The dissolution of Athy Town Council

The dissolution of Athy Town Council which will occur next month might well be seen, in time, as important in terms of the town’s history as the coming of the Grand Canal to Athy or the opening of the railway line over 160 years ago.  The Grand Canal brought with it business opportunities with the opening of markets previously unreachable.  The rich farmlands in south Kildare benefitted as a result and the subsequent creation of canal related employment gave jobs for many decades to several Athy families.  The building of the railway line to Athy and onwards to Carlow took place during the years of the Great Famine.  The resultant employment undoubtedly saved many families from the local Workhouse.  While the new rail system brought an end to passenger traffic on the Grand Canal it also led to the rapid development of Athy allowing it to become a leading market town in the Irish midlands. 

The malting business of the Minch family, later Minch Nortons, is the only present day reminder of that mid 19^th century business surge which propelled Athy to the front ranks of Irish provincial towns.  The local brick building industry which also benefitted hugely from the transport revolution has long gone, but evidence of its one time importance to the native construction industry can be seen in the many buildings constructed of Athy brick in Dublin and elsewhere throughout the midlands.

Throughout the various stages of developments which brought enormous economic benefits to Athy the town was represented by a municipal authority, firstly by a Borough Council and later by Town Commissioners.  The Borough Council was admittedly not truly representative of the local population being comprised of individuals nominated solely by the Duke of Leinster.  That situation was remedied with the election of Town Commissioners in the years immediately preceding the Great Famine.  The Borough Council and the Town Commissioners with their successors Athy Urban District Council and Athy Town Council were agents for change in the town of Athy which was ever developing and expanding since its foundation over 800 years ago.

The loss of the Town Council means the loss of a unified corporate voice for the town at a time when local businesses require support and action on many fronts.  The recent celebration of Athy’s municipal history brought to my attention some interesting documents which I was not aware of when writing some years ago an overview of the first 100 years of Athy Urban District Council.  One of those documents was a hand written record of the successful candidates in the local election of the 16^th of January, 1899.  The fifteen Councillors, all local businessmen, were headed by Matthew J. Minch of Rockfield House who was a Member of Parliament for South Kildare as well as being chairman of the Urban District Council.  His fellow Councillors were John A. Duncan, Justice of the Peace of Fortbarrington House, Thomas Plewman, Justice of the Peace of Woodstock House, Michael Doyle, Woodstock Street, Thomas J. Whelan, William Street, Michael Malone, Woodstock Street, Joseph P. Whelan of Offaly Street, Thomas Hickey of Leinster Street, W.P. St. John, Duke Street, Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill, Woodstock Street, John Orford, Leinster Street, Daniel Carbery, St. John’s, Patrick Knowles, Leinster Street, John Joseph McHugh, Duke Street and Michael Murphy, Leinster Street.  Theirs was a Council replete with business experience which spoke volumes for the strength of local government in the days before County Managers were appointed.

Vincent Browne, journalist and television presenter, recently wrote of the deepening inadequacy of our democracy claiming that representative democracy is not government by the people.  Rather he claimed it was democracy subcontracted to a political class aside from a periodic opportunity to exercise a feeble sovereignty via general elections.  I wonder would he have extended that to include local elections which give us an opportunity to participate in the most basic form of government by the people, i.e. local government.   Whatever his views we are surely the losers when it comes to the dissolution of the Town Council.  Whether the void created after May can be adequately filled by public representatives sitting as a Council in Naas, only time will tell.

The outgoing Town Council consists of Councillors Thomas Redmond, Mark Wall, Aoife Breslin, Richard Daly, Mary O’Sullivan, Mark Dalton, John Lawler, Ger Kelly and James Mahon.  They are the last link in a continuous chain extending back 499 years and to them as representatives of Councillors past we must extend our thanks and gratitude for their services to the local community.

Athy Town Council - Do we get value for our money?

Our Town Council is an example of the practical application of the working of Local Government in Ireland.  Within the Town Council structure are exercised local rights and responsibilities which central government authorities left at local level.  This was done in order to maintain the very essence of Local Government, which is the territorial distribution of power. 

The all embracing control of central authority was however felt in 1978 when domestic rates were abolished, thereby throwing Councils throughout the country on the mercy of central government.  This was followed in more recent years by various Local Government Acts, the effect of which was to transfer from Town Councils to County Councils a whole range of public services which once fell under the exclusive control of the Town Councils.  What Town Councils like Athy Town Council are left with today in terms of statutory functions are a hotch potch of public utility services which are of ever decreasing worth to John and Mary Citizen. 

