's foundry in Janeville Lane. Tom was an early riser and was always sure to be found at Dallons corner as I passed by on my way to serve 7.00 o'clock morning Mass.
Mick Bradley and his mother were next door and then the Breen family next to Bob Webster, later Manager of the local cinema, and finally on the same side the Sunderland family. Beyond the lane was Aldridges orchard where the apple trees more than once proved a temptation impossible to suppress. The difficulty in getting over the high wall posed a problem but in the end proved no match for young nimble hands and agile feet. In the area now known as Beechgrove were what we called "the buildings" consisting of the partially built walls of a cinema planned to replace the Picture Palace in Offaly Street. It was never completed and proved a ready made playground for the youngsters in Offaly Street. At the very end of "the buildings" next to the wall surrounding the Rector's house lived Ms. Hegarty in a beautiful picturesque cottage. When she died the cottage quickly fell into disrepair and when the roof collapsed all the local youngsters including myself diverted our energies into knocking down the mud walls of what must have been a very early 18th century house.
Crossing Offaly Street and retracing our steps on the East side of the street, the first house we meet is that of Mrs. Evans and her son John who lived directly opposite Sunderlands and next to Keatleys and the local cinema. Mattie Brennan, that delightful neighbour, was next door to Garda Touhy and his family. Mick Touhy was a great gunman and fisherman and his house is one of only five houses in Offaly Street still occupied by the same families who lived there 50 years ago.
Mr. & Mrs. Alex Neill lived beside Paddy Murphy, a hackney driver and his family. The house, small and all as it was in those days, is now even smaller having been part demolished to provide a larger side entrance for the adjoining pub. Tom Dowling and his family lived over the pub when we came to Athy but they left some years later for Naas. His successor in the pub was the legendary John W. Kehoe who gave many years of dedicated service to improving the facilities in Geraldine Park, Athy.
Kitty Webster's sweet shop across Butlers Row from the pub was the most important building in Offaly Street insofar as every youngster in the street was concerned. We all graduated from penny toffees to cigarette smoking at an early age as a result of Kittys willingness to split a packet of cigarettes to sell one or two of the noxious weeds. Her mother and sister Pattie were there also but to all of us it was known only as Kitty Websters. Garda Jim Kelly and his family lived next door and Teddy Kelly and his late brother Leopold were another family duo who comprised the Offaly Street "gang" of my young days. The last house on the street was occupied by the Dargan family including Jim and his sister Kathleen. Jim's father had a forge in Mount Hawkins, one of many such forges to be found in Athy at one time.
The street which housed three members of the local Gardai gave two priests to the Church in my time. Fr. Tommy Touhy, son of Garda Mick Touhy and the late Fr. Leopold Kelly, son of Garda Jim Kelly. The only houses still with the same families as 50 years ago include the Touhys, Kellys, Breens, Taaffes and Paddy Garratt.
Looking back over the residents then and later I am astonished at the number of young people with whom I grew up who have since died. Danny and Mylie Cash, Eva Murphy, Seamus Taaffe, Andrew, Basil and Leo White, Michael Moore and Leopold Kelly all shared common experiences as young fellows in Offaly Street and all went to early graves.
The once quiet street is now home to a new generation of people and the ghosts of the past look back on a scene which is at once familiar yet strange. The streetscape remains largely unaltered. Where once we played ball in the almost traffic-free street, trucks and cars now trundle and speed on their journeys. Parents have died, their sons and daughters have moved on and the community renews itself as it has done ever since the street was first planned to extend out the Carlow Road beyond Prestons Gate.
When the first part of this article appeared last Wednesday I could then note that Paddy Garratt and my mother were the last of the older generation still in Offaly Street although I am sure that Paddy would have readily deferred in terms of age to the 89 year old woman who came to the street fifty years ago. Paddy who has lived in Offaly Street since 1928 is now the last of the old time residents as sadly my mother died last week. Offaly Street is now a street of childhood memories for many of us as a new generation takes our place
The Garda Sergeant was my father who in May 1945 brought my mother and her five young sons to Athy. The transfer was at his request so that he could get his sons into a Secondary School where none was to be had in Castlecomer. The short journey to Athy ended at No. 6 Offaly Street in a two up two down terraced house rented from Myles Whelan.
Offaly Street has shown little structural changes in the intervening fifty years. What has changed are the families who live in what was then a very close knit community. Paddy Garrett is still in No. 1 while in No. 2 was the Smith family with Joe Murphy next door. Joe who worked on the railways was a wonderful character, passionately involved in both the G.A.A. and Fianna Fail. Mrs. Murphy, and in those days every female of indeterminate age was called Mrs., had with her a niece Loy Hayden who is now herself married and living in my old home, No. 6 Offaly Street.
John Murphy and his family were on the far side of Janeville Lane next to Tom White and his family. I can vaguely recall Tom's involvement in the musical shows of the late 1940's and particularly an outdoor carnival type parade which started in the pub yard opposite our house and ended up in Emily Square. Andrew and Basil White were two of my Offaly Street mates when I was growing up and sadly both are dead as is their younger brother Leo. When the Whites moved to Athgarvan in 1954 or thereabouts the Taaffes who lived next door in what was a smaller house transferred into No. 5 Offaly Street.
In No. 7 lived Tom Moore and his family. Tom, a gentleman in every sense of the word, was surely the longest serving G.A.A. Club Secretary in the history of the association. His allegiance was to Rheban and with his encouragement even I ended up playing football for Rheban G.F.C. for a short while. Willie Moore and the late "Micky" Moore were also members of the younger generation of the Offaly Street fellows whose exploits during the 1950's are still fondly remembered.
Tom McHugh and his wife lived in No. 8 and many an hour was passed watching the men at work in Tom's foundry in Janeville Lane. Tom was an early riser and was always sure to be found at Dallons corner as I passed by on my way to serve 7.00 o'clock morning Mass.
Mick Bradley and his mother were next door and then the Breen family next to Bob Webster, later Manager of the local cinema, and finally on the same side the Sunderland family. Beyond the lane was Aldridges orchard where the apple trees more than once proved a temptation impossible to suppress. The difficulty in getting over the high wall posed a problem but in the end proved no match for young nimble hands and agile feet. In the area now known as Beechgrove were what we called "the buildings" consisting of the partially built walls of a cinema planned to replace the Picture Palace in Offaly Street. It was never completed and proved a ready made playground for the youngsters in Offaly Street. At the very end of "the buildings" next to the wall surrounding the Rector's house lived Ms. Hegarty in a beautiful picturesque cottage. When she died the cottage quickly fell into disrepair and when the roof collapsed all the local youngsters including myself diverted our energies into knocking down the mud walls of what must have been a very early 18th century house.
Crossing Offaly Street and retracing our steps on the East side of the street, the first house we meet is that of Mrs. Evans and her son John who lived directly opposite Sunderlands and next to Keatleys and the local cinema. Mattie Brennan, that delightful neighbour, was next door to Garda Touhy and his family. Mick Touhy was a great gunman and fisherman and his house is one of only five houses in Offaly Street still occupied by the same families who lived there 50 years ago.
Mr. & Mrs. Alex Neill lived beside Paddy Murphy, a hackney driver and his family. The house, small and all as it was in those days, is now even smaller having been part demolished to provide a larger side entrance for the adjoining pub. Tom Dowling and his family lived over the pub when we came to Athy but they left some years later for Naas. His successor in the pub was the legendary John W. Kehoe who gave many years of dedicated service to improving the facilities in Geraldine Park, Athy.
Kitty Webster's sweet shop across Butlers Row from the pub was the most important building in Offaly Street insofar as every youngster in the street was concerned. We all graduated from penny toffees to cigarette smoking at an early age as a result of Kittys willingness to split a packet of cigarettes to sell one or two of the noxious weeds. Her mother and sister Pattie were there also but to all of us it was known only as Kitty Websters. Garda Jim Kelly and his family lived next door and Teddy Kelly and his late brother Leopold were another family duo who comprised the Offaly Street "gang" of my young days. The last house on the street was occupied by the Dargan family including Jim and his sister Kathleen. Jim's father had a forge in Mount Hawkins, one of many such forges to be found in Athy at one time.
The street which housed three members of the local Gardai gave two priests to the Church in my time. Fr. Tommy Touhy, son of Garda Mick Touhy and the late Fr. Leopold Kelly, son of Garda Jim Kelly. The only houses still with the same families as 50 years ago include the Touhys, Kellys, Breens, Taaffes and Paddy Garratt.
Looking back over the residents then and later I am astonished at the number of young people with whom I grew up who have since died. Danny and Mylie Cash, Eva Murphy, Seamus Taaffe, Andrew, Basil and Leo White, Michael Moore and Leopold Kelly all shared common experiences as young fellows in Offaly Street and all went to early graves.
The once quiet street is now home to a new generation of people and the ghosts of the past look back on a scene which is at once familiar yet strange. The streetscape remains largely unaltered. Where once we played ball in the almost traffic-free street, trucks and cars now trundle and speed on their journeys. Parents have died, their sons and daughters have moved on and the community renews itself as it has done ever since the street was first planned to extend out the Carlow Road beyond Prestons Gate.
When the first part of this article appeared last Wednesday I could then note that Paddy Garratt and my mother were the last of the older generation still in Offaly Street although I am sure that Paddy would have readily deferred in terms of age to the 89 year old woman who came to the street fifty years ago. Paddy who has lived in Offaly Street since 1928 is now the last of the old time residents as sadly my mother died last week. Offaly Street is now a street of childhood memories for many of us as a new generation takes our place
Friday, May 19, 1995
Fr. Philip Dennehy
Sunday is the most important day in the weekly calendar for all christians. For a clergyman it assumes perhaps even greater significance when viewed as an opportunity to address his congregation other than on an individual basis. However, the average sermon or homily can sometimes seem strained and perhaps even less than relevant in the context of the modern world but never when the words are those of the man who is the subject of today’s article.
Fr. Philip Dennehy, Parish Priest of Athy, has a most eloquent if sometimes understated way of putting his thoughts before his parishioners. The obvious attention and care which goes into the preparation of his homilies is reflected in the meaningful words designed to help his congregation to come closer to God.
He will shortly celebrate forty years as a priest, fifteen of which have been spent as a Parish Priest, first in Monksview, Dublin and latterly in Athy. Born in Middleton, Co. Cork, the son of a member of the Garda Siochana he was to live in a number of Irish towns as he grew up, each new address marking another step in his father’s climb up the promotional ladder. At the age of two he moved to Tramore, Co. Waterford, later to Limerick City and finally to Roscommon town where his father was Chief Superintendent. Philip Dennehy who had six sisters and one brother attended the Christian Brothers Schools in Tramore and Limerick, ending his secondary schooling in St. Brendan’s College, Killarney. As he readily acknowledges his County allegiance is somewhat difficult to ascertain given his almost nomadic early lifestyle. However, pressed on the point he will acknowledge a sneaking regard for his Kerry ancestry, the County where both is parents were born and where all his relatives come from.
An altar boy while in Roscommon he was attracted to the priesthood at an early age, entering the seminary in Clonliffe in 1948 straight from secondary school. Having obtained his B.A. in University College Dublin he went to Maynooth College in 1951 where he spent the next four years. Ordained in 1955 he was appointed Chaplain to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Dun Laoire, then a tuberculosis hospital, now the Rehabilitation Centre. Spending one year there he was next transferred to another tuberculosis hospital, St. Mary’s Phoenix Park. Both were particularly difficult postings for a young Chaplain, required as he was to deal with the spiritual needs of the many unfortunate patients suffering what was then the most dreaded of diseases - tuberculosis.
Fr. Dennehy first arrived in Athy as a young curate in 1963 and was to remain here for ten years. When he left the town in 1973 he did so with a heavy heart, having made many friends. For him leaving a Parish is always a sad occasion but as he says, “if you enlist to soldier you must go where you are sent”. Unusually he was asked by the late Archbishop McNamara to return to Athy as a Parish Priest in 1985. While the basic duty of a Parish Priest is no different from that of a Curate the administrative responsibility of a Parish Priest imposes a duty which does not always rest easy on the shoulders of someone whose job is to bring Christ to the people.
As a clergy man who takes things at face value he refuses to delve too deeply into people’s motives, always prepared to assume the best of intentions for every act, charitable or otherwise. Conscious of the excessively strong role of the old style Parish Priest of another era, Fr. Dennehy has always adopted an easy going attitude in his contacts with members of his congregation. Recognising the important role of the laity he seeks to motivate people within the parish to do what they can for themselves. His common sense approach in all things underscores his belief that as a Parish Priest he is not an authority on everything. To him so called experts are suspect, common sense being the most useful tool in dealing with most situations.
In celebrating forty years in the priesthood, twenty years of which he has spent in Athy, Fr. Dennehy can look back on many happy events, many achievements and inevitably some sad occasions. He can do so with justifiable pride and in the certain knowledge that there can be no higher calling that a life dedicated to the service of God.
Fr. Philip Dennehy, Parish Priest of Athy, has a most eloquent if sometimes understated way of putting his thoughts before his parishioners. The obvious attention and care which goes into the preparation of his homilies is reflected in the meaningful words designed to help his congregation to come closer to God.
He will shortly celebrate forty years as a priest, fifteen of which have been spent as a Parish Priest, first in Monksview, Dublin and latterly in Athy. Born in Middleton, Co. Cork, the son of a member of the Garda Siochana he was to live in a number of Irish towns as he grew up, each new address marking another step in his father’s climb up the promotional ladder. At the age of two he moved to Tramore, Co. Waterford, later to Limerick City and finally to Roscommon town where his father was Chief Superintendent. Philip Dennehy who had six sisters and one brother attended the Christian Brothers Schools in Tramore and Limerick, ending his secondary schooling in St. Brendan’s College, Killarney. As he readily acknowledges his County allegiance is somewhat difficult to ascertain given his almost nomadic early lifestyle. However, pressed on the point he will acknowledge a sneaking regard for his Kerry ancestry, the County where both is parents were born and where all his relatives come from.
An altar boy while in Roscommon he was attracted to the priesthood at an early age, entering the seminary in Clonliffe in 1948 straight from secondary school. Having obtained his B.A. in University College Dublin he went to Maynooth College in 1951 where he spent the next four years. Ordained in 1955 he was appointed Chaplain to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Dun Laoire, then a tuberculosis hospital, now the Rehabilitation Centre. Spending one year there he was next transferred to another tuberculosis hospital, St. Mary’s Phoenix Park. Both were particularly difficult postings for a young Chaplain, required as he was to deal with the spiritual needs of the many unfortunate patients suffering what was then the most dreaded of diseases - tuberculosis.
Fr. Dennehy first arrived in Athy as a young curate in 1963 and was to remain here for ten years. When he left the town in 1973 he did so with a heavy heart, having made many friends. For him leaving a Parish is always a sad occasion but as he says, “if you enlist to soldier you must go where you are sent”. Unusually he was asked by the late Archbishop McNamara to return to Athy as a Parish Priest in 1985. While the basic duty of a Parish Priest is no different from that of a Curate the administrative responsibility of a Parish Priest imposes a duty which does not always rest easy on the shoulders of someone whose job is to bring Christ to the people.
As a clergy man who takes things at face value he refuses to delve too deeply into people’s motives, always prepared to assume the best of intentions for every act, charitable or otherwise. Conscious of the excessively strong role of the old style Parish Priest of another era, Fr. Dennehy has always adopted an easy going attitude in his contacts with members of his congregation. Recognising the important role of the laity he seeks to motivate people within the parish to do what they can for themselves. His common sense approach in all things underscores his belief that as a Parish Priest he is not an authority on everything. To him so called experts are suspect, common sense being the most useful tool in dealing with most situations.
