The Athy Land League had Dr. Patrick O’Neill as Vice President, Timothy Byrne as Treasurer and John Cantwell as Secretary. It had its own flag made of green silky material which was held aloft at the head of each Land League march and which stood over each Land League platform in Athy. A portrait of Parnell was on one side with the inscription “United we stand. Divided we fall” on the reverse. The flag was last known to have been in the possession of Peter P. Doyle of Woodstock Street, Athy in or about 1948.
On 8th January 1881 The Kildare Observer reported a Land League meeting in the Market Square Athy during which Michael Boyton burnt a copy of the Leinster Lease. However, within a few weeks local public support for the Land League was seriously undermined by a clerical instigated tenants’ agreement to accept a 20% rent reduction offered by the Duke of Leinster. The Land League was not mentioned at the meeting chaired by Rev. Dr. Kavanagh which accepted the new rents and Dr. Patrick O’Neill, the League’s Vice President, resigned because “the acceptance of the Duke’s offer had broken the backbone of the local Land League”.
During the period of the Tenants’ Defence Association and the Land League one finds no evidence in the Minutes of Athy Town Commissioners of support for the tenant farmers. The Commissioners silence probably owed much to the servile attitude adopted by successive Commissioners over many years to the town’s landlord - the Duke of Leinster. The first indication of a change from the subservience of their predecessors was the passing of a resolution on 6 June 1881, requesting the extension of the provisions of the Land Bill to Leaseholders as well as yearly tenants. The innocuous enough request was to be followed on 2 January, 1882 by support for Charles Stewart Parnell in a resolution which called on the Government to release Parnell “and the other prisoners confined under the Coercion Act”. Further evidence of the more independent and nationalistic line adopted by Athy Town Commissioners was given on Sunday, 5th July 1885 with the presentation to Michael Davitt of an address by the Commissioners Chairman Michael Doyle, on the occasion of Davitt’s visit to Athy. This address is now housed in the Davitt Museum at Straide, Co. Mayo which I had occasion to visit same some years ago as Chairman of Athy U.D.C. in the Company of Councillor Frank English.
While Land League activity throughout the country went on a pace throughout the 1880’s, Athy, which in 1872 had given Ireland the first of the new wave Tenants’ Defence Association, was little concerned with the nation’s struggle. All was to change with the advent of land problems in the little village of Luggacurran in 1886.
The Luggacurran evictions had their origin in the refusal of Lord Landsdowne to grant his Laois tenants rent reduction similar to those he had given tenants on his Kerry estates in 1886. As a result of his refusal almost 70% of the tenants adopted the Plan of Campaign which brought them into sharp conflict with Landsdowne’s local agent, Mr. Townsend Trench. The leaders of the campaign were Fr. John Maher C.C. Luggacurran, Denis Kilbride and John W. Dunne, two local tenants of Lord Landsdowne who had large tracts of land sublet to local tenant farmers. Dunne held almost 1,200 acres while Kilbride had over 850 acres.
In November 1886 the Luggacurran tenants decided to withhold Lord Landsdownes rents. The half year rents due that month were collected in Kavanaghs Hotel, Athy by Fr. Maher, John W. Dunne, Denis Kilbride and Patrick Kelly. Kavanaghs is now the Leinster Arms Hotel Evictions soon followed, the first tenant chosen was Denis Kilbride who was evicted on 23 March, 1887. The evictions were to continue throughout the following year and into 1889. A number of those evicted came to live in Athy including John W. Dunne, the Carberys, the Crannys and the Rigneys. Over the three year period 1887 to 1889 nearly seventy families were evicted from their homes. Some of these families were allowed to return to the Luggacurran area following a settlement of the dispute in 1903.
James Dempsey who lived at No. 3 Emily Row, Athy and was the last weighmaster of the town scales, located at the rear of the Town Hall recalled in 1948 a land League Meeting held in Luggacurran on 24th July 1887 at which the legendary William O’Brien spoke.
“Every cart, brake and vehicle capable of carrying people left Athy for Luggacurran that day, he says. ‘The Procession, headed by Athy Fife and Drum Band, extended from Ballylinan to Athy.’ When they reached Luggacurran thousands of people from several counties were assembled there. He recalled how the crowd opened its ranks to let the Athy band march past.”
William O’Brien had arrived at Athy Railway Station at 10.30 a.m. on the morning of the meeting where he was met by the Athy Fife and Drum Band. He had breakfast at the home of Mr. Kilbride Solicitor at Athy Lodge before proceeding to the meeting place in Luggacurran. As the evictions continued throughout 1888 and 1889 collections were taken up throughout the country to finance the League’s opposition to Lord Landsdowne. Once again a local branch of the Land League was formed in Athy and the ladies of the town also formed themselves into a womens branch of the Land League. Local ladies prominent in the League included Mrs. Ann Doyle, Woodstock Street, Ms. Kinneen, Stanhope Street, Mrs. Maher and Mrs. Anthony. Extra police were drafted into the Athy area and the Town Hall was used to billet these men. A regular early morning and late evening scene around Athy was the police marching with rifles to and from the scene of the agrarian troubles in Luggacurran. Boycotted by the evicted tenants and local sympathisers Lord Landsdowne’s agent was forced to call upon the services of the Land Corporation, the organised arm of Irish Landlordism, to cultivate the Luggacurran lands. Those men who were mostly of Ulster stock continued to work on the Luggacurran estate up to 1903. From 1890 onwards new tenants arrived to take the place of those evicted. This, understandably, created much bitterness amongst the former tenants, the legacy of which is never far from the surface, even to this day.
Thursday, February 25, 1999
Athy Tenants Defence Association
The Passing of the Land Act in 1870 was the first success of the Irish tenant farmers in their long struggle against Irish landlordism. This Gladstonian enactment gave the tenant farmers the right to be compensated in the event of eviction and for improvements carried out during their tenancy. However it did not secure for these hard pressed people the security of tenure which they had so long sought. Moreover the much heralded Land Act enabled Landlords to contract out of its provisions, thereby leaving their tenants without even the limited benefits of Gladstones measure.
The Athy and County Kildare landlord The Duke of Leinster was amongst the first of the Irish landlords to attempt to defeat his tenants’ rights under the 1870 Act. The Leinster Lease, as it became known, a model of legal ingenuity was presented by the Duke’s agents to his various tenants. Prepared with the Duke’s interest in mind, it totally and cruelly side-stepped the 1870 Act which the tenant farmers had so recently welcomed. Local opposition to the terms of the Leinster Lease saw the foundation of the Tenants’ Defence Association in Athy. This was the first such association formed in Ireland after the decline following the passing of the 1870 Land Act of Isaac Butt’s Tenant League of 1868.
The Athy Tenants’ Association held its first meeting on Tuesday, 19 November 1872 with Captain Morgan of Rahinderry in the chair. Local man Thomas P. Kynsey J.P. acted as Secretary to the meeting which passed the following resolutions.
“Moved by MR. THOMAS ROBERTSON, Narraghmore -
Seconded by MR. THOS. P. KYNSEY, J.P. Athy -
I - That, a Tenants’ Defence Association be established, consisting of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Committee of Twelve Members. The Subscription of each Member to be FIVE SHILLINGS, per annum.’
______________
Moved by the VERY REVEREND CANON QUINN, D.D., P.P. -
Seconded by MR. ROBERT ANDERSON, Castlemitchell -
II - `That, the objects of the Association be to unite the Tenants against any encroachment on their rights, and to promote by every legal and Constitutional means, the social interests and Independence of the Tenant Class.’
_______________
Moved by MR. WILLIAM DAVIDSON, Esker -
Seconded by P. CAHILL, ESQ., L.L.D. -
III - `That, as an attempt has been made on the LEINSTER ESTATES to deprive the Tenants of all the advantages conferred on them by the `LAND ACT’, the attempt in question should receive the instant and most determined opposition from the Association.”
______________
In the years immediately following the foundation of the Tenants’ Defence Association in Athy, the Duke of Leinster succeeded in overcoming local opposition to the terms of the Leinster Lease. Some of the Association’s leaders were themselves to accept the terms of the lease, undoubtedly under the threat of eviction. One such signatory was James Leahy, Chairman of Athy Town Commissioners, who admitted signing the Leinster Lease for his farm at Ardscull. In 1878 the Duke submitted the lease to Athy Board of Guardians in respect of some land held by them as tenants of the Leinster Estate. At a special Board meeting on 1 January 1879, the Guardians declined to execute the Lease indicating “that this Board, as the representatives of the people decline to give their signatories to a document directly opposed to the provisions of the Land Act of 1870.”
The 1880 Parliamentary Elections brought Charles Stewart Parnell to Athy for perhaps the first time. Andrew Kettle in his memoirs “Material for Victory” wrote of the nomination convention held in the Town Hall, Athy which he attended with Parnell.
“We went to Kildare on a midday train, and had a rare scene with Alderman Harris in the carriage going down. The Alderman was one of the candidates for Kildare, and he begged and prayed Mr. Parnell to get him adopted with a fanatical fervour I shall never forget. When we got to Athy, which was the nomination place, we found that Father Farrelly and young Kavanagh had a candidate ready in the person of Mr. James Leahy who represented it for years afterwards. Mr. Parnell turned to me and said: `This fat man will be no use. He will fall asleep in the House. I must propose you.’ I never meant to go to Parliament if I could help it, and said: `He will do very well. You may want me somewhere else.` He was not half satisfied, and he cross-examined Mr. Leahy as to how he would be able to attend and sit up at night, but the candidate said `Yes’ to everything. So, as his friends were insistent, he had to take him. Father Nolan of Kildare Town was holding a Harris Meldon meeting at the Market House when he came out, but Mike Boyton moved somebody else to another chair and started a Leahy meeting on the same platform, so after a little Father Nolan said he would not play second fiddle to anyone, so he bid us good-bye and left.”
This was the same James Leahy who had served as Chairman of Athy Town Commissioners and who was to represent South Kildare in the House of Commons until 1895.
Opposition to the Leinster Lease was maintained at a low key throughout 1879 and 1880 but evictions in September 1880 of tenants of the Verschoyle Estate prompted the formation of a local branch of the Land League. Public agitation in Athy took on a new and more fervent pitch under the guidance of local land league organiser Michael Boyton. On Sunday, 10 October 1880, the first Land League meeting was held in Athy. Addressed by Michael Boyton, the assembled crowd was told that he had come to Athy “commissioned by Charles Stewart Parnell to establish the Athy branch of the Land League.”
….. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK …..
The Athy and County Kildare landlord The Duke of Leinster was amongst the first of the Irish landlords to attempt to defeat his tenants’ rights under the 1870 Act. The Leinster Lease, as it became known, a model of legal ingenuity was presented by the Duke’s agents to his various tenants. Prepared with the Duke’s interest in mind, it totally and cruelly side-stepped the 1870 Act which the tenant farmers had so recently welcomed. Local opposition to the terms of the Leinster Lease saw the foundation of the Tenants’ Defence Association in Athy. This was the first such association formed in Ireland after the decline following the passing of the 1870 Land Act of Isaac Butt’s Tenant League of 1868.
The Athy Tenants’ Association held its first meeting on Tuesday, 19 November 1872 with Captain Morgan of Rahinderry in the chair. Local man Thomas P. Kynsey J.P. acted as Secretary to the meeting which passed the following resolutions.
“Moved by MR. THOMAS ROBERTSON, Narraghmore -
Seconded by MR. THOS. P. KYNSEY, J.P. Athy -
I - That, a Tenants’ Defence Association be established, consisting of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Committee of Twelve Members. The Subscription of each Member to be FIVE SHILLINGS, per annum.’
______________
Moved by the VERY REVEREND CANON QUINN, D.D., P.P. -
Seconded by MR. ROBERT ANDERSON, Castlemitchell -
II - `That, the objects of the Association be to unite the Tenants against any encroachment on their rights, and to promote by every legal and Constitutional means, the social interests and Independence of the Tenant Class.’
_______________
Moved by MR. WILLIAM DAVIDSON, Esker -
Seconded by P. CAHILL, ESQ., L.L.D. -
III - `That, as an attempt has been made on the LEINSTER ESTATES to deprive the Tenants of all the advantages conferred on them by the `LAND ACT’, the attempt in question should receive the instant and most determined opposition from the Association.”
______________
In the years immediately following the foundation of the Tenants’ Defence Association in Athy, the Duke of Leinster succeeded in overcoming local opposition to the terms of the Leinster Lease. Some of the Association’s leaders were themselves to accept the terms of the lease, undoubtedly under the threat of eviction. One such signatory was James Leahy, Chairman of Athy Town Commissioners, who admitted signing the Leinster Lease for his farm at Ardscull. In 1878 the Duke submitted the lease to Athy Board of Guardians in respect of some land held by them as tenants of the Leinster Estate. At a special Board meeting on 1 January 1879, the Guardians declined to execute the Lease indicating “that this Board, as the representatives of the people decline to give their signatories to a document directly opposed to the provisions of the Land Act of 1870.”
The 1880 Parliamentary Elections brought Charles Stewart Parnell to Athy for perhaps the first time. Andrew Kettle in his memoirs “Material for Victory” wrote of the nomination convention held in the Town Hall, Athy which he attended with Parnell.
“We went to Kildare on a midday train, and had a rare scene with Alderman Harris in the carriage going down. The Alderman was one of the candidates for Kildare, and he begged and prayed Mr. Parnell to get him adopted with a fanatical fervour I shall never forget. When we got to Athy, which was the nomination place, we found that Father Farrelly and young Kavanagh had a candidate ready in the person of Mr. James Leahy who represented it for years afterwards. Mr. Parnell turned to me and said: `This fat man will be no use. He will fall asleep in the House. I must propose you.’ I never meant to go to Parliament if I could help it, and said: `He will do very well. You may want me somewhere else.` He was not half satisfied, and he cross-examined Mr. Leahy as to how he would be able to attend and sit up at night, but the candidate said `Yes’ to everything. So, as his friends were insistent, he had to take him. Father Nolan of Kildare Town was holding a Harris Meldon meeting at the Market House when he came out, but Mike Boyton moved somebody else to another chair and started a Leahy meeting on the same platform, so after a little Father Nolan said he would not play second fiddle to anyone, so he bid us good-bye and left.”
This was the same James Leahy who had served as Chairman of Athy Town Commissioners and who was to represent South Kildare in the House of Commons until 1895.
Opposition to the Leinster Lease was maintained at a low key throughout 1879 and 1880 but evictions in September 1880 of tenants of the Verschoyle Estate prompted the formation of a local branch of the Land League. Public agitation in Athy took on a new and more fervent pitch under the guidance of local land league organiser Michael Boyton. On Sunday, 10 October 1880, the first Land League meeting was held in Athy. Addressed by Michael Boyton, the assembled crowd was told that he had come to Athy “commissioned by Charles Stewart Parnell to establish the Athy branch of the Land League.”
….. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK …..
Thursday, February 18, 1999
Athy and Urban Renewal
An announcement made by Mr. Bobby Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government is one which will impact greatly on the development of the town of Athy over the next few years. Athy, together with Kildare, has been designated for urban renewal. The scheme as proposed will provide generous tax incentives to refurbish and build anew in particular areas of the town. From the 1st of march 1999 the scheme will be open to developments of residential properties. The commercial and industrial elements of the scheme have yet to be finalised. At present it unclear as to which areas within the town will benefit from the designation but what is apparent is that the town as we know it will undergo significant change as we head into the new millennium.
As we stand on the threshold of large scale re-development of our town it is important that we carefully consider the impact that this development will have not only the urban fabric but upon the lives of those who live and work in Athy. It has been a common refrain down through the years in the street and in the Council chambers that Athy is the forgotten town of Kildare. Athy is a town which does not seem to have benefitted from the affluence generated by the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy. Now it seems that all this is about to change. The series of tax incentives which are now available for building and construction in town should be a incentive to attract investment into the town. Without doubt Athy has been a forgotten centre in Kildare for many years. Under the aegis of the urban renewals schemes we have been presented with the opportunity to develop our town on an unprecedented level then heretofore. Therefore we must be careful to ensure that the town retains the character and personality of which we are so justly proud. Every development that is carried out should be sympathetic to not only the needs of the people of the town but also to the character of the streetscape which has developed over many centuries. Although much of the town’s buildings appear to be of nineteenth century date many of their fascades hide earlier structures.
All development should respect the character of these buildings, which currently flank the town’s streets.
Too often in the past urban areas which have benefited from such urban renewal schemes have rushed head long into re-development projects giving little or no consideration to the pre-existing buildings in the streets which have defined their towns for many centuries. The quays of Dublin are testament to the destruction that can be wrought on historic properties in a short space of time.
We must of course welcome the opportunity to rejuvenate the town but never at the cost of its unique character. At this stage it is too early to ascertain what the nature and form of development shall be but we shall await the proposals for Athy’s re-development with interest.
While it’s welcome to watch the reclamation of many sites from dereliction around the town it is still sad to reflect that probably the earliest building in the town remains neglected, unwanted, and uncared for. I have written many times in the past on Woodstock Castle, sometimes of its history and many times of its neglect. Having visited it quite recently I was appalled at its continuing vandalism and neglect. It is a terrible indictment of a local authority when a building of such national importance is left to decay in such a public fashion. At a time when towns and cities across Ireland are formulating their plans and activities for the coming millennium, would it not be most appropriate that Woodstock Castle, which has stood for eight centuries, be restored to its former glory.
It’s restoration would be an appropriate gesture to mark the dawn of a new century and reaffirm our commitment to preserving important elements of the towns history.
There are those who believe that conservation and the protection of our heritage are objects incompatible with development and progress. This is misleading. Many years ago the Town Hall faced demolition, a fate from which it was saved, thanks to the vigorous efforts of many different people and groups such as an Taisce. Today the Town Hall is home to the local Library and the heritage centre and also it’s a frequent venue for exhibitions and lectures. Its vitality is a great tribute to those who fought for its preservation and to the enlightenment of the County Council officials who oversaw its restoration. Over the next few months Athy Museum Society in Conjunction with South Kildare An Taisce will be holding a series of lectures in the Town Hall. Tonight at 8.00pm Mary Deevy, a consultant archaeologist will give a talk entitled ‘Dress and Jewellery in Medieval Ireland’.
