Ancient road works and the turnpike road through Athy

Athy of the 18th century had a population mix of Catholics, Established Church adherents, Quakers and other dissenters, each socially removed from each other yet commercially interdependent. Catholics, excluded from holding land or government office, concentrated on commercial pursuits as did the Quakers who came to Athy towards the end of the 17th century. By 1750 Catholics owned a large proportion of the local ale houses. Despite their commercial involvement, Catholics had no voice in the running of their town and would have none for another 80 years. Little or no effort appears to have been made by the numerically superior Catholics of the town to gain some measure of representation on the Borough Council. The poorer classes were powerless in the face of religious and economic hardship while their better off co-religionists, for the most part shopkeepers and innkeepers, saw little merit in jeopardising their position and status by engaging in public agitation. Inland towns such as Athy benefitted enormously from improved road making practises of the 18th century. Prior to then, responsibility for road repairs rested on individual householders organised on a parochial basis. Under an Act of 1612, each warden of the Established Church was obliged to convene meetings of his parish on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Easter week. At these annual meetings, two parishioners were appointed surveyors of whatever road works were considered necessary. Over a period of 6 days each year, every householder was required to provide free labour on the roads, while landlords and farmers supplied horses, carts and drivers. In this way, the 17th century Irish roads were maintained. In 1727, the first Turnpike Act was passed. In time, turnpike roads led to most of the important towns in Ireland. These were built and maintained by business people and landlords, who derived an income from tolls collected on traffic using the turnpike roads. Athy had a turnpike road running through the town from Kilcullen through Castlecomer to Kilkenny. There were three turnpike gates on the road in and around the town of Athy where tolls were paid. One gate was located on the Dublin Road on the town side of St. Michael’s Medieval Church, while another gate was placed across St. John’s Street (the present Duke Street) at its junction with Green Alley. The third turnpike gate and the longest to remain in use was on the Castlecomer Road at Beggars End approximately 700 yards from White’s Castle. The following advertisement in the Universal Adviser of 2nd July 1757 indicates how important road improvements resulting from the Turnpike Acts were in developing public transport to and from Dublin. ‘Whereas there is now set up a STAGE-COACH, which begun to run the 14th of June, 1757, from the City of Dublin thro’ Athy and Castlecomer, to the City of Kilkenny. It sets off from Dublin on every Tuesday, and from Kilkenny on every Friday; and as the Road is 12 Miles shorter than the Carlow Road, the Owners of the Coach are determined to charge but 12s. each Person which is 2s less than any other Stage-coach charges, allowing twenty Pound Luggage to each inside Passenger, and ten Pounds ditto to each outside Passenger. The Road from Kilcullen thro’ Athy to Kilkenny being now in the best Repair of any Turnpike in this Kingdom, and the Inns well situated, and furnished with all Kinds of Entertainment for Man and Horse, it is not doubted that the Munster Gentlemen will, for their own Conveniency, make Use of this Road. The Stages the Coach stops at are as follows, viz. Going from Dublin they breakfast at Rathcool, dine in Kilcullen, and lie in Athy; next day they breakfast in Castlecomer, and dine in Kilkenny. Coming from Kilkenny they breakfast in Castlecomer, dine in Athy, and lie in Kilcullen; next day they breakfast in Johnstown, and dine in Dublin – The Company may see the Safety and speedy Dispatch of this Coach, which is by dining at their Journey’s-End the second Day, instead of coming into Town late at Night. – Prices from Dublin for each Stage, are, to Naas, 5s. to Kilcullen, 6s. to Athy, 8s to Castlecomer 10s. 6d. – Returning from Kilkenny to Athy, 6s. to Kilcullen, 8s. to Naas, 9s and so in Proportion to or from any other Place on said Road. Places to be taken at Mr. Edmond Cavanagh’s, Grocer at the Raven in High-street, Dublin, and at Mr. Dunphy’s, at the Sun in Cole-Market, Kilkenny, and sets off precisely at six o’Clock in the Morning. And any Person who does not attend at said hour, forfeits their Earnest Money. Half of the Money to be paid as Earnest, the Remainder at the End of their Journey. – The Proprietors beg Leave to assure their Company and Friends, that the greatest Care shall be taken to keep the best Horses, and the Coach to be always in Good Repair.’

'Having it Away' by Seamus Murphy

‘Published by Castledermot Press’ was what caught my eye as I perused the books in the Connolly book shop located next to Dolphin House Court at the rear of the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. My immediate thoughts were that the well known Castledermot born writer John MacKenna had escaped from his mainstream publishers to start his own publishing house. But no, the address of the Castledermot Press was given as Bray, Co. Wicklow and the book ‘Having it Away – a story of freedom, friendship and I.R.A. jailbreak’ was authored by Seamus Murphy. The juxtaposition of the name and the words ‘I.R.A. jailbreak’ brought immediate recognition for I had intended a few years ago to write an ‘Eye’ on the young Castledermot man who was involved in the I.R.A. raids on a British army depot at Arborfield near London in August 1955. I made some enquiries at the time but never met Seamus Murphy and the intended article never materialised. Now the book I had taken from the shelves of the Dublin book shop gave me the opportunity of reading a first-hand account of the raid, the subsequent imprisonment of three of those involved and the escape of Seamus Murphy from Wakefield Prison in February 1959. Accounts of prison escapes have been a frequent enough source of material for books published by I.R.A. members, whether veterans of the War of Independence or members of the various splinter groups which emerged in more recent years. One of the earliest publications of that type was written by Fr. Patrick Doyle, later Parish Priest of Naas, while he was Rector of Knockbeg College in Carlow. ‘The escape from Mountjoy – and other prison experiences of an Irish Volunteer – Padraic Fleming’ told the story of the imprisonment of the man from the Swan and his escape from Mountjoy Jail. His story was retold in the 1971 Anvil book publication ‘Sworn to be free – the complete book of I.R.A. jailbreaks 1918-1921’. The chapter on Fleming was written by Lochlinn MacGlynn and he recounted in depressing detail the privations and hardships endured by the Laois man before he finally escaped on 29th March 1919. As Ireland emerged from the Second World War, Noel Hartnett edited a series of talks first broadcast from Radio Eireann and published under the title ‘Prison Escapes’. Amongst the stories was that of Piarais Beaslaoi’s escape from Strangeways Prison Manchester in October 1919 and Eamon de Valera’s escape from Lincoln Jail in February of the same year. The story of Irish republicans imprisoned in English jails and post 1916 Welsh detention camps have been well documented and Dr. Ruan O’Donnell of Limerick University has brought the story up to date with his two recent volumes on I.R.A. members in English prisons from 1968 to 1985. Seamus Murphy’s book is a valuable addition to the growing literary output dealing with the incarceration of Irish republicans in English prisons. The three most famous personal accounts of this genre were of course O’Donovan Rossa’s ‘Prison Life – Six years in English prisons’, Tom Clarke’s account of his 15 years behind bars in ‘Glimpses of an Irish felon’s prison life’ and Michael Davitt’s ‘Leaves from a prison diary’. In ‘Having it Away’ Seamus Murphy tells us of his involvement in the I.R.A. raid on the arms depot in Arborfield in 1955 when he was just 20 years old. The I.R.A. raiding party of ten men, led by Ruairi O’Bradaigh, seized a large amount of guns and ammunition, all of which were subsequently recovered and three of the raiders were captured. Seamus Murphy, Donal Murphy (no relation) and Joe Doyle were later tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was from Wakefield Prison that Seamus Murphy escaped, where one of his fellow prisoners was the I.R.A. Chief of Staff, Cathal Goulding. His escape was facilitated by an I.R.A. splinter group associated with Joe Christle, working with Cyprian rebel sympathisers living in London. Seamus Murphy died aged 80 years on 2nd November 2015, survived by his wife Betty, his son Pearse and his two sisters. I end with the opening lines of his book which are a beautifully worded description of his prison cell. ‘It measured little bigger than a tomb. In the whitewashed walls the pattern of the brickwork stood out, irregular lines of staggered rectangles, ridged edges black and grimy with the dust of years. At one end was a long narrow window, set high in the wall, it’s small squares of cracked glass were coated in grime, and stoutly encased in a lattice work of flaking rusted metal. Generations of spiders had found quiet refuge in the holes and fissures that scarred the plasterwork about the window frame, adding their webbed traceries and mummified flies to the accumulation.’