In celebrating forty years in the priesthood, twenty years of which he has spent in Athy, Fr. Dennehy can look back on many happy events, many achievements and inevitably some sad occasions. He can do so with justifiable pride and in the certain knowledge that there can be no higher calling that a life dedicated to the service of God.
Friday, May 12, 1995
Walking Tour of Athy East of the Barrow
It is not too often that you get the opportunity to walk around familiar and not so familiar parts of Athy with an enthusiastic group anxious to hear some of the history of their own place. Last week was one such occasion when a small group set off at 7.15p.m. first stepping across the former High Street to enter into the narrow confines of Garter Lane. How it got its name I can only guess but I have always presumed that Garter Lane was a corruption of Carter Lane, a name which acknowledged the large number of its one time resident Carters. However the existence of a Garter Lane in Waterford raises the possibility that the name may indeed have nothing to do with the honourable carting occupation.
Anyway our saunter down Garter Lane brought us by the site of Youells Turbine Shed where the first electricity supply for Athy was produced in the early part of the century. Further on we came on the line of the medieval town wall which terminated at the banks of the River Barrow and which we were to follow over the early stages of our walk.
Facing us as we crossed the former Kildare Road, previously known as Cotters Lane, now Stanhope Street, was St. Michael's Parish Church built in 1964 to replace an earlier Church erected on the same site. That Church had stood for over 150 years and was the venue of the first Church Mission given in an Irish Church in 1842. Passing by Miss Goold's house now occupied by the Parish Priest we paused to bring into focus the Convent of Mercy established in 1851.
The small houses in Chapel Lane, the walls of which were standing until recently, are no longer to be seen but on the far side of the road can be found the high stone wall which shields from view the site of the first Catholic Church built in Athy in post-Reformation days. The thatched roof building erected in or around 1740 was burnt in 1800 allegedly as a result of an altercation between a militia man and a local curate during the 1798 Rebellion. Whatever the truth of the claim first made by Patrick O'Kelly in his book "1798 Rebellion" the then Parish Priest Canon Keegan obtained compensation of £288 for the damaged Church and having collected locally an additional £1,700 he built the sturdy St. Michael's Church in 1803 on grounds which up to then had been swamp land.
Crossing the former High Street the small group passed into Meeting House Lane to hear the story of the Quaker settlement established in Athy in 1672. The construction of the Quaker Meeting House in 1780 gave us the name "Meeting House Lane" which name we have retained even though the Quakers departed from Athy in the early part of the 19th century. The local Methodist Community subsequently took over the Quaker Meeting House and the building since modified continues today to be used as a local Dispensary. No trace can be seen of the twelve houses which once stood on Garden Lane and where Peter Fitzsimons buses are now parked. The houses in Meeting Lane were built in 1913 as part of the first Council housing scheme in Athy and the entire terrace cost the sum of £704.10.0 to build. On our right the foundry of Matt and Mick McHugh is long gone as are the houses on Connolly Lane which stretched back behind Emily Row towards the Credit Union Office. The three storey house at the corner of Meeting Lane was the location of the Parish School operated by the local Rector in 1827.
Turning left into Offaly Street we pass over the site of Prestons Gate, the last remains of the medieval town wall in Athy which were removed in 1860. Then up past the former Picture Palace known to my generation as "Bob's Cinema", previously a malthouse and now a printers office.
St. Michael's Church of Ireland stands at the top of Offaly Street as it has since 1840. Its interior has memorials to some of the local dead of World War I and to Captain George Weldon the first Officer killed in the Boer War. The Weldon's were not always a lucky lot!
A trip up the "Crib Road" gives an opportunity to explain how the protective iron crib once placed around the newly planted roadside trees gave Church Road the name by which it was generally known to locals. Through the trees and looking up the avenue towards Kevin Maher's house we can see the remains of one of the prison cell blocks built in 1830 to replace the jail in Whites Castle. On our right the beautiful Rectory which Rev. Crampton tells me was built by Rev. F.S. Trench and presented by him to the Parish.
The night is drawing in as we walk through the People's Park and what a pleasure it is to do so. Laid out over 200 years ago it is a wonderful facility and maybe there is truth in the claim that the Duke of Leinster's family brought back a young tree from every foreign country they visited which they later planted in the Peoples Park.
Anyway our saunter down Garter Lane brought us by the site of Youells Turbine Shed where the first electricity supply for Athy was produced in the early part of the century. Further on we came on the line of the medieval town wall which terminated at the banks of the River Barrow and which we were to follow over the early stages of our walk.
Facing us as we crossed the former Kildare Road, previously known as Cotters Lane, now Stanhope Street, was St. Michael's Parish Church built in 1964 to replace an earlier Church erected on the same site. That Church had stood for over 150 years and was the venue of the first Church Mission given in an Irish Church in 1842. Passing by Miss Goold's house now occupied by the Parish Priest we paused to bring into focus the Convent of Mercy established in 1851.
The small houses in Chapel Lane, the walls of which were standing until recently, are no longer to be seen but on the far side of the road can be found the high stone wall which shields from view the site of the first Catholic Church built in Athy in post-Reformation days. The thatched roof building erected in or around 1740 was burnt in 1800 allegedly as a result of an altercation between a militia man and a local curate during the 1798 Rebellion. Whatever the truth of the claim first made by Patrick O'Kelly in his book "1798 Rebellion" the then Parish Priest Canon Keegan obtained compensation of £288 for the damaged Church and having collected locally an additional £1,700 he built the sturdy St. Michael's Church in 1803 on grounds which up to then had been swamp land.
Crossing the former High Street the small group passed into Meeting House Lane to hear the story of the Quaker settlement established in Athy in 1672. The construction of the Quaker Meeting House in 1780 gave us the name "Meeting House Lane" which name we have retained even though the Quakers departed from Athy in the early part of the 19th century. The local Methodist Community subsequently took over the Quaker Meeting House and the building since modified continues today to be used as a local Dispensary. No trace can be seen of the twelve houses which once stood on Garden Lane and where Peter Fitzsimons buses are now parked. The houses in Meeting Lane were built in 1913 as part of the first Council housing scheme in Athy and the entire terrace cost the sum of £704.10.0 to build. On our right the foundry of Matt and Mick McHugh is long gone as are the houses on Connolly Lane which stretched back behind Emily Row towards the Credit Union Office. The three storey house at the corner of Meeting Lane was the location of the Parish School operated by the local Rector in 1827.
Turning left into Offaly Street we pass over the site of Prestons Gate, the last remains of the medieval town wall in Athy which were removed in 1860. Then up past the former Picture Palace known to my generation as "Bob's Cinema", previously a malthouse and now a printers office.
St. Michael's Church of Ireland stands at the top of Offaly Street as it has since 1840. Its interior has memorials to some of the local dead of World War I and to Captain George Weldon the first Officer killed in the Boer War. The Weldon's were not always a lucky lot!
A trip up the "Crib Road" gives an opportunity to explain how the protective iron crib once placed around the newly planted roadside trees gave Church Road the name by which it was generally known to locals. Through the trees and looking up the avenue towards Kevin Maher's house we can see the remains of one of the prison cell blocks built in 1830 to replace the jail in Whites Castle. On our right the beautiful Rectory which Rev. Crampton tells me was built by Rev. F.S. Trench and presented by him to the Parish.
The night is drawing in as we walk through the People's Park and what a pleasure it is to do so. Laid out over 200 years ago it is a wonderful facility and maybe there is truth in the claim that the Duke of Leinster's family brought back a young tree from every foreign country they visited which they later planted in the Peoples Park.
Friday, May 5, 1995
General Review of Athy in History
The Cork Historical and Archaeological Society will be paying a visit to Athy on 5th June. This follows on an earlier visit by the Military History Society of Ireland who stopped briefly in Athy on one of its weekend outings.
The Cork Group have expressed an interest in the history of Anglo Norman Athy, the 12th century settlement which has latterly began to reclaim some of its prominence and importance in the historical context.
Living in the town tends to cause us to ignore the many qualities which strangers readily recognise. The juxtaposition of Whites Castle on the Bridge of Athy, with Woodstock Castle on the Western bank of the River Barrow clearly indicate an important settlement in Medieval times. The imposing Town Hall, an early 18th century building providing a backdrop to the central town square is evidence of the commercial development which marked Athy apart as a Market town.
The various stages of the early village and later town development saw it pass through many interesting phases. The early manorial settlement of the 12th and 13th century saw the village develop around the Castle of Woodstock. This was on the West Bank of the River Barrow, and it was there that the first early 13th century Monastery was also located. Founded by the Trinitarians at the area now known as St. John's it was soon succeeded by a Dominican Monastery build on the East Bank of the River in 1253.
Because of the proximity of the wild Irish in Leix and their tendency to attack the village of Athy the town as it developed did so on the East Bank of the River. This made it easier for those in the town to defend themselves and in time a bridge was built with a Castle garrisoned to defend it. Whites Castle still stands today like a lonely sentinel protecting as it has done since 1417 the passage over the Bridge of Athy.
It was the presence of this Castle which allowed the town to develop in the area now known as Emily Square, Leinster Street etc. Of course in those early days the only street names were High Street for the principal street in the town and Market Street where the markets were held. The town or village continued to grow over the years, by and large populated by settlers from the English mainland.
The cosmopolitan nature of the towns population was in time to be reflected in the large number of mainstream religions to be found in Athy. Roman Catholic, United Church of England and Ireland, Methodist, Presbyterian, all had a presence and their Churches are to be found located at the four corners of the town. Marginal religious groups also played a significant role in life in Athy and the Kellyites, Quakers and Plymouth Brethren at one time or another were to be found in Athy.
I have often referred to the rich tapestry of life in Athy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but truly it was then a vibrant community and a leading player in the commercial life of the Irish midlands.
I'm not at all sure that in Athy we have ever appreciated the wealth of history which has bedrocked our towns advancement into the 20th century. Ours is a fine example of a linear type Anglo Norman settlement nearly 800 years old. The architectural remains of our past, represented by Whites Castle and Woodstock Castle are vitally important to our understanding of that past and crucial to our development of Athy Heritage status.
Unfortunately Woodstock Castle remains a forgotten relic of our past, ignored by our Town Council which has done nothing over the years to ensure its preservation and protection from further dereliction. A recent visit to the site indicates that the Castle walls have been breached and further damage is being caused on a weekly basis to this priceless part of historical heritage.
Whites Castle looks to be in urgent need of repair as cracks appear in the outer wall. If either Castle should cease to be a landmark, then we will have failed in our responsibility to preserve what cannons could not dislodge in years gone by. Why not add your voice to those who are calling on our local town Council to act promptly to protect Woodstock Castle and Whites Castle. There are not many towns in Ireland which can boast two castles of such importance and we should take an interest in seeing that those charged with responsibility for civic affairs in Athy extend their interest to the preservation of these two Castles.
Incidentally An Taisce will be holding a meeting in the Community Service Centre, Stanhope Place on Thursday the 4th of May at 8.00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The Cork Group have expressed an interest in the history of Anglo Norman Athy, the 12th century settlement which has latterly began to reclaim some of its prominence and importance in the historical context.
Living in the town tends to cause us to ignore the many qualities which strangers readily recognise. The juxtaposition of Whites Castle on the Bridge of Athy, with Woodstock Castle on the Western bank of the River Barrow clearly indicate an important settlement in Medieval times. The imposing Town Hall, an early 18th century building providing a backdrop to the central town square is evidence of the commercial development which marked Athy apart as a Market town.
The various stages of the early village and later town development saw it pass through many interesting phases. The early manorial settlement of the 12th and 13th century saw the village develop around the Castle of Woodstock. This was on the West Bank of the River Barrow, and it was there that the first early 13th century Monastery was also located. Founded by the Trinitarians at the area now known as St. John's it was soon succeeded by a Dominican Monastery build on the East Bank of the River in 1253.
Because of the proximity of the wild Irish in Leix and their tendency to attack the village of Athy the town as it developed did so on the East Bank of the River. This made it easier for those in the town to defend themselves and in time a bridge was built with a Castle garrisoned to defend it. Whites Castle still stands today like a lonely sentinel protecting as it has done since 1417 the passage over the Bridge of Athy.
It was the presence of this Castle which allowed the town to develop in the area now known as Emily Square, Leinster Street etc. Of course in those early days the only street names were High Street for the principal street in the town and Market Street where the markets were held. The town or village continued to grow over the years, by and large populated by settlers from the English mainland.
The cosmopolitan nature of the towns population was in time to be reflected in the large number of mainstream religions to be found in Athy. Roman Catholic, United Church of England and Ireland, Methodist, Presbyterian, all had a presence and their Churches are to be found located at the four corners of the town. Marginal religious groups also played a significant role in life in Athy and the Kellyites, Quakers and Plymouth Brethren at one time or another were to be found in Athy.
I have often referred to the rich tapestry of life in Athy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but truly it was then a vibrant community and a leading player in the commercial life of the Irish midlands.
I'm not at all sure that in Athy we have ever appreciated the wealth of history which has bedrocked our towns advancement into the 20th century. Ours is a fine example of a linear type Anglo Norman settlement nearly 800 years old. The architectural remains of our past, represented by Whites Castle and Woodstock Castle are vitally important to our understanding of that past and crucial to our development of Athy Heritage status.
Unfortunately Woodstock Castle remains a forgotten relic of our past, ignored by our Town Council which has done nothing over the years to ensure its preservation and protection from further dereliction. A recent visit to the site indicates that the Castle walls have been breached and further damage is being caused on a weekly basis to this priceless part of historical heritage.
Whites Castle looks to be in urgent need of repair as cracks appear in the outer wall. If either Castle should cease to be a landmark, then we will have failed in our responsibility to preserve what cannons could not dislodge in years gone by. Why not add your voice to those who are calling on our local town Council to act promptly to protect Woodstock Castle and Whites Castle. There are not many towns in Ireland which can boast two castles of such importance and we should take an interest in seeing that those charged with responsibility for civic affairs in Athy extend their interest to the preservation of these two Castles.
Incidentally An Taisce will be holding a meeting in the Community Service Centre, Stanhope Place on Thursday the 4th of May at 8.00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Friday, April 28, 1995
Michael McFadden
It is an extraordinary coincidence which finds three unrelated families residing in Athy who have links with the travelling shows or fit ups which were once so popular in Ireland. I have previously written of the O'Rourke-Glynns and Peppers Ghost. Today it is the turn of Michael McFadden a member of that great show family, the McFaddens.
Michael's grandparents operated the Belfast Hippodrome over 100 years ago. James McFadden, his grandfather, was a violinist and his grandmother Catherine the business woman who ran the Hippodrome for many years. Artists were brought to Belfast from abroad for the weekly shows produced on the Hippodrome stage and strange to relate one of those acts were John and James Duffy who were later to establish the famous Duffys Circus. The Hippodrome in time was to close and the McFaddens took to the road crossing and re-crossing the 32 counties with the McFadden Variety Roadshow.
Michael's father married Catherine Hayes, daughter of the owner of Hayes Roadshow and both continued to travel with the McFaddens Road Show. With the usual mixture of variety acts followed by a second half film show road shows were popular in every town and village in Ireland. Travelling by caravan pulled by horses in the early years and later by motorised power the road shows generally stayed a week in each area. Michael's Uncle, Jack McFadden, in keeping with the travelling show tradition married another show person and their sons were Jimmy, Henry, Teddy and George McFadden of the famous McFadden Shows of recent times.