As we stand on the threshold of large scale re-development of our town it is important that we carefully consider the impact that this development will have not only the urban fabric but upon the lives of those who live and work in Athy. It has been a common refrain down through the years in the street and in the Council chambers that Athy is the forgotten town of Kildare. Athy is a town which does not seem to have benefitted from the affluence generated by the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy. Now it seems that all this is about to change. The series of tax incentives which are now available for building and construction in town should be a incentive to attract investment into the town. Without doubt Athy has been a forgotten centre in Kildare for many years. Under the aegis of the urban renewals schemes we have been presented with the opportunity to develop our town on an unprecedented level then heretofore. Therefore we must be careful to ensure that the town retains the character and personality of which we are so justly proud. Every development that is carried out should be sympathetic to not only the needs of the people of the town but also to the character of the streetscape which has developed over many centuries. Although much of the town’s buildings appear to be of nineteenth century date many of their fascades hide earlier structures.
All development should respect the character of these buildings, which currently flank the town’s streets.
Too often in the past urban areas which have benefited from such urban renewal schemes have rushed head long into re-development projects giving little or no consideration to the pre-existing buildings in the streets which have defined their towns for many centuries. The quays of Dublin are testament to the destruction that can be wrought on historic properties in a short space of time.
We must of course welcome the opportunity to rejuvenate the town but never at the cost of its unique character. At this stage it is too early to ascertain what the nature and form of development shall be but we shall await the proposals for Athy’s re-development with interest.
While it’s welcome to watch the reclamation of many sites from dereliction around the town it is still sad to reflect that probably the earliest building in the town remains neglected, unwanted, and uncared for. I have written many times in the past on Woodstock Castle, sometimes of its history and many times of its neglect. Having visited it quite recently I was appalled at its continuing vandalism and neglect. It is a terrible indictment of a local authority when a building of such national importance is left to decay in such a public fashion. At a time when towns and cities across Ireland are formulating their plans and activities for the coming millennium, would it not be most appropriate that Woodstock Castle, which has stood for eight centuries, be restored to its former glory.
It’s restoration would be an appropriate gesture to mark the dawn of a new century and reaffirm our commitment to preserving important elements of the towns history.
There are those who believe that conservation and the protection of our heritage are objects incompatible with development and progress. This is misleading. Many years ago the Town Hall faced demolition, a fate from which it was saved, thanks to the vigorous efforts of many different people and groups such as an Taisce. Today the Town Hall is home to the local Library and the heritage centre and also it’s a frequent venue for exhibitions and lectures. Its vitality is a great tribute to those who fought for its preservation and to the enlightenment of the County Council officials who oversaw its restoration. Over the next few months Athy Museum Society in Conjunction with South Kildare An Taisce will be holding a series of lectures in the Town Hall. Tonight at 8.00pm Mary Deevy, a consultant archaeologist will give a talk entitled ‘Dress and Jewellery in Medieval Ireland’.
Thursday, February 11, 1999
Gravestone inscriptions - St. Michaels (2)
Some weeks ago I wrote of the gravestones and grave slabs which fill the cemetery of Old St. Michael’s on the Dublin Road. I was struck as I walked around the cemetery by the paucity of pre-1800 memorials. The reason for this is of course easily understandable. Memorials in stone today as in the past are expensive. In the years gone by few of the town’s inhabitants could have afforded the cost of erecting memorials in stone to their dead. The earliest reference I have found to a headstone in any of the local cemeteries was that of William Watson who was buried in St. John’s in November 1635. Unfortunately the headstone which was noted in the Kildare Archaeological Society Journal at the turn of the century has since disappeared and the earliest dated inscription surviving today in St. John’s is from 1721. The oldest dated memorial in St. Michael’s Cemetery would appear to be that of Mary Pearson who died at the age of 71 on 24th January, 1717. Her grave is one of only a handful of marked graves from the 18th century.
Wealth or the lack of it was not always the only deterrent when it came to the marking of the burial places of the dead. The Quaker Community which had a following in Athy from 1765 onwards did not mark the burial places of their deceased members. The writer Mary Leadbetter, the Quaker Diarist, a resident of the village of Ballytore recorded an incident where this Quaker practice was misunderstood. Abel Strettel died in the village in 1784 and his relatives erected a gravestone to his memory. A visiting Quaker who was a zealous adherent to the traditional practice took great offence and had the gravestone buried. This action greatly offended the grandson of the dead man. Mary Leadbetter described how he scaled the walls of the cemetery in Ballytore “armed with guns and attended by men with digging implements uncovered the stone and replaced it in it’s original position.” One wonders if any other local burials since then were attended by so much controversy.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of any old cemetery is the frequency of headstones to the young. Sometimes a visitors’ melancholy can be leavened by the unconscious humour of some of the inscriptions. I was drawn to an early 19th century headstone to the memory of a young man of 20 whose inscription recalled that he was a youth “of exemplary virtues and transcendent genius”. One wonders as to the nature of his genius! Another headstone recording a young death was that of the quaintly named Agnes Minnis Frame. Agnes was the young headmistress of a Model School in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. She died at her father’s residence at the Model School, Athy on 15th January, 1892 at the age of 28. The Model School was also the place of death of 20 year old Maggie Harvey, the eldest daughter of Mary Harvey, the headmistress of the Model School, Athy in June 1886.
St. Michael’s Cemetery is replete not only with the names of the dead but also placenames in our town which have now passed from memory. I stopped awhile at the headstone of James Kenna, an Octogenarian and resident of Preston’s Gate, Athy who died on 28th May, 1839. Preston’s Gate, the last surviving remains of Athy’s mediaeval town walls, was demolished in 1860. It was located where Offaly Street narrows before entering into Emily Row at the Credit Union Offices. The medieval gate was removed by the Town Commissioners after the Rev. Frederick Trench’s carriage crashed into it resulting in the Rectors death. Rev. Trench himself lies in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
On the majority of the headstones there are few clues to the lives lived by those departed but here and there the occasional headstone give us some additional insight. In a quiet corner of the graveyard lies Mary Ann Manders who died on 28th September, 1911. Her simple epitaph reads “the faithful servant of the Sherlock family”. Not far from Mary Ann Manders lies Rev. John Kennelly, a Dominican Friar who died on Christmas Day 1842 at the age of 78 years. His was a colourful life. As his headstone records he took the habit of his Order at Louvain in Flanders, Belgium at a time when the Catholic Church sent it’s young men abroad to be trained for the Priesthood. As the Penal Laws of the late 18th century relaxed he returned to Ireland where in 1787 he was elected Provincial of the Order. His character and example must have been profound as his tombstone solemnly records how five of his relatives followed him into the Orders including his brother and four of his nephews.
As I journeyed through the forgotten past of Athy my eye alighted upon the simple headstone of Concrad Peterson. I’m sure many of the townspeople recall Peterson, a civil engineer who worked for many years as Manager in Bord na Mona, Kilberry. A native of Riga the capital of Latvia he died in Athy on 16th January, 1981 at the advanced age of 93. A long life brought him from the Port of Riga on the Baltic Sea to a medieval cemetery in the town of Athy .
Emigration is something familiar to most Irish families and several headstones in St. Michael’s Cemetery reflect the strong family ties which can never be sundered, no matter how many miles separate family members. John O’Neill of Chicago had a headstone erected to the memory of his mother Ann O’Neill who died on 29th January, 1892 aged 76 years. James Hyland who also emigrated to America similarly honoured the memory of his father James who died on 17th June, 1937 aged 82 years and his mother Ellen. The Slater family were remembered by Edward Slater of Brooklyn, New York. His parents John and Elizabeth died in 1884 and 1868, while his sister Catherine passed away some years earlier.
Two clergymen who gave long service to the people of Athy are buried in St. Michael’s. Archdeacon McDonnell, P.P. of Athy for 28 years died on 1 March, 1950 aged 84 years. A year later a new housing scheme built on Hollands lands at Geraldine was named in his honour, McDonnell Drive. Not too afar away is the grave of Rev. Henry Francis McDonald, Curate of St. Michael’s from 1848 to 1860 and Rector following Rev. Trench’s death in 1860 until he himself died on 9 May, 1891. His must be the longest ever record of service in the Church in Athy.
The mediaeval Church of St. Michael’s stands sentinel like over the crowded graves in the cemetery. As I passed by it’s crumbling walls I wondered for how long more it will remain standing. The ruined Church is in need of urgent restoration work to protect and preserve what remains of this 13th century structure.
Wealth or the lack of it was not always the only deterrent when it came to the marking of the burial places of the dead. The Quaker Community which had a following in Athy from 1765 onwards did not mark the burial places of their deceased members. The writer Mary Leadbetter, the Quaker Diarist, a resident of the village of Ballytore recorded an incident where this Quaker practice was misunderstood. Abel Strettel died in the village in 1784 and his relatives erected a gravestone to his memory. A visiting Quaker who was a zealous adherent to the traditional practice took great offence and had the gravestone buried. This action greatly offended the grandson of the dead man. Mary Leadbetter described how he scaled the walls of the cemetery in Ballytore “armed with guns and attended by men with digging implements uncovered the stone and replaced it in it’s original position.” One wonders if any other local burials since then were attended by so much controversy.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of any old cemetery is the frequency of headstones to the young. Sometimes a visitors’ melancholy can be leavened by the unconscious humour of some of the inscriptions. I was drawn to an early 19th century headstone to the memory of a young man of 20 whose inscription recalled that he was a youth “of exemplary virtues and transcendent genius”. One wonders as to the nature of his genius! Another headstone recording a young death was that of the quaintly named Agnes Minnis Frame. Agnes was the young headmistress of a Model School in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. She died at her father’s residence at the Model School, Athy on 15th January, 1892 at the age of 28. The Model School was also the place of death of 20 year old Maggie Harvey, the eldest daughter of Mary Harvey, the headmistress of the Model School, Athy in June 1886.
St. Michael’s Cemetery is replete not only with the names of the dead but also placenames in our town which have now passed from memory. I stopped awhile at the headstone of James Kenna, an Octogenarian and resident of Preston’s Gate, Athy who died on 28th May, 1839. Preston’s Gate, the last surviving remains of Athy’s mediaeval town walls, was demolished in 1860. It was located where Offaly Street narrows before entering into Emily Row at the Credit Union Offices. The medieval gate was removed by the Town Commissioners after the Rev. Frederick Trench’s carriage crashed into it resulting in the Rectors death. Rev. Trench himself lies in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
On the majority of the headstones there are few clues to the lives lived by those departed but here and there the occasional headstone give us some additional insight. In a quiet corner of the graveyard lies Mary Ann Manders who died on 28th September, 1911. Her simple epitaph reads “the faithful servant of the Sherlock family”. Not far from Mary Ann Manders lies Rev. John Kennelly, a Dominican Friar who died on Christmas Day 1842 at the age of 78 years. His was a colourful life. As his headstone records he took the habit of his Order at Louvain in Flanders, Belgium at a time when the Catholic Church sent it’s young men abroad to be trained for the Priesthood. As the Penal Laws of the late 18th century relaxed he returned to Ireland where in 1787 he was elected Provincial of the Order. His character and example must have been profound as his tombstone solemnly records how five of his relatives followed him into the Orders including his brother and four of his nephews.
As I journeyed through the forgotten past of Athy my eye alighted upon the simple headstone of Concrad Peterson. I’m sure many of the townspeople recall Peterson, a civil engineer who worked for many years as Manager in Bord na Mona, Kilberry. A native of Riga the capital of Latvia he died in Athy on 16th January, 1981 at the advanced age of 93. A long life brought him from the Port of Riga on the Baltic Sea to a medieval cemetery in the town of Athy .
Emigration is something familiar to most Irish families and several headstones in St. Michael’s Cemetery reflect the strong family ties which can never be sundered, no matter how many miles separate family members. John O’Neill of Chicago had a headstone erected to the memory of his mother Ann O’Neill who died on 29th January, 1892 aged 76 years. James Hyland who also emigrated to America similarly honoured the memory of his father James who died on 17th June, 1937 aged 82 years and his mother Ellen. The Slater family were remembered by Edward Slater of Brooklyn, New York. His parents John and Elizabeth died in 1884 and 1868, while his sister Catherine passed away some years earlier.
Two clergymen who gave long service to the people of Athy are buried in St. Michael’s. Archdeacon McDonnell, P.P. of Athy for 28 years died on 1 March, 1950 aged 84 years. A year later a new housing scheme built on Hollands lands at Geraldine was named in his honour, McDonnell Drive. Not too afar away is the grave of Rev. Henry Francis McDonald, Curate of St. Michael’s from 1848 to 1860 and Rector following Rev. Trench’s death in 1860 until he himself died on 9 May, 1891. His must be the longest ever record of service in the Church in Athy.
The mediaeval Church of St. Michael’s stands sentinel like over the crowded graves in the cemetery. As I passed by it’s crumbling walls I wondered for how long more it will remain standing. The ruined Church is in need of urgent restoration work to protect and preserve what remains of this 13th century structure.
Thursday, February 4, 1999
Inner Relief Road and Patrick Shaffrey
Patrick Shaffrey is an eminent man in the architectural world and one who has written well and with some eloquence on the Irish town. Writing some years ago on the subject he advised that “a town’s distinctive appearance, charm and quality should be retained despite the demands of modern development”. In this sentence he was clearly recognising and acknowledging that modern development should not destroy the character and quality of our towns.
He was even more direct in his criticism of the then prevailing attitude among road planners and town planners alike when he posed the question
“are towns to be planned for the motor car or for people?” He answered his own question when he wrote in his well received book “The Irish Town” “streets become highways. The very size and weight of the huge lorries rumbling through our streets cause structural problems as well as pollution from fumes, noise and vibration. In theory the only traffic that should be allowed into a residential street is that which may have business there”. Continuing his arguments against the demands of vehicular traffic he claimed that “it is not possible to meet the demands of modern traffic and retain any semblance of character and quality in our towns. Large transport lorries present a threat to the quality of life in towns. The increase in traffic and the tremendous problems caused by them may be a blessing in disguise. It should force local authorities to tackle traffic problems in a more comprehensive way. By far the most satisfactory way to resolve the problem is to provide a by pass”.
I have quoted Patrick Shaffrey at some length because his views on the vexed question facing the people of Athy in relation to the relief road issue are particularly relevant. Even more so when it is realised that the man who wrote some years ago “in the smaller towns the need for a by pass is equally pressing not so much from the economic but from the environmental point of view” is the same man now retained by Kildare County Council to make the inner relief road plans more palatable for the locals of Athy.
Patrick might not wish his brief from the County Council to be stated in those stark simplistic terms and would perhaps prefer to have it noted as the challenge of incorporating the inner relief road into the structures of the town while protecting the character of Athy. What was once referred to as the inner relief road is no longer termed as such. The most recent references to the traffic highway which if built would run parallel to Leinster Street and Duke Street terms this development as “a new street”. Certainly matters have moved on from the original 1975 proposal which would have had an inner relief road running through the centre of Athy with six foot high walls on either side. Now the great selling point for the inner relief road as perceived by the County Council officials who are pushing the project is the opportunity such a roadway will create for the opening of new businesses in the town. That was until last week however, when Patrick Shaffrey reported back to the County Council and the Urban Council on his perceptions of how the new roadway could be “knitted in” to the existing town fabric.
One of the most extraordinary bombshells which was dropped in the Council chamber by Patrick Shaffrey went off unnoticed by the protagonist of the new street theory. In presenting his ideas on the opportunities for development on the new street Shaffrey pointed out that the intention is to maintain the existing Leinster Street and Duke Street as the main shopping area. Businesses on the new street will not be allowed to compromise existing businesses in the town. This necessitates limiting development on the new street which I am told will be one kilometre long (if not longer) to what the officials termed “secondary retail development”. I asked what this meant and the only explanation given was that “shoe repair business” was what was in mind. Our last remaining shoemaker/shoe repairer had better look to his last if the town Council succeeds in its plan to turn the town into the shoe repair centre of Europe!
Emily Square from where a modern single span bridge would stretch across the river Barrow bringing traffic alongside the elegant St. Dominic’s Church would lose its car parking capacity under Mr. Shaffrey’s proposals. The Square would be pedestrianised and the road through the back Square linking the Barrow bridge and Offaly Street would be closed. In addition the proposed roadway/street will create particular difficulties for pedestrians coming to St. Dominic’s Church from Convent Lane with the severance of the Church from its natural approach route.
Of particular interest to cinema goers is the suggestion of Mr. Shaffrey that a new cinema be constructed on a site to the right of proposed roadway/street as one exists from St. Dominic’s Church car park. Of course a considerable portion of the car park will be lost to the new roadway adding further parking difficulties to those posed by the loss of the Emily Square parking. The new cinema would be sited on an East/West axis stretching across properties presently owned by two local business firms. How Griffin Hawes and Perrys Supermarket are to overcome the loss of their car parks and yards to facilitate the possible construction of the new cinema is something that even I did not have the temerity to ask Mr. Shaffrey.
Another highlight of the night’s proceedings was the suggestion that the inner relief road would travel by way of another new bridge over the Grand Canal straight across through Tegral’s premises exiting on the Kilkenny Road through the existing factory entrance. This plan was devised to get over the apparently insurmountable difficulties posed by having the inner relief road going up by the canal side and coming out the at the canal bridge. You may recall that Acer
McCarthy the traffic experts engaged by Kildare County Council a year and a half ago confirmed that such an approach would require the demolition of the canal side houses and a number of properties on William Street to give lorries sufficient room to turn at the canal bridge. The alternative now is to knock down part of Tegral’s factory and re-locate it elsewhere.
As I listened to Mr. Shaffrey and his team exposing for us the opportunities which could be created if the inner relief road or street as he now calls it went ahead I felt somewhat bemused and not a little concerned for the Athy Five who continue to support the inner relief road. How could they bring themselves to push the new road/street theory which now apparently hangs so perilously on an ill defined type of development described by the officials as “secondary retail”. Cobblers I hear you say!
He was even more direct in his criticism of the then prevailing attitude among road planners and town planners alike when he posed the question
“are towns to be planned for the motor car or for people?” He answered his own question when he wrote in his well received book “The Irish Town” “streets become highways. The very size and weight of the huge lorries rumbling through our streets cause structural problems as well as pollution from fumes, noise and vibration. In theory the only traffic that should be allowed into a residential street is that which may have business there”. Continuing his arguments against the demands of vehicular traffic he claimed that “it is not possible to meet the demands of modern traffic and retain any semblance of character and quality in our towns. Large transport lorries present a threat to the quality of life in towns. The increase in traffic and the tremendous problems caused by them may be a blessing in disguise. It should force local authorities to tackle traffic problems in a more comprehensive way. By far the most satisfactory way to resolve the problem is to provide a by pass”.
