Wayne O'Neill and a funeral mass in the Parish Church of Clogh

The death of a young man, especially someone leaving behind a wife and a young son, is a sad event and a family tragedy.  Last week Wayne O’Neill, a young man from Clogh, Co. Kilkenny tragically lost his life in a road traffic accident on the Athy/Castlecomer Road near Crettyard. 

The Irish tradition of community wide involvement in funerals, unlike the custom in other countries, is a wonderful throwback to a time when family difficulties brought together neighbours and friends in a concerted effort to help the family in need.  The community in action brings with it comfort and solace in time of grief and nowhere was this better exemplified than in the funeral of the young Clogh native, Wayne O’Neill.

I journeyed down to the North Kilkenny village and for the first time visited the Church built a few years after the passing of Catholic Emancipation.  It stands proud at the end of a lengthy avenue; a simple country Church surrounded on several sides by the last resting place of parishioners of past generations.  A typically Irish scene developed as the congregation gathered favouring the back of the Church while a few seats on the Gospel side of the nave remained largely unused.  The parish choir presented what was for me a unique composition in that the vast majority of its members were male.  Usually parish choirs owe much of their musicality and talent to the presence of female singers but here in Clogh the reverse was true.  What was equally surprising was the advanced age of the choir members who despite this or perhaps because of their years, offered pleasantly harmonious renditions of various hymns during the funeral Mass.   Their singing was excellent and added enormously to the dignity of the occasion. 

I gather that the Parish of Clogh, which includes Moneenroe, was created a Parish separate from the Parish of Castlecomer around the time the Church of St. Patrick’s was built in Clogh.  The Parish now has two Churches as the local miners helped build another Church at Moneenroe, which was consecreted in 1930 as the Church of the Sacred Heart.  I believe it was in that latter Church that Bishop Collier preached against the miners and the Miners Union started by the great Nixie Boran, an old IRA man and convicted communist after he returned from a visit to Russia in 1930.  The union was officially launched in December 1930 in Moneenroe in the Parish of Clogh, which is in the heart of the Kilkenny mining district.  Not too far away is the site of the Coolbawn ambush where two IRA men John Hartley and Nicholas Mullins were killed on the 14^th of June 1921.

These were the historical connections that I made as I exited from the Parish Church in Clogh to follow the funeral cortege on its last journey to St. Michael’s Cemetery here in Athy.  I was thinking also of the many links between the Counties of Kilkenny and Kildare which were brought into sharp focus by the Clogh Parish Priest Fr. Tobin at the end of his Mass, as he described for us the funeral journey from the “Black and Amber County to the Lilywhite County.”  I could not but smile reflecting on my own life journey which commenced in nearby Castlecomer and came to rest in the County Kildare town of Athy where the young Kilkenny man, Wayne O’Neill, would soon lie in his young wife’s family grave.

The funeral prayers at the end of the burial ceremony concluded with the release of four balloons bearing the black and amber colours of Wayne’s beloved Kilkenny.  It was a telling gesture for and from a Kilkenny community which had witnessed the loss of one of it’s members and his relocation in death in the adjoining short grass county.

Our sympathy goes to the families of the late Wayne O’Neill and at this sad time we especially remember our work colleague Lisa Walsh and her young son Cian.

At 7.30 p.m. on Saturday the 4^th of February an important meeting will be held in the local GAA Clubhouse to announce plans for the future development of the playing facilities enjoyed by members of Athy Gaelic Football Club.  The Club officials have extended an invitation to past and present members to attend the meeting which non-members with an interest in Gaelic games are also very welcome to attend.

A brief history of the Sinn Fein foundation of 1905

Last week’s article in which I suggested a century commemoration of the founding of Athy’s Sinn Fein club evoked a number of responses.  A few readers were concerned lest my reference to the Sinn Fein group of 1917 might be seen in someway a support for the current Sinn Fein party. The links between the party of 1917 and today’s party are not at all clear and historians generally accept that the use of the same name does not necessarily indicate a direct link between the two groups. 

Sinn Fein was a political movement founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith to pursue the policy enunciated by Griffith “to make England take one hand from Ireland’s throat and the other hand out of Ireland’s pocket”.  It was a radical organisation formed in the aftermath of the Boer war and as a non-militaristic organisation sought to achieve economic and cultural independence from England.  In fact, Sinn Fein initially sought to become an equal party in a dual monarchy under the English crown. 

Arthur Griffith edited the party’s newspaper for eight years from 1906 and in April 1907 Sinn Fein absorbed the National Council which had been formed four years previously to protest against the proposed visit of the English King to Ireland.  The National Council had originally been formed in 1900 by Arthur Griffith as Cumann na nGaedheal to co-ordinate smaller societies opposed to England’s occupation of Ireland.  Another nationalist group which also merged with Sinn Fein was the Dungannon Club founded by Bulmer Hobson and Denis McCullagh in March 1905. 

The enlarged Sinn Fein party was not very successful in the early years and played second fiddle to the Irish Parliamentary Party.  It contested the North Leitrim parliamentary bye-election in February 1905 and suffered an overwhelming defeat at the hands of the Parliamentary Party.  It was the Easter Rising and its aftermath which propelled Sinn Fein to the forefront of Irish political life.  John Redmond had warned in the House of Commons that the execution of the leaders of the Rising would alienat many who had not supported the rebels.  Sinn Fein as an organisation had not taken part in the Rising but the British government wrongly apportioned responsibility to Sinn Fein.  This association with the 1916 Rising gave the Sinn Fein organisation the mass support it had not previously enjoyed.  Here in Athy in early 1917 a Sinn Fein club was formed and last week I gave the names of those local men who formed that first republican club. 

At the 10^th Sinn Fein convention held in Dublin in October 1917 Eamon de Valera was elected President after Griffith stood down in favour of the only surviving commandant of the 1916 Rising.  At that convention the original Sinn Fein members regarded as moderate nationalists were joined by radical nationalists who had participated in the 1916 Rising.  The convention voted to secure international recognition for an independent Irish Republic and the withdrawal of Irish members from the British parliament.

In March 1917 the British government considered imposing conscription on young Irish men as a quid pro quo for home rule.  It was opposed by the Catholic hierarchy and gave Sinn Fein a platform which saw the new emerging political group leading anti-conscription demonstrations throughout Ireland.