Michael's grandmother died in 1938 at a time when his father had temporarily retired from show business to live in Limerick City. Michael attended school in Limerick until 1942 by which time he had learned to play the violin. The McFadden family again took to the variety road show circuit by joining the Hayes Road Show owned by Mr. McFadden's father-in-law. For a year young Michael followed the nomadic life, moving with his family and the travelling show from one venue to another. Every Monday it was a new town and a different school for Michael whose education continued while he was on the road. At the same time he played a violin solo at each nightly performance.
In 1943 the Hayes Road Show set up in Ballylinan, Co. Laois and when the tent stakes were pulled a week later the McFadden's family caravan stayed behind. The time had come to settle down and Athy was the chosen town. There was no previous family link with Athy but a small house was rented in Blackparks on the Kilkenny Road and the caravan was sold off to Jimmy Lannigan in Ballybough.
Michael's father was signed up by Paddy Gibbons of Barrack Street to work in England where workmen were scarce during the World War. After a few years the McFadden family moved to James' Place which was nearer to town and just off the Kilkenny Road. While living in Blackparks the musically talented young Michael availed of the opportunity to play violin with the Hughes brothers of Rosebran. They were noted musicians in the traditional style and they imparted their enthusiasm for music and the playing of music to young Michael McFadden. In time Michael was to master in addition to the violin the guitar, trombone and piano accordion. He joined the Levitstown Ceile Band playing the piano accordion and sharing a platform with Jimmy and Paddy Hughes, Tom Fingleton and Mrs. Culley. It was to be the first of many musical combinations with which Michael was involved.
Later he joined the Sorrento Dance Band when it was reformed by Paudence Murphy in 1951. Paudence was Band Leader with Michael on piano accordion and vocals, Paudence and Andy Murphy on saxophone and Dinny Pender on drums. Michael ever the musical virtuoso went on to play the bass guitar when the emergence of Beatles and their music necessitated a shift in musical presentation.
For eleven years into the 1980's Michael and Eamon Walsh played together under the name The Sapphires. It was the emergence of the sing along sessions in lounge bars, especially Malachy Corcorans in Leinster Street, now Kanes, which gave Michael the opportunity to develop as a solo artist. The piano accordion remains the main stay of the latter part of Michael’s musical career which is still going strong.
The show man's son born outside Listowel Co. Kerry on the 27th of June, 1932 while the McFadden Show was on the road surely has show business in his blood. From the McFaddens of the Hippodrome of Belfast to Michael McFadden of Athy there are but three generations, all show business people entertaining others in the best show business tradition.
Michael's grandparents operated the Belfast Hippodrome over 100 years ago. James McFadden, his grandfather, was a violinist and his grandmother Catherine the business woman who ran the Hippodrome for many years. Artists were brought to Belfast from abroad for the weekly shows produced on the Hippodrome stage and strange to relate one of those acts were John and James Duffy who were later to establish the famous Duffys Circus. The Hippodrome in time was to close and the McFaddens took to the road crossing and re-crossing the 32 counties with the McFadden Variety Roadshow.
Michael's father married Catherine Hayes, daughter of the owner of Hayes Roadshow and both continued to travel with the McFaddens Road Show. With the usual mixture of variety acts followed by a second half film show road shows were popular in every town and village in Ireland. Travelling by caravan pulled by horses in the early years and later by motorised power the road shows generally stayed a week in each area. Michael's Uncle, Jack McFadden, in keeping with the travelling show tradition married another show person and their sons were Jimmy, Henry, Teddy and George McFadden of the famous McFadden Shows of recent times.
Michael's grandmother died in 1938 at a time when his father had temporarily retired from show business to live in Limerick City. Michael attended school in Limerick until 1942 by which time he had learned to play the violin. The McFadden family again took to the variety road show circuit by joining the Hayes Road Show owned by Mr. McFadden's father-in-law. For a year young Michael followed the nomadic life, moving with his family and the travelling show from one venue to another. Every Monday it was a new town and a different school for Michael whose education continued while he was on the road. At the same time he played a violin solo at each nightly performance.
In 1943 the Hayes Road Show set up in Ballylinan, Co. Laois and when the tent stakes were pulled a week later the McFadden's family caravan stayed behind. The time had come to settle down and Athy was the chosen town. There was no previous family link with Athy but a small house was rented in Blackparks on the Kilkenny Road and the caravan was sold off to Jimmy Lannigan in Ballybough.
Michael's father was signed up by Paddy Gibbons of Barrack Street to work in England where workmen were scarce during the World War. After a few years the McFadden family moved to James' Place which was nearer to town and just off the Kilkenny Road. While living in Blackparks the musically talented young Michael availed of the opportunity to play violin with the Hughes brothers of Rosebran. They were noted musicians in the traditional style and they imparted their enthusiasm for music and the playing of music to young Michael McFadden. In time Michael was to master in addition to the violin the guitar, trombone and piano accordion. He joined the Levitstown Ceile Band playing the piano accordion and sharing a platform with Jimmy and Paddy Hughes, Tom Fingleton and Mrs. Culley. It was to be the first of many musical combinations with which Michael was involved.
Later he joined the Sorrento Dance Band when it was reformed by Paudence Murphy in 1951. Paudence was Band Leader with Michael on piano accordion and vocals, Paudence and Andy Murphy on saxophone and Dinny Pender on drums. Michael ever the musical virtuoso went on to play the bass guitar when the emergence of Beatles and their music necessitated a shift in musical presentation.
For eleven years into the 1980's Michael and Eamon Walsh played together under the name The Sapphires. It was the emergence of the sing along sessions in lounge bars, especially Malachy Corcorans in Leinster Street, now Kanes, which gave Michael the opportunity to develop as a solo artist. The piano accordion remains the main stay of the latter part of Michael’s musical career which is still going strong.
The show man's son born outside Listowel Co. Kerry on the 27th of June, 1932 while the McFadden Show was on the road surely has show business in his blood. From the McFaddens of the Hippodrome of Belfast to Michael McFadden of Athy there are but three generations, all show business people entertaining others in the best show business tradition.
Friday, April 21, 1995
May Lalor
As a young fellow I remember the almost jesuistical response of my father to a book written by an American lady in which she portrayed life in rural Ireland and particularly Athy in the 1950's. The writer parodied unnamed individuals who were readily recognisable by the local people. The shock and horror felt by many in the tight knit community of Athy did not stop those wanting to read the book from doing so. My father apparently borrowed the book but I recall that he put it on the top of the kitchen dresser out of reach of prying hands, for what reason I cannot now fathom. It was after all a harmless, yet funny account, of the Irish and their endearing qualities.
All this is by way of introduction to May Lalor, a wonderfully vivacious raconteur whom I had the pleasure of meeting some weeks ago. Mother of Councillor Reggie Lalor her late husband was the owner of what old timers still refer to as Reid Lalor's Bar and Grocery in Leinster Street. Michael Lalor whom she married in 1932 had purchased the premises from his sister whose late husband was Christy Reid, hence the name Reid Lalor.
When the Lalors operated the business the grocery occupied what is now the lounge bar of Ryans while the pub was next door adjoining Garter Lane and Mulhalls premises. Jack Hearns of Geraldine worked in the bar while Miss Norman of Whites Castle took charge of the grocery shop. Jack originally worked with Michael Lalor's brother who had betting offices in Naas and Athy. The local office was in Garter Lane at the rear of Michael Lalor's pub. When it closed down Jack went to work as a barman for Michael Lalor and eventually retired from the same job at the end of his working life. Miss Norman, whom I always remembered as a very old lady, worked in the grocery shop and lived in nearby Whites Castle. Her mother and her brother Jim, a bookmakers clerk in O'Meara's Betting Office in Emily Square lived with her in the Castle but by the 1950’s she lived there alone.
Mrs. Lalor recalled the names of the shopkeepers who were her neighbours for many years. Proles Menshop was next door in a premises which was previously owned by Cootes. The Cootes, a Scottish couple with no family ran the shop in the early 1930's when it was a menswear shop which also stocked cigarettes and tobacco. Miss Norman worked in Cootes for a while. Murphy's Commercial House was next door to Proles with Michael Anthony Auctioneer next to Mrs. Carolan's corner shop. Corcorans Auctioneers previously carried on business in the premises later occupied by Michael Anthony.
Across the road in what is now the former Irish Permanent Building Society Building was the L. & N. Stores which was previously McLoughlin's public house. Next door and around the corner in Emily Square was O'Meara's public house and beyond it Georgie O'Meara's Betting Office. Past the arch in what is now Hickeys was the butcher shop of Pip Murphy who lived next door with his sisters Gypsy, Nan and Zilla. Another of the Murphy sisters had married a Mr. Stirling who had a pub in Barrow Quay at the turn of the century.
May Lalor remembers the dances in the Town Hall during the 1920's which she describes as "the best dances in the County, people came from everywhere to Athy". The Nurses Dance, the Golf Club Dance and the Rugby Club Dance, all annual events, were all-night affairs, ending with the dawn.
I'll end with the description written by the American lady not so many years ago of the "double shop, pub to the left, grocery to the right" easily recognisable as Lalors of the 1950's.
"Inside was the hushed atmosphere that prevails in all the shops, a charge attentiveness which occurs because shopping is the breath of life, the only social activity of many of the country people. The smallest transaction has dignity and formality, the slightest word is weighted".
Times have changed. The dignity and formality of another age is almost unrecognisable in the hurly burly of modern life but the memories of those gentle days are still treasured by May Lalor.
All this is by way of introduction to May Lalor, a wonderfully vivacious raconteur whom I had the pleasure of meeting some weeks ago. Mother of Councillor Reggie Lalor her late husband was the owner of what old timers still refer to as Reid Lalor's Bar and Grocery in Leinster Street. Michael Lalor whom she married in 1932 had purchased the premises from his sister whose late husband was Christy Reid, hence the name Reid Lalor.
When the Lalors operated the business the grocery occupied what is now the lounge bar of Ryans while the pub was next door adjoining Garter Lane and Mulhalls premises. Jack Hearns of Geraldine worked in the bar while Miss Norman of Whites Castle took charge of the grocery shop. Jack originally worked with Michael Lalor's brother who had betting offices in Naas and Athy. The local office was in Garter Lane at the rear of Michael Lalor's pub. When it closed down Jack went to work as a barman for Michael Lalor and eventually retired from the same job at the end of his working life. Miss Norman, whom I always remembered as a very old lady, worked in the grocery shop and lived in nearby Whites Castle. Her mother and her brother Jim, a bookmakers clerk in O'Meara's Betting Office in Emily Square lived with her in the Castle but by the 1950’s she lived there alone.
Mrs. Lalor recalled the names of the shopkeepers who were her neighbours for many years. Proles Menshop was next door in a premises which was previously owned by Cootes. The Cootes, a Scottish couple with no family ran the shop in the early 1930's when it was a menswear shop which also stocked cigarettes and tobacco. Miss Norman worked in Cootes for a while. Murphy's Commercial House was next door to Proles with Michael Anthony Auctioneer next to Mrs. Carolan's corner shop. Corcorans Auctioneers previously carried on business in the premises later occupied by Michael Anthony.
Across the road in what is now the former Irish Permanent Building Society Building was the L. & N. Stores which was previously McLoughlin's public house. Next door and around the corner in Emily Square was O'Meara's public house and beyond it Georgie O'Meara's Betting Office. Past the arch in what is now Hickeys was the butcher shop of Pip Murphy who lived next door with his sisters Gypsy, Nan and Zilla. Another of the Murphy sisters had married a Mr. Stirling who had a pub in Barrow Quay at the turn of the century.
May Lalor remembers the dances in the Town Hall during the 1920's which she describes as "the best dances in the County, people came from everywhere to Athy". The Nurses Dance, the Golf Club Dance and the Rugby Club Dance, all annual events, were all-night affairs, ending with the dawn.
I'll end with the description written by the American lady not so many years ago of the "double shop, pub to the left, grocery to the right" easily recognisable as Lalors of the 1950's.
"Inside was the hushed atmosphere that prevails in all the shops, a charge attentiveness which occurs because shopping is the breath of life, the only social activity of many of the country people. The smallest transaction has dignity and formality, the slightest word is weighted".
Times have changed. The dignity and formality of another age is almost unrecognisable in the hurly burly of modern life but the memories of those gentle days are still treasured by May Lalor.
Friday, April 14, 1995
The Lost Village - John MacKenna's book
Ten years ago John MacKenna published his second book "The Lost Village". A portrait of life in Castledermot in 1925 it was successfully launched in the local Church Hall to an audience enthraled at the prospect of a local son's venture into the literary world.
In the intervening years John MacKenna's literary star has soared. Now a highly acclaimed writer and winner of the Irish Times Fiction Award, his early venture into social history has now been reprinted by New Island Books. Available to a wider readership than was possible with the first limited edition "The Lost Village" offers an unsentimental peep into the lives of village people 70 years ago.
I am not using the words "peep" in any uncomplimentary sense but merely to convey the almost fleeting looks which the writer allows us to take at incidents and people of the day. Each short piece allows us to taste without quite swallowing. We are never permitted to become too enwraped in any one element of the story before we are whisked almost briskly, if not abruptly, into the next. This is not by way of criticism for I feel that John MacKenna's sure literary touch is evidenced even in this early work.
Football, the District Court, the Garda Siochana and Local Elections figure prominently in the narrative which brings us through a twelve month cycle in the life of Castledermot. I smiled at the many references to the County Kildare footballers, knowing the author's almost fanatical feel for the game at County level. How sorely his patience must have been tried in Clones last week as he watched, as he always does, the Lily Whites always cajoling, ever supporting, always unembarrassingly rich in his use of language designed to scold even if not to permanently mark.
"The Lost Village" is a fun book, one to dip into a will and to be transported back into a world which if not always innocent certainly seemed to lack the deception and deceit of latter day Ireland. Although one must acknowledge that even in those days collecting money from Unemployment Insurance while working was not unknown as evidenced by MacKenna's account of one Castledermot Court case. Strangely as I read that Court case I was puzzled as to whether the author was taking a little licence as I suspect he was when recounting the shooting incident at Ardreigh. However, I must acknowledge that after consulting an appropriate reference book I can only confess that his account was not only possible but more than likely accurate. I still however hold fast to my suspicion that the Ardreigh shooting incident is a colourful piece of fiction.
Whether the book is in part social history or a mix of history and fiction it nevertheless works recreating an interesting landscape for the reader to survey. The account of events in the local Court on the third Wednesday in October raised a chuckle. As MacKenna recounts it "George Jackson, the owner of a garage in Carlow, was being summoned by Guard Halloran in a technical case. Jackson had allowed a load of Mex petrol to be delivered in one of his lorries to Cope's without the lorry being licensed under the Trade Act to carry such a consignment.
"Jasus, they've little to be doin' with their time", a man at the back of the Court whispered to the woman beside him. She nodded."
It reminded me of a case I read about in another newspaper recently where a young fellow was successfully prosecuted and fined for snorting at a member of the Garda Siochana. I would love to have a sneak preview of how the social historians of 70 years hence will relate this "terrible crime".
John MacKenna's book published at £4.95 by New Island Books is now available in the bookshops and deserves your readership. If nothing else it gives you an opportunity of reading what was happening in South Kildare in 1925 before "other families came, new shops opened" and before the community of 1925 became "part of a Lost Village".
It is a lovely book, go out and buy it.