I have quoted Patrick Shaffrey at some length because his views on the vexed question facing the people of Athy in relation to the relief road issue are particularly relevant. Even more so when it is realised that the man who wrote some years ago “in the smaller towns the need for a by pass is equally pressing not so much from the economic but from the environmental point of view” is the same man now retained by Kildare County Council to make the inner relief road plans more palatable for the locals of Athy.
Patrick might not wish his brief from the County Council to be stated in those stark simplistic terms and would perhaps prefer to have it noted as the challenge of incorporating the inner relief road into the structures of the town while protecting the character of Athy. What was once referred to as the inner relief road is no longer termed as such. The most recent references to the traffic highway which if built would run parallel to Leinster Street and Duke Street terms this development as “a new street”. Certainly matters have moved on from the original 1975 proposal which would have had an inner relief road running through the centre of Athy with six foot high walls on either side. Now the great selling point for the inner relief road as perceived by the County Council officials who are pushing the project is the opportunity such a roadway will create for the opening of new businesses in the town. That was until last week however, when Patrick Shaffrey reported back to the County Council and the Urban Council on his perceptions of how the new roadway could be “knitted in” to the existing town fabric.
One of the most extraordinary bombshells which was dropped in the Council chamber by Patrick Shaffrey went off unnoticed by the protagonist of the new street theory. In presenting his ideas on the opportunities for development on the new street Shaffrey pointed out that the intention is to maintain the existing Leinster Street and Duke Street as the main shopping area. Businesses on the new street will not be allowed to compromise existing businesses in the town. This necessitates limiting development on the new street which I am told will be one kilometre long (if not longer) to what the officials termed “secondary retail development”. I asked what this meant and the only explanation given was that “shoe repair business” was what was in mind. Our last remaining shoemaker/shoe repairer had better look to his last if the town Council succeeds in its plan to turn the town into the shoe repair centre of Europe!
Emily Square from where a modern single span bridge would stretch across the river Barrow bringing traffic alongside the elegant St. Dominic’s Church would lose its car parking capacity under Mr. Shaffrey’s proposals. The Square would be pedestrianised and the road through the back Square linking the Barrow bridge and Offaly Street would be closed. In addition the proposed roadway/street will create particular difficulties for pedestrians coming to St. Dominic’s Church from Convent Lane with the severance of the Church from its natural approach route.
Of particular interest to cinema goers is the suggestion of Mr. Shaffrey that a new cinema be constructed on a site to the right of proposed roadway/street as one exists from St. Dominic’s Church car park. Of course a considerable portion of the car park will be lost to the new roadway adding further parking difficulties to those posed by the loss of the Emily Square parking. The new cinema would be sited on an East/West axis stretching across properties presently owned by two local business firms. How Griffin Hawes and Perrys Supermarket are to overcome the loss of their car parks and yards to facilitate the possible construction of the new cinema is something that even I did not have the temerity to ask Mr. Shaffrey.
Another highlight of the night’s proceedings was the suggestion that the inner relief road would travel by way of another new bridge over the Grand Canal straight across through Tegral’s premises exiting on the Kilkenny Road through the existing factory entrance. This plan was devised to get over the apparently insurmountable difficulties posed by having the inner relief road going up by the canal side and coming out the at the canal bridge. You may recall that Acer
McCarthy the traffic experts engaged by Kildare County Council a year and a half ago confirmed that such an approach would require the demolition of the canal side houses and a number of properties on William Street to give lorries sufficient room to turn at the canal bridge. The alternative now is to knock down part of Tegral’s factory and re-locate it elsewhere.
As I listened to Mr. Shaffrey and his team exposing for us the opportunities which could be created if the inner relief road or street as he now calls it went ahead I felt somewhat bemused and not a little concerned for the Athy Five who continue to support the inner relief road. How could they bring themselves to push the new road/street theory which now apparently hangs so perilously on an ill defined type of development described by the officials as “secondary retail”. Cobblers I hear you say!
Thursday, January 28, 1999
Gravestone inscriptions of St. Michael's (1)
History is everywhere around us and local history is to be found amongst the gravestones and slabs of the town cemeteries. For instance I have often wondered how the name Gray’s Lane came to be applied to the laneway which leads to Spring Lodge. The answer invariably pointed to a previous owner of the farm which lies at the end of the land but it was somewhat satisfying to find amongst the gravestones of St. Michael’s more information on Mr. Gray.
James Alexander of Spring Lodge died on 2nd October, 1871 aged 47 years leaving his widow Euphemia who as the widow of the late Robert Gray of Corrie, Edinburgh had married Alexander. Euphemia, having survived two husbands, herself died at Spring Lodge on 23rd January, 1878 at the young age of 38 years. Her daughter Augusta married R. Gray and both lived at Spring Lodge where Mrs. Gray died in 1905 and her husband in 1915 aged 76 years. Over 80 years later the laneway to Spring Lodge is known by some as Gray’s Lane while to others it is still called “The Gullet”.
Not too far away from Alexander’s grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery is that of John Alexander Hannon of Ardreigh House who according to his tombstone “entered higher service” on 3rd April, 1923, joining his sons Ian and Leslie who had died in the Great War. His wife Martha died on 22nd March, 1934. It would seem that even in the early 1920’s St. John’s Cemetery where the Hannons of previous generations were buried could not accommodate any more burials.
The Scottish Presbyterian settlers who arrived in South Kildare after the Great Famine must have included a young Robert Anderson who died at Castlemitchell on 5th February, 1884 aged 47 years. I wonder what was the story of his son David who died a year later in Winnipeg, America aged 27 years and whose death is commemorated on the Anderson gravestone in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
I was puzzled by the tombstone for the Carey family which shows that John died on 8th July, 1925 aged 75 years having an address at St. Dominic’s Park, Athy. As the present St. Dominic’s Park did not exist then I am wondering where the St. Dominic’s Park listed on the tombstone was located. Luke Carroll of Purcellstown erected a monument to his mother who died in 1825 and his 19 year old daughter who died in 1819. I have never previously come across a reference to Purcellstown in this area.
A poignant reminder of the short lives allowed to those who went before us is found on the Roberts’ gravestone where in it is recorded the passing of Jane Cobbe “who died in the bloom of her womanhood on 6th January, 1875 at 28 years”. Erected by her husband John Roberts it also recorded the death of “our dear little girl Lizzie who died on 23rd August, 1873 aged 4 years and Stanley who died an infant on 26th August, 1873.” John Roberts was himself to die in October 1880 aged 39 years.
A man whose name I have come across several times is recorded in stone in St. Michael’s Cemetery. Joseph Coleman Reynolds, Dental Surgeon of 21 Leinster Street died on 13th October, 1951 at the comparatively young age of 50 years, just a few years after his son Joseph Michael had died aged 21 years. I am sure there are many who remember the young man whose brother Ken was one of the Social Club Players of the 1950’s.
Ever true to the Gaelic language for which she did so much to encourage was Bridget Darby who died on 26th March, 1958. In one of the very few headstones on which Gaelic script is chiselled there appears her name with that of her mother and three married sisters, Mary Foley, Mary Masterson and Margaret McDonald. Bridget and her mother lived at Leinster Street and while head mistress of Churchtown National School and a Town Councillor she did much to encourage the development of Irish in Athy.
Dr. James Deegan died on 5th July, 1915 aged 55 years and was followed four years later by his wife Margaret. I wonder does anybody remember where Dr. Deegan lived and what of his daughter Teresa Josephine who died on 3rd January, 1972.
An interesting memorial can be found to Elizabeth Delaney who died in 1855. The interest arises from her husband Joseph’s position in life which he notes on her gravestone with undoubted pride as “an officer of Inland Revenue”.
A mother’s sad memorial to her son notes the death of Reverend Laurence Doyle CC, Athy on 1st August, 1902 at 34 years of age. Mrs. Doyle who lived at Annamoe, Co. Wicklow erected the memorial following her son’s tragic death. Strangely it rests alongside the grave of his namesake and fellow curate Rev. Mark Doyle who died on 16th January, 1900 at the age of 31 years. He had spent four years as a curate in Athy and his memory was commemorated by the people of Athy and neighbourhood. What a tragic coincidence that two curates in their early 30’s should die within two years of each other while serving in Athy Parish. Just a few steps away is the grave of another local priest, also called Doyle who died in 1892 aged 64 years. Fr. James Doyle had been Parish Priest of Athy for 13 years having spent the previous 17 years as a curate in the town.
Well liked in Athy was Dr. Edward Ferris to whom a memorial was erected “by his numerous admirers” following his death on 25th March, 1877 aged 65 years. Ferris was described as an able physician whose death caused the poor to lose “a King and a generous friend.”
Tom Flood, former Captain in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA 1917 and Commandant in the National Army 1922 died 8th October 1950 aged 50 years. At the time of his untimely death he was a town Councillor and publican in Leinster Street. Not too far from the old IRA grave lies Captain Robert Glynn Dedrickson, late Kingsown 3rd Hussars 9th Cavalry 1914-1915 who died on 30th June, 1945. His wife Frances died in 1973. Was he a native of this area or does anyone know of his involvement in World War 1?
I finish off this journey through St. Michael’s Cemetery at the grave of Myles Hickey of Emily Square who died on 15th April, 1894 aged 64 years. His wife Ann died aged 78 years on 23rd April, 1909. I wonder were Myles and Ann the parents of Tim Hickey, the butcher whom I remember carrying on business in Emily Square up to the early 1960’s.
James Alexander of Spring Lodge died on 2nd October, 1871 aged 47 years leaving his widow Euphemia who as the widow of the late Robert Gray of Corrie, Edinburgh had married Alexander. Euphemia, having survived two husbands, herself died at Spring Lodge on 23rd January, 1878 at the young age of 38 years. Her daughter Augusta married R. Gray and both lived at Spring Lodge where Mrs. Gray died in 1905 and her husband in 1915 aged 76 years. Over 80 years later the laneway to Spring Lodge is known by some as Gray’s Lane while to others it is still called “The Gullet”.
Not too far away from Alexander’s grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery is that of John Alexander Hannon of Ardreigh House who according to his tombstone “entered higher service” on 3rd April, 1923, joining his sons Ian and Leslie who had died in the Great War. His wife Martha died on 22nd March, 1934. It would seem that even in the early 1920’s St. John’s Cemetery where the Hannons of previous generations were buried could not accommodate any more burials.
The Scottish Presbyterian settlers who arrived in South Kildare after the Great Famine must have included a young Robert Anderson who died at Castlemitchell on 5th February, 1884 aged 47 years. I wonder what was the story of his son David who died a year later in Winnipeg, America aged 27 years and whose death is commemorated on the Anderson gravestone in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
I was puzzled by the tombstone for the Carey family which shows that John died on 8th July, 1925 aged 75 years having an address at St. Dominic’s Park, Athy. As the present St. Dominic’s Park did not exist then I am wondering where the St. Dominic’s Park listed on the tombstone was located. Luke Carroll of Purcellstown erected a monument to his mother who died in 1825 and his 19 year old daughter who died in 1819. I have never previously come across a reference to Purcellstown in this area.
A poignant reminder of the short lives allowed to those who went before us is found on the Roberts’ gravestone where in it is recorded the passing of Jane Cobbe “who died in the bloom of her womanhood on 6th January, 1875 at 28 years”. Erected by her husband John Roberts it also recorded the death of “our dear little girl Lizzie who died on 23rd August, 1873 aged 4 years and Stanley who died an infant on 26th August, 1873.” John Roberts was himself to die in October 1880 aged 39 years.
A man whose name I have come across several times is recorded in stone in St. Michael’s Cemetery. Joseph Coleman Reynolds, Dental Surgeon of 21 Leinster Street died on 13th October, 1951 at the comparatively young age of 50 years, just a few years after his son Joseph Michael had died aged 21 years. I am sure there are many who remember the young man whose brother Ken was one of the Social Club Players of the 1950’s.
Ever true to the Gaelic language for which she did so much to encourage was Bridget Darby who died on 26th March, 1958. In one of the very few headstones on which Gaelic script is chiselled there appears her name with that of her mother and three married sisters, Mary Foley, Mary Masterson and Margaret McDonald. Bridget and her mother lived at Leinster Street and while head mistress of Churchtown National School and a Town Councillor she did much to encourage the development of Irish in Athy.
Dr. James Deegan died on 5th July, 1915 aged 55 years and was followed four years later by his wife Margaret. I wonder does anybody remember where Dr. Deegan lived and what of his daughter Teresa Josephine who died on 3rd January, 1972.
An interesting memorial can be found to Elizabeth Delaney who died in 1855. The interest arises from her husband Joseph’s position in life which he notes on her gravestone with undoubted pride as “an officer of Inland Revenue”.
A mother’s sad memorial to her son notes the death of Reverend Laurence Doyle CC, Athy on 1st August, 1902 at 34 years of age. Mrs. Doyle who lived at Annamoe, Co. Wicklow erected the memorial following her son’s tragic death. Strangely it rests alongside the grave of his namesake and fellow curate Rev. Mark Doyle who died on 16th January, 1900 at the age of 31 years. He had spent four years as a curate in Athy and his memory was commemorated by the people of Athy and neighbourhood. What a tragic coincidence that two curates in their early 30’s should die within two years of each other while serving in Athy Parish. Just a few steps away is the grave of another local priest, also called Doyle who died in 1892 aged 64 years. Fr. James Doyle had been Parish Priest of Athy for 13 years having spent the previous 17 years as a curate in the town.
Well liked in Athy was Dr. Edward Ferris to whom a memorial was erected “by his numerous admirers” following his death on 25th March, 1877 aged 65 years. Ferris was described as an able physician whose death caused the poor to lose “a King and a generous friend.”
Tom Flood, former Captain in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA 1917 and Commandant in the National Army 1922 died 8th October 1950 aged 50 years. At the time of his untimely death he was a town Councillor and publican in Leinster Street. Not too far from the old IRA grave lies Captain Robert Glynn Dedrickson, late Kingsown 3rd Hussars 9th Cavalry 1914-1915 who died on 30th June, 1945. His wife Frances died in 1973. Was he a native of this area or does anyone know of his involvement in World War 1?
I finish off this journey through St. Michael’s Cemetery at the grave of Myles Hickey of Emily Square who died on 15th April, 1894 aged 64 years. His wife Ann died aged 78 years on 23rd April, 1909. I wonder were Myles and Ann the parents of Tim Hickey, the butcher whom I remember carrying on business in Emily Square up to the early 1960’s.
Thursday, January 21, 1999
Jack MacKenna and the Graney Ambush
We witnessed possibly the last old IRA funeral in the locality when we buried Jack MacKenna last weekend in Colestown Cemetery, Castledermot. Many times over the years the rural peace of South Kildare has been shattered by gun salutes accorded as a mark of respect to deceased members of the Defence Forces or deceased members of the old IRA. Throughout the 1950’s and later the gun salutes came courtesy of the old Enfield rifles which had seen service since the days of the first World War. But as I watched last week I saw that the guns raised and pointed to the sky were Steyr automatic rifles. The art of war has advanced and the weapons of destruction it spawned in it’s wake are sometimes raised as in Colestown Cemetery to honour the fighting men of a past generation.
I had interviewed Jack MacKenna a few years ago, ever mindful of his son’s warning that his father never let truth get in the way of a good story. The warning may well have been appropriate as Jack reminisced on unimportant tales and events culled from a busy life. However it was a different matter when he came to tell the story of the men and women who sacrificed their freedoms and sometimes their lives during the struggle for Irish independence.
Jack told me the story of those men and women as if he had a mission to rescue from obscurity those forgotten heroes who had once walked the streets of Athy and the villages of South Kildare. Time can be a great healer but can also be an avaricious shredder of reputations erasing from folk memory the people and events of times past.
When Jack revealed to me the hidden past of nearly 80 years ago he did so out of a sense of duty. It was important to him that future generations could understand and appreciate what made the young men of his day put their lives and livelihoods at risk. His own involvement in the National struggle was acknowledged by himself as of a peripheral nature. As a young boy in Athy he was a member of Fianna Eireann but in later years his contribution was recognised by the award of an old IRA medal and pension. In that regard he was luckier than another Athy man, now long dead, who was unable to achieve similar recognition although he had served over 12 months in Ballykinlar Prison Camp. Strange the ways of the then old IRA Pension Board and sad to think that someone who had done so much should have been denied what was his right.
The Volley’s fired last weekend over the coffined remains of Jack MacKenna echoed across a countryside which had once resonated to the sound of ambush fire during the Irish Civil War. The date was 24th October, 1922 and the fratricidal war which gripped the Irish countryside was to have three more young martyrs before the evening shadows had lengthened over the Graney countryside. On that occasion Irregular troops ambushed Free State troops as they returned in a crossley tender to Baltinglass following a planned trip to Athy. There were eight soldiers in the tender. In charge was Comdt. Kenny with Lieutenant Edward Nolan and the rest of the party consisted of five soldiers and a driver. They had originally left Baltinglass at about 12 noon to travel to Athy but ran out of petrol between Castledermot and the South Kildare market town. They abandoned their original trip and having refueled decided to return to Baltinglass. They spent upwards of 2½ hours on the roadway between Athy and Castledermot and their presence was undoubtedly noted by some members of the Anti Treaty Movement. When the Free State troops began their journey back to Baltinglass upwards of 20 Irregular troops were already in position in and around Graney Cross waiting to ambush the unsuspecting soldiers. When the crossley tender reached Castledermot it stopped at the Post Office where the eight men spent about five minutes. Close to 4 o’clock in the afternoon the motor lorry approached Graney Cross and as it took the bend a volley of shots rang out from a nearby cottage. The lorry crashed into the nearby ditch turning over on it’s side while the attackers pressed home their deadly advantage. It was all over in a few minutes and when the attackers left the scene taking with them the arms and ammunition of the Free State troops they left behind three dead and five seriously injured soldiers of the fledging Irish state. Those killed in the ambush were James Murphy of Baltinglass, Edward Byrne of Hacketstown and Patrick Allison of Carlow.