Canon Owen Sweeney

With the death of Canon Owen Sweeney, former Parish Priest of St. Michael’s, the Irish Church has lost one of its most energetic clerics who during his time in Athy gave positive expression of the church’s concern and care for the people of the parish. He was born on 27th July 1927 and was ordained on 25th May 1952. From 1960 he worked in England as part of the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy Scheme which evolved from a decision of the Episcopal Committee for Emigration established in 1953 by the Irish hierarchy. That early decision to send a Columban priest to England to develop the mission effort amongst Irish men working on the building of English motorways lead to the founding of the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy Scheme and its extension to other job situations employing Irish emigrant labour. Fr. Sweeney was part of that chaplaincy scheme from 1960-1963 and again from 1964-1966. Incidentally another subsequent Parish Priest of St. Michael’s, Fr. Gerard Tanham, spent four years from 1973 as a member of the Irish Emigrant Chaplaincy Scheme. Fr. Sweeney was president of Clonliffe College Dublin from 1976-1980. Founded in 1854 as the seminary for the training of priests for the Archdiocese of Dublin, Clonliffe today holds the burial place of it’s founder, the Ballitore born and first Cardinal of the Irish church, Paul Cullen. It was following his presidency of Clonliffe that Fr. Sweeney came to Athy in 1980 as our Parish Priest. He was to remain here for five years, during which time he showed qualities which endeared him to the people of Athy and district. The 1980s perhaps marked the beginning of the withdrawal of centuries old commitment of the Irish to the Catholic Church. It was still a period marked by regular Mass attendance and commitment to devotions, sodalities and all the religious events which those of us of a certain age associate with our younger days. Canon Sweeney was an energetic friendly individual who oversaw the religious welfare of his parishioners, assisted by a full team of curates. However, his concern for the welfare of the parishioners of St. Michaels extended beyond their religious or spiritual needs. He took an active part in helping to develop a community centre for Athy and committed parish funds to help acquire the vacant Dreamland ballroom. The ballroom on the Kilkenny Road was opened on Friday, 14th July 1961 by the Reynolds brothers with the legendary Victor Sylvester orchestra on stage. That same night Paddens Murphy’s local band members provided support for Sylvester’s orchestra for what may have been the most important engagement of their musical careers. By the early 1980s the once flourishing showband dancing had collapsed and Dreamland ballroom, which for 20 years had been such a huge part of all our social lives, had fallen idle. Canon Sweeney on behalf of Athy Parish of St. Michaels in conjunction with Athy Lions Club purchased the ballroom for use as a community centre and ownership was vested in trustees nominated by the local Lions Club and St. Michael’s Parish. Today the centre, now renamed A.R.C.H., continues to provide community sports space as well as a club premises for Aontas Ogra members. Canon Sweeney’s active involvement in the acquisition and subsequent development of the A.R.C.H. Centre was but one of his many contributions to the welfare of the local community here in Athy during his period as Parish Priest. Since Canon Sweeney’s departure from Athy nearly 33 years ago the townspeople have helped celebrate the 750th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican Order in Athy. Sadly, not too many years since then the Dominican mission in Athy came to a close and a proud chapter in our local history was completed. With the falloff in vocations to the priesthood the work of the priest has become more difficult. Here in Athy the priests of St. Michael’s Parish have to serve the needs of the congregations of six churches, five in rural areas as well as the town’s Parish church. It is a challenging responsibility in difficult times and prompts us to remember with gratitude the good work done in the past by men such as Canon Owen Sweeney whose passing at an advanced age is much regretted.

Great Famine Commemmoration 2018

On Sunday 13th May at 3.00 p.m. the annual Great Famine Commemoration Service will take place in Athy’s former workhouse cemetary. The once neglected cemetary of St. Mary’s located just over the canal bridge on the road leading to Ballintubbert has in recent years been reclaimed and restored to reflect its importance as the last resting place of the more than twelve hundred men, women and children who died in the workhouse and the nearby fever hospital during the years of the Great Famine. The Great Famine of the 1840’s, so called to distinguish it from the all too frequent famines which over the centuries caused so much distress and hardship in Ireland, was a cataclysm unequalled in Irish history. More than one million Irish men, women and children died during the period 1845 to 1849 while another one million or so fled overseas to escape starvation, disease and death. While growing up in Athy in the 1950’s and attending school in the town, I was aware of the Great Famine as it affected towns and villages on Ireland’s western seaboard. There was, however, no reference by the teachers in our local school to the effects of the Great Famine on the people living in the short grass County of Kildare. Undoubtedly, the greater loss of life resulting from starvation and disease was witnessed in the poor regions of Counties Cork, Kerry and Mayo but what prompted the absence of any collective memory here in Athy of the unfortunates who died in the local workhouse? After all the Great Famine brought about a substantial fall in the population in County Kildare. Between 1841 and 1851, the County’s population fell by almost 16.5 per cent and population decline in the County continued thereafter until the first population increase was noted in 1946. Athy’s population which in 1841 totalled 4698 had fallen to 3873 in 1851 which figure excluded the inmates of the local workhouse. This represented an actual loss of 825 persons or a 17.5 per cent decrease. Between 1831 and 1841, the town’s population had increased by 4.5 per cent and given a similar likely increase in the ten years to 1851, the town population would have reached 4909 at the end of that period. The famine can therefore be seen to have caused a possible fall in Athy’s population of upwards of 1036 persons. Of course, not all of that loss is likely to have resulted from starvation or disease as perhaps some families left the town of Athy to make a new life overseas. Adding to the misery of the time was a cholera outbreak which reached Athy in June 1849. A temporary cholera hospital was opened in the town to cater for those affected by the outbreak. Cholera was particularly rampant amongst the poor people who lived in the unsanitary overcrowded conditions to be found in narrow lanes and courts of Athy town. The census figures for deaths in the local workhouse, the adjoining fever hospital and the temporary cholera hospital during the years of the Great Famine show that 1,205 deaths were recorded. With the reduction already noted in the town’s population, the possibility of approximately 2,000 deaths in Athy from starvation and/or disease during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849 can be suggested. Next Sunday we can remember those unfortunate men, women and children from our town and district who died during a catastrophic period in our history. The ecumenical service will start at 3.00 p.m. in the former workhouse cemetery of St. Mary’s. The announcement of the closure of Athy’s Coca Cola plant brought gloom and dismay to our town which was already struggling to regain the commercial success of past years. The announcement came the day before the official opening of Athy’s new library and represented a setback for those working on the regeneration plan for the town. However, as explained by the C.E.O. of Kildare County Council, Peter Carey, the library opening was another positive implementation step for the towns regeneration and will be followed in the short to medium term by the Southern Distributor Road, the town square improvement scheme and the improved extension for the new Heritage Centre/Shackleton Museum. Minister Michael Ring when opening the library spoke of the Government’s commitment to the growth of industry in Athy which will be hugely facilitated by the new by-pass road. The jobs to be lost in Coca Cola must be replaced quickly but we are fortunate that the current town regeneration plan gives us a unique opportunity to achieve this aim.