In the intervening years John MacKenna's literary star has soared. Now a highly acclaimed writer and winner of the Irish Times Fiction Award, his early venture into social history has now been reprinted by New Island Books. Available to a wider readership than was possible with the first limited edition "The Lost Village" offers an unsentimental peep into the lives of village people 70 years ago.
I am not using the words "peep" in any uncomplimentary sense but merely to convey the almost fleeting looks which the writer allows us to take at incidents and people of the day. Each short piece allows us to taste without quite swallowing. We are never permitted to become too enwraped in any one element of the story before we are whisked almost briskly, if not abruptly, into the next. This is not by way of criticism for I feel that John MacKenna's sure literary touch is evidenced even in this early work.
Football, the District Court, the Garda Siochana and Local Elections figure prominently in the narrative which brings us through a twelve month cycle in the life of Castledermot. I smiled at the many references to the County Kildare footballers, knowing the author's almost fanatical feel for the game at County level. How sorely his patience must have been tried in Clones last week as he watched, as he always does, the Lily Whites always cajoling, ever supporting, always unembarrassingly rich in his use of language designed to scold even if not to permanently mark.
"The Lost Village" is a fun book, one to dip into a will and to be transported back into a world which if not always innocent certainly seemed to lack the deception and deceit of latter day Ireland. Although one must acknowledge that even in those days collecting money from Unemployment Insurance while working was not unknown as evidenced by MacKenna's account of one Castledermot Court case. Strangely as I read that Court case I was puzzled as to whether the author was taking a little licence as I suspect he was when recounting the shooting incident at Ardreigh. However, I must acknowledge that after consulting an appropriate reference book I can only confess that his account was not only possible but more than likely accurate. I still however hold fast to my suspicion that the Ardreigh shooting incident is a colourful piece of fiction.
Whether the book is in part social history or a mix of history and fiction it nevertheless works recreating an interesting landscape for the reader to survey. The account of events in the local Court on the third Wednesday in October raised a chuckle. As MacKenna recounts it "George Jackson, the owner of a garage in Carlow, was being summoned by Guard Halloran in a technical case. Jackson had allowed a load of Mex petrol to be delivered in one of his lorries to Cope's without the lorry being licensed under the Trade Act to carry such a consignment.
"Jasus, they've little to be doin' with their time", a man at the back of the Court whispered to the woman beside him. She nodded."
It reminded me of a case I read about in another newspaper recently where a young fellow was successfully prosecuted and fined for snorting at a member of the Garda Siochana. I would love to have a sneak preview of how the social historians of 70 years hence will relate this "terrible crime".
John MacKenna's book published at £4.95 by New Island Books is now available in the bookshops and deserves your readership. If nothing else it gives you an opportunity of reading what was happening in South Kildare in 1925 before "other families came, new shops opened" and before the community of 1925 became "part of a Lost Village".
It is a lovely book, go out and buy it.
Friday, April 7, 1995
Jack Murphy
He must surely be one of the front runners for the unique claim of oldest man in Athy. I realise that is a dangerous suggestion to make particularly given the proximity of St. Vincent's Hospital but I do believe the honour belongs to Jack Murphy. Recently I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Jack, now well ensconced in his 10th decade and still happily married after 62 years. His wife Margaret, originally from Crookstown, has been a particularly kind friend of the local Museum Society and some years ago donated to the Museum original documents relating to her late father Andrew Delaney who died in the First World War.
Jack and Margaret married in 1933, a year after the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. At that time Jack worked for Duthie Larges in Leinster Street where he had started as a bicycle mechanic in or about 1919. He worked alongside Paddy Mullery for eight and a half years before moving to Jackson Brothers when they started their garage and bicycle business in Leinster Street. He lost a finger as a result of an accident at work and to add insult to injury it also cost him his job. A move back to Duthie Larges saw him working alongside Joe Brophy, Dinny Bergin, Jim Eaton and Jim Kenny who is retired and living in McDonnell Drive.
In the 1920's and onwards the firm of Duthie Larges was an important employer in South Kildare at a time when the only alternative industrial employment was in the brick yards or Minch Nortons. Their busy workshops turned out machinery and farm equipment while the supply and repair of bicycles was an activity as busy even if not as lucrative as the modern day sale and repair of motor cars. A moulding department, carpentry shop, garage and bicycle shop were some of the main departments to be found in Duthie Larges in those days. Skills abounded with bicycle mechanics, garage mechanics, blacksmiths and pattern moulders working side by side in the huge Duthie Large complex.
It is difficult to imagine nowadays but petrol pumps were once sited on the footpaths of the main streets of the town in Duke Street and in Leinster Street. Duthie Larges and Jacksons had petrol pumps in Leinster Street as had Tommy Stynes while Maxwell had petrol pumps in Duke Street, opposite the old Garda Barracks. No need in those leisurely days for pedestrian crossings!
Jack remembers attending the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin with his good friend Paddy Kelly and he proudly wears a souvenir badge of that Eucharist. Coincidentally he lives in Convent View where the houses have on their facades a crest reminiscent, if not an actual replica, of the 1932 Congress medal. Sitting in the living room of his house in Convent View he recalls with remarkable clarity his young days when he lived with his parents in a small house, one of three at the end of the present Plewman's Terrace.
Jack's parents moved from the Kilkenny Road, or Blackparks as it was called, to Mount Hawkins then a wonderland of small laneways and alleys with names now forgotten - New Row, Kelly's Lane, Carrs Court and Porters Row.
Jack's grandfather Pat Dempsey lived in Chapel Hill and was gardener to the Sisters of Mercy. He still vividly remembers the day his Grandfather died in the Convent garden while in the company of his then 8 year old grandson. 84 years later the sadness and pain of that day still grips Jack as he recalls how he watched his grandfather die.
He moved to Chapel Hill into his late grandfather's house with his parents and brothers Paddy and Andy around 1912. Paddy and Andy were later to become hackney men having gained experience with a namesake but no relation Dick Murphy who had a hackney business at William Street. Paddy was to set up his own hackney business at Offaly Street along side Dowlings pub, later Kehoes and now McHughs before emigrating to England.
Jack never left Athy spending a lifetime in Duthie Larges from where he retired in 1979. By the time Jack left his workbench neither a Large nor a Duthie were involved in the business, even though the name has remained a familiar one in the commercial life of Athy.
Jack and Margaret married in 1933, a year after the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. At that time Jack worked for Duthie Larges in Leinster Street where he had started as a bicycle mechanic in or about 1919. He worked alongside Paddy Mullery for eight and a half years before moving to Jackson Brothers when they started their garage and bicycle business in Leinster Street. He lost a finger as a result of an accident at work and to add insult to injury it also cost him his job. A move back to Duthie Larges saw him working alongside Joe Brophy, Dinny Bergin, Jim Eaton and Jim Kenny who is retired and living in McDonnell Drive.
In the 1920's and onwards the firm of Duthie Larges was an important employer in South Kildare at a time when the only alternative industrial employment was in the brick yards or Minch Nortons. Their busy workshops turned out machinery and farm equipment while the supply and repair of bicycles was an activity as busy even if not as lucrative as the modern day sale and repair of motor cars. A moulding department, carpentry shop, garage and bicycle shop were some of the main departments to be found in Duthie Larges in those days. Skills abounded with bicycle mechanics, garage mechanics, blacksmiths and pattern moulders working side by side in the huge Duthie Large complex.
It is difficult to imagine nowadays but petrol pumps were once sited on the footpaths of the main streets of the town in Duke Street and in Leinster Street. Duthie Larges and Jacksons had petrol pumps in Leinster Street as had Tommy Stynes while Maxwell had petrol pumps in Duke Street, opposite the old Garda Barracks. No need in those leisurely days for pedestrian crossings!
Jack remembers attending the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin with his good friend Paddy Kelly and he proudly wears a souvenir badge of that Eucharist. Coincidentally he lives in Convent View where the houses have on their facades a crest reminiscent, if not an actual replica, of the 1932 Congress medal. Sitting in the living room of his house in Convent View he recalls with remarkable clarity his young days when he lived with his parents in a small house, one of three at the end of the present Plewman's Terrace.
Jack's parents moved from the Kilkenny Road, or Blackparks as it was called, to Mount Hawkins then a wonderland of small laneways and alleys with names now forgotten - New Row, Kelly's Lane, Carrs Court and Porters Row.
Jack's grandfather Pat Dempsey lived in Chapel Hill and was gardener to the Sisters of Mercy. He still vividly remembers the day his Grandfather died in the Convent garden while in the company of his then 8 year old grandson. 84 years later the sadness and pain of that day still grips Jack as he recalls how he watched his grandfather die.
He moved to Chapel Hill into his late grandfather's house with his parents and brothers Paddy and Andy around 1912. Paddy and Andy were later to become hackney men having gained experience with a namesake but no relation Dick Murphy who had a hackney business at William Street. Paddy was to set up his own hackney business at Offaly Street along side Dowlings pub, later Kehoes and now McHughs before emigrating to England.
Jack never left Athy spending a lifetime in Duthie Larges from where he retired in 1979. By the time Jack left his workbench neither a Large nor a Duthie were involved in the business, even though the name has remained a familiar one in the commercial life of Athy.
Friday, March 31, 1995
Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly would have been 77 years old next month, 7 years past the allotted three score and ten if the grim reaper had not called him home last week. He was one of the few surviving members of the now defunct Churchtown Pipe Band. Churchtown and Castlemitchell were areas noted for music at the turn of the century as indeed were many rural areas in Ireland in the days before the advent of radio and television. Every town had its marching band and Athy boasted two in the Barrack Street Fife and Drum Band and the Leinster Street Band. The Churchtown Pipe Band started some time in the 1920's.
Some of the original members of the Band included the three Byrne brothers, John, Christy and Jerry and the brothers Paddy and Johnny Wright who were born in the shadow of Curraclone Church. Ned Hyland of Portlaoise cycled over to Churchtown for band practices where he joined his colleagues Johnny Luttrell from Athy, George Moore from Rheban, Paddy Moloney, Joe Fennelly and Willie Hutchinson. Willie, now over 90 years of age and living in Kilberry is the last surviving member of the original Churchtown band. With the death of Jack Kelly the only member of the Churchtown Pipe Band of later days still with us is Jim Connor who lives in England.
The Band room was conveniently located opposite The Bleeding Horse, once a favoured hostelry for those travelling on the Athy/Portlaoise Road. With the emergence of Athy's L.D.F. Band in the 1940's the Churchtown Pipe Band went into decline. It fell to Jerry Byrne of Kilcrow and Johnny Wright to keep the tradition of pipe playing alive in the Churchtown area. Jerry was an expert at tuning the pipes and skilled in the art of teaching others to play that most difficult of traditional instruments. Johnny Wright took charge of band bookings and entered the band in the various competitions in which it proved so successful over the years.
Jack Kelly, who in his young days learned to play the accordion was taught to play the fiddle by Jerry Byrne and later mastered the tin whistle before joining the Churchtown Pipe Band where he learned to play the bagpipes. He was to continue with the Band until its eventual demise in the 1950's. Music was an important part of his leisure activities and his musical talents were passed on to his son Jimmy and his grandson Sean who at 13 years of age recently won the County Kildare Scor final for fiddle playing.
Jack was justifiably proud of Sean's success, displaying the same sense of pride with which he recounted stories of his native place and of his time in the now defunct I.V.I. Foundry. He spent 31 years there as a metal moulder and proudly showed me the watch which he received after 25 years service. The work ethic was firmly entrenched in the character of men such as Jack Kelly who was born in the last year of the Great War. When he left school he worked in P.P. Doyle's brick yard and even 50 years later he could still recall with ease the skills and practices of the long lost brick making tradition. Sourers, middlers, wheelers, upstitchers, moulders and off-bearers are no longer part of the industrial language of the day but to Jack Kelly they represented brickyard men with whom he shared work experiences so many years ago.
Jack played with no less than four local bands, all of which are now long gone. Kilberry Fife and Drum Band and Kilberry Pipe Band were two in which he featured in his young days. He also joined for a very short period the Barrack Street Fife and Drum Band before becoming a member of the Churchtown Pipe Band. He recounts a story how as a young 17 or 18 year old playing with the Barrack Street Band and marching into Athy behind the Churchtown Pipe Band he threw his fife and beret into Flinters Field and left the Parade, recognising that his allegiance was with the Churchtown Band which he was later to join.
Jack was proud of his family, his work, his music and of his own place all of which helped him make a good journey through life.
Some of the original members of the Band included the three Byrne brothers, John, Christy and Jerry and the brothers Paddy and Johnny Wright who were born in the shadow of Curraclone Church. Ned Hyland of Portlaoise cycled over to Churchtown for band practices where he joined his colleagues Johnny Luttrell from Athy, George Moore from Rheban, Paddy Moloney, Joe Fennelly and Willie Hutchinson. Willie, now over 90 years of age and living in Kilberry is the last surviving member of the original Churchtown band. With the death of Jack Kelly the only member of the Churchtown Pipe Band of later days still with us is Jim Connor who lives in England.
The Band room was conveniently located opposite The Bleeding Horse, once a favoured hostelry for those travelling on the Athy/Portlaoise Road. With the emergence of Athy's L.D.F. Band in the 1940's the Churchtown Pipe Band went into decline. It fell to Jerry Byrne of Kilcrow and Johnny Wright to keep the tradition of pipe playing alive in the Churchtown area. Jerry was an expert at tuning the pipes and skilled in the art of teaching others to play that most difficult of traditional instruments. Johnny Wright took charge of band bookings and entered the band in the various competitions in which it proved so successful over the years.
Jack Kelly, who in his young days learned to play the accordion was taught to play the fiddle by Jerry Byrne and later mastered the tin whistle before joining the Churchtown Pipe Band where he learned to play the bagpipes. He was to continue with the Band until its eventual demise in the 1950's. Music was an important part of his leisure activities and his musical talents were passed on to his son Jimmy and his grandson Sean who at 13 years of age recently won the County Kildare Scor final for fiddle playing.
Jack was justifiably proud of Sean's success, displaying the same sense of pride with which he recounted stories of his native place and of his time in the now defunct I.V.I. Foundry. He spent 31 years there as a metal moulder and proudly showed me the watch which he received after 25 years service. The work ethic was firmly entrenched in the character of men such as Jack Kelly who was born in the last year of the Great War. When he left school he worked in P.P. Doyle's brick yard and even 50 years later he could still recall with ease the skills and practices of the long lost brick making tradition. Sourers, middlers, wheelers, upstitchers, moulders and off-bearers are no longer part of the industrial language of the day but to Jack Kelly they represented brickyard men with whom he shared work experiences so many years ago.
Jack played with no less than four local bands, all of which are now long gone. Kilberry Fife and Drum Band and Kilberry Pipe Band were two in which he featured in his young days. He also joined for a very short period the Barrack Street Fife and Drum Band before becoming a member of the Churchtown Pipe Band. He recounts a story how as a young 17 or 18 year old playing with the Barrack Street Band and marching into Athy behind the Churchtown Pipe Band he threw his fife and beret into Flinters Field and left the Parade, recognising that his allegiance was with the Churchtown Band which he was later to join.
Jack was proud of his family, his work, his music and of his own place all of which helped him make a good journey through life.
Friday, March 24, 1995
Great Famine
This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the first year of the Irish Famine which is acknowledged was the greatest social catastrophe in Irish history.
The blight which affected the potato crop of 1845 was not widespread. The area around Athy where there was a less dependency on the potato than in other areas appears to have escaped the worst excesses of that first year of what later became known as The Great Famine.