In May 1918 the British government ordered the arrest of Sinn Fein leaders on the grounds of an alleged German plot.  This added to the parties further popularity amongst Irish people.  In the general election of December 1918 Sinn Fein was able to seize political power from the Irish parliamentary party winning 73 seats while the other party could only retain 6 seats.

The elected Sinn Fein members formed the First Dail.  The subsequent War of Independence led to the Treaty and a split in Sinn Fein.  Those in favour of the Treaty then formed Cumann na nGaedheal while the anti treaty side retained the name Sinn Fein.  As an organisation Sinn Fein became dormant in 1922 but was subsequently revived only for a second split to occur in 1926 with the departure of de Valera and the setting up of Fianna Fail.  In the June 1927 general election Sinn Fein only secured five seats and lost them in another election in September.

As to the continuity of the link between Arthur Griffith’s Sinn Fein of 1917 and the party of the same name today there are arguments and counter-arguments on both sides.  In this centenary year of the founding of Athy’s Sinn Fein club the suggestion I made last week is that we commemorate those courageous local men who came together 100 years ago to help reshape the political life of Ireland and by doing so influenced the political thinking of their local community.  

Athy Sinn Fein Club 1917

With the passing of the old year and the ending of the 1916 centenary commemorations thoughts now turn in this decade of centenaries, to 1917.  It was a year which witnessed the first Sinn Fein bye-election victory with the election of Count Plunkett at the expense of the Home Rule candidate in the Roscommon north constituency.  His election was a harbinger of what was to follow in the Longford bye-election where another Sinn Fein candidate, Joseph McGuinness, by then a prisoner in Lewes jail was elected with the slogan, ‘Put him in to get him out’.  This was the start of the upsurge in popularity for Sinn Fein which in the general election of December 1918 led to the collapse of the Home Rule party.

Here in Athy the first indication of the existence of a group of Sinn Fein sympathisers in the town was the holding of a concert in the Town Hall on 18^th January 1917 to raise funds for the families of men arrested and imprisoned following the Easter Rising.  The following month ‘Athy Hibernian Players’ performed a play, ‘The O’Carolan’ in the same Town Hall at the end of which the actors and their supporters stood to attention to sing ‘A Nation Once Again’.

Two months later in June 1917 a local newspaper, named for the first time the Athy men who had come together to form a Sinn Fein club.  Their names are worthy of recording 100 years later and perhaps later in the year we will have an opportunity to commemorate their patriotism and courage in promoting the drive for Irish independence.  Their names are John Coleman, Joseph Murphy, J.B. Maher, Michael May, Joseph May, Joseph Walsh, W.G. Doyle, T. Corcoran, Robert Webster, J. Webster and C. Walsh.  Some of those named cannot be identified with any degree of certainty and I would welcome hearing from anyone who can help me to positively identify the men in question. 

Another interesting development in 1917, but one without any political overtones, was the arrival of tractors in the South Kildare area.  The Irish Times reported a tractor demonstration arranged by the local firm of Duthie Larges on the lands of C.W. Taylor at Forest.  ‘It was for all the world like watching the tanks go into action with the townies behind to observe the two Overtime farm tractors at work’ reported the newspaper.  Taylors apparently had owned a tractor for the previous three years and the experience had taught them that a tractor could plough 3½ acres in a day while a good man with a pair of horses could only plough half an acre in the same time.  The arrival of the tractor was timely as local farmers had difficulty in replacing farm labourers who continued to enlist in large numbers during the 1914/18 war. 

Another difficulty facing the general public in 1917 was the government restrictions imposed in March of that year on the output of beers and spirits.  Concerned at the effect drinking habits had on production in munition factories and shipyards the British Government sought to control drink consumption in a variety of ways.  Athy in 1917 with a population of 3535 had 40 public houses and between 40 and 50 men employed in the local malting industry.  As a result of the restrictions on the brewing of beer and the malting of barley, malting works in Stanhope Street, Offaly Street and Nelson Street had to close temporarily.  By May 1917 restrictions on the sale of liquor caused many of the local public houses to run out of supplies.

On Thursday 19^th July 1917 the local Sinn Fein Club organised a concert in the Town Hall, again for the families of the 1916 prisoners.  Arthur Griffith, President of Sinn Fein, who was making his first visit to Athy, addressed the Town Hall audience.  Before the end of 1917 Eamon de Valera made what was his first visit to the town.  He was accompanied by Arthur Griffith and both spoke from a platform in front of the Town Hall before a large audience which included members of Sinn Fein clubs from Athy, Bert, Milltown, Barrowhouse, Ballitore and Castledermot.  De Valera’s visit was marked with the presentation to him of addresses of welcome by Athy Urban District Council and the local Board of Guardians.  It was the same Board of Guardians which in May 1916 had condemned ‘the revolution in Dublin’.

Another important event which is worth commemorating in 2017 is the construction  of the White Castle on the bridge of Athy 600 years ago.  It was the Lord Luitent for Ireland Sir John Talbot who on behalf of King Henry V of England commissioned the erection of the fortified townhouse as part of the towns defences against the marauding O’Mores of Laois who attacked and burnt the town of Athy on several occasions.  Until recent times it was generally accepted that the White Castle was built in 1417 but recent research by archaeologist  Ben Murtagh raises unresolved questions as to the date of its erection.  What is clear however is that its proper name is not Whites Castle but the White Castle from the white appearance of the exterior lime rendered walls which were lime washed.  The White Castle located for strategic reasons on the bridge of Athy still holds sway as the most important building in the modern towns street scape.

Let us celebrate during 2017 the centenary of Athy’s Sinn Fein club and the six centuries of the White Castle of Athy.   

Michael Wall and Tom Flood

The Swiss philosopher Amiel wrote “ To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living”.  One man who excelled in the art of living was Michael Wall of Chanterlands who died on Christmas Eve, having reached 96 years of age.  He was born on the 9^th September 1920 in the second year of the Irish War of Independence.  A native of Ballywalter, near to the Mayo town of Ballinrobe, he once recounted to me how his baby cot concealed a revolver from a search party of Black and Tans who raided his parents home.  Michael was very proud of Mayo’s involvement in the War of Independence and of his father’s role in that struggle. 

It is probably a misleading word to apply to that conflict, implying as it does one army fighting against another.  The Independence struggle of the Irish Republicans which is deemed to have commenced with the killing of two Irish born R.I.C. men at Soloheadbeg, Co. Tipperary on the 21^st January 1919 is probably more accurately termed “Guerilla Warfare”. 

