Athy's civic affairs of the mid 19th century

In the years following the Great Famine, the meetings of Athy Town Commissioners were largely taken up with discussions on the sanitary condition of the town and the unrelated issues of vagrancy and prostitution. The Commissioners recognised what they described as ‘the right’ of householders ‘to clear before their doors prior to 10 o’clock each morning’. The apparent advantage for householders on the main streets was the collection of horse dung which could then be used in their back gardens. Street cleaners were not employed by the Town Commission and in December 1848 the Commissioner sought the agreement of the local Board of Guardians to allow workhouse inmates to be engaged (without pay) in keeping the streets clean. The Guardians did not agree, no doubt anxious to keep the able-bodied male inmates employed at stone breaking in the workhouse. The Town Commissioners advancing their desire to improve the sanitary conditions of the town agreed to employ ‘two scavengers’. Within a year of their appointment, one of the men was let off leaving the remaining man with the sole responsibility of sweeping the principal streets of Athy. Recognising the need to develop Athy as a market town, a role which had first emerged with the opening of the Canal in 1791, the Town Commissioners decided to establish a second weekly market. Saturday was appointed as the second market day in Athy and the initial market was held in the town square on the first Saturday in September 1853. The weekly markets and monthly fairs attracted buyers and sellers from afar and the local lodging houses were kept busy. So much so that the Town Commissioners appointed a registrar of licensed lodging houses and an Inspector of those same premises whose job was to visit every lodging house on a weekly basis. Those inspections prompted the Commissioners to withdraw lodging house Licences from John Laughlin, Pat McGrath and Pat Prendergast in December 1852. A further three Licence holders had their licences withdrawn in November 1854. The reasons for the licence cancellations were not recorded. In September 1856, the Town Fathers commended the conduct of the troops of the 16th Lancers then based in the Athy Cavalry Barracks under the command of Captain Patrick Agnew. However, the army presence in Athy created another problem for the Town Commissioners which in 1858 prompted the following notice to be posted throughout the town. ‘Caution to persons keeping any places of public resort within the town for the sale of refreshments of any kind who knowingly supplies any common prostitute or resorting therein to assemble and continue in his premises after this notice will be prosecuted according to the law. By Order Henry Sheil Town Clerk’. If the army presence in the town caused one problem, the local workhouse might have been viewed by the Town Commissioners as causing another problem which the Commissioners sought to address in September 1860. They ordered that the local magistrates be required to try and sentence any vagrants and beggars to fine and imprisonment ‘who shall be found standing in doors or loitering about as an obstruction to the public’. This so called ‘Order’ was apparently ignored causing the Town Clerk to issue another notice in January 1862. ‘Whereas it has been brought under the notice of the Commissioners, a nuisance is existing within the township viz vagrants constantly begging on the public streets and at private doors., I hereby direct that in all cases where the law is violated, same vagrants be summonsed before the Justice’. Six years later, the Town Commissioners still concerned about prostitution and vagrancy in the town were prompted to pass the resolution ‘that a man be appointed to take care, that all vagrants and beggars shall be kept out of the town and also prostitutes shall be brought before a Magistrate and at once be dealt with summarily’. At the same time, Pat Walker described in the Commissioners minute book as ‘the former scavenger’ agreed ‘to serve the Athy Town Commissioners in removing off the streets and when necessary bringing them before the Magistrates, all vagrants, beggars and prostitutes’. Ten months later Walker’s employment was continued for a further period for which he was paid six shillings a week for his beggar/prostitute duties and four shillings as the ‘town scavenger’. The good man was also supplied with a coat, trousers, waistcoat and hat. The departure of the army from the local barracks no doubt helped Pat Walker to devote more time to his street cleaning duties. The exact date of the army’s departure from Athy is not presently know but it was sometime between 1856 and 1884 on which latter date the former Barrack Street was renamed Woodstock Street. The Town Commissioners for so long concerned with vagrancy and prostitution in the town were the subject of much criticism by the local dispensary doctor Edward Ferris in September 1873. His report submitted to the local Government Board in Dublin claimed that ‘the dwellings of the labouring population of this town and still more the yards attached to them are for the most part in a very bad state. The local authority whose business is to have the state of things rectified are very inactive and remiss’. It would take another forty years before the Town Commissioners successors, Athy Urban District Council, provided the first public housing in Athy. Another 60 years were to pass before the Slum Clearance Programme of the 1930s saw the commencement of the process which led to the demolition of the slum dwellings mentioned in Dr. Ferris’s report.

