White's Castle and the setting up of a Civic Trust

This evening, 24th September at 8.00 p.m. the Annual General Meeting of Athy Historical Society will take place in the Community Arts Centre. It will be followed immediately by a second meeting, open to all, to learn of the setting up of the Athy Civic Trust. The purpose of the Trust is to make advance preparations for the possibility of public ownership of the endangered built heritage of the town. That built heritage includes the White Castle, Woodstock Castle, the medieval church in St. Michael’s Cemetery, the Courthouse and several other important buildings. The White Castle is in private ownership, and we must respect the owner’s rights, while at the same time not losing sight of our ambitions to have this historic building held in public ownership. Woodstock Castle is presently in the ownership of Kildare County Council, but regrettably the Council has displayed little interest in protecting and preserving what is our oldest building dating back to the early medieval times. The County Council Executives have shown a remarkable lack of initiative and foresight over the years in response to the many opportunities presented to acquire the White Castle. It’s interesting to recall that in the 1950s the then owner of the White Castle, Miss Norman, offered to give the Castle to the Town Council in return for a Council house. The offer was the subject of several meetings which were attended by representatives from Bord Failte, but the offer came to nought. Since then, within the past 20 years, the Castle has come on the market on three occasions. Pressed to purchase it, Athy Urban District Council and later Kildare County Council, did nothing to procure the Castle for public ownership. The present owner has good intentions as regards the protection and preservation of the Castle, but the cost involved is maybe far greater than anticipated. My hope is that the Castle may eventually be transferred into public ownership, which is why Athy Historical Society is establishing the Athy Civic Trust so if needs be it can be in a position financially and otherwise to be one of three possible public ownership bodies, i.e. Civic Trust, Kildare County Council or Office of Public Works. Public ownership would allow the Castle to be developed as a town museum, highlighting its links with the Earls of Kildare and the Dukes of Leinster. It would be a great addition to the town’s attraction and with the Shackleton Museum could make Athy a tourist destination. The Civic Trust Memorandum of Association states that the main objectives for which the Trust is to be established are:- 1. To promote public awareness and appreciation of the architectural, cultural and historical heritage of Athy for the benefit of the public. 2. To encourage the conservation and use of the architectural, cultural and historical heritage of Athy. 3. To manage properties of architectural, cultural and historical heritage in Athy. 4. To participate with organisations active in the development of tourism in Athy. Seven persons will sign as subscribers the Articles of Association of the Civic Trust and these are:- Clem Roche, Chairman of Athy Historical Society; Seamus Taaffe, Solicitor and the five municipal councillors for Athy Municipal Council. The Trust will be a company limited by guarantee, limiting the subscribers’ liability in the event of liquidation of the Civic Trust to a payment of €1.00 each. Following the registration of the Civic Trust an application will be made to have it granted charitable status. It is also intended to set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page in the name of the Athy Civic Trust. The setting up of the Trust will be discussed following the A.G.M. on Tuesday night and any questions in relation to the Trust will be dealt with by Seamus Taaffe, Solicitor as unfortunately due to illness I am not in a position to attend. The Civic Trust meeting is open to the general public. On October 1st John Alcock’s ashes will arrive in St. Michael’s Church for a memorial Mass at 1.00 p.m. His daughter Margaret Pugh will have travelled from the North Island of New Zealand where John had lived for many many years, having left Athy for London in 1949 and responding to a New Zealand government advertisement he took up employment in that country in 1955. His brother George and sister Sheila also emigrated to New Zealand. I met John for the first time a few years ago. He was then 90 years of age and had returned to his home town to recall treasured memories of his young years in the local Christian Brothers School and four years spent in the moulding department of the Asbestos Factory. His parents, George and Mary Alcock, lived in No. 1 Dooley’s Terrace. John had eight brothers and sisters but two of his sisters, Brid and Margaret, died young. His journey to Athy was a pilgrimage of remembrance and John recalled those young men and women he shared life experiences with, but who were no longer alive to meet the visitor from New Zealand. He recalled in particular his uncles, Frank and Thomas Alcock, who joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during World War I and who died as young men in that War. Two years after that first visit John returned for what was his last visited to his beloved home town. He died some months ago and in accordance with his wishes, his ashes will be returned to his beloved home town to be buried with his parents and one of his brothers. I was saddened by the recent passing of Rainsford Hendy and Martin Mullins, both of whom made substantial contributions to the business and community life in South Kildare. Rainsford and I shared a common interest in the yearly Daffodil Day collection which he organised in Athy. His death at a time when I am availing of the services he and I supported is a reminder of the importance of involvement and supports for volunteerism within our community.