Michael’s attachment to his native County of Mayo never palled despite the fact that his family migrated to County Laois in 1929 following his parents purchase of a farm in the midland county.  Michael was the eldest of four sons and two daughters born to Patrick and Mary Wall. His father was at one time Clerk to the Sinn Fein Court which sat in Claremorris presided over by local solicitor Conor Maguire.  Conor Maguire would later become the Irish Chief Justice and by happy coincidence his son Bryan on becoming a dispensary doctor in County Kildare, came to live in the same neighbourhood of Athy as the Mayo born Michael Wall.

I was privileged to know Michael Wall since 1982 when I returned to live in Athy after an absence of 21 years.  Michael himself came to Athy in 1963 when he took up the position of Horticultural Instructor in nearby County Laois. He had attended Albert College in Dublin from where he had qualified as a Horticulturalist. He was one of the earliest members of Athy Lions Club and served for almost 40 years as an officer and a member of that charitable organisation.  A founder member of Athy Gymnastics Club, Michael was also involved with Jerry Carbery and Des Perry in setting up one of Athy’s earliest canoe clubs.

Apart from our common interest in Irish history, Michael and myself shared an interest in Irish politics. Our own politics were at opposite ends of the political scale. His being Fine Gael as against my support for Fianna Fail.  Michael often chided me failing to understand how “an intelligent man could be a member of Fianna Fail”.  It was a moot point, particularly when discussions settled on the deValera governments’ disgraceful treatment of Leitrim’s Jimmy Gralton and the deValera sleight of hand in transferring Irish Americans financial donations for the Irish Republican  cause to the since failed newspaper empire which continues to be controlled by a deValera. 

Michael, as I always told him, remained my favourite “blueshirt” given that on the two occasions I stood for election as a Fianna Fail candidate, he voted for the only times in his life, for a candidate whose political views he did not share.  In case anyone reading this takes offence to my use of the term “blueshirt”, note that Michael never did, as we both had a well grounded understanding of the history of Irish political parties.

Michael was blessed with 31 happy years of retirement which he devoted to his family and his beloved garden.  I benefitted on many occasions from his horticultural advice and his love of plants and I recall his friendship with admiration and deepest satisfaction. To his wife Moya and to his children I extend my deepest sympathy realising that his legacy remains in the wonderful children Moya and Michael raised to adulthood and of which both were justifiably proud.

The Christmas period just ended and also saw the passing of Tom Flood of Church Road whose father and uncles played a very prominent part in the struggle for Irish Independence.  Tom was earlier in the year predeceased by his older brother Danny who will be remembered as one of the Kildare footballing heroes of the 1950’s.  Their father, Tom Flood and his brothers, all natives of Dublin City were prominent members of the Dublin Brigade old I.R.A.   An uncle, Frank Flood, who was executed on the 14^th day of March 1921 was one of the “forgotten ten” whose bodies were removed from Mountjoy Jail on 14^th October 2001for burial in Glasnevin Cemetery.  Liam Callan of Ardreigh, like Michael Wall, died after a long life as did Ettie O’Brien of Fontstown and her sister Peggy Molloy of Booleigh. Also lost to us in recent days were Mary Gray of Ardreigh and Veronica Bradley of Foxhill.

Our sympathies go to all those who were bereaved over the Christmas period.

Photos of Athy Dominican Church

Another year is about to pass and with it mixed memories of times, sometimes enjoyable, sometimes sad, sometimes memorable, but for the most part quite ordinary.  One event out of the ordinary and one which brought an end to an ancient association stretching back centuries was the departure of the Dominican Order from Athy just before the year started.  Dominican priests had been celebrating mass in the town of Athy since 1257.  On Sunday, 22^nd November 2015 the Dominican church at the end of Convent Lane was the scene of the last mass to be celebrated by a member of the Dominican Order in the town of Athy.

The Dominican Church which opened on St. Patrick’s Day 1965 represented a significant development in Irish Church Architecture.  Now deconsecrated, it will in the coming year house the town library and as such will continue to contribute to the cultural heritage of the area. 

The first photograph shows the Dominican Church which was replaced in 1965 and the Dominican Priory which as Riversdale House , the private residence of the Mansergh Family, was purchased by the Dominicans in 1846 and adapted for us by the Dominican Order between 1846 and 1850. The second photograph is of  the interior of the Church which was replaced in 1965.

Athy Board of Guardians (3)

As the construction work on Athy Workhouse neared completion the Board of Guardians advertised for the supply of Whitehaven coal, oatmeal, best cup potatoes ‘free from clay or hazards’, buttermilk, straw, beef and mutton.  What I wonder was meant by the description ‘potatoes free from hazards’?  Three months before the Workhouse opened the clerk announced his intention to resign.  At a subsequent meeting Jeremiah Dunne was appointed clerk, defeating Mr. Goodwin for the position by one vote.  The suppliers to the Workhouse appointed in November 1843 included family names well known in the business life of Athy up to recent years.  Mr. Cross supplied Whitehaven coal at nineteen shillings a ton, Mr. Dillon beef at 3¾ pence a pound and Mr. Keating straw at one pound five shillings a ton.  In November the medical officer was instructed to fit up the Workhouse surgery and to procure the necessary appliances and drugs at a cost not to exceed £25.

In December 1843 work on the Workhouse was completed.  The Board approved payments to the following craftsmen and traders.  Samuel Sherlock, painter - three pounds.  Thomas Blanc, carpenter - twenty pounds (I assume his full name was Blanchfield).  Patrick O’Neill, basket maker - six pound two shillings.  James Doyle, shoemaker - fifteen pounds.  John Ryan, furniture maker - thirty pounds, with small amounts paid to Daniel Twomey, slater and Patrick English, smith worker.  It was decided to open the Workhouse ‘for the reception of paupers’ on 20^th December 1843, with posters advertising this fact to be got at the Leinster Express office.  At the same time the Rev. J. Lawler was authorised ‘to provide requisites for celebration of Roman Catholic worship at an expense not exceeding ten pounds.’  At its meeting of 19^th December the Board of Guardians postponed the planned opening of the Workhouse because the small amount of lodgements made by poor rate collectors left the Guardians without adequate funds. 