The Workhouse which had opened in Athy in January of the previous year did not show any marked increase in inmate numbers in the first year of the Famine. As the Workhouse was the only place where people in need could receive assistance it is clear that the destitution in Athy and district as a result of the partial potato failure of 1845 was perhaps no worse than in other years.
Not so the affects of the potato blight on the crops in the following year. Early reports from the Athy area confirmed that the disease had appeared in crops in all parts of the Poor Law Union, an area which included Monasterevin, Kildangan, Ballytore, Athy and parts of County Laois. The loss of the crop in 1846 had a devastating affect on the people throughout the island of Ireland, especially those living in the west of Ireland. Even in Athy and South Kildare families unable to feed themselves overcame their reluctance to enter the Workhouse. Daily the numbers coming to the Workhouse door increased so that by December 1846 there were more than 700 inmates.
On entering the Workhouse the men were separated from the women, the women separated from their children. Their clothes were taken from them and they were given rough Workhouse uniforms before being segregated into separate dormitories for men, women and children. At mealtimes they took up their rations which they ate in silence. During the day the men were put to work breaking stones or picking oakum.
Many died from fever and malnutrition. In the week ended 9th January 1847, 17 poor inmates of Athy Workhouse died. Two weeks later 19 more people were recorded as having died in the space of one week. At the end of the famine period 1,205 men, women and children had died in Athy Workhouse and the adjoining Fever Hospital. As in life their deaths were not marked by any ceremony. Their emaciated bodies were hurriedly brought by handcart across the Stradbally road and over the Canal bridge to be buried without the benefit of clergy in graves which would remain unmarked.
Two auxiliary Workhouses were opened in the town at Barrack Street and in a Canal store at Nelson Street in 1847 to cater for the large number of people crowding into the Workhouse. A Soup Kitchen operated by a local Relief Committee was opened in Athy on the 6th of June 1847. On one day 3,088 people from Athy and the surrounding countryside got rations at the food kitchen. It closed on the 15th of August when the Board of Guardians who operated the Workhouse were allowed for the first time to give help to the starving people in their own homes. In the Athy Workhouse area an average of 3,410 persons received assistance each day from the Board of Guardians. Oral tradition relates that some hungry people survived by eating Praiseach which grew in abundance in fields where the Ashville houses are now located.
The failure of the 1848 potato crop led to further hardship such that at one stage almost 1,300 people were living in the local Workhouses. We don't know how many local people died during the Famine. We only know of the 1,205 who died in the Workhouse and the Fever Hospital in the town. How many more died in their own homes or on the side of the road we cannot now say.
The Great Famine had a devastating effect on our country. It shattered the confidence of the Irish people and accelerated the flow of families from our island. The horror of that period is beyond imagination but in this the 150th Anniversary year we have an opportunity of remembering those who suffered and died during the Great Famine while understanding and helping those who today similarly suffer in Rowanda and other famine areas of the world. For how can we ever again ignore scenes such as those recorded by Canon O'Rourke, Parish Priest of Maynooth who in his history of the Famine described people wandering through the Irish countryside in search of food, people dying of hunger in their cabins and people refused admission to the Workhouses who lay down on the road outside to die of hunger and fever.
We must never forget these people and as the inheritors of a legacy of famine we should never turn our back on the victims of hunger.
The blight which affected the potato crop of 1845 was not widespread. The area around Athy where there was a less dependency on the potato than in other areas appears to have escaped the worst excesses of that first year of what later became known as The Great Famine.
The Workhouse which had opened in Athy in January of the previous year did not show any marked increase in inmate numbers in the first year of the Famine. As the Workhouse was the only place where people in need could receive assistance it is clear that the destitution in Athy and district as a result of the partial potato failure of 1845 was perhaps no worse than in other years.
Not so the affects of the potato blight on the crops in the following year. Early reports from the Athy area confirmed that the disease had appeared in crops in all parts of the Poor Law Union, an area which included Monasterevin, Kildangan, Ballytore, Athy and parts of County Laois. The loss of the crop in 1846 had a devastating affect on the people throughout the island of Ireland, especially those living in the west of Ireland. Even in Athy and South Kildare families unable to feed themselves overcame their reluctance to enter the Workhouse. Daily the numbers coming to the Workhouse door increased so that by December 1846 there were more than 700 inmates.
On entering the Workhouse the men were separated from the women, the women separated from their children. Their clothes were taken from them and they were given rough Workhouse uniforms before being segregated into separate dormitories for men, women and children. At mealtimes they took up their rations which they ate in silence. During the day the men were put to work breaking stones or picking oakum.
Many died from fever and malnutrition. In the week ended 9th January 1847, 17 poor inmates of Athy Workhouse died. Two weeks later 19 more people were recorded as having died in the space of one week. At the end of the famine period 1,205 men, women and children had died in Athy Workhouse and the adjoining Fever Hospital. As in life their deaths were not marked by any ceremony. Their emaciated bodies were hurriedly brought by handcart across the Stradbally road and over the Canal bridge to be buried without the benefit of clergy in graves which would remain unmarked.
Two auxiliary Workhouses were opened in the town at Barrack Street and in a Canal store at Nelson Street in 1847 to cater for the large number of people crowding into the Workhouse. A Soup Kitchen operated by a local Relief Committee was opened in Athy on the 6th of June 1847. On one day 3,088 people from Athy and the surrounding countryside got rations at the food kitchen. It closed on the 15th of August when the Board of Guardians who operated the Workhouse were allowed for the first time to give help to the starving people in their own homes. In the Athy Workhouse area an average of 3,410 persons received assistance each day from the Board of Guardians. Oral tradition relates that some hungry people survived by eating Praiseach which grew in abundance in fields where the Ashville houses are now located.
The failure of the 1848 potato crop led to further hardship such that at one stage almost 1,300 people were living in the local Workhouses. We don't know how many local people died during the Famine. We only know of the 1,205 who died in the Workhouse and the Fever Hospital in the town. How many more died in their own homes or on the side of the road we cannot now say.
The Great Famine had a devastating effect on our country. It shattered the confidence of the Irish people and accelerated the flow of families from our island. The horror of that period is beyond imagination but in this the 150th Anniversary year we have an opportunity of remembering those who suffered and died during the Great Famine while understanding and helping those who today similarly suffer in Rowanda and other famine areas of the world. For how can we ever again ignore scenes such as those recorded by Canon O'Rourke, Parish Priest of Maynooth who in his history of the Famine described people wandering through the Irish countryside in search of food, people dying of hunger in their cabins and people refused admission to the Workhouses who lay down on the road outside to die of hunger and fever.
We must never forget these people and as the inheritors of a legacy of famine we should never turn our back on the victims of hunger.
Friday, March 17, 1995
Books on the Great Famine
In this the 150th Anniversary of the first year of the Great Famine understandably there is great interest in that sad event which represented the greatest social catastrophe in Irish history. Many new publications relating to the Famine are currently on the bookshelves and many more are expected during the year. I am prompted to write this item this week because of the many requests I have received, especially from school-children involved in school projects for information on the Great Famine.
For a detailed account of the period it would be difficult to overlook Cecil Woodham Smith’s book “The Great Hunger”, first published in 1962 and now reprinted in paperback form. An early book published by Brown & Nolan in 1956 was “The Great Famine” edited by Dudley Edwards and Desmond Williams, both of UCD. It consisted of a series of chapters written on various topics relating to the Famine by academics in the Irish Universities. An even earlier publication was Canon O’Rourke’s “The History of the Great Irish Famine of 1847”, first published in 1875 and reprinted several times thereafter. Canon O’Rourke was parish priest of Maynooth and his pioneering work was a valuable social document prepared as it had been with the assistance and co-operation of people who had lived through the Famine.
Books recently produced include John O’Connor’s paperback publication entitled “The Workhouses of Ireland” which is of relevance to an understanding of that most feared of pauper institutions. Another new paperback is “The Great Irish Famine”, published to coincide with the Radio Eireann Thomas Davis series of lectures on the same topic. Christine Kinealy has written a scholarly work published last year by Gill and MacMillan under the title “This Great Calamity - The Irish Famine 1845-52”. It takes a more analytical look at the Great Famine than the other books mentioned and as such might not be regarded as one for the general reader. Two other books still in the bookshops which would certainly appeal to the average reader are “Famine Diary” by Gerald Keegan and “A Farewell to Famine” by Jim Rees.
Keegan’s book is in fact a fictionalised diary account of a journey endured by Irish refugees aboard a coffin ship as they journey to the new World. Jim Rees’ book deals with the people from Wicklow and Wexford who, led by Fr. Thomas Hore, travelled across the Atlantic to set up homes in America. It is an interesting insight into the experiences of famine emigration. The last book I will mention, again in paperback, is “The Famine in Ireland” by Mary E. Daly, published by the Dublin Historical Association in 1986 and still available in the bookshops. This gives a useful concise outline of the famine period.
A number of other publications on the famine are planned for publication throughout the year including what I believe is a book of essays on the famine in County Kildare. This I believe will come out in June or July.
There is no doubt as to the importance of what we commonly refer to as the Great Famine in Irish History. It shattered the confidence of the Irish people and accelerated the flow of Irish people from our islands. The devastation it left in its wake is beyond imagination but in this the 150th anniversary year we have an opportunity of learning more of the hardships endured by those who lived or died in those dreadful times.
Last week two men who had shared their experiences with me and of whom I have written previously passed away. Paddy Kehoe who played a significant role in the early development of Macra na Feirme and who was a close friend of Stephen Cullinan, died at an advanced age. Billy Cunningham who left Athy in 1954 and settled in Manchester and whom I met in “The White Sheaf” on Oldham Road this time last year died after a long illness. One of the great pleasures on writing a weekly article on the past is the opportunity it affords me of meeting and listening to men and women whose experiences of life in Athy are always interesting, always enlightening and never without a touch of humour. As a corollary to this there are also the sad moments such as last weekend when two men who had shared their experiences and thoughts with me died. May they rest in peace.
For a detailed account of the period it would be difficult to overlook Cecil Woodham Smith’s book “The Great Hunger”, first published in 1962 and now reprinted in paperback form. An early book published by Brown & Nolan in 1956 was “The Great Famine” edited by Dudley Edwards and Desmond Williams, both of UCD. It consisted of a series of chapters written on various topics relating to the Famine by academics in the Irish Universities. An even earlier publication was Canon O’Rourke’s “The History of the Great Irish Famine of 1847”, first published in 1875 and reprinted several times thereafter. Canon O’Rourke was parish priest of Maynooth and his pioneering work was a valuable social document prepared as it had been with the assistance and co-operation of people who had lived through the Famine.
Books recently produced include John O’Connor’s paperback publication entitled “The Workhouses of Ireland” which is of relevance to an understanding of that most feared of pauper institutions. Another new paperback is “The Great Irish Famine”, published to coincide with the Radio Eireann Thomas Davis series of lectures on the same topic. Christine Kinealy has written a scholarly work published last year by Gill and MacMillan under the title “This Great Calamity - The Irish Famine 1845-52”. It takes a more analytical look at the Great Famine than the other books mentioned and as such might not be regarded as one for the general reader. Two other books still in the bookshops which would certainly appeal to the average reader are “Famine Diary” by Gerald Keegan and “A Farewell to Famine” by Jim Rees.
Keegan’s book is in fact a fictionalised diary account of a journey endured by Irish refugees aboard a coffin ship as they journey to the new World. Jim Rees’ book deals with the people from Wicklow and Wexford who, led by Fr. Thomas Hore, travelled across the Atlantic to set up homes in America. It is an interesting insight into the experiences of famine emigration. The last book I will mention, again in paperback, is “The Famine in Ireland” by Mary E. Daly, published by the Dublin Historical Association in 1986 and still available in the bookshops. This gives a useful concise outline of the famine period.
A number of other publications on the famine are planned for publication throughout the year including what I believe is a book of essays on the famine in County Kildare. This I believe will come out in June or July.
There is no doubt as to the importance of what we commonly refer to as the Great Famine in Irish History. It shattered the confidence of the Irish people and accelerated the flow of Irish people from our islands. The devastation it left in its wake is beyond imagination but in this the 150th anniversary year we have an opportunity of learning more of the hardships endured by those who lived or died in those dreadful times.
Last week two men who had shared their experiences with me and of whom I have written previously passed away. Paddy Kehoe who played a significant role in the early development of Macra na Feirme and who was a close friend of Stephen Cullinan, died at an advanced age. Billy Cunningham who left Athy in 1954 and settled in Manchester and whom I met in “The White Sheaf” on Oldham Road this time last year died after a long illness. One of the great pleasures on writing a weekly article on the past is the opportunity it affords me of meeting and listening to men and women whose experiences of life in Athy are always interesting, always enlightening and never without a touch of humour. As a corollary to this there are also the sad moments such as last weekend when two men who had shared their experiences and thoughts with me died. May they rest in peace.
Friday, March 10, 1995
Booklet on Quakerism in Ballitore
Kildare Heritage Project set up some time ago to computerise all genealogical records relating to Co. Kildare has produced an interesting booklet on the Quakers of Ballytore. The work of a number of young people on a FÀS Employment Scheme, the booklet brings the reader through a brief review of the sites and the historical figures associated with Quakerism in the South Kildare village. Starting with a note on the history and development of Quakerism in Ireland we are told that the Quakers were the first large religious organisation to allow women to preach. Whether in furtherance of gender equality or not I do not know but the members were also not prepared to remove their hats in female company. The wonderful eccentricity of what is here described as their “plain dull clothes” marked them as a people apart. Mary Leadbetter’s long poem entitled “A view of Ballytore taken from Mount Bleak,” written in 1801 is reproduced by mercifully only its first 23 lines. Mary, better known as a prose writer and biographer of village life in Ballytore during and after the 1798 Rebellion is perhaps one of Ballytore’s principal claims to fame. There is no doubt at all about the place of Ballytore School in Irish history. The school where such diverse characters as Edmund Burke, Henry Grattan, Napper Tandy and the future Cardinal Paul Cullen were educated was founded by Mary Leadbetter’s grandfather, Abraham Shackleton, in 1726. It closed down in 1836 but the importance of that small provincial school lived on not only in folk memory but in the writings of statesmen who had shared their early school days with the Masters of Ballytore.
The meeting house which still stands remains today a place of meeting for members of the Society of Friends who come from far and near on the first and third Sundays of each month. Many of the buildings identified with the Quaker settlement are still to be found in the village of Ballytore. One can sense the history of the place as you pass from the Mill at Griese Bank and the adjoining house, home of Abraham Shackleton, the last Shackleton headmaster of Ballytore along the road to the Meeting House. Across the fields can be seen Fuller’s Court and Ballytore House, built by descendants of John Barcroft and Abel Strettle, the original settlers of Ballytore. The home of William and Mary Leadbetter in the Square is now the site of building activity as yet another FÀS sponsored scheme helps to revive another important element of the heritage of the Quaker village. All these buildings get mention in the heritage project booklet but surprisingly the last resting place of the local Quaker families is apparently overlooked. Their graveyard, once surrounded by what was described by Mary Leadbetter as “rising hills encompassed round, fair hills which rear the golden brow and smile upon the vale below”, is now sharing the view with a newly erected bungalow. The family names of those buried are a roll call of the Quaker movement in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Shackleton, Chandlee, Webb, Haughton and Leadbetter are but some of the names discernible on the tombstones in this eerie place of grace where the bones of those who gave life to Ballytore now repose. Those involved in the production of this small booklet are to be congratulated on their efforts. The re-awakening of our forgotten past is always welcome, no more so than in this year of remembrance for the Great Famine from which time the Quakers of England and Ireland are owed a debt which can never be repaid by the people of Ireland.