Now Minister Hogan proposes to bring in legislation which, if we are to believe the press reports, is likely to abolish Town Councils and transfer whatever few functions they still possess to County Councils.  Local elections would still be held every five years or so to elect County Councillors to sit on an area committee whose functional area would include Athy and a large chunk of South Kildare.

If this happens would it, I wonder, make any difference to the citizenry of Athy?  Would the loss of municipal status result in the lessening of the quality of services we presently enjoy courtesy of our Town Council?

I suppose to consider this question one must first ask what Councils do for its town, for its people and for the social and commercial development of the area.  Not a lot I hear you say, but then much criticism of local Councillors is not always well informed.  Councillors can and do give advice on the needs of the local population, but only so in terms of the limited range of functions and services still reposing in the Town Council.  Roads, water and sanitary services have gone back in recent years to the County Council, leaving the provision of houses for those in need of housing together with town planning as the key functions of the Town Council.  But even here nothing is as it seems for the planning function, which originated with the 1963 Planning Act, and was intended to preserve and improve the amenities of town and countryside has effectively been passed to the County Council.  It is Kildare County Council which exercises this most important function in the name of Athy Town Council, even if every five years the local Councillors have the opportunity to prepare and adopt a development plan for the town.  That development plan provides the framework within which decisions are taken by the Planning Authority on development projects for Athy but in reality the plan is the creature of County Council officials with minimal input by local Councillors.

Added to this is the real division between the powers of the executive, who in the person of the County Manager has executive functions which only he can exercise, and the reserved functions of the Councillors.  The reserved functions of the Councillors constitute a substantial body of power and include the raising of finances, the approval of expenditure and a diverse list of powers which are seldom known to or exercised by, elected members of the Council.  The recent failure of the Town Council to follow up on its well publicised desire to acquire Whites Castle is an example of the failure of Councillors to utilise the powers given to them in Local Government legislation.

Town Councillors can compel the County Manager to do any particular act within the Council’s competence for which money is available.  If, as was indicated, the Councillors wanted to acquire the Castle, they had the power to raise the necessary funds by way of borrowing, or otherwise, and require the County Manager to proceed with its purchase.  However, apart from expressing a strong wish to acquire the Castle, nothing further was done by the Councillors to progress the matter.

The loss of an ineffective Town Council is not to be regretted.  However, I would not wish Irish towns to lose their municipal status or the office of a Town Mayor.  If Minister Hogan proceeds with his plans for radically changing Local Government in Ireland I would hope he would extend to townspeople the right to elect annually their own Town Mayor.  Speaking with a local Town Councillor and former Council Chairman during the week I was surprised to be told that each town Councillor receives  an allowance of €80 per week and an additional €4,500 per year in unvouched expenses.  This gives a total of almost €9,000 for each Town Councillor or over €80,000 for the full Town Council.  Do we in turn get value for our money?

In terms of the development of the business and social lives of the community they serve I have to register my feelings that Councillors do not add much to the general wellbeing of the local community.  Maybe it is time to radically review the entire Local Government structure, looking afresh not just at Town Councils but also County Councils to see how more efficient and effective services can be provided by and for local communities.

A week of celebration and achievements

Two local men at opposite ends of the age spectrum come to mind this week as I prepare to write this week’s Eye on the Past. The victory of young Athy man, Roy Sheehan, in the European Championships held in Dublin marked a new high in terms of sporting success for Athy. We have never had a sporting achievement on this scale before and the reception given to the young boxer on Tuesday night on his return home was a wonderful tribute, not only to him but to all those involved over the years in the running of St Michael’s Boxing Club. St Michael’s is one of the most successful boxing clubs in Ireland in recent years in terms of Irish national titles secured by club members. The people of Athy can be justifiably proud of the many achievements of St Michael’s Boxing Club to date and especially of the latest success of club member Roy Sheehan.

To achieve so much at such a young age is an indication not only of Roy’s talent, but also of the dedication and commitment which he has invested in that talent over the years. The active sporting life of a boxer is relatively short, but Roy Sheehan has already secured for himself a place in the sporting annals of Athy which will forever be remembered.

By contrast, the other man whom I want to mention has had a long innings on the local political stage and on 1 July celebrated the 40th anniversary of his election to Athy Urban District Council. Frank English was first elected to the local council in 1967 and since then he has successfully contested six further elections. In that first election 40 years ago, those elected with Frank to the urban council were Jim McEvoy, Mick Rowan, Tom Carbery, Jack McKenna, MG Nolan, Paddy Dooley, Joe Deegan and Enda Kinsella. Competition for the nine council seats was quite intense, with 19 candidates putting themselves before the electorate. The unsuccessful candidates included Jim Bolger, Ann Brennan, Michael Cunningham, Patrick Doyle, James Fleming, John Foley, Paddy Lawler, Tom Moore, Frank Whelan and Ted Wynne.