On 9^th January 1844 the Board agreed on the diet for the Workhouse inmates.  For adults of both sexes above 15 years of age breakfast would consist of 7 oz. of oatmeal made into stirabout and one pint of mixed milk.  Dinner would consist of 3½ lbs. of potatoes and one pint of buttermilk.

Young persons from 3 to 15 years of age were to be provided with a breakfast of 4 oz. of oatmeal made into stirabout and half a pint of sweet milk.  Dinner would consist of 2 lbs. of potatoes with half a pint of buttermilk. For supper they received a quarter of a pound of bread and a half pint of buttermilk.

Infants from 1 – 3 years of age received 4 ozs. of oatmeal made into stirabout at breakfast together with half a pound of bread and one pint of sweet milk.  Women nursing infants were to receive one pint of sweet milk every night in addition to their ordinary diet.  Infants having no mothers in the Workhouse were to receive half a pound of bread and one quarter of sweet milk until they were one year old. 

Adults were to have their breakfast at half past nine and dinner at four o’clock.  Children got their breakfast at 9 o’clock, dinner at 2 o’clock and supper at 7 o’clock.  The final decision of the Board of Guardians before the Workhouse was opened that day was to appoint Thomas Prendergast as contractor to build the boundary wall and gate piers in front of the Workhouse. 

On the first day of admission five men, four women, ten boys, five girls and one infant were formally categorised as paupers on their admission to the newly opened Workhouse.  A week later a further six men, fifteen women, thirteen boys, five girls and two infants were admitted to the Workhouse.

Just six years previously a letter in the Athy Literary Magazine of March 1838 referred to Athy as ‘completely neglected’.  The unidentified letter writer notes how ‘during the late and present inclement weather ….. sickness and starvation visited alike the able bodied and the aged poor’ of the South Kildare town.  No surprise therefore to find that within ten months of its opening the Workhouse was home to 297 paupers.  The failure of the potato crop first noticed in the Athy area in October 1845 was to lead to widespread hardship in the local area.  The construction of the railway line from Dublin to Carlow provided much needed employment for local men ‘who had never (previously) handled a pike or a shovel, never wheeled a barrow and never made a nearer approach to work than to turn over a potato field with a clumsy hoe’.  That work ceased when the Dublin Carlow railway line opened on 4^th August 1846 and many local families had no option but to enter the Workhouse.  At one time towards the end of the famine period the Athy Workhouse system was home to 1528 starving family members, who were accommodated in the original Workhouse and two auxiliary Workhouses in the town. 

The Great Famine witnessed the death of 1205 inmates of Athy’s Workhouse.  They lie buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery where in recent years on National Famine Commemoration Day, services are held to honour the memory of those unfortunate men, women and children, all of whom were neighbours in Athy town and the wider Poor Law Union Area of Athy.

Athy Board of Guardians (2)

The story of Athy’s Workhouse is revealed in the minutiae of administrative details written into the minute books of the Board of Guardians, which I had the opportunity of studying before their recent transfer to the County Library in Newbridge.  In the months preceding the opening of the Workhouse the Board of Guardians were engaged in making arrangements for furnishing the building and entering into contracts for the supply of provisions.  The clerk was directed to advertise ‘for the different articles of clothing used by Gorey Workhouse paupers’ patterns for which had earlier been received and examined by the Athy Guardians.  The members of the Board, while dissatisfied with the quality of the clothing, were nevertheless impressed with the clothing design or what the minute books describes as the ‘kind of clothing’.

Tenders for bed clothing for the Workhouse comprising blankets, sheets, coverlets, bolsters and bed ticks were approved by the Board and contracts awarded to Miss Kenny Scott, Mr. Potter and a Mr. Patrick Cosgrove.  Kenny Scott was also the successful tender for 75 frieze jackets for men in three sizes at an average cost of 9 shillings and 11 pence each.  Local shopkeeper, Mr. Duncan, successfully contracted for the supply of 50 suits in three sizes for boys at an average cost of 3 shillings and 6 pence.  Shirts, petticoats, bed gowns, frocks, men’s caps and men’s and women’s shoes were just a few of the assortment of wearing apparel purchased by the Board of Guardians.   For local shopkeepers, the opening of the Workhouse in Athy must have provided business opportunities never before experienced. 

The list of utensils acquired for the Workhouse makes interesting reading.  Heading that list were 100 chamber utensils for which the Board of Guardians paid 3 shillings and 6 pence per dozen.  12 lamps and burners, 4 one quart ladles for stirabout, with two larger ladles with one pint capacity were also required.  A stirabout scraper was purchased for 5 shillings and for 2½ pence each 100 quart tins were purchased with a similar number of pint tins for which 2¼  pence each was paid.  Indicative of the work which the male inmates were expected to face was the purchase of 24 stone hammers. 

At its meeting on 2^nd May 1843 in anticipation of what the minute book noted as a ‘collision between the ratepayers and the collectors’ it was resolved that the landlords should be made primarily responsible for the Workhouse rates, while giving them power to recover from the occupiers, their proportion of the rates, as was the case with the rent charge.  Later in the month of May the Board directed the newly appointed master and porter to take up residence in the Workhouse, although the workhouse mistress was not yet required to do so.

On 4^th June the Board of Guardians accepted tenders for furniture for their boardroom.  John Ryan of Carlow supplied the boardroom table with 36 chairs, one armchair ‘with brackets’ and a metal fender and fire irons.  At the same time furniture was required for the clerk’s room, the master’s apartment, the porter’s room and the hall.  The earlier mentioned John Ryan was also commissioned to build an altar for the Workhouse.  Interestingly the clerk and the porter got deal furniture for their rooms, while the master of the Workhouse got American birch chairs for his apartment, as well as a mahogany table and other pieces of furniture. 

On 12^th September Miss Goold’s tender to supply ‘sweet milk at the rate of 7 pence per gallon’ was accepted.  Miss Goold later emerged as one of the principal organisers of the movement to bring the Sisters of Mercy to Athy.  The Mercy Sisters came to the town 8 years after her opening of the local Workhouse.  She was also a generous benefactor to the Parish of St. Michaels, leaving some property to the parish on her death.

The eight ex officio members of the Board of Guardians were elected annually by local magistrates.  On 29^th September 1843 with Captain Lefroy in the chair, local magistrates Lord Downes, Sir Anthony Weldon and W.D. Frazier elected the ex officio Poor Law Guardians.  Not surprisingly those elected included the aforementioned gentlemen in addition to John Butler, Edward Bagot, B.A. Yates and E.H. Cole.  The remaining 24 guardians were elected each year by the ratepayers of the union area.