The meeting house which still stands remains today a place of meeting for members of the Society of Friends who come from far and near on the first and third Sundays of each month. Many of the buildings identified with the Quaker settlement are still to be found in the village of Ballytore. One can sense the history of the place as you pass from the Mill at Griese Bank and the adjoining house, home of Abraham Shackleton, the last Shackleton headmaster of Ballytore along the road to the Meeting House. Across the fields can be seen Fuller’s Court and Ballytore House, built by descendants of John Barcroft and Abel Strettle, the original settlers of Ballytore. The home of William and Mary Leadbetter in the Square is now the site of building activity as yet another FÀS sponsored scheme helps to revive another important element of the heritage of the Quaker village. All these buildings get mention in the heritage project booklet but surprisingly the last resting place of the local Quaker families is apparently overlooked. Their graveyard, once surrounded by what was described by Mary Leadbetter as “rising hills encompassed round, fair hills which rear the golden brow and smile upon the vale below”, is now sharing the view with a newly erected bungalow. The family names of those buried are a roll call of the Quaker movement in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. Shackleton, Chandlee, Webb, Haughton and Leadbetter are but some of the names discernible on the tombstones in this eerie place of grace where the bones of those who gave life to Ballytore now repose. Those involved in the production of this small booklet are to be congratulated on their efforts. The re-awakening of our forgotten past is always welcome, no more so than in this year of remembrance for the Great Famine from which time the Quakers of England and Ireland are owed a debt which can never be repaid by the people of Ireland.
Friday, March 3, 1995
Athy Workhouse after the Great Famine
The number of inmates in Athy Workhouse fell dramatically after the ending of the Great Famine. At the height of the Famine almost 1,400 men, women and children were housed in the Poor House. The fall in numbers was largely due to the introduction of a system of outdoor relief which allowed poor families to obtain Indian meal without becoming inmates of the local Workhouse. Another reason was the high level of emigration from the South Kildare area in the years following the Famine. In 1855 there were 516 inmates in the Workhouse and six years later the numbers had dropped to 296. Thereafter there were seasonal fluctuations in the inmate population of Athy Workhouse with the highest number usually registered in January and February of each year when employment was unavailable and the weather was at its worst. In February 1862 the inmates totalled 392, an increase of almost 100 since the previous December. Poverty in the town of Athy was a cause of concern. On the 10th of January, 1863 it was reported that the mortality rate in Athy from various causes had been unusually high - six persons having died on Old Christmas Day. The extensive use by the poor and the labouring classes of a cheap American bacon was considered to be the cause of these deaths. That same month the Board of Guardians, as part of its outdoor relief scheme, employed an extra thirty local men to dig the Workhouse lands for one shilling per day each.
In the first quarter of 1863 there were 107 cases of fever reported in Athy. The Fever Hospital had been built in 1836 at a cost of £300 with monies collected by the local townspeople for a Mr. Keating of Market Square whose shop premises had been destroyed by fire. A respected and obviously well-liked individual, Keating donated the money for the building of a Fever Hospital in Athy. Officially designated a District Fever Hospital under the Fever (Ireland) Act 1847, the Athy Hospital remained independent of the Board of Guardians until 1854. In that year it was put on the Union which meant that the Poor Law Union of Athy was in part, at least, responsible for its running costs. The Board of Guardians fulfilled their obligations in this regard by agreeing to pay the sum of one shilling per day for each Workhouse patient maintained in the Fever Hospital.
Early in 1846 the Board of Guardians were required to equip Hospitals and Dispensaries for the sick poor. A voluntary dispensary committee had been operating in Athy since 1818 and it now became a sub-committee of the Board of Guardians. A small Infirmary was provided within the Workhouse to meet the responsibility of the Board of Guardians with regard to medical services for the poor. It was to this Infirmary that the Sisters of Mercy came as nursing sisters in October 1873.
The Sisters of Mercy from the local Convent apparently began to visit patients in the Infirmary on Sundays and over time they built up a relationship and an understanding with the patients. This encouraged the Board of Guardians to approach the Sisters of Mercy to take over the running of the Infirmary. The nuns agreed to do so and by March 1880, they were looking after the needs of 89 patients in the Workhouse Infirmary. In November 1885 John McLoughlin, a member of the Board of Guardians, referred to the time
"when the Board was a hostile camp composed of rabid Tories with a strong mixture of brutal Whigs... we may feel justifiably proud of what has been done. Look to the Chapel, look to the officers of the House and compare them to the officers of twenty-five years ago when we had not a Catholic officer at all and see how we have sanctified the place with the holy women introduced into the House instead of drunken nurses as in olden days".
His comments met with the approval of his fellow Guardians.
In June 1886 the Workhouse advertised for a Midwife to be employed in the Infirmary at five shillings per case attended. While the Sisters of Mercy continued to work in the Infirmary during daylight hours, there were no qualified Nurses employed to look after the patients at night time. This was the era of pauper nursing when female inmates were locked into the Hospital Wards with the patients at night and were required, as best they could, to look after them. This situation did not change until August 1897 when the Board of Guardians agreed to appoint a trained Night Nurse at a time when there were up to 80 patients in the Infirmary.
In the first quarter of 1863 there were 107 cases of fever reported in Athy. The Fever Hospital had been built in 1836 at a cost of £300 with monies collected by the local townspeople for a Mr. Keating of Market Square whose shop premises had been destroyed by fire. A respected and obviously well-liked individual, Keating donated the money for the building of a Fever Hospital in Athy. Officially designated a District Fever Hospital under the Fever (Ireland) Act 1847, the Athy Hospital remained independent of the Board of Guardians until 1854. In that year it was put on the Union which meant that the Poor Law Union of Athy was in part, at least, responsible for its running costs. The Board of Guardians fulfilled their obligations in this regard by agreeing to pay the sum of one shilling per day for each Workhouse patient maintained in the Fever Hospital.
Early in 1846 the Board of Guardians were required to equip Hospitals and Dispensaries for the sick poor. A voluntary dispensary committee had been operating in Athy since 1818 and it now became a sub-committee of the Board of Guardians. A small Infirmary was provided within the Workhouse to meet the responsibility of the Board of Guardians with regard to medical services for the poor. It was to this Infirmary that the Sisters of Mercy came as nursing sisters in October 1873.
The Sisters of Mercy from the local Convent apparently began to visit patients in the Infirmary on Sundays and over time they built up a relationship and an understanding with the patients. This encouraged the Board of Guardians to approach the Sisters of Mercy to take over the running of the Infirmary. The nuns agreed to do so and by March 1880, they were looking after the needs of 89 patients in the Workhouse Infirmary. In November 1885 John McLoughlin, a member of the Board of Guardians, referred to the time
"when the Board was a hostile camp composed of rabid Tories with a strong mixture of brutal Whigs... we may feel justifiably proud of what has been done. Look to the Chapel, look to the officers of the House and compare them to the officers of twenty-five years ago when we had not a Catholic officer at all and see how we have sanctified the place with the holy women introduced into the House instead of drunken nurses as in olden days".
His comments met with the approval of his fellow Guardians.
In June 1886 the Workhouse advertised for a Midwife to be employed in the Infirmary at five shillings per case attended. While the Sisters of Mercy continued to work in the Infirmary during daylight hours, there were no qualified Nurses employed to look after the patients at night time. This was the era of pauper nursing when female inmates were locked into the Hospital Wards with the patients at night and were required, as best they could, to look after them. This situation did not change until August 1897 when the Board of Guardians agreed to appoint a trained Night Nurse at a time when there were up to 80 patients in the Infirmary.
Friday, February 24, 1995
Athy Workhouse and the Great Famine
This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the onset of the Great Famine which ravaged our country over a four year period. As school children all of us learned of the hardships and casualties suffered by the Irish people as a result of the failure of the potato crop and what we understood was the inadequate response of the Government of the day.
The history books made no reference to the effects of the famine in Co. Kildare and this might lead us to believe that the famine was centred in the West and South of Ireland only. This was not so as evidenced from the limited contemporary records which are still available to us. The Workhouse in Athy which opened on the 9th of January, 1844 was built to accommodate 360 adults and 240 children. By the 7th of October, 1845 the inmates totalled 390 men, women and children and within two months as the potato famine worsened that number had increased to 615. It was always believed that Athy was spared the worst excesses of the famine but a local constabulary report of 18th of September, 1846 noted that "the inhabitants of Athy have pawned everything and cannot bear it much longer."
On the 26th of December, 1846 the number of Workhouse inmates in Athy totalled 732 of which 65 persons were in the Infirmary and 482 were children under 15 years of age. The Workhouse returns for the four months to the 1st of May, 1847 show that 174 inmates had died in the Workhouse in that period. Local tradition relates that "priseach" which grew in the fields in the present Ashville area provided a source of nourishment for the hungry townspeople during the famine. The Irish Relief Association provided a boiler for a soup kitchen operated in the town by the Local Church of Ireland Curate Rev. Thomas Jameson. Indian meal was imported from America through Cork Harbour and food depots were established throughout the country in areas accessible by Canal. Athy was the location of one such depot which was opened on 1 June, 1847.
Meal was supplied to individuals in 2lb. bags consisting of a mix of one quarter oatmeal and three quarters Indian meal. The local relief committee was not allowed to give out meal free of charge unless the Workhouse was full in keeping with the provisions of the Poor Relief Act. This Act dictated that relief was available only for inmates of the Workhouses.
Despite the availability of the Soup Kitchen in Athy and the reluctance of local men and women to enter the Workhouse the number of Workhouse inmates showed a substantial increase in the final year of the famine period. In the first week of 1849 the number of registered inmates was 1,399 and during that week 13 poor people died in the Workhouse.
The overcrowding in the Poorhouse which was built to accommodate 600 persons was alleviated by the opening of two auxiliary workhouses in Athy. One was located in Barrack Street occupying a row of five terraced houses immediately adjoining the former residence of the local Catholic Curate. A store belonging to the Grand Canal Company was used as the second auxiliary Workhouse.
A substantial number of the Workhouse children under fifteen years of age were orphans or abandoned by parents who could no longer feed them. As they were an unwelcome expense on the rate payers of South Kildare the Board of Guardians which who controlled the Athy Workhouse welcomed the Orphan Emigration Scheme launched in March 1848. This Scheme provided for the free transportation to Australia of girls between the ages of 14 and 18 years who were inmates of Irish Workhouses.
We have an account of 20 young girls who were sent out from the Athy Workhouse to Australia in February 1849 as part of the Orphan Emigration Scheme. A meeting was held in Narraghmore School prior to the girls being transported to Australia where it was explained by a member of the Athy Board of Guardians that a number of families from the Narraghmore area were inmates in Athy Workhouse for the previous two or three years. The terms of the Orphan Emigration Scheme were outlined as a result of which it was agreed to finance the operation of the scheme in relation to the Narraghmore inmates.
History is silent as to what happened to those local girls when they arrived in Australia nearly 150 years ago.
The history books made no reference to the effects of the famine in Co. Kildare and this might lead us to believe that the famine was centred in the West and South of Ireland only. This was not so as evidenced from the limited contemporary records which are still available to us. The Workhouse in Athy which opened on the 9th of January, 1844 was built to accommodate 360 adults and 240 children. By the 7th of October, 1845 the inmates totalled 390 men, women and children and within two months as the potato famine worsened that number had increased to 615. It was always believed that Athy was spared the worst excesses of the famine but a local constabulary report of 18th of September, 1846 noted that "the inhabitants of Athy have pawned everything and cannot bear it much longer."
On the 26th of December, 1846 the number of Workhouse inmates in Athy totalled 732 of which 65 persons were in the Infirmary and 482 were children under 15 years of age. The Workhouse returns for the four months to the 1st of May, 1847 show that 174 inmates had died in the Workhouse in that period. Local tradition relates that "priseach" which grew in the fields in the present Ashville area provided a source of nourishment for the hungry townspeople during the famine. The Irish Relief Association provided a boiler for a soup kitchen operated in the town by the Local Church of Ireland Curate Rev. Thomas Jameson. Indian meal was imported from America through Cork Harbour and food depots were established throughout the country in areas accessible by Canal. Athy was the location of one such depot which was opened on 1 June, 1847.
Meal was supplied to individuals in 2lb. bags consisting of a mix of one quarter oatmeal and three quarters Indian meal. The local relief committee was not allowed to give out meal free of charge unless the Workhouse was full in keeping with the provisions of the Poor Relief Act. This Act dictated that relief was available only for inmates of the Workhouses.
Despite the availability of the Soup Kitchen in Athy and the reluctance of local men and women to enter the Workhouse the number of Workhouse inmates showed a substantial increase in the final year of the famine period. In the first week of 1849 the number of registered inmates was 1,399 and during that week 13 poor people died in the Workhouse.
The overcrowding in the Poorhouse which was built to accommodate 600 persons was alleviated by the opening of two auxiliary workhouses in Athy. One was located in Barrack Street occupying a row of five terraced houses immediately adjoining the former residence of the local Catholic Curate. A store belonging to the Grand Canal Company was used as the second auxiliary Workhouse.
A substantial number of the Workhouse children under fifteen years of age were orphans or abandoned by parents who could no longer feed them. As they were an unwelcome expense on the rate payers of South Kildare the Board of Guardians which who controlled the Athy Workhouse welcomed the Orphan Emigration Scheme launched in March 1848. This Scheme provided for the free transportation to Australia of girls between the ages of 14 and 18 years who were inmates of Irish Workhouses.
We have an account of 20 young girls who were sent out from the Athy Workhouse to Australia in February 1849 as part of the Orphan Emigration Scheme. A meeting was held in Narraghmore School prior to the girls being transported to Australia where it was explained by a member of the Athy Board of Guardians that a number of families from the Narraghmore area were inmates in Athy Workhouse for the previous two or three years. The terms of the Orphan Emigration Scheme were outlined as a result of which it was agreed to finance the operation of the scheme in relation to the Narraghmore inmates.
History is silent as to what happened to those local girls when they arrived in Australia nearly 150 years ago.
Friday, February 17, 1995
Jack McKenna
He was born on the 27th of January, 1908. A railway man’s child he was to spend his entire working life on the Irish railways. Now long retired and living in Castledermot Jack MacKenna looks back on a life full of incidents and memories that flood the mind’s eye.
His father Tom MacKenna who was a foreman on the Great Southern and Western Railway, was stationed at Ballybrophy when Jack was born. Within months the family moved to Carlow but tragedy struck when Jack’s mother died when he was about eight months old. Tom MacKenna and his four young children moved to Athy where Tom was to remain for the rest of his long life. With the extension of the railway to the Wolfhill collieries in 1918 a railway man’s cottage was built at the Carlow road crossing gates and it was here that the MacKenna family lived for many years.
While attending the Christian Brothers School in Athy Jack joined Fianna Eireann, the youth group within the Irish Republican Movement. Other members at that time included Peter Toomey of Meeting Lane, Andy and Mick Lawler of Leinster Street, George and Larry Heffernan and Denis Candy. Tom Maher of Stanhope Street was the drill master and the young boys used a field in the area of the present St. Joseph’s Terrace for drilling. Paddy Gibbons of Barrack Street was in overall charge.
During the War of Independence Jack succeeded in spiriting away the gun of a Black and Tan who was pushed through the window of Jacksons shop in Leinster Street. This gun was later handed over to the local volunteers resulting in the award of an IRA medal in later years to Jack MacKenna, surely one of the youngest such recipients.