Athy Community Arts Centre

Just over 16 years ago John MacKenna, having earlier founded the theatrical group, ‘Mend and Makedo’, sought to have a small theatre in Athy. He was joined in that mission by Brid Brophy and myself and approaches were first made to Athy Urban District Council with regard to the possible use of the then vacant dispensary premises in Meeting Lane. First built as a Quaker meeting house in 1780, it was surprisingly vacated by the second decade of the next century and subsequently taken over for use by the local Methodist community. They remained in possession until the opening of the Methodist church at Woodstock Street in 1870. Subsequently used as a medical dispensary I am uncertain what changes, if any, were made to the original Quaker meeting house structure to give us the building we know today. Before approaching the Town Council Vivian Cummins, architect, generously offered his professional services in preparing drawings of work which we intended to carry out to the building for use as a theatre. Regrettably the Council did not accept our proposals and so our search continued. It was then that a fellow Athy Lions Club member, Trevor Shaw, approached me regarding the possibility of using the Methodist Church as a town theatre. Following discussions agreement was reached, which were hugely facilitated by the then Town Director Joe Boland who served to be a dynamic supporter of Athy’s cultural development. He sourced funding to enable a stage to be built in the church and to have some essential repairs carried out to the church building. Under the arrangement between the Methodist church body, Kildare County Council and the management committee which was established, the Council took a five year lease of the building subject to a nominal rent and they then licensed the voluntary management committee to operate the newly named ‘Athy Community Arts Centre.’ That original committee involved John, Brid and myself and over the years we have been joined by several other volunteers who have given freely of their time and expertise to provide a theatre for the town which had a strong theatrical history stretching back as far as the 1930s and perhaps earlier. Who can recall the Athy Musical Societies of the 1930s and the 1940s, the Social Club Players of the 1940s and the 1950s and the Athy Drama Group, of whom there was two? The earlier groups had use of the former Comrades Hall in St. John’s Lane and the Town Hall as theatres. Fifteen years ago none of those venues were available, hence the importance of developing a facility now available in the Community Arts Centre. Yesterday I read on Facebook a heartfelt plea from Carmel Day, urging greater support for events in the Community Arts Centre. I was deeply moved by her call which follows:- ‘Let me tell you what’s on my mind. We have a town full of creative minds ….. exceptional musicians, singers and song writers, especially our youth ….. but where are their supports? I mean no disrespect to anyone but it is easy to be a keyboard supporter and yes ….. and all that is good ….. but what would be great and more beneficial to these wonderfully talented artists would be to see bums on seats, a round of applause, a standing ovation, a physical face to face “well done”, a sense of pride for those young artists and a feeling that their hard work and passion for what they are doing is paying off, enough to inspire them to keep going. They are exceptional at what they do. Yes it is sometimes hard, we are all living busy lives, etc., but think about it folks ….. get up, throw the phones and laptops down and get out and physically support your own. It will be too late if and when we have one or more successful artist once again emerge from the unbelievably talented town ….. because they will remember when you weren’t there. You can’t take pride in someone or something that you didn’t support. Now is the time they need it more.’ Carmel was appointed some months ago under the C.E. Scheme to work 29 hours a week for the Community Arts Centre. She arranges many events, including the superb ‘Waiting Room Sessions’ for young musicians. It is disappointing to read of the need to remind anyone of how such an important cultural facility as the Community Arts Centre should be supported more fully than it is presently. My responsibility as a committee member is to arrange the Autumn and Spring Lecture series which first started two years ago. They have proved reasonably successful with attendance figures which ranged from almost full house to disappointing small attendances. I realise it takes time to build a sustainable audience, but one would have expected that after 16 years that substantial audiences would attend events in the town’s Arts Centre. I would be interested in hearing your views as to why audience figures are not as large as one might expect.