There is little doubt that the Irregulars who carried out the ambush were from the locality and that the ambush was planned after the Free State troops were first seen immobilised on the Athy/Castledermot road sometime between 12noon and 1.00pm. The ambushers had upwards of 2½ hours to put their men in place. Seventy-seven years later it is reasonable to assume that everyone involved on the day is now dead but equally certain is my belief that the full story of the Graney ambush remains to be told even if it can only be done from second hand sources.
At the outset I expressed belief that Jack MacKenna’s would be the last of the old IRA funerals in these parts. As a representative of an almost forgotten generation Jack got a great send off from his family, friends and neighbours. He had spent his working life on the railway in Athy and his involvement in public life saw him as a member of Kildare County Council and as a Councillor on Athy Urban District Council. He was of a generation which never shared in the economic boom which marks our own time. Their lot was best exemplified by the economic war of the 1930’s and the hungry ‘40’s and the ‘50’s.
As the mourners left the rain soaked graveyard of Colestown last week I glanced up the same road where 77 years earlier three young men had passed on their way to an unexpected and violent death. Those young soldiers and the old IRA man we had just buried were now united in death having shared in their own way in the development of the Irish Republic.
We owe it to the Jack MacKenna’s, the Patrick Allison’s, the James Murphy’s and the Edward Byrne’s of our past to ensure that their part in our history is never overlooked.
I had interviewed Jack MacKenna a few years ago, ever mindful of his son’s warning that his father never let truth get in the way of a good story. The warning may well have been appropriate as Jack reminisced on unimportant tales and events culled from a busy life. However it was a different matter when he came to tell the story of the men and women who sacrificed their freedoms and sometimes their lives during the struggle for Irish independence.
Jack told me the story of those men and women as if he had a mission to rescue from obscurity those forgotten heroes who had once walked the streets of Athy and the villages of South Kildare. Time can be a great healer but can also be an avaricious shredder of reputations erasing from folk memory the people and events of times past.
When Jack revealed to me the hidden past of nearly 80 years ago he did so out of a sense of duty. It was important to him that future generations could understand and appreciate what made the young men of his day put their lives and livelihoods at risk. His own involvement in the National struggle was acknowledged by himself as of a peripheral nature. As a young boy in Athy he was a member of Fianna Eireann but in later years his contribution was recognised by the award of an old IRA medal and pension. In that regard he was luckier than another Athy man, now long dead, who was unable to achieve similar recognition although he had served over 12 months in Ballykinlar Prison Camp. Strange the ways of the then old IRA Pension Board and sad to think that someone who had done so much should have been denied what was his right.
The Volley’s fired last weekend over the coffined remains of Jack MacKenna echoed across a countryside which had once resonated to the sound of ambush fire during the Irish Civil War. The date was 24th October, 1922 and the fratricidal war which gripped the Irish countryside was to have three more young martyrs before the evening shadows had lengthened over the Graney countryside. On that occasion Irregular troops ambushed Free State troops as they returned in a crossley tender to Baltinglass following a planned trip to Athy. There were eight soldiers in the tender. In charge was Comdt. Kenny with Lieutenant Edward Nolan and the rest of the party consisted of five soldiers and a driver. They had originally left Baltinglass at about 12 noon to travel to Athy but ran out of petrol between Castledermot and the South Kildare market town. They abandoned their original trip and having refueled decided to return to Baltinglass. They spent upwards of 2½ hours on the roadway between Athy and Castledermot and their presence was undoubtedly noted by some members of the Anti Treaty Movement. When the Free State troops began their journey back to Baltinglass upwards of 20 Irregular troops were already in position in and around Graney Cross waiting to ambush the unsuspecting soldiers. When the crossley tender reached Castledermot it stopped at the Post Office where the eight men spent about five minutes. Close to 4 o’clock in the afternoon the motor lorry approached Graney Cross and as it took the bend a volley of shots rang out from a nearby cottage. The lorry crashed into the nearby ditch turning over on it’s side while the attackers pressed home their deadly advantage. It was all over in a few minutes and when the attackers left the scene taking with them the arms and ammunition of the Free State troops they left behind three dead and five seriously injured soldiers of the fledging Irish state. Those killed in the ambush were James Murphy of Baltinglass, Edward Byrne of Hacketstown and Patrick Allison of Carlow.
There is little doubt that the Irregulars who carried out the ambush were from the locality and that the ambush was planned after the Free State troops were first seen immobilised on the Athy/Castledermot road sometime between 12noon and 1.00pm. The ambushers had upwards of 2½ hours to put their men in place. Seventy-seven years later it is reasonable to assume that everyone involved on the day is now dead but equally certain is my belief that the full story of the Graney ambush remains to be told even if it can only be done from second hand sources.
At the outset I expressed belief that Jack MacKenna’s would be the last of the old IRA funerals in these parts. As a representative of an almost forgotten generation Jack got a great send off from his family, friends and neighbours. He had spent his working life on the railway in Athy and his involvement in public life saw him as a member of Kildare County Council and as a Councillor on Athy Urban District Council. He was of a generation which never shared in the economic boom which marks our own time. Their lot was best exemplified by the economic war of the 1930’s and the hungry ‘40’s and the ‘50’s.
As the mourners left the rain soaked graveyard of Colestown last week I glanced up the same road where 77 years earlier three young men had passed on their way to an unexpected and violent death. Those young soldiers and the old IRA man we had just buried were now united in death having shared in their own way in the development of the Irish Republic.
We owe it to the Jack MacKenna’s, the Patrick Allison’s, the James Murphy’s and the Edward Byrne’s of our past to ensure that their part in our history is never overlooked.
Thursday, January 14, 1999
Athy in Maps
The Ordnance Survey which was to give the most complete and accurate mapping of Irish towns and countryside commenced in 1825. A map of Co. Kildare on a scale of 6 inches to 1 mile was published in 1837. While not sufficiently large scaled to allow comparison with the earlier manuscript town maps of Athy, the county maps which were revised in 1870 and 1908 were nevertheless a welcome addition to Athy cartography.
In 1839 the Ordnance Survey produced its first town map of Athy. The manuscript map on a scale of 20 inches to 1 mile was not published, a matter of much regret now that Ordnance Survey officials are unable to locate the original map.
The first printed town map of Athy was published by the Ordnance Survey in 1872 on a scale of 125 inches to 1 mile. This enlarged scale was never again to be used, but the detailed information it offers makes it an invaluable source document for any person interested in the town’s past. Revised town maps were published in 1908 and 1974 on a scale of 25 inches to 1 mile. Another cartographical source is the valuation Offices on whose behalf maps were prepared in connection with their valuation work in Athy.
In the absence of the 1839 Manuscript Town Map of Athy we can turn to the name books compiled by those engaged in the Ordnance Survey work to obtain valuable contemporary information regarding the streets and lanes of the town. The entries made by the field workers give the approximate location of the smaller laneways in addition to which comments on the general standard of housing in each street or lane is given. The following extract from the name books gives a good insight into the social conditions of Athy in 1837 :-
Ophaly Street Clean street occupied by merchants and small dealers.
Mount Hawkins Poor cabins, occupied by journeymen, shoemakers, labourers and paupers.
Convent Lane Only one or two cabins in this lane.
Chapel Hill Only a few houses occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Chapel Lane Occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Duncan’s Lane Off Ophaly Street opposite Butler’s Lane. Few cabins occupied by shoemakers.
Butler’s Lane Row of very poor cabins occupied by labourers.
Reeve’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its east end, few poor cabins.
Mathew’s Lane Few poor cabins.
Devoy’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its each end, few poor cabins.
Boher a boy Few poor cabins on east end of town.
Green Alley Few poor cabins.
Tea Lane Few poor cabins occupied by labourers and paupers.
St. John’s Lane Mostly poor houses occupied by mechanics and labourers.
When the 1872 Ordnance Survey Map of Athy was prepared many new laneways were added. Some of these have since disappeared including -
Barker’s Row - formerly Duncan’s Lane
Janeville Lane - off Barker’s Row
Carr’s Court - off Mount Hawkins
Kelly’s Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Merins Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Keating’s Lane - off Chapel Hill
Higginsons Lane - off Woodstock Street
Nelson Street - southern end of lane running parallel with Woodstock Street
Woodstock Lane - northern end of the same lane
Cooper’s Lane - off Turnpike Road as that part of the Castlecomer Road leading from Augustus Bridge was called.
Even as late as the 1908 Ordnance Survey Revision, further lanes were included on the town map. The following is a list of these lanes built after 1872 which are no longer in existence.
Connolly’s Lane - off Meeting Lane, 30 yards from Emily Square
Garden Lane - off Meeting Lane, opposite present Dispensary
New Row - off Mount Hawkins, about half way between Chapel Lane and Merin’s Lane which it replaced
New Gardens - off Nelson Street between Shrewleen Lane and Higginson’s Lane
James’s Lane - in the vicinity of Cooper’s Lane
Porter’s Row - off Mount Hawkins, nearest lane to, and parallel with Kirwan’s Lane.
The maps of Athy dating back to 1756 have faithfully recorded over the centuries the effects a rising population has had on the Anglo Norman town. The extensive ribbon development on the west side of the River Barrow and the more centralised development of East Athy which were a feature of the 18th century, gradually gave way to the uncontrolled and claustrophobic infill development of the 19th century. If laneways and small cabins were the extent of Athy’s development in that era, the 20th century gave hope for a better environment with the systematic eradication of the slums of Athy. Today’s map of Athy carries few reminders of the miserable slums of Victorian times. Addresses ending in Drive and Park which the latest Ordnance Survey Sheets show, tell a story of better days for Athy and its people.
Athy in Maps (2)
The Ordnance Survey which was to give the most complete and accurate mapping of Irish towns and countryside commenced in 1825. A map of Co. Kildare on a scale of 6 inches to 1 mile was published in 1837. While not sufficiently large scaled to allow comparison with the earlier manuscript town maps of Athy, the county maps which were revised in 1870 and 1908 were nevertheless a welcome addition to Athy cartography.
In 1839 the Ordnance Survey produced its first town map of Athy. The manuscript map on a scale of 20 inches to 1 mile was not published, a matter of much regret now that Ordnance Survey officials are unable to locate the original map.
The first printed town map of Athy was published by the Ordnance Survey in 1872 on a scale of 125 inches to 1 mile. This enlarged scale was never again to be used, but the detailed information it offers makes it an invaluable source document for any person interested in the town’s past. Revised town maps were published in 1908 and 1974 on a scale of 25 inches to 1 mile. Another cartographical source is the valuation Offices on whose behalf maps were prepared in connection with their valuation work in Athy.
In the absence of the 1839 Manuscript Town Map of Athy we can turn to the name books compiled by those engaged in the Ordnance Survey work to obtain valuable contemporary information regarding the streets and lanes of the town. The entries made by the field workers give the approximate location of the smaller laneways in addition to which comments on the general standard of housing in each street or lane is given. The following extract from the name books gives a good insight into the social conditions of Athy in 1837 :-
Ophaly Street Clean street occupied by merchants and small dealers.
Mount Hawkins Poor cabins, occupied by journeymen, shoemakers, labourers and paupers.
Convent Lane Only one or two cabins in this lane.
Chapel Hill Only a few houses occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Chapel Lane Occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Duncan’s Lane Off Ophaly Street opposite Butler’s Lane. Few cabins occupied by shoemakers.
Butler’s Lane Row of very poor cabins occupied by labourers.
Reeve’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its east end, few poor cabins.
Mathew’s Lane Few poor cabins.
Devoy’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its each end, few poor cabins.
Boher a boy Few poor cabins on east end of town.
Green Alley Few poor cabins.
Tea Lane Few poor cabins occupied by labourers and paupers.
St. John’s Lane Mostly poor houses occupied by mechanics and labourers.
When the 1872 Ordnance Survey Map of Athy was prepared many new laneways were added. Some of these have since disappeared including -
Barker’s Row - formerly Duncan’s Lane
Janeville Lane - off Barker’s Row
Carr’s Court - off Mount Hawkins
Kelly’s Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Merins Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Keating’s Lane - off Chapel Hill
Higginsons Lane - off Woodstock Street
Nelson Street - southern end of lane running parallel with Woodstock Street
Woodstock Lane - northern end of the same lane
Cooper’s Lane - off Turnpike Road as that part of the Castlecomer Road leading from Augustus Bridge was called.
Even as late as the 1908 Ordnance Survey Revision, further lanes were included on the town map. The following is a list of these lanes built after 1872 which are no longer in existence.
Connolly’s Lane - off Meeting Lane, 30 yards from Emily Square
Garden Lane - off Meeting Lane, opposite present Dispensary
New Row - off Mount Hawkins, about half way between Chapel Lane and Merin’s Lane which it replaced
New Gardens - off Nelson Street between Shrewleen Lane and Higginson’s Lane
James’s Lane - in the vicinity of Cooper’s Lane
Porter’s Row - off Mount Hawkins, nearest lane to, and parallel with Kirwan’s Lane.
The maps of Athy dating back to 1756 have faithfully recorded over the centuries the effects a rising population has had on the Anglo Norman town. The extensive ribbon development on the west side of the River Barrow and the more centralised development of East Athy which were a feature of the 18th century, gradually gave way to the uncontrolled and claustrophobic infill development of the 19th century. If laneways and small cabins were the extent of Athy’s development in that era, the 20th century gave hope for a better environment with the systematic eradication of the slums of Athy. Today’s map of Athy carries few reminders of the miserable slums of Victorian times. Addresses ending in Drive and Park which the latest Ordnance Survey Sheets show, tell a story of better days for Athy and its people.
In 1839 the Ordnance Survey produced its first town map of Athy. The manuscript map on a scale of 20 inches to 1 mile was not published, a matter of much regret now that Ordnance Survey officials are unable to locate the original map.
The first printed town map of Athy was published by the Ordnance Survey in 1872 on a scale of 125 inches to 1 mile. This enlarged scale was never again to be used, but the detailed information it offers makes it an invaluable source document for any person interested in the town’s past. Revised town maps were published in 1908 and 1974 on a scale of 25 inches to 1 mile. Another cartographical source is the valuation Offices on whose behalf maps were prepared in connection with their valuation work in Athy.
In the absence of the 1839 Manuscript Town Map of Athy we can turn to the name books compiled by those engaged in the Ordnance Survey work to obtain valuable contemporary information regarding the streets and lanes of the town. The entries made by the field workers give the approximate location of the smaller laneways in addition to which comments on the general standard of housing in each street or lane is given. The following extract from the name books gives a good insight into the social conditions of Athy in 1837 :-
Ophaly Street Clean street occupied by merchants and small dealers.
Mount Hawkins Poor cabins, occupied by journeymen, shoemakers, labourers and paupers.
Convent Lane Only one or two cabins in this lane.
Chapel Hill Only a few houses occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Chapel Lane Occupied by shoemakers and labourers.
Duncan’s Lane Off Ophaly Street opposite Butler’s Lane. Few cabins occupied by shoemakers.
Butler’s Lane Row of very poor cabins occupied by labourers.
Reeve’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its east end, few poor cabins.
Mathew’s Lane Few poor cabins.
Devoy’s Lane Off south side of Leinster Street and near its each end, few poor cabins.
Boher a boy Few poor cabins on east end of town.
Green Alley Few poor cabins.
Tea Lane Few poor cabins occupied by labourers and paupers.
St. John’s Lane Mostly poor houses occupied by mechanics and labourers.
When the 1872 Ordnance Survey Map of Athy was prepared many new laneways were added. Some of these have since disappeared including -
Barker’s Row - formerly Duncan’s Lane
Janeville Lane - off Barker’s Row
Carr’s Court - off Mount Hawkins
Kelly’s Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Merins Lane - off Mount Hawkins
Keating’s Lane - off Chapel Hill
Higginsons Lane - off Woodstock Street
Nelson Street - southern end of lane running parallel with Woodstock Street
Woodstock Lane - northern end of the same lane
Cooper’s Lane - off Turnpike Road as that part of the Castlecomer Road leading from Augustus Bridge was called.
Even as late as the 1908 Ordnance Survey Revision, further lanes were included on the town map. The following is a list of these lanes built after 1872 which are no longer in existence.
Connolly’s Lane - off Meeting Lane, 30 yards from Emily Square
Garden Lane - off Meeting Lane, opposite present Dispensary
New Row - off Mount Hawkins, about half way between Chapel Lane and Merin’s Lane which it replaced
New Gardens - off Nelson Street between Shrewleen Lane and Higginson’s Lane
James’s Lane - in the vicinity of Cooper’s Lane
Porter’s Row - off Mount Hawkins, nearest lane to, and parallel with Kirwan’s Lane.
The maps of Athy dating back to 1756 have faithfully recorded over the centuries the effects a rising population has had on the Anglo Norman town. The extensive ribbon development on the west side of the River Barrow and the more centralised development of East Athy which were a feature of the 18th century, gradually gave way to the uncontrolled and claustrophobic infill development of the 19th century. If laneways and small cabins were the extent of Athy’s development in that era, the 20th century gave hope for a better environment with the systematic eradication of the slums of Athy. Today’s map of Athy carries few reminders of the miserable slums of Victorian times. Addresses ending in Drive and Park which the latest Ordnance Survey Sheets show, tell a story of better days for Athy and its people.
Thursday, January 7, 1999
Athy in Maps (1)
Contrary to popular belief, which owes much to the mistaken claims of previous writers on Athy, our town was noted by PTOLEMY the Greek Astronomer. The reason for this is easily understandable when one appreciates the enormity of the task facing the second century astronomer in recognising a 12th Century settlement.
The earliest maps of Ireland tended to be crude in terms of accuracy and the data they supplied. Until the production by Gerard Mercator of his 1564 map of Ireland, Athy had not been previously represented on any map. In Mercator’s work, Athy is shown sited slightly east of the river Barrow, another local inclusion being BALIA DUM (Ballyadams). In subsequent maps of Ireland, Athy was to be included sometimes as Athigh or Athey, indicating more a lack of familiarity with Irish placenames than any change in the official name of the town.
