The courthouse and the Duke of Leinster

I was at the last sitting of the District Court in Tullow last week. The town which was the place of execution of Fr John Murphy of Boolavogue in 1798 has lost out in the drive to centralise services, which appears to be motivated by cost cutting than by any desire to better serve the communities of rural Ireland. The courtroom, admittedly Dickensian in appearance and in the facilities it provides, was crowded with litigants, gardaí and others. Not an unusual occurrence ,I was told, confirming (if such confirmation was needed) that there is a need for a local court in the area which from now on will be served by a court sitting in Carlow.

I was reminded of the furore that built up in Athy when plans were put in place to close the jail on the Carlow Road and move the prisoners to Naas. This happened in 1859 and, like many other occasions, when the public are stirred to anger by bureaucracy, the opposition came too late to make any difference to the decision already taken and even then in part implemented. The closure of Athy town jail came one year after the transfer of the summer assizes from Athy to Naas and precisely 29 years after the gaol had been constructed to replace what was regarded as the inhuman conditions of the previous lock-up located in White’s Castle. These conditions were so bad that an inspector of jails was moved to report:

“Athy Gaol is without exception the worst county gaol I have met with, in terms of accommodation, having neither yards, pumps, hospital, Chapel or property day rooms”.

When the jail on the Carlow Road was opened in 1830, it consisted of 30 cells built in a semi-circular form, with five yards and a governor’s house. Subsequent prison reports showed that an average of 48 prisoners, male and female, were detained there, most of them serving prison terms of seven years. This was the period of imprisonment applicable to most crimes of that time, even for what we would now regard as minor offences. The alternative to a seven-year prison term was deportation to Van Diemen’s land, then the principal place of overseas confinement for Irish rebels and those convicted of criminal offences.

The mood of the Athy people in 1859, following the announcement of the closure of the town jail and the earlier loss of the summer assizes, showed a frisson of resistance which had last manifested itself during the 1798 period. The leaders in the local community, by and large local shopkeepers, were to the forefront in lamenting the failure of the Duke of Leinster in pushing the claim of Athy town to retain its own jail and the summer assizes. Whether or not the Duke had any significant say in the matter is debatable but, as the patron of the town and the man who prior to the abolition of the borough council in 1840 held the reins of local power, it was to be expected that he would bear the brunt of local frustration.

Even as the local businessmen criticised the duke for his alleged inaction on the two issues, the town fathers in their role as town commissioners were still operating under a well-established system whereby they acted only if and when the duke had been consulted by them and consented to what they proposed. The previous borough council for Athy had been abolished in 1840, as were many other similar boroughs at that time because they were regarded as ‘rotten’ boroughs whose power was exercised at the behest of their patrons and not the people of the towns which they were presumed to serve.

The Duke of Leinster appointed the members of the borough council and exercised the right, prior to the passing of the Act of Union, to nominate two members of parliament to represent the borough council in the Irish House of Parliament. Despite the appointment of town commissioners in 1842, the Duke of Leinster continued to exercise control over the affairs of the town, but the events of 1859 represented the first ripple of opposition to the man whose family for so long were undisputed lords of Athy.

Reading the minutes of the meetings of the town commissioners in the decades following the closure of the town jail and the loss of the summer assizes, one can see the council gradually moving away from the control hitherto exercised by the Duke of Leinster over the town’s affairs. The break for freedom was finally copper-fastened with the passing of the Local Government Act of 1899, which lead to the setting up of Athy Urban District Council. Control of the town’s affairs now rests, as it has for the last 100 years or more, with local men and women elected by their own townspeople.

The loss of a courthouse, as has now happened in Tullow, is the loss of a vital element of community infrastructure which bodes ill for the future vitality of the local community.

An open invitation to readers

Next Thursday, 6 December, the third volume in the Eye on Athy’s Past series of books, being edited versions of my articles which appeared in the Kildare Nationalist, will be launched in the Town Hall Library at 8pm. The book of 200 pages deals with a wide range of Athy folk and events and documents life in Athy as some of us may have known it, but which is probably unfamiliar, if not unknown, to many. The launch of the book will be performed by Barbara Sheridan, Editor of the Laois Nationalist, who first approached me more than 15 years ago with a request to write a weekly article on local history. Barbara was then the local correspondent for Athy and South Kildare and quite frankly when I was first approached I turned her down. However, she renewed her request and with some reluctance and indeed uncertainty as to what I could pen on a regular basis, I wrote that first article 15 years ago.

Over the years I have met and talked to many locals, both about themselves and local events of the past. It has been a most rewarding, and I may say, at times, a humbling experience, to listen to men and women who have contributed during their lifetime to the well-being of our local community. The interviews have on many occasions complemented my own ongoing research into Athy’s history and helped to give a human touch to the everyday happenings that make up the social history of our place.

