Boat trip to Levitstown Mill

The redevelopment of Emily Square has received unqualified praise and has given the people of Athy enormous pride in their town. I have never before noted such widespread praise as greeted the re-opening of the town’s square. Well done to everybody involved in this major project. During the week I took a trip on the Barrow line as far as Levitstown Mill with members of my extended family. We were on Cliff Reid’s boat which started on the three-hour trip at Athy harbour and made its way in the direction of the Horse Bridge. As we travelled at approximately 5mph I was reminded of the history of the Canal and of the tremendous improvements, economically and socially, it once brought to the town of Athy. The canal was extended to Athy in 1791, just seven years before the armed rebellion which witnessed the killing of thousands of Irish men and women. Our boat travelled under the Horse bridge, which is the only such bridge in Ireland and was constructed to allow horses pulling the early canal boats to cross from the Grand Canal to the River Barrow. We then entered the Ardreigh Canal which is approximately 250 yards long, passing on the right the weir which connects two separate parts of Lords Island. The island which has all the attributes of a nature reserve has yet to be so designated in the County Kildare Development Plan. I have previously submitted a request to Kildare County Council to do so, without success. Hopefully the Council’s next draft County Development Plan will include a proposal to include Lords Island as a nature reserve. I saw somewhere recently a claim that Lords Island was so named as a result of some religious connection. In fact, the island was named after its owner in the 19th century who was a local solicitor and an agent for the Duke of Leinster. Before exiting the Ardreigh Canal we passed under the handsome drawbridge which once gave access to Haughton’s Mill, later owned by the Hannon family on the island. The mill workers produced the Lilywhite flour which was sold in white bags and is believed to have given the Kildare County Gaelic football team the nickname ‘the Lilywhites’. As we exited Ardreigh lock the canal and the River Barrow rejoin each other for the next one and a half miles. Afterwards both separated again for approximately two miles before reaching the Levitstown canal. On the way we passed Bunberry’s weir, a favourite swimming place in my school days, although truth to tell I didn’t learn to swim until I was in my 30’s and living in Sutton, Dublin. Work on the Barrow navigation started in 1759 and was completed on reaching Athy in 1791. It is only in recent years that the recreational amenity value of the canal on either side of Athy has been appreciated by the general public. I was conscious of this as Cliff Reid gave an excellent commentary on different aspects of the canal flora and fauna. I recalled the local fishermen led by the late Nicholas Cahill and John Shaughnessy who established fishing stands on the River Barrow. The pike, perch, roach and eel which populate the Barrow, were most sought-after water trophies. As our boat almost silently cut through the canal water I was vividly reminded of the canal’s flora. The canal cuttings made by the hands of men almost 250 years ago have largely due to limited use become evergreen with reeds and bull rushes. The boating channel has become narrower and requires attention. I understand that the canal section extending into County Carlow is the subject of a planning appeal by Waterways Ireland because of objections relating to the development of the canal towpath. The canal’s fauna passed me by almost unnoticed except for the pair of swans with their young cygnets sitting on their nest just past Bunberry’s weir. The stately elders and their youngsters were not disturbed by the slowly passing boat, proof if required that the sacred birds of the Children of Lir have lived in the same spot for quite some time. Athy men played an important part in the development of the canal system with several bye traders boats owned by Athy families. The last such boat which carried the prefix B was built for James Hughes of Athy in 1937. It carried the number 113B. Athy Harbour, I always understood, was the Grand Canal’s hotel but I am now informed that it was a private hotel. The original owner has not yet been identified. It was from here that passenger boats set off for Dublin at 5 o’clock in the morning on a thirteen-hour journey. The boat for Athy left Dublin at 5am and reached the south Kildare town at 6pm. The cost of a state cabin per passenger on the canal passenger boats in the early years was 8 shillings