It is in the 18th century estate maps prepared for the Duke of Leinster that one finds the first town map of Athy. John Rocque, a French artist, came to Ireland in 1754 and from his lodgings at the Golden Heart opposite Crane Lane, Dame Street, Dublin issued a prospectus for maps of Dublin. His talents found immediate recognition and he was commissioned to prepare maps of the Duke of Leinster’s extensive estates. Rocque surveyed Athy east of the river Barrow and produced his manuscript map in 1756. Prepared on a scale of 16 perches to one inch, it gives us the earliest known layout of part of Athy. The French cartographer followed it up with a survey and a map of Athy west of the River Barrow in 1768. Produced on a scale of 4 perches to one inch, the later manuscript map offered a more detailed view of that part of the town than was available with the 1756 map of East Athy. The National Library has Rocques’ Maps on microfilm while Trinity College, Dublin has the original manuscript maps of the 1756 Survey. The whereabouts of the original 1768 maps is not known.
The manuscript town maps prepared by Rocque indicate that the major road patterns of today were well established by the middle of the 18th Century. However some of the minor roads such as Church Road and the Stanhope Place/Mount Hawkins Road were not then laid down. Street names in 1756 and 1768 included St. John’s Street (Duke Street), Market Street (Emily Square), Prestons Gate (Offaly Street), High Street (Leinster Street) and Cotters Lane (Stanhope Street).
The east side of the town was better developed than the west side, where extensive ribbon development had taken place on the approach roads from Stradbally and Castlecomer. Across the river was found, with one single exception, all the public buildings usually associated with an urban settlement - the Town Hall which also served as Courthouse and Market House, the town gaol and the Church of Ireland and Catholic Churches. The only public building not located on the east side of Athy was the cavalry barracks erected in Barrack Street early in the 18th century.
It is likely that the river Barrow divided Athy into an Irish town and an English town which was a social division quite common in towns of the 18th century. John Rocque, is giving Beggars End as the name of the locality on the Castlecomer Road, gives us a clue as to the existence there of the low standard housing associated with the Irish of the time. This, coupled with the concentration of the public buildings on the east side of Athy, indicates a social division between the two parts of Athy which may have been formally or informally recognised in the descriptions - Irish town, English town.
The next map of Athy was prepared in 1827 for the Duke of Leinster by Clarges Greene of Dominick Street, Dublin. On a scale of 80 feet to one inch the manuscript map shows with great detail and clarity the entire town on a single sheet measuring 56” x 82.5”. Changes in local street names since Rocque’s Surveys of 1756 and 1768 noted in Greene’s manuscript map included :-
St. John’s Street to Duke Street
High Street and Bore Buoy to Leinster Street
Prestons Gate to Ophaly Street (present Offaly Street)
Cotters Lane to Kildare Street (present Stanhope Street).
Other changes reflected in the 1827 map included the removal of the Turnpike Gate and the Turnpike House at the junction of Green Alley and Duke Street with the subsequent realignment and widening of Duke Street from Green Alley to a point approximately opposite St. John’s Lane. Another road widening project, although not completed in 1827, was also noted by Greene. The realignment of the former Cotters Lane, now renamed Kildare Street, was to be completed before 1837, following which it was renamed Stanhope Street.
The major development in Athy since Rocques days was of course, the construction of the Grand Canal. Clearly intended in its approach to Athy to cause the least disruption to the town’s layout, the Canal skirted the town requiring the demolition of few houses, except where it traversed the Castlecomer Road. With the construction of the Canal and its numerous ancillary stores, the as yet unnamed Shrewleen and Nelson Street were laid down. Another laneway opened up since the Rocque period and noted on Greene’s map was the future Stanhope Place and Mount Hawkins. In 1827, the unnamed laneway connected Kildare Road with the lane (present Convent View) leading from Leinster Street to Moneen Commons. Names given in Greene’s manuscript map for previously unnamed thoroughfares included William Street, Meeting Lane and Chapel Lane (taking in the present lane of that name and Stanhope Place). The original 1827 manuscript map of Athy prepared with obvious care and skill by Clarges Green, was purchased in 1974 by the National Library.
The earliest maps of Ireland tended to be crude in terms of accuracy and the data they supplied. Until the production by Gerard Mercator of his 1564 map of Ireland, Athy had not been previously represented on any map. In Mercator’s work, Athy is shown sited slightly east of the river Barrow, another local inclusion being BALIA DUM (Ballyadams). In subsequent maps of Ireland, Athy was to be included sometimes as Athigh or Athey, indicating more a lack of familiarity with Irish placenames than any change in the official name of the town.
It is in the 18th century estate maps prepared for the Duke of Leinster that one finds the first town map of Athy. John Rocque, a French artist, came to Ireland in 1754 and from his lodgings at the Golden Heart opposite Crane Lane, Dame Street, Dublin issued a prospectus for maps of Dublin. His talents found immediate recognition and he was commissioned to prepare maps of the Duke of Leinster’s extensive estates. Rocque surveyed Athy east of the river Barrow and produced his manuscript map in 1756. Prepared on a scale of 16 perches to one inch, it gives us the earliest known layout of part of Athy. The French cartographer followed it up with a survey and a map of Athy west of the River Barrow in 1768. Produced on a scale of 4 perches to one inch, the later manuscript map offered a more detailed view of that part of the town than was available with the 1756 map of East Athy. The National Library has Rocques’ Maps on microfilm while Trinity College, Dublin has the original manuscript maps of the 1756 Survey. The whereabouts of the original 1768 maps is not known.
The manuscript town maps prepared by Rocque indicate that the major road patterns of today were well established by the middle of the 18th Century. However some of the minor roads such as Church Road and the Stanhope Place/Mount Hawkins Road were not then laid down. Street names in 1756 and 1768 included St. John’s Street (Duke Street), Market Street (Emily Square), Prestons Gate (Offaly Street), High Street (Leinster Street) and Cotters Lane (Stanhope Street).
The east side of the town was better developed than the west side, where extensive ribbon development had taken place on the approach roads from Stradbally and Castlecomer. Across the river was found, with one single exception, all the public buildings usually associated with an urban settlement - the Town Hall which also served as Courthouse and Market House, the town gaol and the Church of Ireland and Catholic Churches. The only public building not located on the east side of Athy was the cavalry barracks erected in Barrack Street early in the 18th century.
It is likely that the river Barrow divided Athy into an Irish town and an English town which was a social division quite common in towns of the 18th century. John Rocque, is giving Beggars End as the name of the locality on the Castlecomer Road, gives us a clue as to the existence there of the low standard housing associated with the Irish of the time. This, coupled with the concentration of the public buildings on the east side of Athy, indicates a social division between the two parts of Athy which may have been formally or informally recognised in the descriptions - Irish town, English town.
The next map of Athy was prepared in 1827 for the Duke of Leinster by Clarges Greene of Dominick Street, Dublin. On a scale of 80 feet to one inch the manuscript map shows with great detail and clarity the entire town on a single sheet measuring 56” x 82.5”. Changes in local street names since Rocque’s Surveys of 1756 and 1768 noted in Greene’s manuscript map included :-
St. John’s Street to Duke Street
High Street and Bore Buoy to Leinster Street
Prestons Gate to Ophaly Street (present Offaly Street)
Cotters Lane to Kildare Street (present Stanhope Street).
Other changes reflected in the 1827 map included the removal of the Turnpike Gate and the Turnpike House at the junction of Green Alley and Duke Street with the subsequent realignment and widening of Duke Street from Green Alley to a point approximately opposite St. John’s Lane. Another road widening project, although not completed in 1827, was also noted by Greene. The realignment of the former Cotters Lane, now renamed Kildare Street, was to be completed before 1837, following which it was renamed Stanhope Street.
The major development in Athy since Rocques days was of course, the construction of the Grand Canal. Clearly intended in its approach to Athy to cause the least disruption to the town’s layout, the Canal skirted the town requiring the demolition of few houses, except where it traversed the Castlecomer Road. With the construction of the Canal and its numerous ancillary stores, the as yet unnamed Shrewleen and Nelson Street were laid down. Another laneway opened up since the Rocque period and noted on Greene’s map was the future Stanhope Place and Mount Hawkins. In 1827, the unnamed laneway connected Kildare Road with the lane (present Convent View) leading from Leinster Street to Moneen Commons. Names given in Greene’s manuscript map for previously unnamed thoroughfares included William Street, Meeting Lane and Chapel Lane (taking in the present lane of that name and Stanhope Place). The original 1827 manuscript map of Athy prepared with obvious care and skill by Clarges Green, was purchased in 1974 by the National Library.
Thursday, December 24, 1998
Gravestone inscriptions of St. Michael's (1)
History is everywhere around us and local history is to be found amongst the gravestones and slabs of the town cemeteries. For instance I have often wondered how the name Gray’s Lane came to be applied to the laneway which leads to Spring Lodge. The answer invariably pointed to a previous owner of the farm which lies at the end of the land but it was somewhat satisfying to find amongst the gravestones of St. Michael’s more information on Mr. Gray.
James Alexander of Spring Lodge died on 2nd October, 1871 aged 47 years leaving his widow Euphemia who as the widow of the late Robert Gray of Corrie, Edinburgh had married Alexander. Euphemia, having survived two husbands, herself died at Spring Lodge on 23rd January, 1878 at the young age of 38 years. Her daughter Augusta married R. Gray and both lived at Spring Lodge where Mrs. Gray died in 1905 and her husband in 1915 aged 76 years. Over 80 years later the laneway to Spring Lodge is known by some as Gray’s Lane while to others it is still called “The Gullet”.
Not too far away from Alexander’s grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery is that of John Alexander Hannon of Ardreigh House who according to his tombstone “entered higher service” on 3rd April, 1923, joining his sons Ian and Leslie who had died in the Great War. His wife Martha died on 22nd March, 1934. It would seem that even in the early 1920’s St. John’s Cemetery where the Hannons of previous generations were buried could not accommodate any more burials.
The Scottish Presbyterian settlers who arrived in South Kildare after the Great Famine must have included a young Robert Anderson who died at Castlemitchell on 5th February, 1884 aged 47 years. I wonder what was the story of his son David who died a year later in Winnipeg, America aged 27 years and whose death is commemorated on the Anderson gravestone in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
I was puzzled by the tombstone for the Carey family which shows that John died on 8th July, 1925 aged 75 years having an address at St. Dominic’s Park, Athy. As the present St. Dominic’s Park did not exist then I am wondering where the St. Dominic’s Park listed on the tombstone was located. Luke Carroll of Purcellstown erected a monument to his mother who died in 1825 and his 19 year old daughter who died in 1819. I have never previously come across a reference to Purcellstown in this area.
A poignant reminder of the short lives allowed to those who went before us is found on the Roberts’ gravestone where in it is recorded the passing of Jane Cobbe “who died in the bloom of her womanhood on 6th January, 1875 at 28 years”. Erected by her husband John Roberts it also recorded the death of “our dear little girl Lizzie who died on 23rd August, 1873 aged 4 years and Stanley who died an infant on 26th August, 1873.” John Roberts was himself to die in October 1880 aged 39 years.
A man whose name I have come across several times is recorded in stone in St. Michael’s Cemetery. Joseph Coleman Reynolds, Dental Surgeon of 21 Leinster Street died on 13th October, 1951 at the comparatively young age of 50 years, just a few years after his son Joseph Michael had died aged 21 years. I am sure there are many who remember the young man whose brother Ken was one of the Social Club Players of the 1950’s.
Ever true to the Gaelic language for which she did so much to encourage was Bridget Darby who died on 26th March, 1958. In one of the very few headstones on which Gaelic script is chiselled there appears her name with that of her mother and three married sisters, Mary Foley, Mary Masterson and Margaret McDonald. Bridget and her mother lived at Leinster Street and while head mistress of Churchtown National School and a Town Councillor she did much to encourage the development of Irish in Athy.
Dr. James Deegan died on 5th July, 1915 aged 55 years and was followed four years later by his wife Margaret. I wonder does anybody remember where Dr. Deegan lived and what of his daughter Teresa Josephine who died on 3rd January, 1972.
An interesting memorial can be found to Elizabeth Delaney who died in 1855. The interest arises from her husband Joseph’s position in life which he notes on her gravestone with undoubted pride as “an officer of Inland Revenue”.
A mother’s sad memorial to her son notes the death of Reverend Laurence Doyle CC, Athy on 1st August, 1902 at 34 years of age. Mrs. Doyle who lived at Annamoe, Co. Wicklow erected the memorial following her son’s tragic death. Strangely it rests alongside the grave of his namesake and fellow curate Rev. Mark Doyle who died on 16th January, 1900 at the age of 31 years. He had spent four years as a curate in Athy and his memory was commemorated by the people of Athy and neighbourhood. What a tragic coincidence that two curates in their early 30’s should die within two years of each other while serving in Athy Parish. Just a few steps away is the grave of another local priest, also called Doyle who died in 1892 aged 64 years. Fr. James Doyle had been Parish Priest of Athy for 13 years having spent the previous 17 years as a curate in the town.
Well liked in Athy was Dr. Edward Ferris to whom a memorial was erected “by his numerous admirers” following his death on 25th March, 1877 aged 65 years. Ferris was described as an able physician whose death caused the poor to lose “a King and a generous friend.”
Tom Flood, former Captain in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA 1917 and Commandant in the National Army 1922 died 8th October 1950 aged 50 years. At the time of his untimely death he was a town Councillor and publican in Leinster Street. Not too far from the old IRA grave lies Captain Robert Glynn Dedrickson, late Kingsown 3rd Hussars 9th Cavalry 1914-1915 who died on 30th June, 1945. His wife Frances died in 1973. Was he a native of this area or does anyone know of his involvement in World War 1?
I finish off this journey through St. Michael’s Cemetery at the grave of Myles Hickey of Emily Square who died on 15th April, 1894 aged 64 years. His wife Ann died aged 78 years on 23rd April, 1909. I wonder were Myles and Ann the parents of Tim Hickey, the butcher whom I remember carrying on business in Emily Square up to the early 1960’s.
James Alexander of Spring Lodge died on 2nd October, 1871 aged 47 years leaving his widow Euphemia who as the widow of the late Robert Gray of Corrie, Edinburgh had married Alexander. Euphemia, having survived two husbands, herself died at Spring Lodge on 23rd January, 1878 at the young age of 38 years. Her daughter Augusta married R. Gray and both lived at Spring Lodge where Mrs. Gray died in 1905 and her husband in 1915 aged 76 years. Over 80 years later the laneway to Spring Lodge is known by some as Gray’s Lane while to others it is still called “The Gullet”.
Not too far away from Alexander’s grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery is that of John Alexander Hannon of Ardreigh House who according to his tombstone “entered higher service” on 3rd April, 1923, joining his sons Ian and Leslie who had died in the Great War. His wife Martha died on 22nd March, 1934. It would seem that even in the early 1920’s St. John’s Cemetery where the Hannons of previous generations were buried could not accommodate any more burials.
The Scottish Presbyterian settlers who arrived in South Kildare after the Great Famine must have included a young Robert Anderson who died at Castlemitchell on 5th February, 1884 aged 47 years. I wonder what was the story of his son David who died a year later in Winnipeg, America aged 27 years and whose death is commemorated on the Anderson gravestone in St. Michael’s Cemetery.
I was puzzled by the tombstone for the Carey family which shows that John died on 8th July, 1925 aged 75 years having an address at St. Dominic’s Park, Athy. As the present St. Dominic’s Park did not exist then I am wondering where the St. Dominic’s Park listed on the tombstone was located. Luke Carroll of Purcellstown erected a monument to his mother who died in 1825 and his 19 year old daughter who died in 1819. I have never previously come across a reference to Purcellstown in this area.
A poignant reminder of the short lives allowed to those who went before us is found on the Roberts’ gravestone where in it is recorded the passing of Jane Cobbe “who died in the bloom of her womanhood on 6th January, 1875 at 28 years”. Erected by her husband John Roberts it also recorded the death of “our dear little girl Lizzie who died on 23rd August, 1873 aged 4 years and Stanley who died an infant on 26th August, 1873.” John Roberts was himself to die in October 1880 aged 39 years.
A man whose name I have come across several times is recorded in stone in St. Michael’s Cemetery. Joseph Coleman Reynolds, Dental Surgeon of 21 Leinster Street died on 13th October, 1951 at the comparatively young age of 50 years, just a few years after his son Joseph Michael had died aged 21 years. I am sure there are many who remember the young man whose brother Ken was one of the Social Club Players of the 1950’s.
Ever true to the Gaelic language for which she did so much to encourage was Bridget Darby who died on 26th March, 1958. In one of the very few headstones on which Gaelic script is chiselled there appears her name with that of her mother and three married sisters, Mary Foley, Mary Masterson and Margaret McDonald. Bridget and her mother lived at Leinster Street and while head mistress of Churchtown National School and a Town Councillor she did much to encourage the development of Irish in Athy.
Dr. James Deegan died on 5th July, 1915 aged 55 years and was followed four years later by his wife Margaret. I wonder does anybody remember where Dr. Deegan lived and what of his daughter Teresa Josephine who died on 3rd January, 1972.
An interesting memorial can be found to Elizabeth Delaney who died in 1855. The interest arises from her husband Joseph’s position in life which he notes on her gravestone with undoubted pride as “an officer of Inland Revenue”.
A mother’s sad memorial to her son notes the death of Reverend Laurence Doyle CC, Athy on 1st August, 1902 at 34 years of age. Mrs. Doyle who lived at Annamoe, Co. Wicklow erected the memorial following her son’s tragic death. Strangely it rests alongside the grave of his namesake and fellow curate Rev. Mark Doyle who died on 16th January, 1900 at the age of 31 years. He had spent four years as a curate in Athy and his memory was commemorated by the people of Athy and neighbourhood. What a tragic coincidence that two curates in their early 30’s should die within two years of each other while serving in Athy Parish. Just a few steps away is the grave of another local priest, also called Doyle who died in 1892 aged 64 years. Fr. James Doyle had been Parish Priest of Athy for 13 years having spent the previous 17 years as a curate in the town.
Well liked in Athy was Dr. Edward Ferris to whom a memorial was erected “by his numerous admirers” following his death on 25th March, 1877 aged 65 years. Ferris was described as an able physician whose death caused the poor to lose “a King and a generous friend.”
Tom Flood, former Captain in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA 1917 and Commandant in the National Army 1922 died 8th October 1950 aged 50 years. At the time of his untimely death he was a town Councillor and publican in Leinster Street. Not too far from the old IRA grave lies Captain Robert Glynn Dedrickson, late Kingsown 3rd Hussars 9th Cavalry 1914-1915 who died on 30th June, 1945. His wife Frances died in 1973. Was he a native of this area or does anyone know of his involvement in World War 1?