The appointment of a rate collector for the various districts in the Poor Law Union of Athy occupied almost every meeting of the Board of Guardians.  Reasons were seldom given for the frequent changes in the rate collectors, although it might well have been prompted by the reluctance of the rate payers to pay for the operation of the Workhouse which in 1843 was still in the course of construction.  The contract price for the building of the Workhouse was exceeded during the year, resulting in the assistant Poor Law Commissioner laying before the Board the accounts of the building contractor which indicated that a further £150 was required to defray extra costs incurred and an additional £150 to build boundary fences around the Workhouse.  ……………….TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK………………..

The early history of Athy's Workhouse (2)

The first meeting of the Board of Guardians of the Athy Union was held in the Courthouse, Athy on Thursday, 29^th April 1841 (the Court room at that time was located in the Town Hall).  Present at that meeting were Lord Downes of Bert House, Sir E.H. Walsh of Ballykilcavan, Sir Anthony Weldon of Rahinderry, W.H. Cole of Moore Abbey, Monasterevin, Benjamin Lefroy of Cardenton and Edward Bagot of Kildoon.  They were ex officio members of the Board, as was B.A. Yates of Moone Abbey and George Evans of Farmhill who were not present at that meeting. 

Those attending also included the following guardians who had been elected to the position.  Patrick Cummins, Athy; Gerald Dunne, Snugboro; P.C. Doran, Castlemitchell; John Butler, Athy; Thomas Fitzgerald, Kilberry; Robert Cassidy, Monasterevin; Edward Conlan, Monasterevin; John Hyland, Ballitore; Patrick Maher, Kilrush; William Pelan, Ballindrum; James Caulfield, Pilsworth, Castledermot; Joseph Lyons, Moyanna, Stradbally; Thomas Budd, Timogue, Stradbally; Michael Dowling, Inch, Stradbally; Francis Roberts, Stradbally; Thomas Kilbride, Luggacurran; John Hovenden, Modubeagh and John Kehoe of Ballylinan.  Elected guardians who were absent included Daniel Browne, Ashgrove, Monasterevin; John Dowling, Kildangan; Andrew Dunne, Dollardstown; William Caulfield, Levitstown; Major E.H. Pope, Carlow and William Tarleton, Stradbally [the last two representing Ballyadams].

At that first meeting of the Board George Evans was elected Chairman, William Caulfield Vice Chairman while Patrick Dunne was elected Clerk to the Board at a salary of €40 per year.  Arrangements were made for the Union area to be surveyed and valued for the purpose of fixing rates to finance the running of the Workhouse which would open in Athy in January 1844. 

At its next meeting on 27^th May it was agreed to admit the press to board meetings and to divide the union area into eight vaccination districts, with vaccination stations located at Athy, Castledermot, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Luggacurran, Nurney, Ballylinan and Moone. 

On 20^th July 1841 the Board received an order from the Poor Law Commissioners directing it to raise or borrow the sum of £6,700 for the building and fitting out of a workhouse in Athy. 

On 10^th March 1842 the Board met to decide applications from persons claiming the right to vote at the annual election for members of Athy Board of Guardians scheduled for 26^th March.  The only change following that election was the replacement of John Butler by John Peppard.  The outgoing chairman, George Evans, retained his position following the first meeting of the newly elected Board when defeating Sir Anthony Weldon by one vote.  However, his name is absent from the record of all subsequent meetings and on 11^th October 1842 the Board unanimously agreed to elect Sir Anthony Weldon as Chairman of the Board of Guardians on the proposal of Lord Downes, seconded by Captain Lefroy. 

In July 1842 the salaries for the various officers of the workhouse were fixed by the Board.  The Workhouse Master was to be paid £40 per year with furnished apartments, fuel and candles and a limited quantity of house provisions.  The Matron was to receive £20 a year, with similar allowances, while the workhouse porter was granted £10 a year and allowances.  The workhouse schoolmaster and mistress were to be paid £20 and £15 respectively in addition to the earlier mentioned allowances.  Their duties were to include ‘assisting the master in the management of the workhouse.’  The medical attendant’s salary was fixed at £50 a year and his duties included the ‘compounding of all necessary medicines.’  A ‘nurse teacher’ was to receive £10 a year with the agreed allowances.  However, the Poor Law Commissioners took issue with the Board of Guardians decisions and directed that the fixing of salaries was premature and consequently refused to sanction any appointments. 

The dispute between the Board and the Commissioners was eventually resolved and on 7^th February 1843 the Board proceeded with appointments of various officials to Athy Workhouse.  William Bryan was appointed Workhouse master, with Elizabeth Quinn as Workhouse mistress and James Butler as the porter.  The appointment of the Workhouse medical attendant appears to have been the only appointment which necessitated a vote, even though there were several applicants for each position.  Dr. Ferris, Dr. Kynsey and Dr. Clayton submitted their applications and the position went to Dr. Kynsey who received 16 votes to 13 votes cast for Dr. Clayton.  The hapless Dr. Ferris received no votes. 

A rate of five pence in the pound was levied on all rateable properties in the Athy Poor Law Union area to fund the operation of the local Workhouse and John Mulhall was appointed to collect the poor rate in the Athy and Kilberry districts.  Collectors were also appointed to the other areas of the union.    As the opening of the Workhouse in January 1844 approached the preceding months were taken up with arrangements to purchase equipment, clothing and food products for which local businesses were asked to tender. 

……………………………………….TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK………………..

The early history of Athy's Workhouse (1)

Whenever I travel abroad I am invariably attracted to local markets. They are generally of interest to visitors as well as being part of the long established local commercial activity of their areas.

Here in Athy we have a market every Tuesday which is held in the town centre square.  It’s a market with a lot of history extending back to the time of Henry VIII.  The authority for holding the market is contained in the charter granted to the town of Athy by King Henry in 1515.  The charter written in Latin specified that the market was to be held on a Tuesday each week in a place chosen by Gerald, Earl of Kildare at whose request the charter was granted. 

The primary purpose of the charter was to fund the erection of walls around the town and so provide greater safety and security for the people of the town which the charter stated ‘lies on the frontiers of our Irish enemy.’  The year was 1515 and the settlers’ town had been subject to attack on many occasions by the ‘wild Irish’ living on the western side of the river Barrow.  The building of town walls was hugely expensive and so the Provost of the newly incorporated Borough Council of Athy was granted the right to impose and collect customs or tolls on goods and animals sold in the market of Athy.  The money so raised was to be used not only for the building and repair of the town walls, but also to pave the streets of Athy.