Volunteerism in Athy

I wrote in Eye on the Past No. 1174 of volunteerism and of the many men and women in and around Athy who with advantage to themselves and to the voluntary sector make themselves available for voluntary work within their local community. I mentioned then the local Heritage Centre which was looking for volunteers willing to make themselves available for a few hours each week to help staff exhibitions in the Town Hall Centre. There was a good response to that request and I was reminded to put out the call again for volunteers to do some voluntary work on a regular basis in our local community. There are a large number of local organisations staffed by volunteers which one could join. For instance, the local St. Vincent de Paul Society which I regard as one of the most important voluntary organisations in the town does extraordinary good work assisting families who are experiencing difficult times. The members of the Society organise an annual collection in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The monies collected are but a small proportion of the Society’s outlay in helping local families in distress. The St. Vincent de Paul Society relies not only on the annual collection but also on the continuing generosity of families at local and national level who are in a position to help to alleviate the hardships endured by less well-off families. The Society meets weekly and operates a charity shop in William Street. I was in Geraldine Park last Thursday evening for a young girls football match between Athy Gaelic Football Club and the arch enemy of old, Castlemitchell Gaelic Football Club. Times have changed, not only in terms of the now friendly relationship between local clubs, but also insofar as the once male dominated sport, at junior level at least, is attracting increasing participation from young girls. Looking after the young players involves a huge commitment from parents and GAA club officials alike and the latter particularly deserve our praise for their unstinted voluntary commitment. There are many other examples of local boys and girls, men and women, giving of their time and working behind the scenes for local clubs or for the good of the local community. One group whose work is very much in the public eye, but whom I feel are nevertheless not as appreciated as they should be, is the Tidy Towns Committee. How often have I seen those volunteers at evening time armed with sweeping brushes and shovels working away tending to public areas in the town and cleaning up the litter which if left unattended would disfigure so many of our local neighbourhoods. The current Tidy Towns Committee has been in existence since its reorganisation in 1997. Indeed, Tidy Towns Committees in Athy go back to a time when I was a member of Athy Urban District Council and it was one of several committees established at that time to promote the wellbeing of the local community. The very first Tidy Towns Committee worked under the chairmanship of Dr. John Macdougald. The present Committee operates under the chairmanship of Ger Kelly and he is ably assisted by members of the committee, including Hilary May, Brendan Moloney, Patricia Berry, Martin Donnelly and Brian Fitzpatrick. The Tidy Towns volunteers meet in Emily Square at 7.00 p.m. every Friday and from there start their work on your and my behalf to clean up areas which need attention. Called the ‘Tidy Towns Committee’ their work has resulted in a huge improvement in the appearance of the town and the approach roads to Athy. However, much work remains to be done and more volunteers are needed. If you are in a position to help why not drop down to Emily Square next Friday at 7.00 p.m. I gather anyone turning up to do some voluntary work will be very welcome. The success of the Tidy Towns Committee’s efforts can be measured by the huge improvements in votes received by Athy in the annual Tidy Towns competition. Athy did not enter the competition in 1996, but did so the following year after the then Town Clerk, Tommy Maddock, with the help and encouragement of others re-established the Tidy Town Committee under the chairmanship of Ger Kelly. Athy’s efforts in 1997 gained 166 points in the National competition. Last year that figure had increased to 274 points, thanks to the work of the committee and the volunteers past and present. The Committee’s work in cleaning up the banks of the River Barrow was the subject of a Millennium Award and a few weeks ago the annual river clean up was again the focus of the volunteer’s work. There are many organisations and clubs in the town staffed and run by volunteers and it is that same type of voluntary work which prompted the Leinster Express in July 1859 to declare ‘there is not in Ireland an inland town which can boast of more public spirit than Athy.’ That spirit is still evident today and the men and women of the local Tidy Towns Committee embody that public spirit which our community cannot do without. When I sat down to write this piece I wondered how many clubs/organisations are there in Athy? There is no directory for the town which one can consult, and its absence prompts a suggestion that there is a need for a town directory.

Athy's rich Architectural heritage

Any town plan comprises a range of inter dependent elements such as housing, roads and utility services, but also a number of inter related but not readily identified elements such as community development, cultural enhancement and the protection and preservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage of the town. Thankfully it is now quite a few years since we heard what was once an often-repeated complaint that ‘heritage is holding back Athy’. It is now accepted that heritage in all its manifestations, whether the architectural or the built heritage of Athy or the historical heritage of its community is but one of the many elements which helps build a vibrant community where facilities and opportunities are available to all. We now realise and accept that Athy has a rich architectural and historical heritage which are an intrinsic part of our community’s past. Foremost amongst the local buildings of note is of course Whites Castle. It is one of over 150 protected structures listed in the current town plan and given its history, its prominent position in the town centre and its current state there is an urgent need for the County Council to act on its declared aim of ‘protecting and conserving buildings of special historic interest’. The future development of Whites Castle can be linked with the hopeful realisation of Athy’s tourism potential which is another key issue to be addressed in the Athy plan. Tourism, retailing and industry are the three key economic footholds on which the future economic well being of Athy will stand. The retailing issue I touched on last week, while the drive for further industrial employment opportunities is largely dependent on the provision of an outer relief road and the identification of serviced land suitable for large and medium sized enterprises. Regrettably we have been slow to recognise the economic and social benefits which tourism could bring to the town. This, despite the huge potential that exists for waterways tourism on the River Barrow and the Grand Canal. The development of the Blueway hub here in Athy, coupled with the provision of improved mooring facilities on the local waterways, should help us realise some of the huge potential created by the unique meeting in Athy of the River Barrow and the Grant Canal. Water related tourism is but one side of the tourism potential of Athy’s future. The history of the town reflecting our national history is a story to be told in the Town Hall Museum and in a possible future museum located in Whites Castle. The current Heritage Centre is to be revamped and extended now that the library services have moved out of the Town Hall. It is to be renamed the Shackleton Museum and as the only permanent exhibition anywhere in the world devoted to the Polar explorer the museum can expect to attract international attention. If Whites Castle is acquired and developed as a local museum it and the Shackleton Museum would offer tourists attractive museum experiences which coupled with the other attractions in the town should help create a sustainable local tourism industry. When writing of other attractions in the town I am mindful of the opportunity as yet unfulfilled of making Athy the centre, as it was in 1903, of the Gordon Bennett race route. Kildare County Council has a key role to play in developing public spaces in and around Athy as evidenced in its current plans for the redevelopment of Emily Square. The existing plan acknowledges the poor quality of materials used during a previous development of the Square and what it calls ‘an abundance of clutter’. Plans announced last year provided for the creation of a traffic free plaza fronting the Town Hall. It was a bold statement of intent which prompted some local business people to bemoan the loss of parking in the front square. I favour the Council plan, seeing it as a far reaching and much needed development which would give our town centre an outstanding public area with the backdrop of the magnificent Town Hall. Any car parking space losses could be easily replaced by the acquisition and development of part of the now derelict Abbey site. Emily Square is the location of the centuries old Tuesday’s market. As currently operated the market is an uncontrolled mix and gathering of ugly stalls. The Council should regulate the market and make it an attractive feature which would enhance the local shopping experience. Stalls provided and put in place erected by Council staff each Tuesday morning for renting to traders together with improvement in the range of goods sold would hugely improve the image of the Tuesday market to the benefit of traders and shoppers alike. The Council’s role in adopting policies designed to promote sustainable development is one which is outlined in Statute. The implementation of those policies requires Council representatives and officials to ensure that the current needs of the local people are catered for, while at the same time planning for the future. The current pre-planning process allows all of us an opportunity to participate in planning for the future of our town.