Frank served on the council for nine years before becoming council chairman at the age of 35 years, leading the Nationalist to claim that “he is Athy’s youngest chairman ever”. He succeeded Megan Maguire, Megan having been the first woman to be elected to the position of first citizen of the town since the establishment of municipal government in Athy under Henry VIII’s charter of 1515.

Frank’s long service as a councillor still has some way to go to match that of Thomas Plewman, who in 1911, when he reached 70 years of age, celebrated 45 years as a member of Athy Town Commissioners, the predecessors to Athy Urban District Council and Athy Town Council. Plewman, who was born in 1842 in Kilcoo, was elected to the town commission in 1866, replacing his father who was first elected 24 years earlier. Thomas Plewman continued on as a member of the council for another nine years and the Plewman family association with the council which had extended over 78 continuous years ended in 1920 when Thomas Plewman resigned. By my reckoning, Frank has another 38 years to go before equalling the Plewman record, but maybe one of the young English family members might be prepared to emulate their father’s record of service and stand for election when Frank eventually steps down.

During the coming week, his fellow councillors will mark Frank’s 40 years as a councillor with a function in the council chamber. In January 1993, Frank was the recipient of a presentation by his council colleagues to mark his 27 years on the council and I have before me a copy of a press report of that presentation which appeared in the Carlow Kildare Post. Headed Frank’s 27!, it included a photograph of the then council chairman Kieran Dooley presenting a crystal decanter to Frank, who described himself as “an ordinary honest to God individual whose hobbies are politics and swiming”. Interestingly, Kieran Dooley’s father Paddy was a member of the council when Frank was first elected and indeed Frank owes his involvement in local politics to Paddy Dooley and MG Nolan, who approached him more than 40 years ago to stand as a Fianna F·il candidate in the local elections.

Frank was also involved during the past week in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Aontas Ogra, the youth organisation which for so long has been associated with its long-time leader, Billy Browne. Some of Ogra’s founder members joined with the large numbers who crowded into the former Dreamland Ballroom last Thursday night to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary, and among them was Michael O’Neill, who travelled across from the English Midlands. Michael was the founder of Aontas Cara, as it was then called, and Frank English and Pat Flinter recalled the early life of the organisation which has remained a constant in the social calendar for the youngsters of Athy for the last five decades.

The occasion was marked with the publication of a book recording in photographs, many of those who as young people were involved in Aontas Ogra over the years. The celebration was a lovely occasion and Billy Browne who in the past has been honoured by the Lions Club and the Urban District Council for his unstinting contribution to the youth affairs in Athy was given due recognition by those in attendance.

Eddie Wall, whom I last met at our class reunion a few years ago, has written to me from England concerning the recent death of Maureen Dunphy, formerly of the Bleach. Eddie writes: “Just a month ago I attended here in Luton the funeral of Maureen Twitchen, née Dunphy, formerly of the Bleach, Athy. Maureen emigrated to England when she was 17 years of age.

Her sister Margaret and brothers John and Eamon would also leave Athy to settle in England. I went to school in Athy with Eamon and John and I met Maureen for the first time in the 1970s when we both worked with the Chrysler Truck Company in Luton. She married Sean Twitchen from Kildare Town and involved herself in the local community and the Church of St Martin de Porres here in Luton. A keen gardener, she won prizes for the most beautiful garden in her area on several occasions. She was a wonderful person who will be sadly missed by her husband Sean, her son John and grandchild. I will miss her warm hello and big smile and the times we shared together reminiscing about the old town of Athy which we called home”.

I am sure many of the readers will remember the Dunphy family of Bleach and I remember Eamon and John Dunphy, both of whom attended the local Christian Brothers School before emigrating to England almost 50 years ago.

I end this article by congratulating Roy Sheehan, Frank English and Aontas Ogra in a week which has seen celebrations marking achievements of which all of us can be immensely proud.

Athy U.D.C. Now Athy Town Council

The change was made imperceptibly and without fuss or fanfare. It wasn’t just a change of name but it was the name change highlighted on headed notepaper received in correspondence some days later which alerted me to what had happened. It was the first time that illustrious body had changed its name since it was set up in 1898, but even then it had been superimposed on an institution with a history stretching back to the 16th century.