Shackleton Autumn School 2021

The arrival of Autumn is always marked by shorter, colder and wetter days and a carpet of leaves which coat our country roads. It also brings with it, in October, the annual Shackleton Autumn School which has been a fixture on Athy’s calendar since 2001. Last year Covid prevented the holding of the Autumn School in its traditional format with lecturers and attendees coming from all over the world but undaunted by this the ever-inventive Shackleton Autumn School committee held an online event which they called ‘Virtually Shackleton 2020’. This comprised a day long series of lectures with contributors from all over the world and which was streamed live over the internet. The hidden benefit of the online hosting was that attendees from such far-flung places as Iceland and Argentina were able to participate in the event for the first time. A most enjoyable element of last year’s virtual event was the series of video messages from attendees all over the world who had either been at the Autumn School or intended to be at the Autumn School in the future. It was a great testament to the positive impact the Autumn School has had on the town both nationally and internationally since its inception in 2001. This year’s virtual event is particularly significant as it kicks off the events marking the centenary of Shackleton’s death on the 5th of January 1921. The event will commence at 10.00am on Saturday, 30th of October with an introduction from a very special contributor, the details of which are a closely guarded secret. Thereafter attendees will be treated to a variety of talks, lectures and films on all things Shackleton. Of particular interest will be the first lecture at 10.20am on the 30th by Jan Chojecki with the title ‘John Quiller Rowett and the Quest’. Rowett is a much forgotten figure in Polar history but he was the former school friend of Shackletons who financed the last expedition on the Quest. As many readers will know the cabin from the Quest was secured by the Shackleton Museum some years ago and in its restored state will be a key feature of the revamped museum which is scheduled to be completed in 2023. Jan Chojecki is John Quiller Rowett’s grandson and we can expect an extraordinary personal view of the man whose financial generosity allowed Shackleton one final journey to the Antarctic where he would meet his untimely death. Other aspects of Shackleton’s colourful life will be addressed by some of the other lecturers. Jo Wolf of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society will speak of the time that Shackleton spent as the society’s secretary. It is hard to imagine the dynamic and charismatic Shackleton in such surroundings. One of the many innovations that Shackleton brought to the society during his short term as secretary was the introduction of telephones which caused much consternation amongst its much older members! A perennial favourite of the Autumn School, Bob Headland a research associate at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, will treat attendees to a lecture on the ‘Non-existent islands in the Southern Ocean’. No doubt the presentation will be laced liberally with Bob’s ever-present humour. Amongst the many international contributors there will also be a talk from an Irish based academic Dr. Sinead Moriarty of University College, Dublin. She recently published her work ‘Antarctica in British Children’s Literature’, and her lecture will focus on the representation of Ernest Shackleton in children’s literature. Other lectures will focus on the James Caird the lifeboat in which Shackleton and his companions made that epic journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. One lecture will be on Seb Coulthard’s own recreation of the most exact replica anywhere in the world, which boat will be a future exhibit in our museum as part of the redevelopment. The Swiss based Jean Pommereau and the Australian Meredith Hooper will talk about the extraordinary photographs of the Australian camera artist, Frank Hurley who recorded Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. The boy scouts who went on Shackleton’s last expedition will feature in Alan Noake’s talk. Other events include a book launch, a showing of the film “Southwards on the Quest” which was first shown in 1922 and will be shown in this country for the first time in almost a century. The event would not be complete without the mandatory drink in O’Brien’s pub on Emily Square and this year they will host a virtual pint for all those attendees who cannot be there in person. The event is online and is completely free on the 30th of October and for further details and to register for the event checkout the website www.shackletonmuseum.com