Athy's new six year Development Plan

Last Tuesday officials from the Planning Department of Kildare County Council held a pre-draft consultation session in Athy’s new library to get feedback from local people on plans for the future of the town. The publicity for the consultation process set out its purpose as proper planning for the development of transportation, housing, retail, heritage, employment, social and community facilities. In short, planning for living in Athy. The declared aim of the public consultation was to engage with people who live, work, recreate or visit Athy and so stimulate debate on the future of the town. I called into our magnificent library just before 6pm, the session having started three hours earlier and which was scheduled to last for one further hour. At that stage approximately 30 persons had called to interact with the planners, a figure which I felt was extremely low given the town’s population of 10,000 or more. Perhaps the advance publicity for the consultation process did not reach out sufficiently far and wide to attract attention. Whatever the reason anyone interested in the future of Athy can make their views known to the Council planners at any time before 5pm on Tuesday 24th April. Submissions can be made online or by post to the Planning Department at Aras Chill Dara, Naas. To help those wishing to do so the Council has prepared an eight page booklet setting out the key issues to be addressed and copies of the booklet can be picked up in the local library. The present six year development plan for Athy is a very comprehensive document which sets out what is described as ‘an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the town’. If one examines the record of implementing the multi-faceted strategy adopted under various headings six years ago there cannot be complete satisfaction with the results. An examination of the Transport and Movement element of the plan shows that the outer relief road and the foot bridge across the River Barrow have not been progressed as we might have expected. The continued absence of cycle parking facilities in the town centre is another part of the existing plan which was not implemented. The use of car parking facilities in the urban area subject to fees during business hours is a feature which is generally felt runs counter to the Council’s declared vision of re-establishing Athy as a ‘key shopping destination’. While Athy is well serviced with strategically placed parking areas in the town centre local shopkeepers find that car driving customers are not encouraged to shop in the town. This is because of what is perceived to be unnecessary prohibitive car parking fees. Shopkeepers and shoppers alike ask why the County Council cannot accept its responsibility to encourage town centre shopping by allowing customers two hours free parking. Such an arrangement would allow the independent shop keepers to compete with the large conglomerates who have stolen a march on them with out of town shopping centres with free car parking facilities. I have listened to the oft repeated argument that traffic management requires car parking fees, but I am not convinced that genuine traffic management concerns would in any way be increased by allowing two hours free parking for shoppers. Such an innovative move by the Council would make a huge contribution to improving the retail profile and competitiveness of the town of Athy. Time limited free car parking has been provided in some towns in County Cork – why not here in County Kildare? There is an urgent need for a bold and innovative move by Kildare County Council in relation to car parking for shoppers in the town of Athy if we are ever to stop the leaking of retail expenditure to adjoining towns such as Carlow, Newbridge and Portlaoise. The current town plan acknowledges that unless local people are encouraged to shop locally there will be serious consequences for the vitality and viability of the town centre of Athy. That view was expressed in the Town Development Plan six years ago, but nothing has been done in the meantime to address the parking issue. If it was addressed in the manner suggested by so many, ie. 2 hours free parking for shoppers, I have no doubt that coupled with the construction of the outer relief road it would sustain and more importantly lead to the expansion of the retailing heart of Athy. Next week I will look at other elements of the town plan but in the meantime your views on issues which might be addressed in the new local area plan for Athy should be made known to the officials in the Planning Department of Kildare County Council. You have until 24th April to make your submissions.

Jim Flack Artist

Through his paintings he brought to us a keen awareness of the Irish countryside. Whether it was the weather-beaten landscape of the west of Ireland or the more benign landscape of his adopted County Kildare Jim Flack’s water colours captured the everchanging mood of the Irish countryside. His recent death has deprived us of a wonderful artist whose sensitive interpretation of water colours proved itself time and time again. Sadly, Jim’s brushes had been set aside for the past eight years following an illness which rendered him bedridden. His loss to Irish art will be keenly felt by his colleagues in the Water Colour Society of Ireland and by the many people who over the years recognised and acknowledged the importance of his artistic work. It was Jim himself who speaking of his work referred to the Irish countryside as a painter’s paradise and claimed, ‘when I paint I hope to share with the viewers the emotions I experience as I gaze at this rich countryside which provides me with my raw material.’ He enjoyed painting trees which he felt symbolised and reflected the ambience of the different regions of our islands from the bent twisted trees of the West of Ireland shaped by Atlantic gales to the lofty noble trees of the midlands. Jim and his wife Marlynne came to Athy in 1972 when Jim was appointed Minister to the Presbyterian communities of Athy and Naas and took up residence in the Manse on the Dublin Road. A native of Co. Armagh Jim from an early age was engaged in painting and at 10 years of age was one of the youngsters whose paintings were chosen for display in the children’s exhibition which was a feature of the 1951 Festival of Britain. Jim retired from his ministry in the Presbyterian Church in or about 1990 and thereafter devoted himself full time to painting and to teaching art. He was for a time art teacher in the local Vocational school on the Carlow Road and on giving up that post in 1981 was replaced by another highly rated artist, Mary Cunningham. I believe I first came across Jim’s work at Athy’s annual art exhibition at a time when Mark O’Neill, Elizabeth Cope, Senan O’Brien and the earlier mentioned Mary Cunningham were regular exhibitors. Jim’s first solo exhibition took place in 1971 in Fermoy where he was then living. A few years were to pass before he embarked on a breath-taking exhibition journey which over the years saw solo exhibitions in Belfast, Dublin, Kilkenny, Kilcock, Carlow, Killarney, Newry, Mullingar, Athy and Mount Morris, Co. Armagh. To those Irish venues were to be added solo exhibitions as far away as Washington D.C., San Antonio, Texas and Canadian venues in Montreal, Winnipeg and London Ontario. Jim’s talent was acknowledged and recognised with showings in the Royal Irish Academy and the annual exhibition of the Water Colour Society of Ireland as well as that of the Ulster Water Colour Society. The inspiration he drew from the scenic beauty of the West of Ireland inevitably made him a regular solo exhibitor in Kenny’s Art Gallery in Galway and from 1982 onwards his Galway exhibition was one of the highlights of the art scene in that region. I knew Jim Flack as an artist and as a member of our local community and it was in that latter role that he showed his kind, gentle and ever courteous self. These were traits which he displayed in abundance and were complemented by similar qualities in his wife Marlynne whom he met when he was ministering in Fermoy, Co. Cork. Marlynne, who before her marriage to Jim was a nurse, was loyally devoted to him and during his prolonged illness provided loving and constant attention for her life’s companion. The Presbyterian Church was full to capacity for Tuesday’s funeral service for Jim Flack and the short journey was made afterwards to St. Michael’s Cemetery for the burial of a man who has left us with a wonderful artistic legacy. Our sympathies are extended to Jim’s wife Marlynne, their son Stephen and extended family.