I finish off this journey through St. Michael’s Cemetery at the grave of Myles Hickey of Emily Square who died on 15th April, 1894 aged 64 years. His wife Ann died aged 78 years on 23rd April, 1909. I wonder were Myles and Ann the parents of Tim Hickey, the butcher whom I remember carrying on business in Emily Square up to the early 1960’s.
Thursday, April 23, 1998
Inner Relief Road
Today I return to a subject which has exercised all of our minds over the past few years. The inner relief road saga is about to take another step on the way to oblivion or completion depending on the outcome of next Saturday’s meeting of Athy Urban District Council. The elected members of the Council all true and trusted warriors of local democracy have the responsibility every five years of adopting a town development plan for Athy. This time round, the Council’s deliberations take on a significance which it has never before enjoyed. The reason can be found in the exceptional growth of building development in and around Athy and the expectations raised by the prospect of urban renewal status for Athy. Even this would be sufficient to give the planned Council meeting an importance far beyond its normal worth. However, the inclusion on the agenda of the proposals for an inner relief road through the centre of Athy gives the entire proceedings an importance seldom before equalled.
By now I must assume that anyone with a morsal of interest in Athy and its future must be acquainted with Kildare County Council’s plans for the new roadway. The issue to be decided by Athy UDC is whether the planned inner relief road should proceed or whether Athy’s future is best served by a by pass or an outer relief road.
It was 23 years ago that the proposal for an inner relief road was first mooted. That was the time when there was little environmental consciousness in Ireland. Thankfully there have been changes in that regard since then and town communities are no longer prepared to have their towns mutilated in order to facilitate traffic movement. It is a well known fact that traffic will always increase to meet any extra roads that may be provided. It is for this reason that road planners in recent years have acknowledged the necessity of preserving urban areas as free as possible from vehicle traffic, and why by pass routes are being built with greater frequency throughout Ireland.
Advocates of the inner relief road claim that the free movement of traffic in Athy necessitates the building now of such a road with a by pass being required in another fifteen years. I can visualise the scene in twenty years time when Athy will begin to take on the appearance of Los Angeles suburb geared to accommodate the local people so long as they are travelling in cars.
By the time you read this the Heritage Centre, the latest addition to Athy’s facilities, will have opened its doors to the general public. Located in the ground floor of the Town Hall the centre is a visual feast of Athy’s past showing the town’s development since it was founded 800 years ago. That such a centre should be located in the middle of the town in a building flanked on all sides by such important urban spaces as Emily Square is a happy coincidence. The substantial Town Hall building forms an important back drop to the cobbled plaza while its rear environs provides a sense of spaciousness which is both pleasing and environmentally important in the context of a town centre.
The inner relief road, if built, would occupy the back square obliterating that fine urban space and replacing it with a spaghetti type junction serving approach roads on four sides. The tenacity with which the project is being pushed is surprising. Opposition to the County Council plans has been steam rolled into oblivion over the years and in more recent times consultants have been engaged presumably at enormous expense to get around the growing local opposition to the roadway plans. It is therefore of some satisfaction to find that the consultants having reported back to Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council have found themselves at odds with those who commissioned the report.
An interesting fact about the relief road plans for Athy is that nominally responsibility for same rests with Kildare County Council. However, the County Council will not proceed with the inner relief road plan if the majority of the people of Athy are opposed to it. This in some quarters has been taken to mean a majority of the elected members of the Athy Urban Council. The town Council comprises nine members all of whom are elected for five year terms by the townspeople. During that five years the elected representatives take many important decisions and generally do so having regard to the best interests of the town and its people. Politicians local or otherwise are smart enough to work within the parameters set by their supporters and understandably always strive to act in a way which would meet with general approval.
The decision on the inner relief road is the most important decision to be taken in the life of this or any other Council. The local people have amply demonstrated that they do not want the inner relief road which would destroy the amenities of the town and turn this most attractive of towns into a twin highway. Despite this the elected representatives or at least some of them would deny the townspeople the right to express their views on the issue and certainly would not permit them to participate in the decision as to how Athy town is to develop in the future.
It has been suggested in the past that the Urban District Council might take a vote of the local people to assess the strengths of those in favour of or opposed to the inner relief road. This proposal never got the necessary backing of the Urban Council and indeed attempts were made to copper fasten the inner relief road supporters case by a snap decision which would not allow further discussion on the merits of the issue.
The shifting sands of the Sahara are brought to mind when observing the moves and counter moves of those who promote the inner relief road project. Pedestrianisation, partial or otherwise, a new roadway, which might be a street or might not, are all part of the features of the Inner Relief Road which have been given to us in recent years. Even urban renewal status has been brought into the frame by officials who eager to stifle opposition to the plans hold out the possibility of such status not being granted unless the inner relief road goes ahead.
This is reminiscent of the claims made last year that funds were then immediately available if the people of Athy would only support the inner relief road. Those funds we were told would be lost to us if we did not row in and support the savage mutilation of our town centre. It was not of course described in such terms and now it is clear finance was not available at that time.
I have been questioned by many people over the weeks as to what local men and women can do. Is there any way of expressing their feelings on the issue I am asked and what affect, if any, will those views, once expressed, have on the local government officials and public representatives who are pushing the inner relief road project. My answer is simply to remind everyone that Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council are all part of the democratic process which is called local government. In other words its government by the local people and unlike national government it is the one area of activity where local people’s views and opinions must have a say. So do not be afraid to voice your opinion on the relief road proposals for Athy and do so on or before Saturday 23rd May when the local Councillors will meet in special session commencing at 10 a.m. to consider inter alia whether Athy’s future is as a motor way site or a heritage town.
If you wish to influence the Council decision on the 23rd May why not contact your local Councillor and let him know your views. It may be too late on the 24th May.
By now I must assume that anyone with a morsal of interest in Athy and its future must be acquainted with Kildare County Council’s plans for the new roadway. The issue to be decided by Athy UDC is whether the planned inner relief road should proceed or whether Athy’s future is best served by a by pass or an outer relief road.
It was 23 years ago that the proposal for an inner relief road was first mooted. That was the time when there was little environmental consciousness in Ireland. Thankfully there have been changes in that regard since then and town communities are no longer prepared to have their towns mutilated in order to facilitate traffic movement. It is a well known fact that traffic will always increase to meet any extra roads that may be provided. It is for this reason that road planners in recent years have acknowledged the necessity of preserving urban areas as free as possible from vehicle traffic, and why by pass routes are being built with greater frequency throughout Ireland.
Advocates of the inner relief road claim that the free movement of traffic in Athy necessitates the building now of such a road with a by pass being required in another fifteen years. I can visualise the scene in twenty years time when Athy will begin to take on the appearance of Los Angeles suburb geared to accommodate the local people so long as they are travelling in cars.
By the time you read this the Heritage Centre, the latest addition to Athy’s facilities, will have opened its doors to the general public. Located in the ground floor of the Town Hall the centre is a visual feast of Athy’s past showing the town’s development since it was founded 800 years ago. That such a centre should be located in the middle of the town in a building flanked on all sides by such important urban spaces as Emily Square is a happy coincidence. The substantial Town Hall building forms an important back drop to the cobbled plaza while its rear environs provides a sense of spaciousness which is both pleasing and environmentally important in the context of a town centre.
The inner relief road, if built, would occupy the back square obliterating that fine urban space and replacing it with a spaghetti type junction serving approach roads on four sides. The tenacity with which the project is being pushed is surprising. Opposition to the County Council plans has been steam rolled into oblivion over the years and in more recent times consultants have been engaged presumably at enormous expense to get around the growing local opposition to the roadway plans. It is therefore of some satisfaction to find that the consultants having reported back to Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council have found themselves at odds with those who commissioned the report.
An interesting fact about the relief road plans for Athy is that nominally responsibility for same rests with Kildare County Council. However, the County Council will not proceed with the inner relief road plan if the majority of the people of Athy are opposed to it. This in some quarters has been taken to mean a majority of the elected members of the Athy Urban Council. The town Council comprises nine members all of whom are elected for five year terms by the townspeople. During that five years the elected representatives take many important decisions and generally do so having regard to the best interests of the town and its people. Politicians local or otherwise are smart enough to work within the parameters set by their supporters and understandably always strive to act in a way which would meet with general approval.
The decision on the inner relief road is the most important decision to be taken in the life of this or any other Council. The local people have amply demonstrated that they do not want the inner relief road which would destroy the amenities of the town and turn this most attractive of towns into a twin highway. Despite this the elected representatives or at least some of them would deny the townspeople the right to express their views on the issue and certainly would not permit them to participate in the decision as to how Athy town is to develop in the future.
It has been suggested in the past that the Urban District Council might take a vote of the local people to assess the strengths of those in favour of or opposed to the inner relief road. This proposal never got the necessary backing of the Urban Council and indeed attempts were made to copper fasten the inner relief road supporters case by a snap decision which would not allow further discussion on the merits of the issue.
The shifting sands of the Sahara are brought to mind when observing the moves and counter moves of those who promote the inner relief road project. Pedestrianisation, partial or otherwise, a new roadway, which might be a street or might not, are all part of the features of the Inner Relief Road which have been given to us in recent years. Even urban renewal status has been brought into the frame by officials who eager to stifle opposition to the plans hold out the possibility of such status not being granted unless the inner relief road goes ahead.
This is reminiscent of the claims made last year that funds were then immediately available if the people of Athy would only support the inner relief road. Those funds we were told would be lost to us if we did not row in and support the savage mutilation of our town centre. It was not of course described in such terms and now it is clear finance was not available at that time.
I have been questioned by many people over the weeks as to what local men and women can do. Is there any way of expressing their feelings on the issue I am asked and what affect, if any, will those views, once expressed, have on the local government officials and public representatives who are pushing the inner relief road project. My answer is simply to remind everyone that Kildare County Council and Athy Urban District Council are all part of the democratic process which is called local government. In other words its government by the local people and unlike national government it is the one area of activity where local people’s views and opinions must have a say. So do not be afraid to voice your opinion on the relief road proposals for Athy and do so on or before Saturday 23rd May when the local Councillors will meet in special session commencing at 10 a.m. to consider inter alia whether Athy’s future is as a motor way site or a heritage town.
If you wish to influence the Council decision on the 23rd May why not contact your local Councillor and let him know your views. It may be too late on the 24th May.
Thursday, April 16, 1998
May Murphy No. 4 Offaly Street
May Murphy formerly May Kelly of Leinster Street died in Adelaide, Australia last week aged 87 years. She had left No. 4 Offaly Street about 8 years ago to stay with her daughter, Noeleen who had emigrated down under in the 1970’s. Offaly Street in my young days had no less than three Mrs. Murphy’s. Mrs. Joe Murphy who lived in No.3, Mrs. Paddy Murphy who lived across the road in No. 24 and Mrs. May Murphy who lived next door to our own house. Now they are all gone, May being the last to pass away many years after her husband John Joe had died.
I can still recall as a young fellow in Offaly Street together with Teddy and Leo Kelly, Tom Webster and Willie Moore attending my first wake. The deceased was May Murphy’s young husband, John Joe whom I cannot recall other than as a dead man laid out in the front room of No. 4 Offaly Street. We five youngsters self consciously and somewhat apprehensively walked through the front door of Mrs. Murphy’s house that day, knelt at the end of the bed, said some prayers for the dead and before leaving sprinkled holy water over the body. To be in the same room as a corpse even though it was a room crowded with sympathisers was to us youngsters a badge of courage. It was something we could talk about, even boast of, until later years of maturity cloaked us with the awkwardness and repressed silence of teenagers.
That’s my memory of John Joe Murphy. I can’t recall his funeral but I can still picture the scene as we young gurriers tiptoed into the waking room and looked upon the first dead person we had ever seen. John Joe was a former British Army Soldier who had enlisted at the start of World War 2 and had been involved in the retreat from Dunkirk. Indeed, I understand that his involvement in soldiering was very limited after that. I have often heard him described as a powerful footballer in his day as was his brother Joe. Both played for Athy Gaelic Football Club and featured in the 1934 Senior Championship winning side which Joe Murphy captained. John Joe who was a big man played at full back, a position which he also held when he won his first Championship Medal with Athy in 1933. He was still playing in that position in the 1936 team and his brother Joe was again the Captain. I gather that John Joe’s height and strength allied to a competitive streak discouraged many a forward from advancing too close to the goalpost he defended.
May and John had two daughters. Eva was my own age and I remember her for a particularly enjoyable birthday party in her house where as a very young fellow I took notice for the very first time of the fact that girls could be quite enjoyable company. There were several other boys and of course girls also at the party none of whom I can now recall. However, I can still remember the innocent enjoyment of a forfeit game for which the penalty involved the unlucky participant engage in a smooch with a member of the opposite sex. Imagine the embarrassment of that for a young fellow not yet old enough to know when he should be enjoying himself. Eva let me hasten to add was not the cause of my embarrassment. She later married Michael Toft of Kildare and sadly she died at a very young age while living in St. Patrick’s Avenue. Her daughter, Pauline who is now married was in Australia with her granny when Mrs. Murphy died.
May Murphy’s second daughter Noeleen married Denis Reidy, son of the late Garda Sergeant Reidy of Carlow before emigrating to Australia. It was with Noeleen and her family that May Murphy lived for the last eight years of her life.
Very recently I wrote of Mrs. Josephine Gibbons another woman who like May Murphy was widowed at a very young age and had to fend for her young family. Both were great friends over the years and both had to work very hard to give their children the opportunities they got in life. May Murphy worked in Duthie Large’s for as long as I can remember, remaining there until the business closed down. She also worked as a Cashier in the Grove Cinema until it closed its doors to the public.
May like her brother Alex Kelly was an exceptionally good musician. She played the Piano, one of the many instruments which Alex also played during his dance band days. When she left for Australia some years ago, I understand it was for an extended holiday but as time went by, she eventually decided to stay there with her only surviving daughter Noeleen. May was a lovely friendly woman who was always kind and never known to utter a harsh word.
Another who passed away last week and who was buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery on his 86th Birthday was Donegal born, Jim O’Doherty. An Army Officer who married Mona Purcell of William Street, he established an Auctioneering business on his retirement from the Defence Forces. A staunch follower of Gaelic Football, he represented his native County at Senior level and had the privilege of seeing his eldest son, Bryan play on the Kildare Senior Football team.
Athy born May Murphy now lying in Australian soil and Donegal born Jim O’Doherty were once part of Athy’s community life. Their passing will recall for many people times past and other days when the older generation of today shared a world of young dreams.
I can still recall as a young fellow in Offaly Street together with Teddy and Leo Kelly, Tom Webster and Willie Moore attending my first wake. The deceased was May Murphy’s young husband, John Joe whom I cannot recall other than as a dead man laid out in the front room of No. 4 Offaly Street. We five youngsters self consciously and somewhat apprehensively walked through the front door of Mrs. Murphy’s house that day, knelt at the end of the bed, said some prayers for the dead and before leaving sprinkled holy water over the body. To be in the same room as a corpse even though it was a room crowded with sympathisers was to us youngsters a badge of courage. It was something we could talk about, even boast of, until later years of maturity cloaked us with the awkwardness and repressed silence of teenagers.
That’s my memory of John Joe Murphy. I can’t recall his funeral but I can still picture the scene as we young gurriers tiptoed into the waking room and looked upon the first dead person we had ever seen. John Joe was a former British Army Soldier who had enlisted at the start of World War 2 and had been involved in the retreat from Dunkirk. Indeed, I understand that his involvement in soldiering was very limited after that. I have often heard him described as a powerful footballer in his day as was his brother Joe. Both played for Athy Gaelic Football Club and featured in the 1934 Senior Championship winning side which Joe Murphy captained. John Joe who was a big man played at full back, a position which he also held when he won his first Championship Medal with Athy in 1933. He was still playing in that position in the 1936 team and his brother Joe was again the Captain. I gather that John Joe’s height and strength allied to a competitive streak discouraged many a forward from advancing too close to the goalpost he defended.
May and John had two daughters. Eva was my own age and I remember her for a particularly enjoyable birthday party in her house where as a very young fellow I took notice for the very first time of the fact that girls could be quite enjoyable company. There were several other boys and of course girls also at the party none of whom I can now recall. However, I can still remember the innocent enjoyment of a forfeit game for which the penalty involved the unlucky participant engage in a smooch with a member of the opposite sex. Imagine the embarrassment of that for a young fellow not yet old enough to know when he should be enjoying himself. Eva let me hasten to add was not the cause of my embarrassment. She later married Michael Toft of Kildare and sadly she died at a very young age while living in St. Patrick’s Avenue. Her daughter, Pauline who is now married was in Australia with her granny when Mrs. Murphy died.
May Murphy’s second daughter Noeleen married Denis Reidy, son of the late Garda Sergeant Reidy of Carlow before emigrating to Australia. It was with Noeleen and her family that May Murphy lived for the last eight years of her life.
Very recently I wrote of Mrs. Josephine Gibbons another woman who like May Murphy was widowed at a very young age and had to fend for her young family. Both were great friends over the years and both had to work very hard to give their children the opportunities they got in life. May Murphy worked in Duthie Large’s for as long as I can remember, remaining there until the business closed down. She also worked as a Cashier in the Grove Cinema until it closed its doors to the public.
May like her brother Alex Kelly was an exceptionally good musician. She played the Piano, one of the many instruments which Alex also played during his dance band days. When she left for Australia some years ago, I understand it was for an extended holiday but as time went by, she eventually decided to stay there with her only surviving daughter Noeleen. May was a lovely friendly woman who was always kind and never known to utter a harsh word.
Another who passed away last week and who was buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery on his 86th Birthday was Donegal born, Jim O’Doherty. An Army Officer who married Mona Purcell of William Street, he established an Auctioneering business on his retirement from the Defence Forces. A staunch follower of Gaelic Football, he represented his native County at Senior level and had the privilege of seeing his eldest son, Bryan play on the Kildare Senior Football team.
Athy born May Murphy now lying in Australian soil and Donegal born Jim O’Doherty were once part of Athy’s community life. Their passing will recall for many people times past and other days when the older generation of today shared a world of young dreams.
Thursday, April 9, 1998
Adoption of Town Improvements Act for Athy
On the 17th November 1855 the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin Castle was memoralised by forty “inhabitants of the town of Athy occupying houses and tenements rated to relief of the poor, at the annual value of £8 and upwards” to have the provisions of the Town Improvements (Ireland) Act 1854 carried into operation within the town. The signatories headed by Martin Kavanagh, Chairman of the Town Commissioners suggested “that the boundaries of the said town for the purpose of the Act shall extend three quarters of a statute mile from White’s Castle which is in the centre of the town”.
