Tourism potential for Athy

‘There is nothing at all for Athy’. So said my wife as I prepared to write this week’s article. ‘Kildare Village is expanding, while Newbridge is benefitting from a huge housing development on the outskirts of the town.’ I had just returned from an all-day conference in Kilkea Castle organised by County Kildare Tourism Board and my wife’s unsolicited comments prompted me to reflect on what the future might hold for Athy. Having survived uprisings, epidemics and manmade disasters during the 800 years of its existence, Athy retains a charming presence in the south of the shortgrass county. It’s narrow medieval streetscape was breached in the 18th century by a canal and in the following century by a railway. Both canal and railway boosted the flagging business fortunes of what was an agricultural outpost and helped Athy to develop as a market town of the first order. The original business models of the canal and railway have now given way in the case of the canal to leisure activities, while the railway has opened up Athy as a distant but reachable dormer town of our capital city. Business life in provincial Ireland has changed enormously in recent years, but especially so during the past two coronavirus years. It is difficult to anticipate what the future may hold but there is a growing awareness that the town’s future will include with the manufacturing, commercial and services mix, a fourth component of tourism and leisure activities. Athy is generally viewed by visitors as a very attractive town but one which is yet to awaken to the commercial and social benefits which could arise by making better use of our local waterways. The revival of the commercial heart of the town can be expected to benefit from the removal of heavy traffic with the opening of the outer relief road. Part of that revival must and should see the opening of more small independent shops offering quality goods. The local shopping experience must be improved and the removal of through traffic from the main streets will not in itself be sufficient. Behind the pleasant shop fronts, visitors and locals alike need to find services and goods which both attract and satisfy customers. Without intending to claim that the local economy would rely heavily on tourism, a vital part of Athy’s future as a possible tourist destination is the Blueway development, with the Shackleton Blueway hub at the rear of Hoares Lock. The significance of this development can be gauged when one considers the success of various Greenways and Blueways opened up around Ireland in recent years. The decision of Kildare County Council to proceed with the Blueway development as far as the county boundary contrasts sharply with Carlow County Council’s failure to allow the Blueway development to continue through County Carlow. In the very centre of Athy stands the building erected by the County Kildare Grand Jury in the early years of the 18th century. Known by generations of Athy folk as the Town Hall it will in the near future be adopted and extended to house what will be a major tourist attraction in this area. The Shackleton Museum will feature many artefacts relating to the Kilkea-born Polar explorer, as well as a substantial Polar research library. The worldwide success of the recent Shackleton Autumn School clearly demonstrated how significant the Shackleton Museum can be in terms of attracting tourists to the town. Athy, once regarded as Leinster’s foremost market town, later became a town of iron and bricks with a multiplicity of foundries and brick yards. These are now long gone, replaced in the 1930s and succeeding years by a number of factories, some of which are no longer in existence. Athy, now in part a dormer town, has embarked on the next stage of it’s development. Part of that development will hopefully see Athy emerge as a tourist attraction with the development of the Blueway and the opening of the Shackleton Museum. The comment which opened this article claiming that ‘there is nothing at all for Athy’ is I believe an overly pessimistic view. The town is well positioned to benefit from the anticipated increase in future tourism and leisure travel and I believe the market town of old will meet whatever new challenges are presented. The tourism conference in Kilkea Castle brought together a wide range of persons involved in that industry. It was heartening to hear the organisers speak of the importance of tourism to the County of Kildare. Tourism might today be seen as an unusual addition to the manufacturing and commercial life of the town. However it’s untapped potential must be seen as an important part of the town’s future.