I have been helped over the years by many persons who have either given generously of their time for interviews or else directed me to events or people which were later the subject of an Eye on the Past article. Many others have written to me over the years and I especially appreciate those men and women now living in England who put pen to paper to share their knowledge of Athy with me. The history of emigration from Athy remains to be told in detail, but I am pleased that so many of those living abroad have had the opportunity of learning more of their hometown through the medium of the weekly Eye on the Past.

An invitation is extended to all of you to come along to the book launch on Thursday, 6 December at 8pm in the Town Library.

To market, to market to buy a fat pig - in Athy

EXACTLY 100 years ago, Athy Urban District Council made market bye-laws which were approved by the Local Government Board of Ireland and which, so far as I am aware, are still operative even if they have been redundant for many years past. They give an interesting insight into an important aspect of the commercial life of Athy in the years before the First World War and for that reason are worth reviewing today. The byelaws were printed in the local press on 1 July 1907 in an advertisement which read:
‘THE ATHY URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL hereby give PUBLIC NOTICE that the Business of the Athy Markets will be conducted subject to the provisions of the Bye-Laws as follows:

MARKET PLACES The Market Place shall consist of Twelve Divisions. The enclosed market for butter and eggs. The Markets for Corn, Fish, Vegetables, Fruit, Cabbage Plants in Carts, Cooperage, Ponies and Kerries in Market Square (front of Town Hall). The Market for Hay, Straw, Coals and Wool, in the Hay Market. The Fowl Market at West and South sides of Court House. The Market for Turnips and Mangolds at Northern end of Court House. The Market for Potatoes in the Potato Market as at present. The Market for Calves in the Calf Market, at the east side of the Court House. The Market for Second-Hand Clothes, Potato Baskets, Earthenware, and all Miscellaneous Articles shall be held between the Barrow Bridge and South end of Chains on Barrow Quay. The Turf Market shall be held opposite Chains on Barrow Quay. The Buttermilk Market in Woodstock Street. The Pig Market shall be held in Woodstock Street and William Street, as far as Canal Bridge and Nelson Street. The Market for Gates, Ladders, etc., shall be held at the Northern side of Leinster Street above the Public Pump.

The Cattle Market shall be held on the First WEDNESDAY in every month and the Pig Market on the next PRECEDING Day, and in other cases, the Market Day shall be TUESDAY of every week unless when Christmas Day, St. Patrick’s Day or St. Stephen’s Day falls on Monday or Tuesday, when the Market shall be held on the preceding Saturday. Provided, notwithstanding, that a Market for the Sale of Pigs, by live weight may be held on every Tuesday.

The Market Places shall be open as fol-Fowl Market not earlier than Seven o’clock a.m. Butter, Calf and Egg Market at Nine o’clock a.m. Hay and Turnip Market at Ten o’clock a.m. Corn and Potato Market at Eleven o’clock a.m. Fruit, Vegetables, and Fish at Eight o’clock a.m. Fat Pig Market not earlier than Seven o’clock a.m., no person shall bring any car into the Pig Market before Ten o’clock a.m. except while loading or unloading. Small Pig Market at Ten o’clock a.m. Second Hand Clothes, Earthenware etc., Turf, Horses, Creels, Carts and Donkeys, Jennets at Ten o’clock a.m.

A person in charge of any wagon, cart, car, truck, barrow or other vehicle, with or without a horse or other animals attached thereto, shall not, at any time while the Market is being held, cause or allow such vehicle to remain in any Market Place, or in any street or passage leading thereto, so as to cause an obstruction any longer time than shall be necessary for the sale of, or for the loading or unloading of, Provisions, Goods or other commodities.

A person in charge of any wagon, cart, car, truck, barrow or other vehicle shall not, at any time, while the Market is being held, cause or allow such vehicle to stand or remain in any Market Place, or in any street or passage leading thereto in such manner as to cause obstruction or inconvenience to the public in such Market Place or street, or passages. A person, resorting to a Market Place for the Sale of any Marketable Commodities or Articles, shall not cause or allow such Commodities or Articles to be brought or conveyed into such Market Place, or to be placed , or be exposed for Sale, in such a manner as to cause obstruction or inconvenience to the public in such Market Place, or in any of the approaches leading thereto.

A Tenant or Occupier of any Building, Stall or Standing in a Market Place, shall not cause or allow any Goods, Produce, or other Marketable commodities, to be deposited or exposed for Sale in or upon such Building , Stall, or Standing, so that such Goods, Produce, Provisions, or Commodities, or any part thereof, shall project beyond the line, or limits of such Building, Stall or Standing.

A person shall not smoke or spit in the Butter Market.

Every person who shall offend against any of the foregoing Bye-Laws shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding Five Pounds for every such offence, provided, nevertheless, that the Justices or Court before whom any complaint may be made, or any proceedings may be taken in respect of any such offence, may, if they think fit, adjudge the payment as a penalty of any sum less than the full amount of the penalty imposed by this Bye-Law.’