On December 14th Dublin Castle suggested the adoption of the boundaries as delineated by Richard Griffith which the Town Commissioners declined to do on the grounds that “some public buildings would be outside the limits proposed”. Following a visit to Athy on 8th February 1856 by Mr. Griffiths Assistant James Montgomery the boundaries were redrawn and agreed. The stage was now set for the legal formalities to be complied with and on Monday March 10th 1850 a public meeting in the Courthouse adopted the boundaries and agreed a memorial to be forwarded to the Lord Lieutenant. Transmitted to Dublin Castle on March 20th the memorialists request that Athy be put under the 1854 Act was approved in principle by letter of April 30th. Mr. B.L. Lefroy and Thomas E. Fitzgerald Justices of the Peace for Athy were instructed by Dublin Castle to convene a meeting in the town for the purpose of formally adopting a resolution
“That the Act entitled “The Town Improvements (Ireland) Act 1854 be adopted by the ratepayers of Athy”.
Public notice of the meeting having been advertised in the Leinster Express of the 17th May 1856 the meeting was scheduled for Thursday 22nd of May at 7 o’clock in the Courthouse of Athy. With the passing of the required resolution and its certification to the Lord Lieutenant by Benjamin J. Lefroy and Thomas E. Fitzgerald the application of the 1854 Act to Athy was formally approved on 2 June 1856.
On 10th June 1856 the following 15 qualified ratepayers were unanimously elected the first Commissioners under the Town Improvements (Ireland) Act 1854.
Martin Kavanagh Farmer
Mark Cross Architect
Thomas Fegan Merchant
Henry Hannon Miller
Patrick Cummins Malster
Joseph Irving Apothecary
Michael Lawler Merchant
Robert Molloy Merchant
Patrick Byrne Merchant
Edmund E. Butler Farmer
James Leahy Merchant
Alexander Duncan Merchant
John McDonald Merchant
William O’Melia Auctioneer
Thomas Peppard Merchant
On 21st June 1856 the Leinster Express published a letter to the Editor from a disgruntled Athy ratepayer complaining that he was unaware of the meeting held a week previously by the Athy Ratepayers Association to elect 15 householders as Town Commissioners.
“I hope they will show by their future acts that they are worthy of the important trusts reposed on them - for what they had been doing as old Commissioners amounts to nothing.” The letter continued:
“The streets would require to be frequently cleansed. It is impossible to cross any of the main streets without being up to ankles in filth. The market ought to be better regulated at present. Bad fish and meat are frequently exhibited for sale and the confusion at weighing corn is so great that it is impossible for the weigh master to avoid making mistakes.”
The disgruntled ratepayer continued
“the furious driving of cars through the streets ought to be prevented the town. Athy and its inhabitants are in a most prosperous state due to the individual exertions of its individuals and not to anything done by the Commissioners as a body.”
The Commissioners held their first meeting on the 16th June 1856 and appointed Martin Kavanagh as Chairman and Henry Sheill as Town Clerk at the salary of £10 a year. John Roberts was appointed Inspector of Nuisances at a yearly salary of £12. John Hayden obtained the lucrative position of weighmaster and adjuster of weights and measures for which he was paid £35 a year. Patrick Byrne the public bellman received two guineas a year. While the weekly meetings of the Commissioners were held in the grand jury room of the Courthouse the Town Clerk’s office was located in Henry Sheill’s house in Leinster Street. Porters appointed to the public crane and weighbridge were William Langan, Pat Hyland, Michael Moore and James McDonald.
Public dissatisfaction with the town commissioners resulted in an attempt on the 15th October 1857 to contest five vacancies on the Commission caused by retirements under the agreed rota system. The five outgoing Commissioners were opposed by Luke O’Neal, Patrick Whelan, John B. Meredyth, John Diven, Pat Grace and James Lawler who however only received five votes each compared to the twenty votes cast to the outgoing Commissioners. A Poll demanded by Matt Minch was agreed to and fixed for October 22nd but was subsequently rescinded on technical grounds and the five outgoing commissioners were deemed re-elected. The decision was a cause of frustration for many unhappy ratepayers and was in time to result in concerted effort to break the existing town Commissioners monopoly of the elected positions in the town.
On December 14th Dublin Castle suggested the adoption of the boundaries as delineated by Richard Griffith which the Town Commissioners declined to do on the grounds that “some public buildings would be outside the limits proposed”. Following a visit to Athy on 8th February 1856 by Mr. Griffiths Assistant James Montgomery the boundaries were redrawn and agreed. The stage was now set for the legal formalities to be complied with and on Monday March 10th 1850 a public meeting in the Courthouse adopted the boundaries and agreed a memorial to be forwarded to the Lord Lieutenant. Transmitted to Dublin Castle on March 20th the memorialists request that Athy be put under the 1854 Act was approved in principle by letter of April 30th. Mr. B.L. Lefroy and Thomas E. Fitzgerald Justices of the Peace for Athy were instructed by Dublin Castle to convene a meeting in the town for the purpose of formally adopting a resolution
“That the Act entitled “The Town Improvements (Ireland) Act 1854 be adopted by the ratepayers of Athy”.
Public notice of the meeting having been advertised in the Leinster Express of the 17th May 1856 the meeting was scheduled for Thursday 22nd of May at 7 o’clock in the Courthouse of Athy. With the passing of the required resolution and its certification to the Lord Lieutenant by Benjamin J. Lefroy and Thomas E. Fitzgerald the application of the 1854 Act to Athy was formally approved on 2 June 1856.
On 10th June 1856 the following 15 qualified ratepayers were unanimously elected the first Commissioners under the Town Improvements (Ireland) Act 1854.
Martin Kavanagh Farmer
Mark Cross Architect
Thomas Fegan Merchant
Henry Hannon Miller
Patrick Cummins Malster
Joseph Irving Apothecary
Michael Lawler Merchant
Robert Molloy Merchant
Patrick Byrne Merchant
Edmund E. Butler Farmer
James Leahy Merchant
Alexander Duncan Merchant
John McDonald Merchant
William O’Melia Auctioneer
Thomas Peppard Merchant
On 21st June 1856 the Leinster Express published a letter to the Editor from a disgruntled Athy ratepayer complaining that he was unaware of the meeting held a week previously by the Athy Ratepayers Association to elect 15 householders as Town Commissioners.
“I hope they will show by their future acts that they are worthy of the important trusts reposed on them - for what they had been doing as old Commissioners amounts to nothing.” The letter continued:
“The streets would require to be frequently cleansed. It is impossible to cross any of the main streets without being up to ankles in filth. The market ought to be better regulated at present. Bad fish and meat are frequently exhibited for sale and the confusion at weighing corn is so great that it is impossible for the weigh master to avoid making mistakes.”
The disgruntled ratepayer continued
“the furious driving of cars through the streets ought to be prevented the town. Athy and its inhabitants are in a most prosperous state due to the individual exertions of its individuals and not to anything done by the Commissioners as a body.”
The Commissioners held their first meeting on the 16th June 1856 and appointed Martin Kavanagh as Chairman and Henry Sheill as Town Clerk at the salary of £10 a year. John Roberts was appointed Inspector of Nuisances at a yearly salary of £12. John Hayden obtained the lucrative position of weighmaster and adjuster of weights and measures for which he was paid £35 a year. Patrick Byrne the public bellman received two guineas a year. While the weekly meetings of the Commissioners were held in the grand jury room of the Courthouse the Town Clerk’s office was located in Henry Sheill’s house in Leinster Street. Porters appointed to the public crane and weighbridge were William Langan, Pat Hyland, Michael Moore and James McDonald.
Public dissatisfaction with the town commissioners resulted in an attempt on the 15th October 1857 to contest five vacancies on the Commission caused by retirements under the agreed rota system. The five outgoing Commissioners were opposed by Luke O’Neal, Patrick Whelan, John B. Meredyth, John Diven, Pat Grace and James Lawler who however only received five votes each compared to the twenty votes cast to the outgoing Commissioners. A Poll demanded by Matt Minch was agreed to and fixed for October 22nd but was subsequently rescinded on technical grounds and the five outgoing commissioners were deemed re-elected. The decision was a cause of frustration for many unhappy ratepayers and was in time to result in concerted effort to break the existing town Commissioners monopoly of the elected positions in the town.
Thursday, April 2, 1998
Athy's Heritage Centre
There are lots of interesting history related happenings in Athy this year. Just published with financial assistance from the South Kildare An Taisce is a booklet on the history of St. John’s Cemetery with an index of burial plots and inscriptions. The booklet was researched and compiled by participants in the Athy Alternative Project which was in turn funded by the Probation and Welfare Service of the Department of Justice. It’s very welcome addition to the growing list of material on Athy and its history and congratulations must go to everyone involved in the project.
As you read this article the finishing touches are being put to the fitting out of the Heritage Centre in the Town Hall. Orna Hanley, Architect and daughter of the former Dublin city Architect Daithi Hanley is responsible for design work in the centre and she has been recently supervising the installation of the display cabinets and audio visual equipment in what was formerly the old butter market of the town. The visual and oral presentation of Athy’s history through the centuries highlights a number of topics which will be of particular interest to visitors and locals alike. Ernest Shackleton famous Antartic explorer and native of Kilkea just outside Athy and not Kilkee, Co. Clare as so many newspapers have claimed, is featured in one of the special displays in the centre. The story of his expeditions across the frozen wastes of the Antartic is told in pictures and sound and features a number of personal items belonging to Shackleton. The centre of attraction will probably be the dog sledge used by the explorer on one of his Antartic expeditions. It was returned to Ireland some years ago from New Zealand where it had been stored for many years in a suburban garage. Jonathon Shackleton who now owns the sledge has very kindly loaned it to the Heritage Company for display in the centre. Athy will have the only exhibition of material relating to Ernest Shackleton in Ireland and it is expected that it will create a lot of interest.
Another first for the Heritage Centre is the important and extensive material devoted to World War I. This is of particular relevance in the context of our town’s story as so many men from Athy and district enlisted to fight in what is now commonly called The Great War. I have extracted the names of 188 men from the area who died during the 1914 - 1918 War and of those 105 men were from the town of Athy.
For so long it was deemed imprudent to recall the involvement of these men in a war in which they fought on the side of “the old enemy”. However, the Irish nation has grown in stature and maturity and the Irish people now realise it does no disservice to what one believes in to honour our dead no matter in what uniform they died. Republicans or not, all of us have a shared history in which some of our parents or grandparents or maybe some of our uncles or granduncles enlisted to fight and perhaps to die in the fields of France or Flanders over eighty years ago.
The untimely death of so many local men during the four year period had a devastating affect on post war life in Athy. Their names will now be recalled in the Heritage Centre’s exhibition relating to Athy and World War I.
Interestingly I see a letter in today’s Irish Times from Mark McLoughlin the Manager of the Centre in which he refers to the World Ward I material to be displayed in Athy. This I believe was in response to some earlier correspondence concerning the controversy surrounding a plan to have a War museum in Tipperary town. While our Heritage Centre will deal with all aspects of our town’s history, I am particularly gratified that at a time when the Northern peace process is gathering support from so many opposing sides that we have a sufficiently strong understanding of our past to be able to acknowledge the contribution of local men during the great War. By a happy coincidence the first public event in the Centre will be a book launch on Saturday 9th May at 4 p.m. when Schull Books of Co. Cork will launch their publication of the history of the Leinster Regiment in which many local men served during World War I.
Lest you think the Heritage Centre will be a war museum let me hasten to add that another of its many exciting exhibitions will deal with the Gordon Bennett race run over the Athy course in 1903. The visual display will include some actual film taken of the race and promises to be a particular interest to car racing fans.
The Heritage Centre has been in the planning for a number of years and it is quite exciting to think that on the 15th May those have given sponsorship for the Centre will be able to see it first hand how their money has been spent. The official opening of the Centre will take place on Thursday 25th June when the Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy T.D. will be the guest of honour. By a happy coincidence Charlie McCreevy as Minister for Social Welfare officially opened the Town Hall some years ago.
Athy’s rich and extensive history marked out the South Kildare town at an early stage as a likely contender for Heritage town status. When the town was so designated the euphoria which it created was understandable in the light of Athy’s past experience in always being the bridesmaid and never the bride. The granting of heritage town status and more importantly the co-operation needed to realise the dream of the Heritage Centre has laid to rest once and for all Athy’s run of bad luck which I feel commenced with the loss of the sugar factory to Carlow nearly 70 years ago.
We are now confidently awaiting the granting of urban renewal status for the town. Athy surely is now on the move.
As you read this article the finishing touches are being put to the fitting out of the Heritage Centre in the Town Hall. Orna Hanley, Architect and daughter of the former Dublin city Architect Daithi Hanley is responsible for design work in the centre and she has been recently supervising the installation of the display cabinets and audio visual equipment in what was formerly the old butter market of the town. The visual and oral presentation of Athy’s history through the centuries highlights a number of topics which will be of particular interest to visitors and locals alike. Ernest Shackleton famous Antartic explorer and native of Kilkea just outside Athy and not Kilkee, Co. Clare as so many newspapers have claimed, is featured in one of the special displays in the centre. The story of his expeditions across the frozen wastes of the Antartic is told in pictures and sound and features a number of personal items belonging to Shackleton. The centre of attraction will probably be the dog sledge used by the explorer on one of his Antartic expeditions. It was returned to Ireland some years ago from New Zealand where it had been stored for many years in a suburban garage. Jonathon Shackleton who now owns the sledge has very kindly loaned it to the Heritage Company for display in the centre. Athy will have the only exhibition of material relating to Ernest Shackleton in Ireland and it is expected that it will create a lot of interest.
Another first for the Heritage Centre is the important and extensive material devoted to World War I. This is of particular relevance in the context of our town’s story as so many men from Athy and district enlisted to fight in what is now commonly called The Great War. I have extracted the names of 188 men from the area who died during the 1914 - 1918 War and of those 105 men were from the town of Athy.
For so long it was deemed imprudent to recall the involvement of these men in a war in which they fought on the side of “the old enemy”. However, the Irish nation has grown in stature and maturity and the Irish people now realise it does no disservice to what one believes in to honour our dead no matter in what uniform they died. Republicans or not, all of us have a shared history in which some of our parents or grandparents or maybe some of our uncles or granduncles enlisted to fight and perhaps to die in the fields of France or Flanders over eighty years ago.
The untimely death of so many local men during the four year period had a devastating affect on post war life in Athy. Their names will now be recalled in the Heritage Centre’s exhibition relating to Athy and World War I.
Interestingly I see a letter in today’s Irish Times from Mark McLoughlin the Manager of the Centre in which he refers to the World Ward I material to be displayed in Athy. This I believe was in response to some earlier correspondence concerning the controversy surrounding a plan to have a War museum in Tipperary town. While our Heritage Centre will deal with all aspects of our town’s history, I am particularly gratified that at a time when the Northern peace process is gathering support from so many opposing sides that we have a sufficiently strong understanding of our past to be able to acknowledge the contribution of local men during the great War. By a happy coincidence the first public event in the Centre will be a book launch on Saturday 9th May at 4 p.m. when Schull Books of Co. Cork will launch their publication of the history of the Leinster Regiment in which many local men served during World War I.
Lest you think the Heritage Centre will be a war museum let me hasten to add that another of its many exciting exhibitions will deal with the Gordon Bennett race run over the Athy course in 1903. The visual display will include some actual film taken of the race and promises to be a particular interest to car racing fans.
The Heritage Centre has been in the planning for a number of years and it is quite exciting to think that on the 15th May those have given sponsorship for the Centre will be able to see it first hand how their money has been spent. The official opening of the Centre will take place on Thursday 25th June when the Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy T.D. will be the guest of honour. By a happy coincidence Charlie McCreevy as Minister for Social Welfare officially opened the Town Hall some years ago.
Athy’s rich and extensive history marked out the South Kildare town at an early stage as a likely contender for Heritage town status. When the town was so designated the euphoria which it created was understandable in the light of Athy’s past experience in always being the bridesmaid and never the bride. The granting of heritage town status and more importantly the co-operation needed to realise the dream of the Heritage Centre has laid to rest once and for all Athy’s run of bad luck which I feel commenced with the loss of the sugar factory to Carlow nearly 70 years ago.
We are now confidently awaiting the granting of urban renewal status for the town. Athy surely is now on the move.
Thursday, March 26, 1998
Mrs. Josephine Gibbons
Towards the middle of the last century Edward O’Connor operated a small dairy from the premises now occupied by Gerry Lynch at Stanhope Street. His only son Richard was a cattle dealer and a lifelong member of the C.Y.M.S. when it was located at the corner of Stanhope Place. Edward’s daughter Mary Ann born in 1880 was married at eighteen years of age to a young railway clerk, then employed by the G.S. and W.R. in Athy. John Horgan was a Cork man whose love of hurling led him to start a hurling team in the South Kildare town of Athy at a time when cricket was then the most popular field sport in the area. The young couple’s first two children, Edward and Thomas, died in infancy and in 1902 the first of eight children to survive was born. Mary, known to family members as Molly, was later to marry Jim Tierney of Woodstock Street and they eventually set up home in Emily Row. The next child Jack born in 1905 was destined to join his father on the railway and he served as the Station Master in Cahir, Co. Tipperary before retiring to England where he died.
John Horgan was promoted from railway clerk at the Athy Station to Station Master in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick and was later transferred to take charge of the Railway Station at Harristown, Co. Kildare in 1912. Six more children were born between 1906 and 1920, Hannah, Josephine, Lar, Richard, Catherine and William.
The Station Master’s house at Harristown was a big red brick house from where the Horgan children watched the trains passing each day on the Naas/Tullow railway line. The 8.30am passenger train to Dublin was followed by the 11.30am train to Tullow, with an afternoon train to Dublin and the last train at 7.30pm on the down line to Tullow. In between the scheduled passenger trains the goods train shunted up and down the tracks bringing freight for the local shopkeepers and cattle to the Dublin market. The large freight store at Harristown was generally full of goods awaiting collection by local shopkeepers and publicans.