A question arose many years ago as to whether the Town Commissioners, who replaced the Borough Councillors soon after the Great Famine, were entitled to collect and utilise the market fees.  As regulation of the market under the charter was granted to the town Provost (the equivalent of the modern-day town mayor) the Town Commissioners and now Kildare County Council, as successors in title to the Provost and the Borough Councillors, were deemed entitled to exercise all the rights previously held by the Provost.

It was the sole decision of the Earl of Kildare to decide where the market was held and consequently the local authority, now Kildare County Council, would not appear to have the discretionary right which in 1515 was granted solely to Gerald, Earl of Kildare.

That issue was of importance some years ago when the then Urban District Council considered regulating the market.  It was an issue which was not then resolved.  However, now that we are at the start of implementing a regeneration plan for the town it is perhaps opportune for the question of regulating the market to be considered again. 

Town markets on the Continent and on the British mainland are all well-regulated.  They generally present an attractive appearance for locals and visitors alike and help to bring activity and vibrancy to a town centre.  Our town market is an unattractive shambles. 

Recently I was in Shoreham-by-Sea in Sussex on a day when the local market was taking place.  On making some enquiries I discovered that the market stands and canopies were owned by the local Council which set them out on market day and rented them out to the various stallholders.  They presented a colourful sight and the attractiveness of the market was added to by an interesting variety of second hand goods, food and crafts offered for sale.

With the planned reordering of Emily Square surely it is time for Kildare County Council to look again at the need to regulate the Tuesday market and by doing so help to make it an attractive element in the commercial regeneration of the town.

Last week saw the passing of a number of local people.  Nicola Keogh Kenny was a legal secretary in the offices of a local colleague and her sudden unexpected passing was a great shock to all of us.  Another young person to leave us in sad circumstances after a long illness was Brian Barr.  Kate Mitchell who was a near neighbour of mine in Coneyboro died and was buried a few days before Pat O’Gorman of Gallowshill, formerly of Prospect House on the Carlow Road.  Leslie Anderson died at an advanced age and his passing, like those of Nicola, Brian, Kate and Pat brought sadness to the people of Athy and south Kildare. 

Our sympathies are extended to their families, friends and relatives.

The early history of Athy's Workhouse

The first meeting of the Board of Guardians of the Athy Union was held in the Courthouse, Athy on Thursday, 29^th April 1841 (the Court room at that time was located in the Town Hall).  Present at that meeting were Lord Downes of Bert House, Sir E.H. Walsh of Ballykilcavan, Sir Anthony Weldon of Rahinderry, W.H. Cole of Moore Abbey, Monasterevin, Benjamin Lefroy of Cardenton and Edward Bagot of Kildoon.  They were ex officio members of the Board, as was B.A. Yates of Moone Abbey and George Evans of Farmhill who were not present at that meeting. 

Those attending also included the following guardians who had been elected to the position.  Patrick Cummins, Athy; Gerald Dunne, Snugboro; P.C. Doran, Castlemitchell; John Butler, Athy; Thomas Fitzgerald, Kilberry; Robert Cassidy, Monasterevin; Edward Conlan, Monasterevin; John Hyland, Ballitore; Patrick Maher, Kilrush; William Pelan, Ballindrum; James Caulfield, Pilsworth, Castledermot; Joseph Lyons, Moyanna, Stradbally; Thomas Budd, Timogue, Stradbally; Michael Dowling, Inch, Stradbally; Francis Roberts, Stradbally; Thomas Kilbride, Luggacurran; John Hovenden, Modubeagh and John Kehoe of Ballylinan.  Elected guardians who were absent included Daniel Browne, Ashgrove, Monasterevin; John Dowling, Kildangan; Andrew Dunne, Dollardstown; William Caulfield, Levitstown; Major E.H. Pope, Carlow and William Tarleton, Stradbally [the last two representing Ballyadams].

At that first meeting of the Board George Evans was elected Chairman, William Caulfield Vice Chairman while Patrick Dunne was elected Clerk to the Board at a salary of €40 per year.  Arrangements were made for the Union area to be surveyed and valued for the purpose of fixing rates to finance the running of the Workhouse which would open in Athy in January 1844. 

At its next meeting on 27^th May it was agreed to admit the press to board meetings and to divide the union area into eight vaccination districts, with vaccination stations located at Athy, Castledermot, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Luggacurran, Nurney, Ballylinan and Moone. 

On 20^th July 1841 the Board received an order from the Poor Law Commissioners directing it to raise or borrow the sum of £6,700 for the building and fitting out of a workhouse in Athy. 

On 10^th March 1842 the Board met to decide applications from persons claiming the right to vote at the annual election for members of Athy Board of Guardians scheduled for 26^th March.  The only change following that election was the replacement of John Butler by John Peppard.  The outgoing chairman, George Evans, retained his position following the first meeting of the newly elected Board when defeating Sir Anthony Weldon by one vote.  However, his name is absent from the record of all subsequent meetings and on 11^th October 1842 the Board unanimously agreed to elect Sir Anthony Weldon as Chairman of the Board of Guardians on the proposal of Lord Downes, seconded by Captain Lefroy. 

In July 1842 the salaries for the various officers of the workhouse were fixed by the Board.  The Workhouse Master was to be paid £40 per year with furnished apartments, fuel and candles and a limited quantity of house provisions.  The Matron was to receive £20 a year, with similar allowances, while the workhouse porter was granted £10 a year and allowances.  The workhouse schoolmaster and mistress were to be paid £20 and £15 respectively in addition to the earlier mentioned allowances.  Their duties were to include ‘assisting the master in the management of the workhouse.’  The medical attendant’s salary was fixed at £50 a year and his duties included the ‘compounding of all necessary medicines.’  A ‘nurse teacher’ was to receive £10 a year with the agreed allowances.  However, the Poor Law Commissioners took issue with the Board of Guardians decisions and directed that the fixing of salaries was premature and consequently refused to sanction any appointments. 