Athy Historical Society

On the 24th day of September the previously adjourned A.G.M. of Athy’s Historical Society will be held in the local Community Arts Centre at 8pm. The Society was formed last year in succession to the Athy Museum Society which had been formed in February 1983. The dissolution of the Museum Society followed on an agreement with Kildare County Council for the Council to finance and manage the Museum which the Society had opened in 1983 and which had evolved over the years to become the Shackleton Museum. On 24th September I hope that any of my readers interested in Athy’s history will come to the A.G.M. If you are not already a member of the Athy Historical Society you may join on the night on payment of an annual fee of €20. Following the A.G.M. a further short meeting will be called to discuss plans in connection with the protection of Athy’s built heritage and in particular the White Castle. Let me conclude by quoting some extracts from an Eye on the Past of many years ago in which I dealt with the early years of Athy’s Museum Society. ‘I returned to Athy in 1982 after a period of 21 years away from the town in which I had grown up. During those 21 years I developed an interest in the town’s local history. To start a local history group in Athy seemed an obvious extension to that interest and discussions with Pat Mulhall and Tadgh Brennan offered sufficient encouragement to proceed with the idea. I believed that a local museum would be the most tangible way of involving the greatest number of local people in local history. In January 1983 I wrote to a number of people whom I thought would be supportive of the idea of starting a museum in Athy. I mentioned that the matter had already been discussed with a number of local people and with local government officials and that initial response was encouraging. Contact was also made at that early stage with the Federation of Local History Societies of Ireland and with the museum section of the Old Carlow Society, both of whom were extremely helpful. A meeting was held in the jury room of the Courthouse, Athy on Monday, 31st January 1983. The small group in attendance agreed that Athy was rich in history and with many links to the great events in Irish history should have a museum. A further meeting was arranged for Monday, 14th February and the Athy Museum Society was formally established at the meeting. The Society’s first secretary was Mrs. Noreen Ryan, while Bertie Doyle, publican of Woodstock Street, was appointed treasurer. Within a few weeks the Kildare County Manager, Gerry Ward, met Pat Mulhall and myself and he agreed to provide space for a small museum in the Town Hall if and when other demands on the building so allowed. At that stage the Town Hall still housed the Urban District Council offices where the Town Clerk was Jimmy O’Higgins, who himself had attended the inaugural meeting of the society in 1983. In the meantime the Museum Society was able to use the former classroom in Mount Saint Marys, owing to the generosity of the local Sisters of Mercy. There Ken Sale and others worked on several weekends to install spotlights and to generally prepare the former classroom for use as a local museum. Shop display cabinets were kindly donated by Trevor Shaw of Shaws Department Store and the museum soon opened every Sunday afternoon between 2pm and 5pm. Following a major improvement project on the Town Hall the fire brigade which occupied the ground floor moved to new premises and the library services moved into the first floor of the building. Donegal born Gerry Ward, Kildare County Manager, was finally able to facilitate the Museum Society and in or about 1989 the ground floor room which had once been home to the Wright family was made available to the society. The Athy Museum Society played a major part in Athy Urban District Council’s successful application for Heritage Town status. The importance of the Museum Society to the development of our understanding of the town’s cultural and historical past cannot be overstated. Many people have helped in different ways to transform the dream of a local history museum into what is now the Shackleton Museum. I will mention just a few who have long passed away, but whose contribution shall not be forgotten. Pat Mulhall, Dick Norris, Patsy O’Neill, Mick Rowan, Tom Prendergast, Noreen Ryan and especially Bertie Doyle, the past treasurer of the Museum Society who shared the dream but did not live to see this day.’ People with an interest in local history have a sense of place, a sense of identity and a love for their own town or village. Local history is a subsidiary part of our country’s history, whose value lies in the vivid reminder of people and events of the past which helps us to better understand our country’s history.