Jack recalls the part played by the Lambe brothers of William Street and the O’Rourke brothers of Canal Side in the War of Independence. He regards Frank Lambe as an outstanding Local leader. Frank and his brother Peter were later to emigrate to America. Leo Davis and John Hayden were two other men who played a prominent part in the War of Independence and both were imprisoned in Mountjoy for their involvement.
When he was seventeen years of age Jack entered the services of the Great Southern and Western Railway and worked in Carlow, Roscrea and Thurles before returning to Athy Railway Station in or about 1935. By then his brother Tom had joined the Gardai while his sister Kathleen had married Cavan man Andy Smith who had come to Athy to work in Mrs. O’Meara’s pub in Leinster Street. Andy, a great GAA stalwart, was to acquire his own premises located opposite the Leinster Arms Hotel where he carried on a successful business for many years.
Jack married Tuam born school teacher Una Bray and moved to Castledermot where she taught in the local national school. By now he was foreman at Athy railway station as was his father Tom before him. As local secretary of the Railway Union it was inevitable that Jack would become involved with the Labour Party then under the leadership of County Kildare Dail Deputy Bill Norton. Jack stood for election as a Labour candidate to Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council and served many years as both a County Councillor and an Urban Councillor. Difficulties with local Labour party activists resulted in Jack standing as an independent candidate in subsequent elections. In all he served three terms as a County Councillor.
As a foreman on the railway Jack worked with many interesting characters over the years but few matched in his esteem the legendary Joe Murphy, a railway signal man who lived in Offaly Street. Joe, a staunch GAA man and Fianna Fail supporter, was one of the great characters of the 40’s and 50’s in Athy whose presence enlivened many gatherings.
Jack recalls with a chuckle an occasion when a young Albert Reynolds, newly promoted as District Superintendent Clerk in Longford, arrived at Athy station one Monday morning shortly before 6 o’clock. None of the local railway staff had yet arrived. Joe Murphy who arrived late did not take too kindly to the young official’s rebuke and responded with a stinging reply before walking to the signal man’s box without a care in the world. The fact that Joe was a personal friend of Frank Lemass, then General Manager of C.I.E., no doubt afforded him protection from over zealous railway officials.
Jack’s wife died soon after he retired from the railway and he subsequently married Debbie McEvoy. His eldest son Jarleth is a Doctor in America, his daughter Dolores School Principal in Dublin while his son John is the well known writer and dramatist whose latest book of short stories will be published in April. Jack MacKenna retains a lively interest in Irish history and brings to his remembrance of days past an uncanny recall of names and events of which are unknown to the present generation.
His father Tom MacKenna who was a foreman on the Great Southern and Western Railway, was stationed at Ballybrophy when Jack was born. Within months the family moved to Carlow but tragedy struck when Jack’s mother died when he was about eight months old. Tom MacKenna and his four young children moved to Athy where Tom was to remain for the rest of his long life. With the extension of the railway to the Wolfhill collieries in 1918 a railway man’s cottage was built at the Carlow road crossing gates and it was here that the MacKenna family lived for many years.
While attending the Christian Brothers School in Athy Jack joined Fianna Eireann, the youth group within the Irish Republican Movement. Other members at that time included Peter Toomey of Meeting Lane, Andy and Mick Lawler of Leinster Street, George and Larry Heffernan and Denis Candy. Tom Maher of Stanhope Street was the drill master and the young boys used a field in the area of the present St. Joseph’s Terrace for drilling. Paddy Gibbons of Barrack Street was in overall charge.
During the War of Independence Jack succeeded in spiriting away the gun of a Black and Tan who was pushed through the window of Jacksons shop in Leinster Street. This gun was later handed over to the local volunteers resulting in the award of an IRA medal in later years to Jack MacKenna, surely one of the youngest such recipients.
Jack recalls the part played by the Lambe brothers of William Street and the O’Rourke brothers of Canal Side in the War of Independence. He regards Frank Lambe as an outstanding Local leader. Frank and his brother Peter were later to emigrate to America. Leo Davis and John Hayden were two other men who played a prominent part in the War of Independence and both were imprisoned in Mountjoy for their involvement.
When he was seventeen years of age Jack entered the services of the Great Southern and Western Railway and worked in Carlow, Roscrea and Thurles before returning to Athy Railway Station in or about 1935. By then his brother Tom had joined the Gardai while his sister Kathleen had married Cavan man Andy Smith who had come to Athy to work in Mrs. O’Meara’s pub in Leinster Street. Andy, a great GAA stalwart, was to acquire his own premises located opposite the Leinster Arms Hotel where he carried on a successful business for many years.
Jack married Tuam born school teacher Una Bray and moved to Castledermot where she taught in the local national school. By now he was foreman at Athy railway station as was his father Tom before him. As local secretary of the Railway Union it was inevitable that Jack would become involved with the Labour Party then under the leadership of County Kildare Dail Deputy Bill Norton. Jack stood for election as a Labour candidate to Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council and served many years as both a County Councillor and an Urban Councillor. Difficulties with local Labour party activists resulted in Jack standing as an independent candidate in subsequent elections. In all he served three terms as a County Councillor.
As a foreman on the railway Jack worked with many interesting characters over the years but few matched in his esteem the legendary Joe Murphy, a railway signal man who lived in Offaly Street. Joe, a staunch GAA man and Fianna Fail supporter, was one of the great characters of the 40’s and 50’s in Athy whose presence enlivened many gatherings.
Jack recalls with a chuckle an occasion when a young Albert Reynolds, newly promoted as District Superintendent Clerk in Longford, arrived at Athy station one Monday morning shortly before 6 o’clock. None of the local railway staff had yet arrived. Joe Murphy who arrived late did not take too kindly to the young official’s rebuke and responded with a stinging reply before walking to the signal man’s box without a care in the world. The fact that Joe was a personal friend of Frank Lemass, then General Manager of C.I.E., no doubt afforded him protection from over zealous railway officials.
Jack’s wife died soon after he retired from the railway and he subsequently married Debbie McEvoy. His eldest son Jarleth is a Doctor in America, his daughter Dolores School Principal in Dublin while his son John is the well known writer and dramatist whose latest book of short stories will be published in April. Jack MacKenna retains a lively interest in Irish history and brings to his remembrance of days past an uncanny recall of names and events of which are unknown to the present generation.
Friday, February 10, 1995
Medieval Grave Slabs in St. Michaels Athy
In 1986 the Athy Museum Society in conjunction with FAS carried out a survey of Old St. Michael's Cemetery. In the course of the work two medieval grave slabs were unearthed. There are few such slabs in Ireland and the discovery in St. Michael's Cemetery was important in terms of the medieval architecture of the town. Their very existence indicates that medieval Athy was a settlement of importance as it is accepted that elaborate commemoration in monumental form was afforded only to people of power and wealth.
The first slab is the upper portion of a trapezoidal shaped slab with bevelled edges fashioned from limestone, decorated with a centrally placed doubly incised fleur-de-lis cross. There is a lozenge centrally placed within the fleur-de-lis. The slab has no inscription.
The second slab is the lower portion of a trapezoidal grave slab with a pointed terminal again fashioned from limestone. It was carved in relief and decorated with a central ridge terminating in a single fleur-de-lis. The edges are raised and concavely chamfered. This slab is also without inscription.
The ruined Church of St. Michael is situated within the graveyard. It consists of a plain rectangular building of uncoursed mixed rubble construction. Internally there is no evidence of the division of the Church into nave and chancel. Much of the structure has been badly damaged with only a few of the original features surviving. The parallel sided medieval doorway lacking its arch which is in the south wall of the Church is not believed to be part of the original St. Michaels.
The earliest reference to the Church dates from 1297 when records disclose that "Thomas Grennam robbed the Church of St. Michael of six pecks of oats". A further reference to the Church in 1311 relates that John Poukoc and Alice Heyne were charged with entering St. Michaels and stealing goods including silver, textiles and foodstuffs from various chests. They were later acquitted of the offences. The Church was described as being in good repair in 1615 and 1630 but by 1657 the Kildare Inquisition found the Church to be "out of repair". Subscriptions for repairing the Church were collected in 1677 and it is assumed that St. Michaels continued to be used until a new Church was built in the town centre in the early 18th century.
The St. Michael's grave slabs have a common trapezoidal form and a similar motif but significantly one slab is incised while the other slab is decorated in relief. The de Keteller grave slab in St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, is similar in form and decoration to the incised slab in St.Michael's which suggests it may be of late 13th century origin. There are similarities between the second grave slab and the so called Crusader Tomb in St. Nicholas' Church in Galway which might indicate an early 14th century date for this Athy burial monument.
It is assumed that the original location of the grave slabs was within the medieval Church at St. Michael's as burial within a Church was a privilege reserved to the rich and powerful members of society down to the 17th century. The likelihood is that the slabs which do not have an inscription were intended to commemorate leading members of the local community and even perhaps members of the St. Michael family who were the original occupiers of the Castles at Rheban and Woodstock.
Another possibility is that the grave slabs commemorated some of those who fell in the 1315 Battle of Ardscull. Tradition relates that Raymond Le Gros and Sir William Prendergast on the English side and the Scots Sir Fergus Andressan and Sir Walter Murray were buried in St. Michaels.
Are they the grave slabs of unknown warriors or medieval Lords of Athy? We shall never know.
The first slab is the upper portion of a trapezoidal shaped slab with bevelled edges fashioned from limestone, decorated with a centrally placed doubly incised fleur-de-lis cross. There is a lozenge centrally placed within the fleur-de-lis. The slab has no inscription.
The second slab is the lower portion of a trapezoidal grave slab with a pointed terminal again fashioned from limestone. It was carved in relief and decorated with a central ridge terminating in a single fleur-de-lis. The edges are raised and concavely chamfered. This slab is also without inscription.
The ruined Church of St. Michael is situated within the graveyard. It consists of a plain rectangular building of uncoursed mixed rubble construction. Internally there is no evidence of the division of the Church into nave and chancel. Much of the structure has been badly damaged with only a few of the original features surviving. The parallel sided medieval doorway lacking its arch which is in the south wall of the Church is not believed to be part of the original St. Michaels.
The earliest reference to the Church dates from 1297 when records disclose that "Thomas Grennam robbed the Church of St. Michael of six pecks of oats". A further reference to the Church in 1311 relates that John Poukoc and Alice Heyne were charged with entering St. Michaels and stealing goods including silver, textiles and foodstuffs from various chests. They were later acquitted of the offences. The Church was described as being in good repair in 1615 and 1630 but by 1657 the Kildare Inquisition found the Church to be "out of repair". Subscriptions for repairing the Church were collected in 1677 and it is assumed that St. Michaels continued to be used until a new Church was built in the town centre in the early 18th century.
The St. Michael's grave slabs have a common trapezoidal form and a similar motif but significantly one slab is incised while the other slab is decorated in relief. The de Keteller grave slab in St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, is similar in form and decoration to the incised slab in St.Michael's which suggests it may be of late 13th century origin. There are similarities between the second grave slab and the so called Crusader Tomb in St. Nicholas' Church in Galway which might indicate an early 14th century date for this Athy burial monument.
It is assumed that the original location of the grave slabs was within the medieval Church at St. Michael's as burial within a Church was a privilege reserved to the rich and powerful members of society down to the 17th century. The likelihood is that the slabs which do not have an inscription were intended to commemorate leading members of the local community and even perhaps members of the St. Michael family who were the original occupiers of the Castles at Rheban and Woodstock.
Another possibility is that the grave slabs commemorated some of those who fell in the 1315 Battle of Ardscull. Tradition relates that Raymond Le Gros and Sir William Prendergast on the English side and the Scots Sir Fergus Andressan and Sir Walter Murray were buried in St. Michaels.
Are they the grave slabs of unknown warriors or medieval Lords of Athy? We shall never know.
Friday, February 3, 1995
Sorrento Dance Band
As a young fellow living in Offaly Street in the 1950's I can recall the great sense of pride felt on hearing a Radio Eireann broadcast which featured a musical contribution from the local Sorrento Dance Band.
The band was started in 1946 by Paudence Murphy whose parents lived across the road from our house. His father Paddy, a hackney driver, and his mother Mary had nine children of which the eldest was Paudence. At one time or another most of the other members of the family featured in the band. The band's first engagement was in the local cinema in Offaly Street where the proprietors prompted by a recently imposed entertainment tax introduced live music as a means of avoiding the tax. Paudence Murphy on saxophone, John Murphy on drums and Jim Dargan on guitar played every night for six weeks of that first engagement using the opportunity to perfect their musical skills. The cinema was generally empty until minutes before the start of the evenings film thereby affording Paudence and his band members the ideal conditions for practising their music. One regular who always arrived early was Paddy Behan of St. Joseph's Terrace who sat throughout the band's limited repertoire always waiting for his favourite "Roses from the South" to be played.
Bookings for Sunday night dances from 8.00p.m to 12.00 midnight in the local Town Hall soon followed. The Sorrento augmented its personnel with the addition of Paddy Keenan on accordion, Gabriel O'Brien on saxophone and Joe Hayden on banjo. Practice makes perfect they say and the long sessions in the local cinema and the Town Hall bookings soon paid off with the band getting its first major break playing in the Gym of the Curragh on St. Patrick's Night 1947 before 1,500 patrons. In 1949 the band went temporarily out of business. In the meantime Paudence played with a number of Dublin bands before returning to Athy to join Joe O'Neill's famous Stardust band.
In 1950 the Sorrento was reformed with Andy Murphy, a cousin of the leader on tenor sax and clarinet, his namesake Andy Murphy a brother of Paudence on drums, Michael McFadden on accordion and vocals and doubling up as M.C. Over the years the band's personnel grew. Brendan Murphy, a trumpet player, joined his brothers Paudence and Andy. By now Andy was also playing trumpet while Michael McFadden had added the trombone to his repertoire. Dinny Pender played the drums. At other times another cousin John Murphy played alto sax with his brother Stephen Murphy on piano and Tim Farrell on tenor sax and vocals. In the mid 1950's the Sorrento went for the big band sound with two trombonists and two trumpeters.
Female vocalists who joined the all male band at various times included Paudence's sister Ena as well as Mary Fleming, Pattie Carey and Mary Dargan. The 1950's was the heyday of the show dances, the Firemans Ball and the carnival marquee dances, all of which featured the Sorrento Dance Band at one time or another.
In the late 1950's Casey Dempsey joined the Band and he invariably brought the house down with his impressions of Maggie Barry. Eamon Walsh joined the Band in 1962 and other members during the 1960’s included Mrs. McCormack of Portlaoise on piano, Tom Quinlivan from Kildare on piano, Teddy Fleming on trumpet, Brendan Doran on drums and yet again Paddy Keenan, this time on drums.
Possibly the highlight of the band members’ career was the 1961 opening of Dreamland Ballroom when they played relief to the legendry Victor Sylvester and his orchestra. I remember that night when with about 3,500 others I crammed into the new hall paying my admission money to the future Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. The Sorrento Band played the first two hours or so and then the stage revolved bringing into view the finest dance orchestra in these islands to replace our local heros the Sorrento Dance Band. This so far as I can recall was the first and only time the revolving stage was used in Dreamland Ballroom. The band played for another year finishing in 1962. Paudence Murphy regrouped the band in 1963 with George Robinson on accordion, George’s uncle, also George Robinson, on drums and at various times Tony Cardiff, Joe Newman and John Haskins on guitar. The band was active until 1968 when Paudence retired from the dance hall scene and emigrated to England. He was the eldest of the Murphy family, all the members of which had emigrated to England before himself.