and 1½ pence, while what is called the common cabin cost 4 shillings and 5½ pence per passenger. Our trip of almost three hours finished as we disembarked at what was once known as Athy Harbour which lies directly behind the Courthouse. It was a wonderfully peaceful trip enlivened by Cliff Reid’s informative commentary on different aspects of canal and River Barrow life. The boat which had been idle for almost two years while in the ownership of Kildare County Council is now owned by local man Cliff who has a similar boating business in Kilkenny city. The Athy boat trip can be an important recreational asset for locals and visitors alike and especially so when the Shackleton Museum opens. Best of luck to Cliff and his team who deserve every support which can possibly be afforded by the people of Athy. After all a boat trip on the Barrow line affords blissful peace in placid surroundings. I was saddened to learn of the death of another classmate of mine following so soon after Billy Browne’s death. Reggie Lalor was a classmate in the local Christian Brothers School until he left to join as a boarder student the Carmelite College in Moate, Co. Westmeath. Tributes to Reggie on Facebook all describe him as a gentleman. That indeed he was. He visited me in Naas Hospital during one of my many recent confinements in the former County hospital. Reggie’s public face, in more recent years, was as a member of the volunteers who assisted the Catholic clergy in services in St. Michael’s Parish Church. His work and that of his fellow volunteers might not have always received the thanks and appreciation of the local parishioners. Reggie will be sadly missed by his wife Liz and sons Derek and Aiden and extended family. To his family and friends I extend my sincere sympathies. Ar dhéis Dé go raibh a anam.

Co. Kildare's victory in the Tailteann Cup / Death of Billy Browne

Sunday was a great day for the Kildare footballers who defeated Limerick in this year’s final of the Tailteann Cup. The after-match speech by the Kildare captain, Kevin Feely, was excellent. Was this, I wondered, the first time an Athy club footballer received a senior team winning cup from the hands of a G.A.A. President and then proceeded to give the winning captain’s speech from the Hogan stand? The last occasion that possibility could have happened was in 1935 when Paul Matthews captained the Kildare senior team in the All-Ireland final which was lost to Cavan. Paul was a barman in Athy when he captained Athy Gaelic Football Club to win the County Senior Football Championship in 1934. The All-Ireland final against Cavan also featured Athy player Tommy Mulhall, Jim Byrne from Ballitore, Paddy Martin and Paddy Byrne from Castledermot. Patrick ‘Cuddy’ Chanders of the Athy club was among the substitutes. He was the regular goalkeeper for the Athy club and the county goalkeeper for Kildare for several matches prior to the All-Ireland final. However, he was unexpectedly replaced by a Naas man for the final. It was a controversial decision which brought forward all sorts of conspiracy theories, including the oft repeated claim that Kildare replaced the ‘labourer’ with a ‘suited office man’ in preparation for the anticipated U.S.A. trip which awaited the expected Kildare All Ireland victory. ‘Cuddy’ strangely soon enough returned to the county team as first choice goalkeeper following Kildare’s unexpected defeat by Cavan. To return to Sunday’s Tailteann final, it provided me with the greatest measure of pleasure I have experienced watching Gaelic football in recent years. I must admit that I am not an admirer of the modern game as I prefer the unique catch and kick version of Gaelic football as perfected by the great Mick O’Connell. Kevin Feely is one of the great practitioners of the soaring overhead catch, a skill which he displayed again on Sunday. He is a talented player whose leadership, whether as a mid-fielder or a full-forward, effectively leads his teammates through difficult times. My congratulations to the Kildare County team players and especially the other Athy players who featured on Sunday, James McGrath and Dave Hyland, with Niall Kelly who was a substitute. The joy experienced on Sunday was offset by the sorrowful news I received on Monday that my old classmate and friend Billy Browne had died in Naas Hospital the previous day. Billy and I shared the same birthday, 12th May 1942, and as we grew older, we exchanged birthday greetings each year on the 12th. Billy was born in Ardreigh cottage and educated in the local Christian Brothers School. Like so many of his classmates he did not sit the Leaving Certificate but left school to take up employment