Kerry O'Sullivan, Liam O'Flynn and Ken Dodd

A school friend from the Christian Brothers secondary school in St. John’s Lane passed away recently. Kerry O’Sullivan was a quiet but very likeable fellow, whose father Mossie O’Sullivan was the town engineer for Athy Urban District Council. Kerry was fortunate enough to go straight from secondary school to university where he qualified as a dentist. A few of his school pals eventually made the journey through university, some availing of night classes to do so. Kerry, who married Kirstin Preisler formerly of Hillview House on the Kilkenny Road, had a dentistry practice in England from which he retired some years ago. I last met Kerry in June of last year on the occasion of a school pals get together for Seamus Ryan on a visit from his home in Australia. Even within the Leaving Certificate class of 1960 (the 11 pupils represented the largest ever Leaving Certificate class in the school up to that time) it’s surprising how many emigrated. Kerry to England, Mike Robinson and Seamus Ryan to Australia, with just four of the class of eleven still in Athy, the rest scattered throughout the 26 counties. With Kerry O’Sullivan’s passing the Leaving Certificate class of 1960 has lost another link with its youthful past. We had previously lost Gerry Byrne, a native of Ballyadams, who died a relatively young man not long after his ordination to the priesthood and Anthony Pender, formerly of St. Patrick’s Avenue. Two recent deaths which took place while I was out of Athy on holidays saw the loss of two talented men whom I greatly admired. One was the king of uilleann piping in Ireland, Liam O’Flynn, who came to reside in the south Kildare area some years ago. I was privileged to have known Liam O’Flynn and indeed met his father many years ago when I was living in Naas. In 2001 following a concert in the Dominican Church featuring Liam and the Pipers Call band as part of that year’s Shacketon Autumn School Liam was commissioned to compose music on the theme of Ernest Shackleton’s polar exploration. He launched the piece called ‘Endurance’ at the concert held in the Dominican Church during the following year’s Shackleton Autumn School. Liam O’Flynn was a wonderful musical ambassador for our country and it is sad to think that another great Irishman, the poet laureate Seamus Heaney who collaborated with Liam on the hugely successful ‘The Poet and the Piper’, has also passed away. Strange to relate that four days before Liam O’Flynn’s passing one of the co-founders of Claddagh Records, Garech Browne, also died. Liam O’Flynn as a young fellow had been a pupil of Leo Rowsome, as was Garech Browne and it was Browne who with his namesake Ivor Browne founded Claddagh Records. That company’s first record captured the uilleann piping of Leo Rowsome and went some way to help revive the ancient music of the complex elbow blowing instrument. The connection between Leo Rowsome, Liam O’Flynn and Garech Browne was uilleann piping. The first, a player, maker and teacher of the uilleann pipes, the second Ireland’s greatest uilleann piper and the third, a one time pupil of Leo Rowsome whose record company, Claddagh Records, widened the audience for Irish traditional music. It was the involvement of all three with the Irish traditional music scene which saw its re-emergence as an important part of Ireland’s cultural renaissance. No doubt eyebrows will be raised when I mention the other man I admired who died recently. He was none other than Ken Dodd, the greatest stand-up comedian of his generation. As someone with an abiding interest in social history I have always looked upon the history of the Music Hall as an important part of working class history both here in Ireland and in England. Music Hall developed to meet the entertainment needs of the working class and became the popular theatre form of the 19th century. Music Hall was effectively dead by the time Ken Dodd made his first appearance on stage. However, Ken Dodd’s material offered an insight into the working class social attitudes and he was for me a superb exponent of the comedic talent which marked the heydays of the English Music Hall. Despite the demise of the Music Hall its legacy lived on in the work of Ken Dodd, a master vaudevillian, whose performance in ‘An Appearance with Ken Dodd’ was captured on film and can still be viewed on the internet. With the passing of Kerry O’Sullivan a friendship first formed in school days many years ago is relegated to fond memories, as indeed is the enjoyment felt and experienced on hearing the magisterial uilleann piping of Liam O’Flynn and the quite different, yet equally enjoyable talent of England’s finest comic talent, Ken Dodd.

Bishop James Quinn (brother of Athy's Parish Priest Dr. Andrew Quinn)

St. Patrick’s Day is the one time in the year when the Irish diaspora gets to celebrate our national festival.  Its origins lie in a feast day celebrated by the Catholic church since the early 17^th century, but nowadays it has become the focus of cultural events internationally.

 

This led me to reflect on the contributions made by those men and women who have left our shores over the last century and a half for economic and other reasons.  One such individual was James Quinn. There is some confusion over Quinn’s birthplace.  A lot of early publications cite his birth place in 1819 as Athy, while more recent research indicates that he may have born in Rathmore, near Naas. Notwithstanding same it is clear that he had strong and ongoing links with Athy during his life.  I touched on Quinn’s life briefly in an Eye on the Past many years ago when writing about the Parish Priests who had served in the Catholic Church here in Athy. 

 

Quinn was an interesting, if not divisive, character who trained for the priesthood in the Irish College in Rome, graduating in 1845.  After his ordination he returned to Ireland and he began a lifelong association with the Sisters of Mercy. He was based in Blackrock and also acted as a chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy in Baggot Street, Dublin.  He particularly assisted in sourcing volunteers amongst the Sisters of Mercy to travel to the Crimea to nurse British soldiers wounded in the war there.  Quinn himself wrote of a journey to Kinsale in the company of two Sisters of Mercy to a convent seeking volunteers for this expedition to the Crimea.  Arriving early in the morning in Kinsale he went to the Convent’s chapel to perform his morning’s devotions, admitting somewhat ruefully that he fell asleep while kneeling in the chapel, only to be awoken by a Sister of Mercy perplexed at the presence of a man in her chapel at such an early hour.  Quinn had previously travelled to Amiens in France with the Sisters of Mercy in 1852 to make a tour of the hospital system.  This mission was of fundamental importance in the establishment of the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

 

By the time the Mater Hospital was founded in 1861 Quinn was already on his way to Australia after his appointment as the first Bishop of Brisbane.  His was a dynamic, if not  domineering presence in this young diocese which he found in a weakened and financially parlous state.  His dynamism did not endear himself to a lot of his parishioners, nor to some of the local clergy and he found himself in a number of quarrels which appeared to bedevil his episcopacy in the decades thereafter.  Utilising his good relations with the Sisters of Mercy he encouraged the establishment of a novitiate in Brisbane for the training of sisters for the order.  With the assistance of his brother, Dr. Andrew Quinn, who was a Parish Priest in Athy, many young women left Athy for the novitiate in Brisbane.  Several of the young women sent back accounts of their voyage to Australia.  One wrote, ‘we could not sleep for the incessant uproar of sailors, ducks, sheep, etc. which were perhaps sea sick or else giving way to great rejoicing at the prospect of a pleasure trip to Australia.’  The exigencies of the voyage did not prevent these young women from performing their religious obligations.  One described a Saturday afternoon on the deck of the ship as follows:-  ‘Confessions on deck, the captain helped to make the confessional, poles covered with the sail.  On Sunday 30 communicants.  All assembled for rosary at 10.  We are getting at home in our strange abode.  It seems as if almighty God has taken the power of fretting from me.’  Another nun wrote of her initial impression of the native aboriginal people of Australia, as follows:-  ‘I never saw such fearful looking creatures as the natives, especially the women.  Some are bare headed, others so completely covered with feathers that one would think feathers, not hair, grew on them.  They are painted in all colours.’  And on arrival:-  ‘On Saturday we reached Brisbane.  The Bishop and Fr. Connolly came for us and drove us to the convent where we got a very warm reception.  The prayers of the Sisters saved us.  For 3 whole weeks it was gale after gale.  All is over now and we are quite well and happy.’

 

Quinn’s own brother Matthew, who had also studied in Rome, had gone to India as a missionary in 1847 but because of health issues returned in 1853.  After assisting in raising an army of Irish volunteers to defend the papal states in the 1860s he went out to Australia in 1865 and was appointed the first Bishop of Bathurst. In all, four Quinn brothers joined the priesthood.

 

James Quinn died on 16^th August 1881 and his funeral was attended by representatives of many faiths, including the Anglican Church and also Rabbi Phillips.  He is commemorated in a number of places in Queensland and principally by a life size statue by Signor Simonetti in St. Stephen’s Cathedral which was installed in 1892.                             

Danny Kane and Mary Fleming

Danny Kane and Mary Fleming came from a similar rural background in South Kildare.  Danny was from Oldgrange, while Mary was from the nearby townland of Fontstown.  In age they were a generation apart but both passed away within weeks of each other.  Mary was an extremely devout person whose commitment to her church never waivered, while Danny’s work ethic was an essential part of his approach to life. 