I am referring to Athy Town Council which up to December 31st last was known as Athy Urban District Council but which at midnight that night changed its name. The links with the 16th century are very real as it was Henry VIII, who so far as we can ascertain, granted the first charter to the village of Athy, thereby constituting it a borough. There is the possibility that a previous charter had been in place but research to date has not unearthed any evidence of it.

The charter of 1515 was granted by the English King to the village founded by Anglo Norman’s in the 12th century and peopled by settlers from the English mainland. It established the office of Town Provost, who had overall charge of the town’s affairs and who was elected each year by the Burgesses of the town on the Feast of St. Michael. His modern equivalent would be town Mayor. However, Mayors today share power and authority with administrators and consequently wield less power than their medieval predecessors.

In addition to the Office of Town Provost, Henry VIII’s charter established a borough council comprised of 12 burgesses who were to be elected by the freemen of the village of Athy. In time the appointment of the burgesses of the town was exercised by the head of the House of Leinster, by what authority, if any, we cannot say. The Earl of Kildare whose successor was later to be elevated to the Dukedom of Leinster thereafter nominated his own friends as burgesses of the market town. This situation continued even when the new Charter granted to Athy in 1613 under which a town Sovereign was elected each year to take charge of the town’s affairs. The Borough Council continued in place with powers similar to those provided under the earlier charter.

Athy Borough Council, an unelected body, consisting of members who were by and large non-residents of the town with no apparent proprietary interest in south Kildare continued in existence until the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1840. Up to 1800 Athy Borough Council returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. It was not however active in improving the infrastructure of a town whose population had increased to almost 5,000 by the early decades of the 19th century. The undemocratic nature of the Borough Councils such as Athy and their failure to make proper provision for the development of urban areas signaled the need for the reform of Local Government in Ireland. This culminated in the Municipal Corporations Act, 1840 when a large number of Borough Councils, including Athy, were abolished.

For a short time Athy was without any form of municipal government but in the mid 1840’s the people of the town petitioned the Dublin authorities for Athy to be granted Town Commission status. When granted it lead to the first municipal elections for public representatives on the new body which was named Athy Town Commission. The previous office of Town Sovereign which had replaced the earlier Town Provost was itself replaced by the Office of Chairman of the Town Commissioners. The Commissioners who were elected at regular intervals thereafter set about their task of improving the paving, lighting and cleaning of the streets of the town. With the limited powers available to them the Commissioners continued to develop the towns facilities over the following 60 years. The passing of the Local Government Act, 1898 put County Local Government on a representative basis and at the same time gave Town Commissioners the right to be reconstituted as Urban District Councils.

On 14th November of that year Athy Town Commissioners agreed to submit a petition to the Local Government Board to separate the town of Athy from the rural district and to constitute it an urban district. For some unexplained reason the petition was not submitted and a further petition agreed by the Town Commissioners in February 1899 was sent forward following which a public enquiry was held in the town hall. As a result of this enquiry Athy was constituted an Urban District Council with effect from 1st April, 1900. This was the third time in the form of local government for the town was changed since Henry VIII’s charter of 1515. It would not be the last.

The next 100 years witnessed the most active period in the development of public services in the town under the mandate of the Urban District Council. The Slum Clearance Programme of the 1930’s initiated under the housing programmes of the first De Valera led government together with the provision of a piped water supply system in the second decade of the 20th century were the highlights of the Council’s successes over the years. During the periods when the town was governed by a Borough Council, Town Commissioner or Urban District Council, the chief administrator of the town was the Town Clerk. Initially a part-time job it later required the services of a full-time official who was based in the municipal offices in the Town Hall. The Clerk of the Urban District Council was appointed by the members of the Council on the recommendation of the Local Appointments Commission and as such was an officer of the Council. However, under recent changes in the Local Government structure the recruitment of personnel for the town of Athy is now centralised to Kildare County Council and the Town Clerk of Athy is employed directly by that Council. Athy Urban District Council has also had its title changed to Athy Town Council.

As successors to the Borough Council, the Town Commissioners and the Urban District Council, Athy Town Council continues to serve the local people, even if the changes heralded with the change of name confirm that the roles of town councils are to be reduced in the drive to centralise Local Government in this country.

The photo exhibition presently in the Heritage Centre is to be augmented for the Christian Brothers Class Re-union scheduled for the weekend of 20th September. Photographs relating to Athy and school groups during the 1940’s and later will be on display. The Heritage Centre would like to hear from anyone who has any photographs which could be lent for the period of the exhibition. All photographs will be returned to the owners at the end of September when the exhibition closes. If you have any suitable material for display please contact Margaret O’Riordan at (0507) 33075.