A Memorial for the Famine dead of Athy's Workhouse

Last March I wrote to Councillor Mark Stafford who was then Mayor of County Kildare asking if Kildare County Council would provide funding for the design, construction and erection of a suitable memorial to honour those who died in Athy Workhouse and the County Home and were buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. That last resting place for so many is just a short distance from the former workhouse from where the emaciated bodies of the famine dead were carted across Lennon’s Bridge on their final journey. I was prompted to write to the Mayor having some weeks earlier read the report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission which outlined a shameful period in our nation’s history. In a subsequent Eye on the Past No. 1486 I recounted how in 1994 I made an appeal to the Eastern Health Board at the launch of my book on the history of St. Vincent’s Hospital for that authority to erect a suitable memorial ‘to the forgotten people who lie in St. Mary’s Cemetery so that they can be shown the respect and dignity denied to them while they lived’. There was no response from the Eastern Health Board but Councillor Mark Stafford replied to my letter indicating that Kildare County Council would pursue the matter with representatives from the Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes and that “your proposal will be considered as part of this process”. I interpreted his reply as a clear indication that Kildare County Council would memorialise the forgotten inmates of Athy’s Workhouse and the County Home. Last week’s Kildare Nationalist carried the news that Kildare County Council, following a motion brought to the Council by Councillors Aoife Breslin and Nuala Killeen, had authorised the expenditure of €68,000 for the erection of a memorial in St. Mary’s Cemetery for ‘all those sadly neglected souls that died in the Workhouse and the County Home’. The members of Kildare County Council are to be congratulated for their decision and the hope is that the memorial will be in position in time for next May’s National Famine Commemoration Day. In the meantime Clem Roche and Michael Donovan are continuing their research to identify as many as possible of the men, women and children who died in the Workhouse between 1844 and 1922. Their task is a very difficult one but is an essential element of any commemorative acknowledgement of our town’s past. Several people have contacted me in recent times with regard to the lack of readily available information relating to activities and events in the town. Within the last week two persons, who are quite recent arrivals in Athy, pointed out that it was very difficult for them to know what activities or events are taking place and questioned why there was no town directory and no regular public announcements as to what was happening in the town. In olden days every town had a town crier whose job was to walk through the streets ringing a bell and proclaiming the latest news or announcements. Nowadays what with mobile phones, texting and emails one might readily assume that passing on information should be a much easier task than in years gone by. The problems associated with the use of modern technology however is that not everyone has a mobile phone or computer and the gathering of information for transmission town wide requires the regular co-operation of event organisers, clubs and associations. The gathering of information on a regular basis is the most difficult part of information transmission across a town or district. Once information is gathered it should be a straight forward matter to have it brought to the attention of the general public whether by leaflet drops, a newsletter or local radio. Perhaps the least costly way of disseminating information is to use public notice boards. There is a notice board in Emily Square which if matched by other similar notice boards in the carpark of the town library and a third perhaps at the Arts Centre in Woodstock Street they could be used to keep the general public advised of forthcoming events. Providing notice boards is the easy part of the process. The greatest difficulty lies in availing of the services of a person or persons whose role is to gather in the material. This would require liaising on a regular basis with local organisations to ensure a comprehensive listing of local events and happenings and the preparation of event listings for the public notice boards. This is a task which will require a great deal of commitment and I believe it might best be undertaken by the community and events officer employed by Athy municipal council. If the local Councillors accept it as a community benefit project worthy of support perhaps they would establish this or some other form of public information link for Athy and the South Kildare area. The 21st Shackleton Autumn School takes place on Saturday, 30th of October. This year’s event is again an online event which last year attracted a large international audience. ‘Virtually Shackleton’ is a free event which you can join by contacting the Shackleton Museum at info@shackletonmuseum.com. Next week’s Eye on the Past will give an account of the 2021 Autumn School speakers, their subjects and an interesting recent arrival in the Shackleton Museum.