Mary left Ireland as a young girl in 1937 at the height of the economic war.  She would spend the next 67 years of her life in England where she qualified as a nurse and midwife.  Even in retirement she continued working as a health visitor in Northampton, near to the home place of the great English poet John Clare.  She was however never lost to Ireland or to the extended Fleming family and she returned to Athy 12 years ago.  Here in Athy she renewed her commitment to the local parish in the same way as she had committed herself as a volunteer in her UK parish over many years.

Danny Kane, who was one of the most agreeable persons one could meet, left school like so many of his peers at an early age.  His lack of formal education did not in any way impinge on his ability to relate to people and he enjoyed an excellent relationship with everyone as he passed through life.  While working on local farms at an early age he developed an extraordinary work ethic which he maintained all his life.

In or about 1971 Danny purchased a small grocery shop at 32 Woodstock Street.  I am told that the enterprising young man from Oldgrange found that the mortgage repayments exceeded his income and so with friends Syl Bell and Eddie Ryan he purchased a chip van.  Travelling to various functions in the area selling chips proved profitable and prompted Danny to open a chipper in part of the existing grocery shop in Woodstock Street.  In time Danny gave over the entire premises to the fish and chip business and it flourished while Danny was the proprietor before selling it on in 1998. 

Legion are the stories I have heard of Danny’s thoughtfulness and generosity during his time as the shop proprietor in Woodstock Street.  It was the same spirit and thoughtfulness which saw him working later in his life as a volunteer driver for the Cancer Society.  After retiring from the business he had built up over 26 years Danny worked for a time as a driver for his brother-in-law Fergal Blanchfield.  This was followed by a spell as a driver with local hardware firm Griffin Hawe Ltd. and later as a taxi driver for Vals Cabs and Ernest O’Rourke-Glynn.

Sadly in more recent years Danny was troubled by a heart complaint brought on unquestionably by a life of hard work and long hours.  He was scheduled to have heart surgery for some time past but health cutbacks caused the operation to be postponed several times.  When at last the call came it was via a text message while Danny was attending 12 mass at St. Michael’s Parish Church.  He was admitted to St. James’s Hospital the following morning but tragically following a 14 hour operation died shortly after being transferred to the intensive care unit.

Danny is survived by his wife Fidelma who on their marriage in 1972 brought together two families, Kanes and Blanchfields, who are long associated with this part of the county of Kildare.  Fidelma and their 8 adult children have lost a wonderful caring husband and father and a man for whom the local community came out in their hundreds to honour on the occasion of his funeral. 

The contrasting lifestyles of both Danny Kane and Mary Fleming, both from rural backgrounds, were founded on commitment, one to the church, the other to the family.  Mary, who remained single throughout her whole life, found contentment and purpose in the Catholic Church and in her later years on returning to Ireland found great happiness with the extended family members, young and old, with whom she spent her final days.  Danny found great happiness in his family life and the life stories of Danny and Mary while different in so many ways show that their passages through life were marked by dedicated commitment to life’s true values.  Our sympathies go to the families and friends of Mary Fleming and Danny Kane. 

Ireland's commemoration of World War 1 since the 1920s(2)

In Athy where 223 men from the town and the surrounding district died during the 1914/18 war, I joined a few friends on Remembrance Sunday 1986 to publicly commemorate for the first time in over 50 years the local men who had died in that war.  The ceremony was held in St. Michael’s cemetery where six World War I soldiers who died at home were buried and I am proud to say that the Remembrance Sunday commemorations have been held every year since then, with ever growing numbers attending. 

 

It is often claimed that commemorations in the North of Ireland were organised for many years on religious or political grounds.  For many Catholic families who had lost sons or fathers in the war, collective commemoration in public was not deemed appropriate, particularly in nationalist areas of Belfast.  For many Catholics in the North the 1914/18 commemoration were viewed as loyalist events and the war itself as a futile conflict to be ignored.  Participation in the annual commemoration events was seen as a badge of loyalty.  The divergence of opinion was noticeable from the first Armistice Day commemoration held on the 1^st of November 1919 when in Belfast businesses stopped for two minutes silence at 11.00 a.m.  At the same time there was no mass observation in Derry city.  In Dublin a demonstration was held on that first anniversary, but it was accompanied by rowdy scenes, with clashes between Unionist and Nationalist supporters.  The newspapers reported ‘hardly had the Trinity students concluded the singing of “God Save the King” when a crowd of young men, mostly students from the National University, appeared in College Green shouting and singing “the Soldiers Song”.  A scene of wild disorder followed.’ 

 

In 1966 the Taoiseach Sean Lemass, a one time critic of remembrance ceremonies in Ireland acknowledged that Irish men who had enlisted in the British Army during World War I ‘were motivated by the highest purpose and died in their tens of thousands in Flanders and Gallipoli believing they were giving their lives in the cause of human liberty everywhere, not excluding Ireland.’

 

One of the first cross community approaches in Northern Ireland in re-telling the 1914/18 war story in a bipartisan way was the 1993 publication by the West Belfast Youth and Community Development Project which told of the Somme story as one involving both the 36^th Ulster Division and the 16^th Division.  It was after all the Battle of the Somme which brought Republican and Loyalists together as one and where both traditions suffered huge losses fighting in a common cause.  Despite this the Somme had always been seen by Loyalists as a 36^th Ulster Division conflict which was highlighted on many orange lodge banners as central to loyalism.  The 1993 project recognised Republican involvement and losses on the Somme for what was the first time in the North’s modern history.

 

The IRA ceasefire in 1994 prompted the SDLP in Belfast to attend as a body for the first time Remembrance Sunday commemorations in that city.  That same year the SDLP took part in commemoration ceremonies in Armagh, Omagh and Enniskillen.  The SDLP Mayor of Derry, John Kerr, was the first Mayor to lay a wreath during the 1995 ceremonies in Derry and two years later Belfast’s first nationalist Mayor, Alban Maginness participated in the city’s remembrance ceremonies.  He was accompanied by the Lord Mayor of Dublin when laying a poppy wreath during the Somme commemorations on the 1^st of July. 

 

The first cross border approach to joint commemoration resulted in the opening of the Irish Peace Park at Messines in 1998 by the English, Irish and Belgium Heads of State.  This was an initiative by Glen Barr and Paddy Harte, a Fine Gael T.D.  The park with the round tower commemorates Loyalist and Republican involvement at Messines in June 1917 when they fought side by side as part of the 10^th, 16^th and 36^th Divisions.

 

Perhaps one of the most far reaching participations in Remembrance Sunday events in recent years was that of Belfast’s first Sinn Fein Mayor Alex Maskey in 2002.  His participation and that of all the other participants previous mentioned was a long overdue recognition that people from both traditions shared the losses and sacrifices which marked the 1914/18 war.

 

The renewal of interest in commemorating the dead of World War 1 has seen the establishment of a Western Front Association in 1980 and the setting up of branches of the Dublin Fusiliers Association in Dublin and Belfast.  The Somme Association set up in 1990 provides a platform for the communities in Northern Ireland to share a common heritage – a heritage of loss and sacrifice endured by the men from Northern Ireland of the 16^th and 36^th Divisions.

 

Nevertheless, First World War commemorations will remain for many a controversial subject for some time to come given its roots and the complexities of what is a contested past.

Ireland's commemoration of World War 1 since the 1920s(1)

Men and women from both parts of the island of Ireland played prominent parts in World War I.  Their response to the call for volunteers was a cross community response.  However, when it came to commemorate and remember the awful events of those troubled years the community’s response in the South and in the North of this island were radically different.