The market tolls levied on goods sold at Athy Market were also the subject of an order made by the Urban Council. The tolls collected by the Council were-Every Sack of Corn - One Penny. Every Sack of Potatoes - One Penny. Every Basket or Box of Fish - Two Pence. Every Churnof Buttermilk- One Penny. Every Cart of Cabbage, Plants or Fruit-Three Pence. Every Cart of Fish - Six Pence. Every Calf, Pony, Donkey, Kerry, or other Animal - Two Pence. Every Basket of Fowl - One Penny. Every Car or Cart of Fowl - Three Pence. Every Creel of Bonhams - Three Pence. Every Fat Pig - One Penny. Every Basket or Box of Eggs - One Penny. Car or Cart of Second-Hand Clothes - One Shilling. Every Car or Cart of Churns, etc, - Six Pence. Every Gate, Wheel, Barrow, Ladder, Car - One Penny. Every lump of Butter, not exceeding 7lbs - One halfpenny (weighed free). Every Lump of Butter, not exceeding 14lbs- One penny(weighed free). Lump of Butter over 28 lbs - Three Pence(weighed free)’.

In addition to the tolls, the farmers who brought produce to the market were required to use the Council’s ouncel or weighing scales to guarantee the weight of goods offered for sale. The scale of fees for using the weighing scales located at the back of the Town Hall were: ‘Every Sack of Corn - One penny. Every Sack of Potatoes - One Penny. Every Pack of Wool - One Shilling. Every Load of Turnips, Mangolds, Potatoes - Three Pence. Every Load of Coal - Six Pence. Every Load of Hay or Straw - One Farthing per Cwt. (Gross Weight). Every Load of Metal, Iron and Timber- Six Pence. Every Load of Stones or Gravel - One Penny. Every Pig - One Penny. Every Sheep - One Penny. Every Beast - Two Pence.’

The public notice of the Market Bye-Laws was signed by JP Whelan, chairman of the Urban District Council and by JA Lawler, the Town Clerk. Presumably, the market tolls and weighing tolls were the equivalent of modern day disc parking affording as they did, a useful source of income for the town council. The townspeople of 1907 were probably as much in the dark about the amounts collected in tolls and the use to which they were put as we are today in relation to the parking fees which are collected by today’s town council.

Some things never change.

Frank English

The celebration of a generation of public service as a Town Councillor brought together Athy Councillors past and present on the 15th of December last. The recipient of many congratulations and good wishes on the night was Frank English who first stood for election to Athy Urban District Council in 1967. His colleagues on the Council that year included M.G. Nolan, doyen of the Fianna Fail party in South Kildare and Paddy Dooley, then a member of the Dail and the only Athy townsman to gain a seat in the Dail since the days of Sidney Minch. Others re-elected in 1967 were Tom Carbery of St. Martin's Terrace and Joe Deegan. While all of these men were being re-elected towards the end of their active involvement in local politics Frank was being elected to the Council for the first time. Also elected with him on that occasion were Jim McEvoy, Enda Kinsella, Mick Rowan and Jack MacKenna.

First elected at 26 years of age Frank has stood for re-election on three occasions since then. The length of his service as a Town Councillor is not unique as longevity of service at this level of Local Government has in the past been the norm rather than the exception. However, in todays volatile political environment 27 years of service as a Town Councillor is sufficiently unusual to merit public recognition. Not least for the level of commitment and public spirit shown in putting his name before the Electorate on so many occasions. Many of us are reluctant to get involved - and in that respect the unwillingness extends to almost all facets of life. Non-participation by the many places an uneven burden on those who are prepared to share the responsibility of community life. Community leaders like Frank English are fair game for the "hurlers on the ditch" who are either unwilling or fearful of putting themselves before the community at election time. Whether in the local club or organisation we have all too often come across the same experience where the willing few share the burden for the many who wish to participate on their own terms without making any contribution at committee level. So it was fitting that we gathered in the Leinster Arms Hotel to pay tribute to somebody who has not been afraid to put his time and his talents at the disposal of the local community.

In his younger days Frank was known as Harry, a name which disappeared as adulthood loomed. Strange when you look back over the years how in the middle of new relationships youthful friendships endure. Harry, as he then was, was never part of the Offaly Street gang but yet it was with Frank as he then became that I shared many experiences over the years. Together as young lads we ventured onto the Continent as intrepid travellers thumbing our way around France and later venturing into East Berlin a few short years after the erection of the Berlin Wall. Trips to Belgium, Holland, England and America followed and experiences were shared which added enormously to our knowledge, if not to our interpersonal skills while no doubt confirming the Continental's perception of young Irishmen as "Mad Dogs of the Midnight Sun".

His penchant for overseas travelling has abated in recent years to be replaced by an enormous likening for a late night pint in the cosy confines of Frank O'Briens. Maybe old age affects you that way. I will have to wait another year before finding out for myself.

Frank, as his mother Peg would say, is "a great lad". Indeed he is and his 27 years on the Town Council amply demonstrates that the townspeople of Athy share that view.