Such were the memories of Josephine Horgan who attended the primary school in nearby Two-Mile-House and who later travelled each day by train to the convent secondary school in Naas. The idyllic times were shattered when Station Master John Horgan died suddenly when out hunting with his eldest son Jack in 1924. He was buried at Coughlanstown near Ballymore Eustace with his young son Richard who had died just two weeks previously. Within another two weeks a letter was received by the young widow now left with seven children requiring her to vacate the Station Master’s house within seven days. Fortunately she was able to return to her native town of Athy to live with her unmarried brother Richard who was still residing in the O’Connor family home in Stanhope Street.
So it was that Josephine Horgan who was born 90 years ago in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick came to the town where she was to spend all of her adult years. Josephine took up work as a seamstress and in 1937 with her mother and her younger brother William moved into 19 Emily Square which they rented from Mrs. Minchin who was then living in England. Within two years Josephine was married to local man and widower Frank Gibbons who had returned to his native town of Athy from Dublin with his young son Fintan. Frank was a staunch republican whose parents Frank Lawlor Gibbons and Josephine Gibbons [nee Proctor] of St. Martin’s Terrace were at different times reporters for the Leinster Leader Newspaper. Frank’s brother Paddy, a staunch member of the Gaelic League, was the local librarian in the late 1930’s. He married Bella Blanchfield of Leinster Street before emigrating to England in 1941 where he since died.
Josephine Gibbons remembers times past in Athy with nostalgia, recalling the silent films in the Offaly Street Cinema where Jean Duthie of Killart played the piano. The Motor Club Annual Dances held in the Town Hall which she attended with her good friends Alice Hughes and May Kelly are mentioned with particular pleasure, especially the Club Dance once held in Lefroys of Cardenton. She remembers the building of the houses in St. Patrick’s Avenue nearly 70 years ago and recalls when there were only two houses on the Kildare Road - Shamrock Lodge occupied by the Misses Baggots and a thatched farmhouse on the right hand side beyond Botharnooka Cross occupied by Miss Harrington who taught in the Vocational School in Stanhope Place.
Josephine’s younger brother Bill on marrying Ann Lawler lived at No. 1 St. Patrick’s Avenue after the death of it’s first tenant Mrs. Corcoran, a sister of Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill. Bill, like Josie’s husband Frank, worked in the Asbestos factory and both men sadly passed away many years ago. Bill was a leading member of Athy Golf Club at the time of his death, while Frank Gibbons, long retired from the Republican Movement, died in 1960 leaving a very young family.
Josephine continued to work from No. 19 Emily Square as a seamstress and also rented out her two front rooms to local Doctors to help keep herself financially independent. Dr. Cowhey opened his surgery there in 1954 and he was followed by Dr. Gleeson and later by Dr. Brian Maguire who held his surgery there for almost twenty years. Her children Raymond, Valerie and Lorraine have all done well and both of her daughters are married and living in Canada. Josephine tells me that she has travelled to Canada on no less than 41 occasions, the last time in 1997 when she was 89 years of age. She was a good friend of my late mother and I can still recall her visits to 5 Offaly Street where the two mothers, one from County Limerick, the other from County Mayo talked late into the night. In those days I never knew her as anything other than “Mrs. Gibbons” and having talked to her of her life and of her family I came away with admiration for her extraordinary recall and strength of character.
Life has not always been easy for the Station Master’s daughter since that day nearly 75 years ago when her father unexpectedly died. Her own happy married life was brought to a sudden unexpected end just like her own mother’s, at a time when her children were still of school going age. That she has managed to retain her wonderful zest for life is a tribute to her courage and indomitable spirit.
John Horgan was promoted from railway clerk at the Athy Station to Station Master in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick and was later transferred to take charge of the Railway Station at Harristown, Co. Kildare in 1912. Six more children were born between 1906 and 1920, Hannah, Josephine, Lar, Richard, Catherine and William.
The Station Master’s house at Harristown was a big red brick house from where the Horgan children watched the trains passing each day on the Naas/Tullow railway line. The 8.30am passenger train to Dublin was followed by the 11.30am train to Tullow, with an afternoon train to Dublin and the last train at 7.30pm on the down line to Tullow. In between the scheduled passenger trains the goods train shunted up and down the tracks bringing freight for the local shopkeepers and cattle to the Dublin market. The large freight store at Harristown was generally full of goods awaiting collection by local shopkeepers and publicans.
Such were the memories of Josephine Horgan who attended the primary school in nearby Two-Mile-House and who later travelled each day by train to the convent secondary school in Naas. The idyllic times were shattered when Station Master John Horgan died suddenly when out hunting with his eldest son Jack in 1924. He was buried at Coughlanstown near Ballymore Eustace with his young son Richard who had died just two weeks previously. Within another two weeks a letter was received by the young widow now left with seven children requiring her to vacate the Station Master’s house within seven days. Fortunately she was able to return to her native town of Athy to live with her unmarried brother Richard who was still residing in the O’Connor family home in Stanhope Street.
So it was that Josephine Horgan who was born 90 years ago in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick came to the town where she was to spend all of her adult years. Josephine took up work as a seamstress and in 1937 with her mother and her younger brother William moved into 19 Emily Square which they rented from Mrs. Minchin who was then living in England. Within two years Josephine was married to local man and widower Frank Gibbons who had returned to his native town of Athy from Dublin with his young son Fintan. Frank was a staunch republican whose parents Frank Lawlor Gibbons and Josephine Gibbons [nee Proctor] of St. Martin’s Terrace were at different times reporters for the Leinster Leader Newspaper. Frank’s brother Paddy, a staunch member of the Gaelic League, was the local librarian in the late 1930’s. He married Bella Blanchfield of Leinster Street before emigrating to England in 1941 where he since died.
Josephine Gibbons remembers times past in Athy with nostalgia, recalling the silent films in the Offaly Street Cinema where Jean Duthie of Killart played the piano. The Motor Club Annual Dances held in the Town Hall which she attended with her good friends Alice Hughes and May Kelly are mentioned with particular pleasure, especially the Club Dance once held in Lefroys of Cardenton. She remembers the building of the houses in St. Patrick’s Avenue nearly 70 years ago and recalls when there were only two houses on the Kildare Road - Shamrock Lodge occupied by the Misses Baggots and a thatched farmhouse on the right hand side beyond Botharnooka Cross occupied by Miss Harrington who taught in the Vocational School in Stanhope Place.
Josephine’s younger brother Bill on marrying Ann Lawler lived at No. 1 St. Patrick’s Avenue after the death of it’s first tenant Mrs. Corcoran, a sister of Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill. Bill, like Josie’s husband Frank, worked in the Asbestos factory and both men sadly passed away many years ago. Bill was a leading member of Athy Golf Club at the time of his death, while Frank Gibbons, long retired from the Republican Movement, died in 1960 leaving a very young family.
Josephine continued to work from No. 19 Emily Square as a seamstress and also rented out her two front rooms to local Doctors to help keep herself financially independent. Dr. Cowhey opened his surgery there in 1954 and he was followed by Dr. Gleeson and later by Dr. Brian Maguire who held his surgery there for almost twenty years. Her children Raymond, Valerie and Lorraine have all done well and both of her daughters are married and living in Canada. Josephine tells me that she has travelled to Canada on no less than 41 occasions, the last time in 1997 when she was 89 years of age. She was a good friend of my late mother and I can still recall her visits to 5 Offaly Street where the two mothers, one from County Limerick, the other from County Mayo talked late into the night. In those days I never knew her as anything other than “Mrs. Gibbons” and having talked to her of her life and of her family I came away with admiration for her extraordinary recall and strength of character.
Life has not always been easy for the Station Master’s daughter since that day nearly 75 years ago when her father unexpectedly died. Her own happy married life was brought to a sudden unexpected end just like her own mother’s, at a time when her children were still of school going age. That she has managed to retain her wonderful zest for life is a tribute to her courage and indomitable spirit.
Thursday, March 19, 1998
The Bleach and District Residents Association
During the 18th century the Bleach in Athy was an area which as it’s name implies played an important part in the then developing linen industry. Here was the town’s equivalent of the Bleach Yards where the retted flax was laid out to dry, creating conditions that would have been very unpleasant for the cottagers who lived in the area.
Over 150 years later Athy Urban District Council purchased a field in the area known as O’Rourke’s field and later accepted the tender of local firm D. & J. Carbery Ltd. to build on it 94 Council houses for the sum of £134,166. The newly built houses were allocated to tenants by the Urban Council in March 1950 at rents varying from 18/6 to 6 shillings per week. Local Councillor Tom Carbery proposed that the Estate be named St. Dominic’s Park. He got no support for his suggestion and it was the Council Chairman M.G. Nolan who first suggested that it be called after St. Brigid. At a Council meeting on 24th March, 1950 the members agreed that the new housing scheme would be called Pairc Bhride. It was suggested to me some time ago by a reader that the Estate was in fact named after former Councillor Bridget Darby, but in fact the minutes of the Urban District Council confirm that the patron saint of County Kildare was honoured in the naming of Athy’s newest housing estate.
Just a few short months afterwards on 30th September a newly elected Urban Council held it’s first meeting. It comprised M.G. Nolan, Tom Carbery, P.G. Dooley, Matt McHugh, Paddy O’Neill, J.C. Reynolds, Thomas Flood, Eddie Purcell and P.L. Doyle. Thomas Flood of Leinster Street, elected as Vice Chairman of the Urban District Council on 30th September died 9 days later. His son Francis was later co-opted to fill the vacancy on the Council.
The 1950’s were in many ways difficult times for the local people. The cinema in Offaly Street had been closed down for some time because of the local Council’s refusal to issue a Cinema Licence on the grounds that the facilities provided were substandard. At the same time another cinema proprietor McNally Cinemas Ltd. of Dublin were writing to the Council advising of their intention to build a new cinema on the bridge mill site at Duke Street “as soon as legal and other difficulties are overcome”. That cinema was never built and “Bob’s” cinema in Offaly St. was to regain it’s licence after rudimentary toilet facilities were provided in the passageway which ran the length of the cinema building.
Turf was sold in Athy at 4/3 per hundredweight at a time when Bord na Mona were supplying only one load of machine turf to the traders of Athy each week. This situation which had applied since before Christmas 1950 resulted in a scarcity of turf supplies in the town and a consequent increase in turf prices which prompted the local Urban District Council to protest. Concern was also felt at the closure of Bachelor’s Pea Grading Depot at Rathstewart. This was due to the lack of restrictions on the import of frozen peas, which reduced prices available for home grown peas.
The new tenants in Pairc Bhride were for the most part young married couples who like most other people in Athy were badly hit by the economic difficulties of life in Athy in the 1950’s. It was nearly 23 years after the housing estate had opened that the residents first came together to form a tenants association. The man who brought together his neighbours for that first meeting was the late “Dinny” Whelan who like his father before him was employed by the Railway Company in Athy. That meeting took place in the Leinster Arms Hotel in April 1973 and two weeks later a further meeting was held at which 36 local residents attended. They elected a Committee consisting of “Dinny” Whelan as Chairman, Eamon Gray as Secretary and Mrs. Trish Coogan as Treasurer. All of the Officers elected at that meeting have since passed away. Other Committee Members elected included Sean Loughman, Paddy Coogan, Paddy Kane and Sarah Davis. The following year the Association started a monthly draw with tickets at 10 shillings each and after 25 years the draw still continues with the tickets remaining at the decimal equivalent of the old ten shilling note.
Outings during the Summer and over Christmas at a time when very few people had their own cars were the highlight of the Association’s early years. Nowadays the Residents Association which embraces The Bleach, Pairc Bhride, Avondale and Plewman’s Terrace and goes under the name of The Bleach and District organises garden competitions, annual Christmas parties and other events. The “Dinny” Whelan Perpetual Trophy given to the owner of the best kept garden in the district commemorates the Association’s long serving Chairman and Founder “Dinny” Whelan. As the oldest Residents Association in Athy, if not in County Kildare, The Bleach and District will celebrate it’s 25th Anniversary with a dance in the former Dreamland Ballroom on Friday, 24th April commencing at 9.00pm. Music on the night will be provided by the Imperial Imps Showband of County Meath and tickets at £10.00 each are still available. The present Residents Association Committee members include Kieran Browne, John and Margaret Donnelly, Pauline O’Rourke, Maureen Scully, Sarah Davis, Paddy Kane, Eithne Moore, Ann Flynn, Sheila Rigney, Kevin and Maura Doran, Angela Heuston and Noel Scully. Noel has been Chairman of the Association for the past 5 years, while Angela has been Secretary for the same period. Long serving Treasurer and PRO are wife and husband team of Maura and Kevin Doran who have held their positions for the last 10 years.
Two of the original Committee Paddy Kane and Sarah Davis are still Committee Members and they will no doubt take pleasure from the letter sent to the Association by President McAleese in which she wrote “In communities throughout this island there have been remarkable successes by Parish and Community based initiatives just like yours which bring neighbours together in a shared goal to enhance their community facilities and to improve the quality of life in the area.”
The celebrations for The Bleach and District’s 25 years committment to better community relationships will include a recital by the No. 1 Army Band on the Green in Pairc Bhride at 3.30pm on Saturday, 25th April.
Apart from their record of longevity I wonder if The Bleach and District Association was the first Resident’s Association ever formed in Athy. Let me know if you can throw some light on the subject.
Over 150 years later Athy Urban District Council purchased a field in the area known as O’Rourke’s field and later accepted the tender of local firm D. & J. Carbery Ltd. to build on it 94 Council houses for the sum of £134,166. The newly built houses were allocated to tenants by the Urban Council in March 1950 at rents varying from 18/6 to 6 shillings per week. Local Councillor Tom Carbery proposed that the Estate be named St. Dominic’s Park. He got no support for his suggestion and it was the Council Chairman M.G. Nolan who first suggested that it be called after St. Brigid. At a Council meeting on 24th March, 1950 the members agreed that the new housing scheme would be called Pairc Bhride. It was suggested to me some time ago by a reader that the Estate was in fact named after former Councillor Bridget Darby, but in fact the minutes of the Urban District Council confirm that the patron saint of County Kildare was honoured in the naming of Athy’s newest housing estate.
Just a few short months afterwards on 30th September a newly elected Urban Council held it’s first meeting. It comprised M.G. Nolan, Tom Carbery, P.G. Dooley, Matt McHugh, Paddy O’Neill, J.C. Reynolds, Thomas Flood, Eddie Purcell and P.L. Doyle. Thomas Flood of Leinster Street, elected as Vice Chairman of the Urban District Council on 30th September died 9 days later. His son Francis was later co-opted to fill the vacancy on the Council.
The 1950’s were in many ways difficult times for the local people. The cinema in Offaly Street had been closed down for some time because of the local Council’s refusal to issue a Cinema Licence on the grounds that the facilities provided were substandard. At the same time another cinema proprietor McNally Cinemas Ltd. of Dublin were writing to the Council advising of their intention to build a new cinema on the bridge mill site at Duke Street “as soon as legal and other difficulties are overcome”. That cinema was never built and “Bob’s” cinema in Offaly St. was to regain it’s licence after rudimentary toilet facilities were provided in the passageway which ran the length of the cinema building.
Turf was sold in Athy at 4/3 per hundredweight at a time when Bord na Mona were supplying only one load of machine turf to the traders of Athy each week. This situation which had applied since before Christmas 1950 resulted in a scarcity of turf supplies in the town and a consequent increase in turf prices which prompted the local Urban District Council to protest. Concern was also felt at the closure of Bachelor’s Pea Grading Depot at Rathstewart. This was due to the lack of restrictions on the import of frozen peas, which reduced prices available for home grown peas.
The new tenants in Pairc Bhride were for the most part young married couples who like most other people in Athy were badly hit by the economic difficulties of life in Athy in the 1950’s. It was nearly 23 years after the housing estate had opened that the residents first came together to form a tenants association. The man who brought together his neighbours for that first meeting was the late “Dinny” Whelan who like his father before him was employed by the Railway Company in Athy. That meeting took place in the Leinster Arms Hotel in April 1973 and two weeks later a further meeting was held at which 36 local residents attended. They elected a Committee consisting of “Dinny” Whelan as Chairman, Eamon Gray as Secretary and Mrs. Trish Coogan as Treasurer. All of the Officers elected at that meeting have since passed away. Other Committee Members elected included Sean Loughman, Paddy Coogan, Paddy Kane and Sarah Davis. The following year the Association started a monthly draw with tickets at 10 shillings each and after 25 years the draw still continues with the tickets remaining at the decimal equivalent of the old ten shilling note.
Outings during the Summer and over Christmas at a time when very few people had their own cars were the highlight of the Association’s early years. Nowadays the Residents Association which embraces The Bleach, Pairc Bhride, Avondale and Plewman’s Terrace and goes under the name of The Bleach and District organises garden competitions, annual Christmas parties and other events. The “Dinny” Whelan Perpetual Trophy given to the owner of the best kept garden in the district commemorates the Association’s long serving Chairman and Founder “Dinny” Whelan. As the oldest Residents Association in Athy, if not in County Kildare, The Bleach and District will celebrate it’s 25th Anniversary with a dance in the former Dreamland Ballroom on Friday, 24th April commencing at 9.00pm. Music on the night will be provided by the Imperial Imps Showband of County Meath and tickets at £10.00 each are still available. The present Residents Association Committee members include Kieran Browne, John and Margaret Donnelly, Pauline O’Rourke, Maureen Scully, Sarah Davis, Paddy Kane, Eithne Moore, Ann Flynn, Sheila Rigney, Kevin and Maura Doran, Angela Heuston and Noel Scully. Noel has been Chairman of the Association for the past 5 years, while Angela has been Secretary for the same period. Long serving Treasurer and PRO are wife and husband team of Maura and Kevin Doran who have held their positions for the last 10 years.
Two of the original Committee Paddy Kane and Sarah Davis are still Committee Members and they will no doubt take pleasure from the letter sent to the Association by President McAleese in which she wrote “In communities throughout this island there have been remarkable successes by Parish and Community based initiatives just like yours which bring neighbours together in a shared goal to enhance their community facilities and to improve the quality of life in the area.”
The celebrations for The Bleach and District’s 25 years committment to better community relationships will include a recital by the No. 1 Army Band on the Green in Pairc Bhride at 3.30pm on Saturday, 25th April.
Apart from their record of longevity I wonder if The Bleach and District Association was the first Resident’s Association ever formed in Athy. Let me know if you can throw some light on the subject.
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