The dispute between the Board and the Commissioners was eventually resolved and on 7^th February 1843 the Board proceeded with appointments of various officials to Athy Workhouse.  William Bryan was appointed Workhouse master, with Elizabeth Quinn as Workhouse mistress and James Butler as the porter.  The appointment of the Workhouse medical attendant appears to have been the only appointment which necessitated a vote, even though there were several applicants for each position.  Dr. Ferris, Dr. Kynsey and Dr. Clayton submitted their applications and the position went to Dr. Kynsey who received 16 votes to 13 votes cast for Dr. Clayton.  The hapless Dr. Ferris received no votes. 

A rate of five pence in the pound was levied on all rateable properties in the Athy Poor Law Union area to fund the operation of the local Workhouse and John Mulhall was appointed to collect the poor rate in the Athy and Kilberry districts.  Collectors were also appointed to the other areas of the union.    As the opening of the Workhouse in January 1844 approached the preceding months were taken up with arrangements to purchase equipment, clothing and food products for which local businesses were asked to tender. 

……………………………………….TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK………………..

Athy's Association Football Club

‘Athy town lifted the League Shield for the first time in the club’s history with a 5-1 victory over Coill Dubh’.  Under the banner headline ‘Five Star Athy lift League Shield’ last week’s Nationalist brought us the story of Athy A.F.C.’s latest success on the field of play. 

The club’s website gives details of eight underage teams catering for under 8s up to under 16 year olds.  Would that, I wonder, make it the sporting club catering for the largest number of young players in and around Athy and south Kildare?  Athy A.F.C. has over the years had several reincarnations with a history stretching back almost 90 years to the mid-1920s.  It was then that a Mr. Sanford who was employed in the Athy headquarters of the Barrow Drainage Company set up the town’s first soccer club.  Calling themselves ‘the Barrow Rovers’ the team included such locals as Chevit and John Doyle, Ned Ward, Jim Eaton and Cuddy Chanders.  The club seemed to have disbanded soon after completion of the Barrow Drainage Scheme.

During the 1930s the popular sports in Athy included Gaelic football, rugby and hockey.  Soccer had apparently lost its appeal with the demise of the Barrow Rovers, while the once popular sport of cricket was but a fading memory.  The local hockey club had its hockey pitch in the agricultural show grounds alongside the G.A.A. pitch and the rugby pitch.  Matt Tynan, who was manager of the local L. & N. shop at the corner of Leinster Street and Emily Square (now the Vodafone shop) was involved with the hockey club.  When that club ceased to exist Matt Tynan with Jimmy O’Donnell, Harry Prole and others called a public meeting in 1948 with a view to restarting a soccer club in the town.  They were fortunate in that the new club got the right to use the vacant hockey pitch and subsequently got a lease of the grounds which is still in use as Athy A.F.C. home grounds.  Several Athy men, who in the absence of a local soccer club had played with Carlow, transferred to the new Athy club.  These included Jerry Sullivan, ‘Oney’ Walsh and Tom Kealy.

In the summer of 1952 Matt Tynan presented a cup to the club for a street soccer league in an early attempt to encourage youthful participation in the game of soccer.  Youth teams from Barrack Street, Pairc Bhride, Offaly Street/Leinster Street and St. Joseph’s Terrace were some of the teams which competed for the Tynan Cup.  Despite some initial success the club lost some momentum during the 1959/’60 season which coincided with the departure of Matt Tynan from Athy.  A few barren years prompted some of the older club members to call a meeting in December 1964 with a view to reinvigorating the club.  The local press reported that the attendance at the meeting included ‘members of both the old Barrow Rovers team of the 1920s and the later club which flourished from 1948/’49 to 1959/’60.’  Lead by former players Brendan O’Flaherty, Denis Smyth and Mick McEvoy the club entered on its second revival.

The following season the club registered with the Leinster Junior League Dublin Division.  Very soon the club had three teams, one playing in the Dublin League, the other two in the Carlow League.  With Denis Smyth as secretary Athy A.F.C. again promoted a soccer street league for underage players.  It proved very successful and lay the foundation for the club’s success in the years which followed. 

In addition to numerous underage teams Athy A.F.C. now also has three adult teams.  The first team won the Lumsden Cup last week with what the local papers described as a ‘good team performance with a man of the match display by Ricky Moriarty.’  One of the club’s adult teams is for over 35s, a category which is also being catered for by another local soccer club ‘Bridge United’. 

The continuing growth and development of association football in Athy is to be seen in the soccer clubs which have been formed in recent years.  In addition to Athy A.F.C. and the earlier mentioned ‘Bridge United’ there are soccer clubs in Clonmullin and Woodstock.  Soccer pitches are now to be found in Clonmullin, Woodstock and the Showgrounds where the latter includes an extensive indoor practice area opened in recent years by the General Secretary of the F.A.I. 

Local involvement in sport is on the increase and is a measure of the healthy attitude of a community which is looking to the future regeneration of the social and economic life of the town with confidence.

Joey Carbery Irish Rugby International

Irish rugby has a new sporting hero.  Joey Carbery made his international debut on the Irish rugby team last week during Ireland’s first win over New Zealand.  The Soldier’s Field in Chicago was the scene of Joey’s entry to the ranks of an Irish international player. 

The New Zealand fifteen whom the one time Athy club player lined out against shared with Joey a country of birth.  A New Zealander by birth Joey has however lived a large part of his young life in the South Kildare town where the Carbery family links stretch back to the dark oppressive years of the Luggacurran evictions.

It was his great great grandfather Dan Carbery, who evicted from his small holding in Luggacurran in June 1889 by agents of Lord Lansdowne set up home in Athy.  It was here that Dan Carbery established the business which on his death in 1896 was continued and expanded by his 31-year-old son, also named Dan.  The Carbery building legacy is to be found in several local schools, numerous housing estates in and around the town of Athy and in the more recent refurbishment by the Carlow branch of the firm of the local Courthouse.

The name Joe Carbery has passed down through several generations of the Carbery family, the last four generations of which have been actively involved with Athy rugby football club.  Joe Carbery, great grandfather of the current rugby star, was a playing member of the club in the 1920s, as was his cousin Donal.  Joe continued to play through the 1930s and was club captain in 1933/’34 and played on the provincial club team of 1938.  Twenty years after his club captaincy he was elected president of Athy Rugby Club for 1953/’54.