 

Here in the South World War I commemorations during the 1920s and early 1930s were largely confined to participants who had returned from the war.  Armistices Day parades were somewhat muted affairs in the South and in Athy these parades were not actively supported by the local population.  However, it was accepted that the men who had gone overseas should be allowed to commemorate their colleagues who fell in battle.  It was an ambivalent attitude by the local population whose church and civic leaders during the war years had actively encouraged local men to enlist.  Many did enlist – Athy earning for itself the oft repeated claim of having given proportionately more men to the war than any other town in Ireland.  ‘Do as Athy has done’, urged the recruitment officers as they sought to swell the ranks during the final years of the war.

 

Despite this, World War I commemoration in Athy and generally throughout Southern Ireland was always problematic.  19^th July 1919 was designated ‘Peace Day’ in Britain and plans were made to mark the day in Dublin.  A large parade was organised to start from Dublin Castle and included a large number of demobilised soldiers and sailors organised by regiment and led by their former officers.  The Dublin newspapers reported however that upwards of 3,000 Irish Nationalist Veterans boycotted the event and also reported that ‘some cheers were raised as demobilised soldiers passed, but the regular troops were received by the most part in silence.’  Later that evening scuffles broke out in the city between Sinn Fein supporters and some of the participating soldiers, a clear indication that war commemoration in the capital city challenged cultural and political allegiances.

 

The subsequent Armistice commemorations in Dublin also led to disorder as it did in the following years.  On 11^th November 1923 and 1924 a temporary cenotaph was erected in College Green outside Trinity College and a large crowd attended to mark the anniversary.  Fighting between Nationalists and ex-service men prompted the Garda Commissioner to refuse permission for College Green to be used again.  In 1925 the commemoration moved to St. Stephen’s Green and a year later to the Phoenix Park where it was held for the next decade.  Following the election of a Fianna Fáil government in 1932 and the start of the economic war it became less easy to continue the Remembrance Sunday commemorations and the annual ceremonies ceased in and around the mid-1930s. 

 

In July 1919 it was agreed to erect in Dublin a Great War Memorial home to be used by ex-servicemen.  This did not meet with official approval and the plan was dropped but in the meantime it was agreed to have some form of a war memorial erected.  Funds were contributed by the public and approximately £42,000 was collected.  £5,000 of those funds was used to publish ‘Ireland’s Memorial Records’ of which 100 copies of the eight volume set were printed and distributed to all the principal libraries in Ireland.  A further £1,500 was spent on replacing wooden crosses with stone crosses on battlefields where the Irish Divisions had fought. 

 

In 1924 a committee was formed to consider proposals for a permanent memorial in Dublin to Irish men and women killed in the First World War.  The committee suggested Merrion Square and later St. Stephen’s Green as suitable memorial sites.  Public opposition to these proposals prompted the Irish government lead by W.T. Cosgrove to set up its own war memorial committee. 

 

Eventually the war memorial committee completed its work and a site at Islandbridge across the River Liffey opposite the Phoenix Park obelisk about 3 kilometres from O’Connell Street on grounds not too far distant from Kilmainham Jail was chosen.  Work on the Islandbridge Memorial started in 1932 but it was not until 1938 that it was completed.  The Islandbridge memorial park designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens is one of four gardens in Ireland designed by this world famous architect and is not only a place of remembrance but also of great architectural interest and beauty.  An official opening planned for July 1939 was postponed indefinitely due to the threat of war. 

 

 

From 1940 to 1970 the British Legion held annual Armistice Day ceremonies at Islandbridge.  Because of the troubles in the North the Park memorial was closed between 1971 and 1988.  It only reopened in 1988 in response to criticism of the Irish government’s attitude to World War I remembrance in the face of the Enniskillen bombings of the previous year. 

 

Another six years were to pass before the Islandbridge memorial park was formally opened in 1994 and for the first time an Irish government minister attended with the then Minister for Finance, Bertie Aherne, representing the Irish government.

……………….TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK…………..                

Athy's libraries of the past

In the days immediately following the Great Famine Athy had a reading room where a lending library was available with books to borrow, in addition to the Irish and English daily newspapers.  That first library was operated by the Athy Literary and Scientific Institute which was founded in September 1848, its facilities being available for ‘the young men of Athy engaged in mercantile pursuits during the day.’  The Institute’s stated objective was ‘the study and advancement of science and literature.’  The Institute’s library was established following a committee meeting on 2^nd December 1848 and while books could be borrowed by members, dictionaries, atlases and periodicals were not to be lent.  The library received gifts of books from many locals including shop owner Alexander Duncan who stated that he was doing so ‘as an earnest of the interest he felt in the society.’

 

A year later on 3^rd October 1849 the institute became known as ‘The Athy Mechanics Institute’.  The Grand Jury room in the Town Hall which had been used for meetings and lectures and housed the institute’s library, proved inadequate.  On 1^st August 1850 the members of the Mechanics Institute agreed to rent three rooms in Edward Duggan’s house.  The location of Duggan’s house is not known but a letter to the local press in November 1863 referred to ‘a large swamp around the rooms of the lamented exchange bounded on the west by the Barrow, on the east by the dock and the Literary Mechanics reading room and on the south by that part of Emily Square known as “rotten row” and on the north by public houses and the bridewell’.

 

The select committee of the House of Commons on public libraries heard evidence in 1849 and in relation to Ireland Mr. G. Hamilton M.P. claimed: ‘The Irish people do not read because they have no access to books, not because they cannot read.’  The Mechanics Institute Library, restricted as it was to members who paid ten shillings per year membership fee, was a private members library and so could not be regarded as Athy’s first public library.

 

The first public library in the town of Athy opened in the Town Hall on 1^st December 1927.  It was operated by Kildare County Council as the local Urban District Council had earlier relinquished its powers under the Public Libraries Act.  A local library committee was set up and was intended to comprise the local Parish Priest Canon Mackey and his three curates, Fr. Ryan, Fr. Browne and Fr. Kinnane who were to be joined by Rev. Dunlop, the local Church of Ireland Rector and Rev. Meek of the Presbyterian Church.  The six clerics were to have had as fellow committee members five local Urban District Councillors and the Town Clerk James Lawler who would act as the library secretary.  However, Canon Mackey, who had earlier crossed swords with the local Council, refused to come on the Committee for what he declared were ‘reasons obvious to the Council’.  He was joined in his boycott of the library committee by his senior Curate, Fr. Kinnane.  The Committee in time brought on board more lay members and the first librarian appointed was Mr. B. Brambley of Emily Square. 

 

Choosing ‘suitable titles for Athy folk’ as reported in the local newspapers, was a task assigned to the library sub-committee comprising Fr. M. Browne, T.C. O’Gorman, Manager of the local Hibernian Bank and P.J. Murphy, draper from Emily Square.  The library opened on 1^st December 1927 and initially stayed open one evening a week from 7 to 9 p.m.  This was soon extended to two evenings a week.  From these early beginnings the library service in Athy developed, moving from the Town Hall to the Courthouse and back again to the Town Hall, all the time staying within the confines of Emily Square.  On Thursday March 1^st our new library will be officially opened in the former Dominican Church on the opposite side of the River Barrow to Emily Square. 

 

I remember the library of the 1950s.  It opened in the evening times only to give access to the books which were shelved in a small room in the Town Hall which up to recently was used as a reference room.  Accessed by the doorway and stairs opposite the house of Mrs. Josephine Gibbons, the scarcity of motor traffic presented no great dangers for library users.  Nowadays that same entrance leading onto Emily Row is deemed too dangerous to use and is permanently closed.