with the L&N shop in Emily Square. There he worked with Alo Gallagher and Brian O’Hara in what was then the busiest grocery shop in Athy. He subsequently worked for Des Perry in his Duke Street premises and later still at his Leinster Street shop. Billy was known far and wide as the person who kept alive the spirit and idealism of Aontas Ogra, a youth organisation previously known as ‘Cara’. When originally founded it was an Irish language club, first organised by Kerry born Michael O’Neill when I was in second year. Michael was a Gaelic speaker and his idea of an Irish language club was enthusiastically received by his fellow students. Our early attempts at promoting the Irish language were less than successful. The modules of Irish culture were in time pushed out to encourage dancing, not necessarily confined to the ‘Walls of Limerick’ or the ‘High Cauled Cap’. Truth to tell, we did start out with Irish dancing classes in the Town Hall, which necessitated the readily obtained co-operation of our female colleagues in St. Mary’s Convent School. We were really keen on extending the frontiers of Irish culture, even if it meant stepping over the accepted line between the gael and the gall. Whatever the qualities of our dancing, our interpersonal skills were nicely honed as we intermingled with the girls from St. Marys. The club continued for some years until it became separated from the school as we left and Michael O’Neill emigrated to England. ‘Cara’ continued in a piecemeal fashion until Billy Browne, then working, got involved. A refreshed organisation emerged with the name changed to Aontas Ogra, using the Athy scout’s premises in St. John’s Lane. This subsequently changed to premises adjoining the former Dreamland ballroom, from where the club still operates. Billy was a gentleman, a caring person who devoted himself to the club he headed up for decades. Billy displayed the commitment, dedication and support which everyone in our community should give to worthwhile community activities. He was honoured in the past by Athy Town Council and Athy Lions Club for his work in Aontas Ogra. Billy will be sadly missed. Another recent death I was sorry to learn about was that of Annie Wright who died in England. Annie lived in the Town Hall when her father was the caretaker. She was a good friend of mine in our young days. It has been a strange week with the death of two friends and the success of the Kildare County team in Croke Park.

Penal Laws in Athy

Despite difficulties posed by Cromwellians forces the economic recovery of the latter part of the 17th Century had its beginning in the 1650’’s . Unfortunately for the Catholic Irish they were not to share in this development. The Cromwellian plantations although not as successful as planned nevertheless brought great changes in the ownership of property as between Protestants and Catholics. The Catholics who managed to remain in Irish towns had no power and little control, if any, over the creation of wealth. While encouragement was given to the setting up of manufacturing processes in Irish towns, the ownership of these generally iron works and cloth manufacturing rested with protestant proprietors. Daniel Hutchinson, a prominent follower of Oliver Cromwell established a cloth manufacture in Athy around this time. As parliamentary control increased, Ministers were appointed and paid by the exchequer to preach the State religion. In September 1653, we find Murdo McKenzy being directed to preach in Irish as well as in English in the precincts of Athy. On the 3rd March 1655, the Commissioners in Dublin Castle ordered that James Carey was to preach in Irish at Brides Parish, once every Sunday and that he was to occasionally go to Trim and Athy to preach for which he was allowed a salary of £60 per annum. James Carey was a former Catholic Priest whose ministry proved unacceptable to the Irish. In August 1655, he complained that the members of his congregation were very remiss in coming to hear him preach and that they rather preferred to spend the hours appointed for church service in “frequenting ale houses or indulging in unwarranted exercises” Whatever about the lack of Church attendance, there appears to have been some Catholics in Athy who conformed to the state religion. The sincerity of the conformists was however doubted for in July 1654 an order was issued to John Murcit to examine the conversion of the Irish about Athy who for that reason had not been transplanted. The subsequent report bore witness to the unsatisfactory nature of the conversions for in the civil list of 1655, the words “to preach in Irish” written after McKenzy’s name was erased suggesting