The next generation Joe was also a stalwart of Athy rugby club.  A veterinary surgeon by profession he played, as did his brother Jerry, for the Athy club in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Joe Carbery and his clubmate Jack Ryan were members of the Leinster Junior squad in 1961/’62.  Joe Carbery emigrated to New Zealand for a period and on returning to Ireland played for Naas rugby club and in 1981/’82 trained what is now regarded as one of Athy club’s most successful teams.  It was the third team which hold the unique distinction of not having lost a match while Joe Carbery was their trainer. 

The name Joe and the involvement in rugby passed on to the next Carbery generation.  This was Joey’s father who was born in Athy.  As a young child, he moved to New Zealand with his parents, but now lives in the south Kildare town where he is employed by the Irish Rugby Football Union as a youth coach.  He is also coach to the Athy senior rugby team.  His son Joe, known to the media and public alike as Joey, is the fourth generation of the Carbery family to have had an association with Athy rugby club.  Educated in Athy and Blackrock College he played underage rugby for Athy and later with Blackrock College and with the Clontarf senior team. 

We have to look back many decades to find another Athy player who reached the high status of Irish international senior team player.  The only one I have located is John B. Minch, son of Matthew and Elizabeth Minch of Rockfield House who was born in 1880.  John’s father Matt Minch was elected a Member of Parliament for South Kildare in 1882 and remained an M.P. for the following 21 years.  John B. Minch, like Joey Carbery, also attended and played for Blackrock College.  He won the first of his five international caps playing for Ireland against South Africa at Lansdowne Road on 30^th November 1912.  The following year he was capped twice, playing against England at Lansdowne Road on 8^th February 1913 and against Scotland in Edinburgh on 22^nd February.  His final two caps were earned in internationals against England at Twickenham on 14^th February 1914 and against Scotland at Lansdowne Road two weeks later.

Joey Carbery, Irish rugby international, follows in the proud footsteps of a father, grandfather and great grandfather, all bearing the name Joe and all associated players with Athy’s rugby football club.  The Carbery family association with Athy R.F.C. is one which was mirrored by the family’s active involvement with Athy Golf Club.  That association started with Dan Carbery, eldest son of the Carbery father who was evicted from Luggacurran.  Dan was captain of Athy Golf Club on six occasions between 1915 and 1932 and was followed in that position by three other Carbery family members including Joe Carbery, great grandfather of the rugby international.  Both the aforesaid Dan and his son Joe also held the position of Golf Club President each on three occasions.

The people of Athy and district rejoice in having a rugby player of the calibre of Joey Carbery whom they can say is one of their own, as is that other international sportsman, boxer Eric Donovan who won his second professional fight on the same night as Joey Carbery earned his first international cap.

Athy's Association Football Club

‘Athy town lifted the League Shield for the first time in the club’s history with a 5-1 victory over Coill Dubh’.  Under the banner headline ‘Five Star Athy lift League Shield’ last week’s Nationalist brought us the story of Athy A.F.C.’s latest success on the field of play. 

The club’s website gives details of eight underage teams catering for under 8s up to under 16 year olds.  Would that, I wonder, make it the sporting club catering for the largest number of young players in and around Athy and south Kildare?  Athy A.F.C. has over the years had several reincarnations with a history stretching back almost 90 years to the mid-1920s.  It was then that a Mr. Sanford who was employed in the Athy headquarters of the Barrow Drainage Company set up the town’s first soccer club.  Calling themselves ‘the Barrow Rovers’ the team included such locals as Chevit and John Doyle, Ned Ward, Jim Eaton and Cuddy Chanders.  The club seemed to have disbanded soon after completion of the Barrow Drainage Scheme.

During the 1930s the popular sports in Athy included Gaelic football, rugby and hockey.  Soccer had apparently lost its appeal with the demise of the Barrow Rovers, while the once popular sport of cricket was but a fading memory.  The local hockey club had its hockey pitch in the agricultural show grounds alongside the G.A.A. pitch and the rugby pitch.  Matt Tynan, who was manager of the local L. & N. shop at the corner of Leinster Street and Emily Square (now the Vodafone shop) was involved with the hockey club.  When that club ceased to exist Matt Tynan with Jimmy O’Donnell, Harry Prole and others called a public meeting in 1948 with a view to restarting a soccer club in the town.  They were fortunate in that the new club got the right to use the vacant hockey pitch and subsequently got a lease of the grounds which is still in use as Athy A.F.C. home grounds.  Several Athy men, who in the absence of a local soccer club had played with Carlow, transferred to the new Athy club.  These included Jerry Sullivan, ‘Oney’ Walsh and Tom Kealy.

In the summer of 1952 Matt Tynan presented a cup to the club for a street soccer league in an early attempt to encourage youthful participation in the game of soccer.  Youth teams from Barrack Street, Pairc Bhride, Offaly Street/Leinster Street and St. Joseph’s Terrace were some of the teams which competed for the Tynan Cup.  Despite some initial success the club lost some momentum during the 1959/’60 season which coincided with the departure of Matt Tynan from Athy.  A few barren years prompted some of the older club members to call a meeting in December 1964 with a view to reinvigorating the club.  The local press reported that the attendance at the meeting included ‘members of both the old Barrow Rovers team of the 1920s and the later club which flourished from 1948/’49 to 1959/’60.’  Lead by former players Brendan O’Flaherty, Denis Smyth and Mick McEvoy the club entered on its second revival.

The following season the club registered with the Leinster Junior League Dublin Division.  Very soon the club had three teams, one playing in the Dublin League, the other two in the Carlow League.  With Denis Smyth as secretary Athy A.F.C. again promoted a soccer street league for underage players.  It proved very successful and lay the foundation for the club’s success in the years which followed. 

In addition to numerous underage teams Athy A.F.C. now also has three adult teams.  The first team won the Lumsden Cup last week with what the local papers described as a ‘good team performance with a man of the match display by Ricky Moriarty.’  One of the club’s adult teams is for over 35s, a category which is also being catered for by another local soccer club ‘Bridge United’. 

The continuing growth and development of association football in Athy is to be seen in the soccer clubs which have been formed in recent years.  In addition to Athy A.F.C. and the earlier mentioned ‘Bridge United’ there are soccer clubs in Clonmullin and Woodstock.  Soccer pitches are now to be found in Clonmullin, Woodstock and the Showgrounds where the latter includes an extensive indoor practice area opened in recent years by the General Secretary of the F.A.I. 

Local involvement in sport is on the increase and is a measure of the healthy attitude of a community which is looking to the future regeneration of the social and economic life of the town with confidence.