 

The new community library which opens on Thursday March 1^st will be a formidable addition to the cultural landscape of Athy.  The Heritage Centre, the Arts Centre and the community library form a cultural triumvirate ready to celebrate our place, our people, our past and by doing so enrich our lives and make Athy a better place in which to live.

Carol Taaffe's Essay on Athy's old Libratry

The planned opening of Athy’s new library in the architectural gem which was the Dominican Church prompts me to hand over this week’s Eye on the Past to my daughter Carol, from whose article ‘Reading in the Duke’s ballroom’ the following extracts are taken.  The full article appeared in No. 49 of the Dublin Review five years ago.

 

‘When I came to write about a library, I began to think about community.  And when I thought about community, the first that sprang to mind was one that I had left behind.  In Dublin, we usually went to the library on Saturday mornings.  It was one of the weekend rituals, like trotting to the newsagent along the small path dozens of children had worn through an undeveloped patch of housing estate.  To a six-year-old, the estate was vast, a concrete prairie.  The town we moved to, Athy, seemed more hemmed in.  Passing strangers were much more likely to call you by name to ask if you were doing the messages, or remark on who you looked like, or tell you that they knew your grandfather.  Until we moved there, I didn’t look like anyone but myself.  And I was shy.  Urban anonymity, I quickly decided, suited me much better.  Even now, when I come back to Athy, strangers will tell me they haven’t seen me in ages, or give me something to pass on to my father, or continue a story that they assume I understand……….

 

Athy library is typical of libraries in those small rural towns that the Carnegie movement never reached.  Instead of the Romanesque buildings found in Dublin suburbs, or the contemporary architectural showpieces that popped up in some of the larger provincial towns during the boom, most rural libraries occupy buildings constructed for other purposes: market houses, churches, courthouses.  On a grey day, the streets surrounding Athy library can seem shabby.  The vacant shop windows are multiplying.  But the anchor for these meandering streets is the imposing stone building that divides the large market square, the oldest part of which dates to the 1740s.  It was then a market house with a broad arcade.  By the early nineteenth century that arcade was blocked in with stone, but the building still retained a degree of elegance until a third floor was added in 1913, leaving it fat and heavy, with a more forbidding appearance.  Over the preceding century it had become the administrative centre of the garrison town, serving as courthouse and home to the borough council.  This was where Lord Norbury, the infamous ‘hanging judge’ presided over the trials of those implicated in the rebellion of 1798.  On the front wall, there are still two stone reliefs displaying the scales of justice, one overlaid with the Irish harp, the other with the British crown.  It is in the first-floor ballroom, added by a later duke, that the library now resides……….

 

Reading is a solitary activity, but the library is a social space.  It is a funny contradiction, and one I used to resolve by spending as little time in libraries as possible.  But this modern community library is far from the place I remember.  In the straitened 1980s, Athy library was still housed in a dark room in the courthouse building across the square.  To a small child, it seemed very likely that the librarian had taken inspiration from the magistrates who preceded her.  Getting to the appropriate shelves meant clattering through a series of low chairs and tables that were always too closely spaced.  Clattering back in the opposite direction was not encouraged.  Straying from child to adult sections was not allowed.  Supervision was total.  The strange darkness was a product of the building’s Tudor Revival architecture.  At the back there was still what looked like a barred cell sitting open to the air……….

 

When I visited the library as a child, it was generally for escapism.  And perhaps I spent more time playing outside in the cells than I did in the dank reading room.  I did not pay attention to it, any more than I paid attention to a sense of community, or history, or belonging.  It was simply there.  In the hotchpotch of a building at the centre of the town that houses the current library, I now realize, is stored nearly three centuries of community life.  And I also realize by now that the stories I grew up on, about the town I refused to belong to, long ago seeped in without my noticing.  So I came to understand that this community library is Athy’s natural heart and its best resource.’

 

Sr. Cecilia Hall and Sr. Immaculata of the Sisters of Mercy, Athy

The past is slipping away with a quickening pace which increases as the years pass.  My thoughts as I attended the funeral of Sr. Cecelia Hall, a Sister of Mercy, who entered the convent in Athy almost 77 years ago.  A native of Killenaule, Co. Tipperary, she joined the Sisters of Mercy with her own sister, later Sr. Claude, on 8^th September 1940.  Sister Cecelia and Sr. Claude were just two of the many young female siblings who over the years entered the Convent of Mercy here in Athy.  Families as far afield as the counties on the Western seaboard gave us young girls who devoted their lives as Sisters of Mercy to education, patient care in the County Home, later St. Vincent’s Hospital, and social work among the poor of Athy. 

 

Just eleven days before Sr. Cecilia’s funeral another funeral journey to St. Michael’s Cemetery saw the removal of the remains of Sr. Immaculata to the Sisters of Mercy section of the local cemetery.  The death of these two elderly nuns represents another breach in the extraordinary line up of religious whose lives were committed over a period of almost 165 years to service within our community here in Athy. 

 

I have always been intrigued as to how young girls from counties as far apart as Kerry and Mayo and so distant from the Lily White county came to the convent in Athy.  Was it due to the encouragement of religious in their own parishes to join the Sisters of Mercy and the subsequent distribution by higher authority of postulants to various Mercy houses throughout Ireland?  I gather that those wishing to join the Sisters of Mercy were not encouraged to enter convents in their own area and so movement throughout the country was an inevitable consequence.  Even though local girls were generally encouraged to enter convents some distance from their native towns there are several instances where a number of local girls had joined the local convent.  Amongst these were a  sister of Dan Carbery of St. John’s who was professed as Sr. Frances de Sales and Sr. Michael, one-time superioress of the convent who was a Hickey from Kilberry. 

 

The enormous contribution which the Sisters of Mercy made to education and the welfare of our local community can never be adequately measured.  However, as I wrote at the top of this piece the past is slipping fast.  As each member of the Sisters of Mercy pass away their legacy recedes further and further.  Not too many years ago the extensive building known as the Convent of Mercy housed a full complement of nuns and postulants.  The convent closed in May 2000 and the aging Sisters of Mercy left behind in the grounds of their old convent the small cemetery which held the remains of the nuns who died over the years.  The first death was recorded on 29^th April 1866 with the passing of a young postulant, Mary Ryan.  She was one of three Ryan sisters who entered the convent in Athy less than 20 years after the Great Famine. 

 

The new St. Michaels Cemetery now has a section reserved for the Sisters of Mercy as it has for the Christian Brothers and members of the clergy who died in recent years.  Sadly the Sisters of Mercy who died during the currency of the Mercy convent remain in the small cemetery which was attached to that convent.  The subsequent development of apartments in the vicinity of the cemetery has consigned that sacred space to virtual obscurity which given the proud history of the Sisters of Mercy in Athy is a sad reflection on our passing history. 

 

The past is slipping away, especially that past which was inhabited by religious sisters and brothers.  They came to Athy just a few years after the Great Famine to provide badly needed education for young boys and girls of the area who up to then lived without much hope of improving their lives.  The Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers gave you, me and many others the opportunities which come with education.  Their value to our community and Irish society in general cannot and should never be understated. 

 

As the past slips away there is always a danger that even people and events of recent times will be overlooked, misunderstood or incorrectly described.  I came across recently in our local newspapers two references to ‘McDonald Drive’ and in conversation with a few people it would seem that many do not know that the correct name of the estate is ‘McDonnell Drive’.  The estate was built by Athy U.D.C. and opened by the th

[en Minister for Local Government on 24^th September 1953.  It was named after Archdeacon Patrick McDonnell, Parish Priest of St. Michael’s for 28 years who died on 1^st March 1956. 

 

We have a proud history here in Athy, but pride must always be accompanied by accuracy if we are not to confirm Henry Ford’s claim that ‘history is bunk’.