that preaching in that language ceased. Despite Murdo McKenzy’s failure, conformity to the state religion was pursued with some vigor in the period 1660 to 1690 but not as vigorously as in the penal laws period. It is not known where the services of the church of England were held following the Reformation. St. Michael’s Church, the ruins of which stand today in the grounds of St. Michael’s Cemetery was possibly used but the church which formed part of the Dominican Friary was also available despite the damage suffered during the Confederate war. In 1682 a bell was provided for what was believed to be a new church built on open ground next to the site of the former Dominican Friary. Around the rim of the bell was the following inscription “This bell was made in the yeare 1682 for the church of Athy, Robert Somerton and Anchor Willis Chirch RWD”. The bell was bought by Athy’s Town Commissioners following the construction of the present St. Michael’s Church on the Carlow Road. Today the bell hangs on the Town Hall. In 1657 the first of several acts was passed which required Catholic’s to renounce the Pope’s spiritual and temporal authority, catholic doctrine and the claim of the Stuart pretender to the English throne. The education of the children of the protestant settlers was not neglected for about 1660 onwards, a Latin school was maintained in Athy initially by one Issac Dalton. He was a proprietor of the school for over forty years and was succeeded by John Garnet. In 1659, the population of Athy numbered 565 of which 83 were English and 482 Irish. The population of Naas that same year was 303 inhabitants. In the townland of Athy there were 273 Irish and 61 English, in St. John’s there were 93 Irish and 4 English and in St. Dominic’s Abbey, there were 86 Irish and 6 English. In Woodstock, there were 113 Irish and 12 English. The above details relating to the town of Athy are taken from Penders “Census of Ireland 1659”. In 1662, William Weldon of St. John’s, a member of parliament for Athy from 1661 writing of Athy stated that two priests names Fitzgerald and Carroll daily frequented the town and “lately said mass in the middle of the town several times”. On a particular Sunday, Weldon wrote, Fitzgerald was found “at his devotions” attended by about 500 persons. Being arrested the Priest was rescued four times by the people but was eventually taken prisoner by the soldiers. Around this time, Fr. Raymond Moore, Prior of Athy’s Dominican Friary in 1651-52 and again from 1661-62 was arrested and imprisoned in Dublin where he died in 1665. He was yet another of Athy’s martyrs as Fr. Richard Oventon sub prior of Athy had been murdered by Cromwell’s soldiers in Drogheda inn 1649. After the first years of the Cromwellian’s plantation, the Irish Catholics began to move back into the towns and to regain some of their previous prominence. Alarmed at the development, the protestant settlers demanded tougher measures to curtail the catholic populations. Under the Test Act of 1673 Catholics were barred from all civil, judicial and military offices. In 1678 following the Titus Oates plot all regional and secular catholic clergy were banished from Ireland. Despite the religious prosecution which followed the Titus Oates plot, Ireland was relatively peaceful while religious prosecutions accelerated following the Battle of the Boyne. We leave Athy with Sir. William Petty’s description of the town in 1682, “A corporate town on the River Barrow everyway commodious for trade, but no manufacture being driven, poor”.

Unveiling of Made of Athy Plaque in Offaly Street

A big thank you to everyone who attended the Offaly Street ‘Made of Athy’ plaque unveiling last Sunday week. A special thanks to Colm Walsh, founder of Athy’s public tribute and to John MacKenna, author and Aoife Breslin, Chairperson of Athy Municipal Council. My gratitude for their kind words. While speaking at the plaque unveiling I was standing outside the window of what as a young fellow I knew as the Taaffe household dining room. Truth to tell it was used as a dining room only on Christmas Day, while for the remainder of the year it was the room in which I listened to Radio Luxembourg. I recall a Sunday in the early 1950s when my father and I were listening to a Micheal O’Hehir commentary on an All-Ireland Football Final involving Kerry. Standing outside on the footpath we saw a man who was clearly trying to hear the commentary. I remember my father inviting the stranger into the room to listen to the football match. He turned out to be a Spailpín Fánach, a travelling farm worker from Kerry. My father’s kindness left a huge impression on me and gave me a