Martin Brennan and Education in Athy

Just a few weeks ago as I was leaving my office I met Martin Brennan for the last time. Martin was standing alone on the pavement and I stopped to talk to him as we had always enjoyed chats about what many would regard as the good old times. However, shorn of the romanticism which pervades all our youthful memories, those times were in fact days of hardship for many. Martin was a well known man around town, indeed some might say one of the town’s great characters who helped define and characterise the town of Athy. I enjoyed Martin’s company whenever we met as he always made a point of having a chat about some local matter or persons of interest. Our last conversation was briefer than usual as Martin was not well. His breathing was laboured and he explained with a courageous degree of acceptance why it was so. His death earlier this week brought an end to a life which was notable for strong family ties nurtured by Martin and his sons, Anthony, Timmy, Joseph, Michael, Martin, his late son John Paul and his late wife Bridget. I will miss Martin who joins my classmate Pat Flinter who died a few days earlier. Pat was one of the class of eleven who sat their Leaving Cert. in the local Christian Brothers school in 1960. He was dogged with ill health during his school days and was absent from school for almost six months in the leadup to the exam. Despite that Pat did well in the Leaving Cert., a tribute to his ability, his intelligence and his dedication to study. He reached the highest rung on the ladder of industry when appointed Managing Director of Tegral Metal Forming Limited here in his hometown. It was a remarkable achievement and one which confirmed Pat’s undoubted brilliance as a businessman. Sometime in the early or middle 1950’s four young fellows were ferried in Tosh Doyle’s hackney car to Kildare town to sit Kildare County Council scholarship examinations. The purpose was to get a grant from the County Council to cover secondary school fees. All of us were pupils from the same class in the local CBS where the annual fees were a modest £4 10 shillings. Pat Flinter and Mick Robinson, now in Australia were successful in getting the scholarships while Ted Wynne and myself were the unsuccessful candidates. The first class primary and secondary education facilities which are today to be found in Athy are successors to the foundations opened by the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers in the years following the Great Famine. Both arrived in Athy at a time when there was no legal requirement for young people to attend school and where the “poor school” as it was called and the small private boarding schools of Athy provided little opportunity for the majority of the local children. The education provided by the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers were of immense importance to the town. However, attitudes to education changed ever so slowly and even 100 years after the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy a majority of the young people of the town left school before their 14th birthday. My first day in school was on the 12th of May 1946, the day that I later discovered was also Frank English’s first time in the classroom of St. Joseph’s School. The class comprised 40 or 50 youngsters who were together as classmates for the next 8 or 9 years. The numbers remained constant as we moved to the primary school with the Christian Brothers but as we were preparing to sit the Primary Certificate exam some classmates had left. The slippage became an avalanche as the class transferred to the three room secondary school in St. John’s Lane. By the time we became the Leaving Cert. class of 1959/60 our numbers had fallen to eleven which was the largest ever Leaving Cert. class in that school. Pat Flinter was in that class. About three years ago as many of the Leaving Cert. class of 1960 as were available joined me for a get together for our classmate Seamus Ryan who was on a flying visit from Australia. Sadly since then our numbers have been reduced with the deaths of Kerry O’Sullivan, Teddy Kelly and now Pat Flinter. These classmates of 61 years ago are remembered with fondness and great sadness. Martin Brennan like many of his friends and neighbours had not climbed the iron stairs to the secondary school classrooms. He like so many others had left school at an early age and never had the opportunity to take full advantage of his God given right to complete his education. Martin’s family emigrated to Manchester when he was young. He started work at a young age and on his return to Athy he worked in Minch Nortons. His story and that of Pat Flinter mirror the life stories of so many from Athy. Difficult times in the post World War II years forced many local families to take the emigrant boat and those who remained faced a difficult life which often necessitated young boys and girls being taken out of school to work. The Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Mercy provided the first step in securing educational opportunities for all. The Minster for Education, Donagh O’Malley, advanced another step by ensuring free second level education for all. The days of young teenagers or even pre-teens leaving schools for ill paid jobs is now long gone. However, the memories of those days still linger and are a reminder of how much we in Athy owe to the religious and lay teachers of the past.