Paudence is now retired and living in London. The Sorrento Dance Band was part of the great musical tradition of the town which gave us over the years many street bands and some excellent musical combinations
The band was started in 1946 by Paudence Murphy whose parents lived across the road from our house. His father Paddy, a hackney driver, and his mother Mary had nine children of which the eldest was Paudence. At one time or another most of the other members of the family featured in the band. The band's first engagement was in the local cinema in Offaly Street where the proprietors prompted by a recently imposed entertainment tax introduced live music as a means of avoiding the tax. Paudence Murphy on saxophone, John Murphy on drums and Jim Dargan on guitar played every night for six weeks of that first engagement using the opportunity to perfect their musical skills. The cinema was generally empty until minutes before the start of the evenings film thereby affording Paudence and his band members the ideal conditions for practising their music. One regular who always arrived early was Paddy Behan of St. Joseph's Terrace who sat throughout the band's limited repertoire always waiting for his favourite "Roses from the South" to be played.
Bookings for Sunday night dances from 8.00p.m to 12.00 midnight in the local Town Hall soon followed. The Sorrento augmented its personnel with the addition of Paddy Keenan on accordion, Gabriel O'Brien on saxophone and Joe Hayden on banjo. Practice makes perfect they say and the long sessions in the local cinema and the Town Hall bookings soon paid off with the band getting its first major break playing in the Gym of the Curragh on St. Patrick's Night 1947 before 1,500 patrons. In 1949 the band went temporarily out of business. In the meantime Paudence played with a number of Dublin bands before returning to Athy to join Joe O'Neill's famous Stardust band.
In 1950 the Sorrento was reformed with Andy Murphy, a cousin of the leader on tenor sax and clarinet, his namesake Andy Murphy a brother of Paudence on drums, Michael McFadden on accordion and vocals and doubling up as M.C. Over the years the band's personnel grew. Brendan Murphy, a trumpet player, joined his brothers Paudence and Andy. By now Andy was also playing trumpet while Michael McFadden had added the trombone to his repertoire. Dinny Pender played the drums. At other times another cousin John Murphy played alto sax with his brother Stephen Murphy on piano and Tim Farrell on tenor sax and vocals. In the mid 1950's the Sorrento went for the big band sound with two trombonists and two trumpeters.
Female vocalists who joined the all male band at various times included Paudence's sister Ena as well as Mary Fleming, Pattie Carey and Mary Dargan. The 1950's was the heyday of the show dances, the Firemans Ball and the carnival marquee dances, all of which featured the Sorrento Dance Band at one time or another.
In the late 1950's Casey Dempsey joined the Band and he invariably brought the house down with his impressions of Maggie Barry. Eamon Walsh joined the Band in 1962 and other members during the 1960’s included Mrs. McCormack of Portlaoise on piano, Tom Quinlivan from Kildare on piano, Teddy Fleming on trumpet, Brendan Doran on drums and yet again Paddy Keenan, this time on drums.
Possibly the highlight of the band members’ career was the 1961 opening of Dreamland Ballroom when they played relief to the legendry Victor Sylvester and his orchestra. I remember that night when with about 3,500 others I crammed into the new hall paying my admission money to the future Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. The Sorrento Band played the first two hours or so and then the stage revolved bringing into view the finest dance orchestra in these islands to replace our local heros the Sorrento Dance Band. This so far as I can recall was the first and only time the revolving stage was used in Dreamland Ballroom. The band played for another year finishing in 1962. Paudence Murphy regrouped the band in 1963 with George Robinson on accordion, George’s uncle, also George Robinson, on drums and at various times Tony Cardiff, Joe Newman and John Haskins on guitar. The band was active until 1968 when Paudence retired from the dance hall scene and emigrated to England. He was the eldest of the Murphy family, all the members of which had emigrated to England before himself.
Paudence is now retired and living in London. The Sorrento Dance Band was part of the great musical tradition of the town which gave us over the years many street bands and some excellent musical combinations
Friday, January 27, 1995
Stephen O'Brien
Athy is noted for its extraordinary large number of public houses. At one time most of the local publicans were grocers and spirit merchants. They combined the dual roles with the front portion of their shops meeting the housewives grocery needs while in the back portion almost always dark and secluded, pints and spirits were served to the menfolk. "Monsie" Purcells and Clancys were two of the most recent grocery and spirit merchants to give up the uneven struggle of combining two so diametrically opposed businesses in a world where specialisation is the norm.
To Frank O'Brien goes the distinction of being the last of the old style grocer and spirit merchants in Athy. As you enter through the outer door you come upon a scene similar to that which greeted past generations of Athy people. The names on the boxes lining the shelves may be different but you feel almost imperceptibly the homeliness of an almost lost heritage which has been retained here, albeit perhaps temporarily, for the present generation to savour. The small grocery counter has witnessed many transactions in its time but the one constant is the O'Brien who serves you from behind that same counter.
The O'Brien name was first put over the door in 1874 when Frank's grandfather Stephen O'Brien, a Kilkenny man, bought the business from James Leahy. Leahy was a member of Athy Town Commissioners who was elected an M.P. for County Kildare in 1880. His nomination for that election did not initially find favour with Charles Stewart Parnell who confided in his right hand man Andrew J. Kettle that Leahy was "too fat and would fall asleep in the House of Commons". Parnell's misgivings were somehow allayed and Leahy went on to win the nomination and the subsequent election and to represent Athy and South Kildare for many years.
Stephen O'Brien was a Home Ruler who quickly became involved in local affairs and it is no surprise to find that he was a member of the Election Committee appointed to support Leahy's candidature in the 1880 Parliamentary Elections. He was also a member of the welcoming Committee which greeted Charles Stewart Parnell when he attended a meeting at Athy on the 27th of March, 1880, only two days after his arrival home from an American tour.
Like a number of other Home Rulers and Land League supporters in the town Stephen O'Brien was to find himself out of favour with the authorities when with a number of other local publicans he was prosecuted for refusing to serve in his pub R.I.C. men and others who supported the Government cause. This form of boycotting was an important plank of the Land League Campaign as it gathered momentum in South Kildare in the 1880's under the leadership of local Land League Secretary John Cantwell.
In 1894 Stephen O'Brien was noted as a member of Athy C.Y.M.S. while in 1898 he was appointed by the Commissioners of National Education as one of five members of the local school attendance committee. The other members were M.J. Minch, M.P.; Stephen Telford, Town Commissioner; Thomas Whelan, Town Commissioner and John A. Duncan J.P. In 1907 he was appointed Vice-President of the local football and hurling club. The G.A.A. Club was incidentally a sub-section of Athy C.Y.M.S., a clear indication of the power and influence of the Catholic Young Mens Society at that time. In the same year he was carrying on a mineral water manufacturing business in Emily Square. This business lasted up to the end of the First World War and his grandson, the present licensee Frank O'Brien, is the proud possessor of a vintage bottle of O'Brien's mineral water. Stephen O'Brien's active involvement in the local community also saw him appointed to a Committee set up in the town in 1914 to deal with cases of distress arising as a consequence of World War I. Stephen died in 1919 at the age of 76 years.
Frank O'Brien today carries on the business purchased by his Grandfather in 1874. The three storey, three bay building which houses the bar and grocery has an excellent Ionic shop front with heavy engaged columns. It is a landmark in the centre of our town, well known to visitors and townspeople alike, where the O'Brien family have lived and worked for 121 years.
To Frank O'Brien goes the distinction of being the last of the old style grocer and spirit merchants in Athy. As you enter through the outer door you come upon a scene similar to that which greeted past generations of Athy people. The names on the boxes lining the shelves may be different but you feel almost imperceptibly the homeliness of an almost lost heritage which has been retained here, albeit perhaps temporarily, for the present generation to savour. The small grocery counter has witnessed many transactions in its time but the one constant is the O'Brien who serves you from behind that same counter.
The O'Brien name was first put over the door in 1874 when Frank's grandfather Stephen O'Brien, a Kilkenny man, bought the business from James Leahy. Leahy was a member of Athy Town Commissioners who was elected an M.P. for County Kildare in 1880. His nomination for that election did not initially find favour with Charles Stewart Parnell who confided in his right hand man Andrew J. Kettle that Leahy was "too fat and would fall asleep in the House of Commons". Parnell's misgivings were somehow allayed and Leahy went on to win the nomination and the subsequent election and to represent Athy and South Kildare for many years.
Stephen O'Brien was a Home Ruler who quickly became involved in local affairs and it is no surprise to find that he was a member of the Election Committee appointed to support Leahy's candidature in the 1880 Parliamentary Elections. He was also a member of the welcoming Committee which greeted Charles Stewart Parnell when he attended a meeting at Athy on the 27th of March, 1880, only two days after his arrival home from an American tour.
Like a number of other Home Rulers and Land League supporters in the town Stephen O'Brien was to find himself out of favour with the authorities when with a number of other local publicans he was prosecuted for refusing to serve in his pub R.I.C. men and others who supported the Government cause. This form of boycotting was an important plank of the Land League Campaign as it gathered momentum in South Kildare in the 1880's under the leadership of local Land League Secretary John Cantwell.
In 1894 Stephen O'Brien was noted as a member of Athy C.Y.M.S. while in 1898 he was appointed by the Commissioners of National Education as one of five members of the local school attendance committee. The other members were M.J. Minch, M.P.; Stephen Telford, Town Commissioner; Thomas Whelan, Town Commissioner and John A. Duncan J.P. In 1907 he was appointed Vice-President of the local football and hurling club. The G.A.A. Club was incidentally a sub-section of Athy C.Y.M.S., a clear indication of the power and influence of the Catholic Young Mens Society at that time. In the same year he was carrying on a mineral water manufacturing business in Emily Square. This business lasted up to the end of the First World War and his grandson, the present licensee Frank O'Brien, is the proud possessor of a vintage bottle of O'Brien's mineral water. Stephen O'Brien's active involvement in the local community also saw him appointed to a Committee set up in the town in 1914 to deal with cases of distress arising as a consequence of World War I. Stephen died in 1919 at the age of 76 years.
Frank O'Brien today carries on the business purchased by his Grandfather in 1874. The three storey, three bay building which houses the bar and grocery has an excellent Ionic shop front with heavy engaged columns. It is a landmark in the centre of our town, well known to visitors and townspeople alike, where the O'Brien family have lived and worked for 121 years.
Friday, January 20, 1995
History Repeating Itself - Athy's Circuit Court
History has a habit of repeating itself. This is a truism which is easily accepted when one considers the old saying “study the past for we are heirs to the wisdom of the past”. That we do not always benefit from the events of the past is clearly shown by the headlong rush by Government into World War II twenty-one years after the end of the “war to end all wars”. Up to 1858, Athy, once the principal town of Co. Kildare, shared the Summer Assizes with Naas, then emerging as an urban settlement rival to its south Kildare neighbour. In that year however a decision was taken by the Chancellor’s Office to transfer all sittings of the Summer Assizes to Naas to the total exclusion of Athy.
The consternation felt by the Athy residents and business folk found a ready target in the person of the Duke of Leinster whom it was felt had not done enough to ensure Athy’s continuation as an Assize town. The efforts of the locals however were in vain and no further change was made in the revamped court system. Within a few years Athy was to suffer another body blow when the relatively new town jail opened on the Carlow Road in 1830 was closed and all its inmates transferred to Naas jail. This form of mid-19th century centralisation had a dramatic effect on the respective county towns of Naas and Athy. Thereafter Naas was to be the favourite location for all new county agencies formed during the remainder of the century. Kildare Co. Council, founded in 1898, was to locate its administrative headquarters in Naas while the county hospital was also to be found there. No doubt there were logical geographical reasons why so much authority was centred in Naas. But whether it should have been done to the exclusion of other urban areas in the county is questionable.
What is even more questionable is the current proposal of the Circuit Court Review Group to discontinue sittings of the Circuit Court in Athy. This is where history may be repeating itself, replicating the decision of 1859 relating to the Summer Assizes. The Circuit Court, which is the court of First Instance for serious crime and substantial compensation claims sits in Athy on four occasions each year. This conforms to the old Circuit practice of the last century when barristers went out on circuit around the country to deal with cases in various provincial towns.
Of course the District Court, which deals with minor crime and smaller compensation claims, will continue to be held in Athy Courthouse every two weeks but what guarantee can we have that even this facility will be allowed to remain in Athy given that the offices of the District Court Clerk serving Athy District Court were moved to Carlow some years ago. Older readers will recall when Fintan Brennan was the resident District Court Clerk with offices on the top floor of the courthouse building. I remember him for the good reason that I spent a lot of time staying out of his sight after I had etched my name on the granite plinths of the courthouse door in 1955. The name and the accompanying date are in view every time I step into the court to remind me of a summer’s day 40 years ago when it was obviously too wet to set out on an orchard robbing expedition. But to return to the proposal to transfer the Circuit Court from Athy to Naas one wonders for whose benefit such a move is suggested. Obviously litigants and witnesses from the south of the county will be considerably inconvenienced if they have to travel to Naas for court sittings. I can find no discernible benefit likely to flow from the implementation of the proposal.
Its a matter of civic pride that Athy retains its status as a Circuit Court venue. After all the courts are part of the fabric of any large provincial town and to remove this important strand could start an unravelling process, the end result of which would be diminution of services available to the people of Athy.
The consternation felt by the Athy residents and business folk found a ready target in the person of the Duke of Leinster whom it was felt had not done enough to ensure Athy’s continuation as an Assize town. The efforts of the locals however were in vain and no further change was made in the revamped court system. Within a few years Athy was to suffer another body blow when the relatively new town jail opened on the Carlow Road in 1830 was closed and all its inmates transferred to Naas jail. This form of mid-19th century centralisation had a dramatic effect on the respective county towns of Naas and Athy. Thereafter Naas was to be the favourite location for all new county agencies formed during the remainder of the century. Kildare Co. Council, founded in 1898, was to locate its administrative headquarters in Naas while the county hospital was also to be found there. No doubt there were logical geographical reasons why so much authority was centred in Naas. But whether it should have been done to the exclusion of other urban areas in the county is questionable.
What is even more questionable is the current proposal of the Circuit Court Review Group to discontinue sittings of the Circuit Court in Athy. This is where history may be repeating itself, replicating the decision of 1859 relating to the Summer Assizes. The Circuit Court, which is the court of First Instance for serious crime and substantial compensation claims sits in Athy on four occasions each year. This conforms to the old Circuit practice of the last century when barristers went out on circuit around the country to deal with cases in various provincial towns.
Of course the District Court, which deals with minor crime and smaller compensation claims, will continue to be held in Athy Courthouse every two weeks but what guarantee can we have that even this facility will be allowed to remain in Athy given that the offices of the District Court Clerk serving Athy District Court were moved to Carlow some years ago. Older readers will recall when Fintan Brennan was the resident District Court Clerk with offices on the top floor of the courthouse building. I remember him for the good reason that I spent a lot of time staying out of his sight after I had etched my name on the granite plinths of the courthouse door in 1955. The name and the accompanying date are in view every time I step into the court to remind me of a summer’s day 40 years ago when it was obviously too wet to set out on an orchard robbing expedition. But to return to the proposal to transfer the Circuit Court from Athy to Naas one wonders for whose benefit such a move is suggested. Obviously litigants and witnesses from the south of the county will be considerably inconvenienced if they have to travel to Naas for court sittings. I can find no discernible benefit likely to flow from the implementation of the proposal.
Its a matter of civic pride that Athy retains its status as a Circuit Court venue. After all the courts are part of the fabric of any large provincial town and to remove this important strand could start an unravelling process, the end result of which would be diminution of services available to the people of Athy.
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