valuable never to be forgotten lesson, how even strangers should be treated with kindness and consideration. My father’s involvement with various local organisations, including the Geraldine Park Development Committee and Athy’s Swimming Pool Committee, where he was treasurer for both, indicated a commitment to community activism which was passed on to me. On Sunday I spoke of the activities of Joe O’Neill, the Delahunty and Fleming brothers and others, all from St. Joseph’s Terrace, who in the 1940s and 1950s displayed a sense of community activism not before noticed amongst the various communities making up the town of Athy. These men were the first that I know of who came together to help neighbours and who trained young persons in music playing and subsequently formed at different times two youth marching bands. Their last neighbourly contribution was the erection of the Marian shrine in 1954. One man who brought together several more volunteers to form the Athy Swimming Pool Committee was Rexi Rowan, a community activist way ahead of his time. The committee formed I think in the mid-1950s, collected money and held draws for over a decade before approaching Kildare County Council with sufficient funds to encourage the Council to build its first public swimming pool in Athy. Community activism is today a common feature of the many communities which make up the larger population of the town of Athy. Each working on their own and with the assistance of Kildare County Council for the greater good of their neighbourhood. The County Council role in helping local communities can never be ignored. We are dependent so much on the County Council that we must always acknowledge the part the County Council plays in improving our lives and the town in which we live. I have been critical of the Council in the past, and again last Sunday week. The latest criticism arose from the Council’s failure, extending over three years, to agree to the continuation of arrangements for the Community Arts Centre in Woodstock Street which has been run by volunteers for the last 14 years. Let’s hope that this important cultural facility is restored without further lengthy delay. At the start of my short talk ??? on Sunday I mentioned the need for the Council members to review the Council’s car parking policy. I understand the Council budget for 2025 is €160 million and that a payment of approximately €1.2 million is first collected by the parking enforcement company and paid to the Council, while that company retains all subsequent monies collected. While Chairman of Athy U.D.C. I led the opposition to the County Manager’s application to have parking fees introduced in Athy. He claimed it was for the purpose of ‘good traffic management’. A later Council agreed to introduce parking fees and these fees undoubtedly act as a deterrent to car owners who might be willing to park for a short time while shopping. Our main streets are littered with vacant business premises and while Kildare County Council have introduced a Business Premises Regeneration Scheme I feel it should also do whatever is necessary to encourage traffic to stop in the town. I noticed some time ago that several County Cork towns have 2 hour free parking, which was undoubtedly helpful in encouraging shoppers. How fair do members of Kildare County Council think it is to require businesspeople to pay income tax, County Council rates and County Council property tax, while the County Council policy deters traffic passing through the town from stopping in Athy. Additional parking spaces will be required now that Emily Square has been converted into a traffic free plaza. The grounds of the former Abbey are I believe for sale and should be immediately snapped up by the Council for town centre parking and as a site for the Tuesday market. My dream of Whites Castle being in public ownership and developed as a Fitzgerald Museum is something which I would ask Kildare County Council to keep in mind. Nothing can be done about this without the consent of the castle’s owner who is keenly interested in the protection and preservation of historic buildings. I am hoping that both the owner and Kildare County Council can get together before too long to see what could be agreed. During the unveiling ceremony my son Seamus was given a present for me which turned out to be a plaque inscribed with the following words: ‘Frank Taaffe 29th June 2025 in recognition of your time and effort in remembering the Famine dead and in keeping the memory alive when others have forgotten.’ Seamus did not know the man and I am understandably anxious to contact the kind thoughtful person in question. Can you help me?