Francis Taaffe, Film Art Director

There are many talented persons living amongst our local community here in South Kildare who are perhaps unknown to the general public. I was reminded of this within the last few weeks when the news media announced that “Kneecap” a self titled semi autobiographical film was chosen as Ireland’s entry in the best international feature film category in the 2025 Academy Awards. This was even before the film was released in Ireland. Made in Belfast, “Kneecap” is the fictionalised story of a west Belfast hip-hop trio rapping in Irish and English featuring guest appearances from Michael Fassbender and would you believe Gerry Adams. Art Director on the film was an Athy man or more accurately a Monaghan man who has lived in Athy for forty years. He works for the most part in Belfast returning to Athy each weekend. In the last 12 months he has wrapped series 2 of “Malpractice” for ITV having earlier completed work on series 3 of “Daigleish” for Channel 5. I understand he will shortly begin to work on series 3 of “Blue lights” for BBC. How you may ask does someone living in Athy end up working in Belfast in the film and TV industry. He attended secondary school in Ardscoil na Trionoide and from there attended the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design to study film. He worked on many short films during his four years in Dun Laoghaire and immediately on finishing college he worked as a video assist operator which gave rise to the opportunity to work on the floor of some big shoots such as “Space Truckers” , “Reign of Fire” and “King Arthur”. He eventually ended up in the art department of a well known studio where he trained as a trainee Art Director later as assistant Art Director before emerging as a fully qualified Art Director. He was Art Director for all three series of the multi award winning “Derry Girls” and coined the phrase “Protestants keep their toasters in cupboards” which featured on the famous blackboard in series two which is now on display in the Ulster Museum. The Athy man has worked on “Hope Street” for the BBC “Ice cream Girls” for ITV, “Living the Dream” for Sky and “The Secret” for ITV. Some of the films on which he worked include “Pixie” staring Alec Baldwin and Colm Meaney, “The Cured” staring Elliot Page and Tom Vaughan Lawler and “Song for a Raggy Boy” staring Aidan Quinn. His first brush with the Academy Awards was when he was production designer on the short film “New Boy” based on the story by Roddy Doyle which was nominated for best live action short film in 2008. Two weeks ago one of his most recent feature films “Fréwaka” premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. That film will be released here in Ireland next year. Despite his commitment to film making in Belfast and Northern Ireland his talents are not completely lost to Athy. His skill as a graphic artist has been readily made available to me and the organisers of the Shackleton Autumn School for many years past. He designs the cover for the annual ‘Nimrod’ publication and has also designed the many imaginative Shackleton Autumn School posters which have appeared each year. The mystery man is my second son, Francis, who understandably is very much unknown in Athy. He is perhaps one of many talented individuals living amongst us who have interesting stories to tell. Much interest has been shown in my recent article regarding the White Castle and the need to put arrangements in place to ensure its protection and preservation. The officials of Kildare County Council have not shown any interest although the Councillors for Athy Municipal Authority have done so. I propose with public support to make the protection and preservation of the White Castle an important issue of public concern over the next few years. The establishing of a Civic Trust will proceed and charitable status will be sought for the trust while a “GoFundMe” will be set up to accumulate funds for the future. It is also hoped that a substantial portion of the local property tax collected here in Athy Municipality can be allocated to the White Castle fund. This is important in order to show the commitment of the people of Athy to the project and as a persuasive element in any future discussions with State or local authority agencies.