The Great Famine and Athy

Due to illness I missed the Famine Commemoration Ceremony in St. Mary’s Cemetery on the third Sunday of May. I understand it was well attended and I want to thank Fr. Liam Rigney and Rev. Conor O’Reilly for leading the prayers at the ceremony. I am reminded that approximately four years ago I approached the then County Council Chairman, Mark Stafford, regarding the desirability of installing a memorial in St. Mary’s Cemetery to those who died in the Athy Workhouse during the Great Famine. He agreed and I understand the County Council members also approved. However, so far nothing has happened but in the meantime Clem Roche has done superb work in identifying the names of the children, women and men who died in the Workhouse and are buried in unmarked graves in St. Mary’s. It strikes me that Clem and Eddie Lawler and their colleagues who did such a good job of erecting a superb World War 1 memorial in St. Michael’s Cemetery would take up the challenge of erecting a similar type of memorial in St. Mary’s Cemetery. What better way of commemorating those who died in the Famine than to use Clem Roche’s research to list their names on the cemetery memorial. I have spoken with Clem who is the current Chairman of Athy Historical Society, and he has agreed to undertake the task. In December 1843 work on the workhouse in Athy was completed. The first inmates were admitted to the workhouse on 9th January 1844. The admission records showed that 5 men, 4 women, 10 boys, 5 girls and 1 infant were categorised as paupers on their admission. A week later a further 6 men, 15 women, 13 boys, 5 girls and 2 infants were admitted to the workhouse. Admissions increased during 1846 and in the last week of November 616 inmates were registered. In the weekend of 5th December 1846 three inmates died. Seven more inmates died the following week. For adult inmates, whether men or women who were more than 15 years of age, breakfast consisted of 7oz of oatmeal and one pint of milk. Dinner consisted of 3½ lb. of potatoes and one pint of buttermilk. Children between 3-15 years of age were provided with a breakfast of 4oz of oatmeal and a half a pint of sweet milk. Dinner for them consisted of 2 pounds of potatoes, with a half pint of buttermilk. For supper they received a ¼ lb. bread and a half pint of buttermilk. Infants under 3 years of age received 4oz of oatmeal at breakfast time, with a half-pound of bread and one pint of sweet milk. In November 1846 the Society of Friends established a Central Relief Committee which was involved in the opening of food kitchens throughout the country. Fr. Thomas Greene, C.C. Athy, received a grant of £15 from the Quaker Committee for the poor of Athy. In January 1847 Dr. Thomas Kynsey, Medical Officer of the workhouse, advised that 652 inmates were accommodated in the building which had been constructed to house 600. In December 1846, 18 inmates died in the workhouse. The following month 60 inmates died, even though the total inmate population had not increased. In February 1847 the Board of Guardians advised that it had provided additional accommodation for 30 inmates by fitting up sheds, once used as straw and turf stores. One month later accommodation for a further 50 inmates was provided by appropriating sheds in the boys and girls wards for use by children under four years of age. On 10th April 34 additional inmate places were provided increasing the workhouse accommodation limit to 714. Within 7 days the inmate intake exceeded 700 and that same week 10 persons died in Athy Workhouse. During the first four months of 1847 the total number of workhouse inmates varied between 583 and 704 and deaths averaged 10 per week. On 26th February 1847 the legislation which provided for the operation of soup kitchens in Ireland, was passed. Within the Athy Poor Law Union area soup kitchens were operated in 12 of the 14 electoral divisions. The local Relief Committee which managed the soup kitchens consisted of local members of the Board of Guardians and in Athy included the local Parish Priest Fr. James Lalor and the Church of Ireland Rector Rev. Frederick Trench. The food dispensed from the local soup kitchen was strictly rationed. Adults received 1 lb. of bread or 1 lb. of biscuits or 1 lb. of meal or flour. If a boiler was available to the local Relief Committee one quart of soup with a portion of meal was provided with 6 oz. of bread, biscuit or meal. Children under 9 years of age received half the adult ration. In July 1847 it was announced that the soup kitchens would be discontinued in August. When the soup kitchens in the Athy Poor Law Union area operated the highest numbers of persons supplied with food in any one day was 16,365, which represented 34% of the total population of the area. Within the Poor Law Union area the highest percentage dependency on soup kitchen rations was in the Ballyadams electoral area where it was almost 100%. In the Athy electoral division, which included the town of Athy, the highest recorded number to receive help in the soup kitchens in any one day represented 22.1% of the population. During the autumn of 1847 two ancillary workhouses were opened in Athy due to overcrowding in the workhouse. Workhouse inmates in February 1848 totalled 1254. The potato failure had its greatest effect on families with young children. As a result the majority of the workhouse inmates in Athy were children. During the Great Famine a total of 1,205 persons died in Athy Workhouse and the adjoining fever hospital. They lie buried in unmarked graves in St. Mary’s Cemetery. A memorial recording the names of our famine dead would be a dignified response to decades of neglect. We must remember them.