Athy Eye On The Past

In February 2007 some minute books and other books relating to the Catholic Young Mens Society in Athy were given to me by Jimmy Robinson. Jimmy was the last Honorary Secretary of the C.Y.M.S., a local institution with a history extending back over 150 years but which had ceased to exist in 2004.

The first branch of the society was founded in Limerick in 1849 after a young priest who had attended Knockbeg College Carlow brought together a number of labourers. Fr. Richard Baptist O’Brien, who had been ordained in Maynooth ten years previously, spent the first five years of his priesthood in Canada. On returning to Limerick during the dreadful famine year of 1847 Fr. O’Brien felt the need for young men who survived the famine to come together in friendship and cooperation to better their lives. Approximately 13 years after the foundation of the society a C.Y.M.S. branch was started in Athy. Unfortunately the minute books dealing with the early years of the branch have not been found. The earliest minute books to survive starts with entries for 1958, while an earlier cash book opened in June 1926 lists initially on a daily basis and later weekly and then twice monthly monies received and monies paid up to 1949. To my great regret the minute book or books for the period 1964 to 1971 are missing as my late brother Seamus took over as secretary from Jim McEvoy a short time before his untimely death in a road traffic accident.

That these records have survived is a tribute to Jimmy Robinson’s attention to detail and the care which marked his voluntary work as honorary secretary of the C.Y.M.S. over many years. The last entry in the C.Y.M.S. minute book is of a committee meeting held on 21^st October 1994. The meeting was presided over by another great stalwart of Athy, P.J. Hyland. Jimmy who died last week joins P.J. in our memories.

Memories not only of the C.Y.M.S. but also of the wonderful characters who were members of the local branch when it occupied premises at the corner of Stanhope Street and Stanhope Place. Where the C.Y.M.S. branch was originally located following its foundation in 1862 I cannot say. The members took over the building at the corner of Stanhope Place from the Sisters of Mercy in 1892. Forty eight years later they acquired use of the adjoining building immediately adjacent to the side entrance gate to the Parish Church. It lay directly opposite the Parish Priest’s house and had been home to the technical school since the setting up of technical education at the start of the century. The building became vacant when a new technical school was opened on the Carlow Road in 1940. The then Parish Priest Canon McDonnell (after whom McDonnell Drive is named) gave the C.Y.M.S. permission to use the old technical school room which in my young days was called the card room. It was the ‘holy of holies’ for the senior members such as Tom Moore, Ned Cranny, Christy Dunne, ‘Sooty’Hayden, Willie Bracken and many others for whom card playing was a favourite pastime.

The late Jimmy Robinson and P.J. Hyland with other committee members witnessed the gradual falloff of membership in the C.Y.M.S. during the 1990s. The original objective of the society ‘to foster mutual union and cooperation and by priestly guidance, the spiritual intellectual, social and physical welfare of its members’ may not have seemed relevant in the world of the Celtic Tiger. During the 1950s there was more than 100 C.Y.M.S. branches in Ireland. In 1994 there were just 17 branches left throughout the country and it is likely that the Athy branch was not the only one to close its doors in recent years.

Jimmy Robinson came from an old Athy family, as did Jimmy Bolger and John Joe Owens, both of whom passed away recently. I was privileged to write of Jimmy Bolger in a previous Eye on the Past. John Joe Owens was a man who like myself was not afraid of expressing his views in a forthright manner. I have huge admiration for men such as the two Jimmys and John Joe who in their own individual way contributed to what I have often described as the rich tapestry of life in our south Kildare town of Athy.

Other deaths noted during the recent past were that of Claus Schmidt and Mary Leech, both of whom were well known in the town. As I am writing this piece I have learned of the death of an old school colleague of mine from our days in the local Christian Brothers secondary school. John Joe Brennan died while I was abroad and regrettably I was unaware of his passing until now. I have fond memories of John Joe who with a few others joined the Christian Brothers secondary school from outlying rural primary schools in the 1950s.

Their passing brings sadness not only to family and friends but also to a community which remembers times past and experiences shared.

Within two months of the start of World War I Edward Stafford, formerly of Butler’s Row, Athy was killed. He was just 27 years of age when he died on Thursday 24^th September 1914. He was survived by his widow Margaret of Churchtown, a young daughter Mary Bridget and two sons, Thomas and George. Two years later his younger brother Thomas was killed. Thomas was 24 years of age when he joined his brother in death on 6^th September 1916 during the battle of the Somme. Thomas’s remains were never recovered and he is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial, while his brother Edward is buried in the National Cemetery in the French village of Crouy.

Until recently my knowledge of the Stafford brothers largely consisted of information available in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission files. You can imagine my surprise on learning recently from my secretary of almost 40 years ago that she was a niece of Frank Stafford, an Athy man who fought in World War I. Pat Walsh is a native of Donard, Co. Wicklow and her aunt, Mary Ann Heaney, her mother’s older sister, married Frank Stafford in 1921. Frank’s father Thomas was a Wicklow man and I learned that Frank was the brother of Edward and Thomas Stafford and like them had also joined the Dublin Fusiliers at the start of the war.

It was Pat’s brother, Fr. Willie Walsh, a priest ministering in Kenya for over 40 years, who told the story of the Stafford brothers in an article in the magazine, ‘Africa’. Pat sent the article to me and only then did I become aware of her connection with the Stafford brothers and particularly Frank Stafford who was not previously known to me. Further research has unearthed more details in relation to another family member who also enlisted.

In the Stafford family in Butler’s Row were six sons and two daughters. I have discovered that in addition to his three brothers Peter Stafford who was born in 1899 had enlisted on 27^th October, 1915. He claimed to the recruiting officer that he was 18 years of age but when his true age became known in March 1916 he was discharged for ‘misstatement of his age.’ The remaining boys in the Stafford family were Anthony born 1902 and John born 1904, while the girls were Elizabeth and Judy.

When I was Chairman of Athy Urban District Council in 1997 I was asked to send greetings to a former Athy resident who was about to celebrate her 90^th birthday at her home in America. I subsequently got a letter of thanks from Mae Vagts who turned out to be the daughter of Edward Stafford. She wrote of her father ‘I do remember his goodbyes to myself, 7 years, and my two brothers, 3 years and 1 year old. My mother went to the train station with him. I also remember the notice of his death, it came by the postman that my father Edward Stafford was killed at the battle of the Aisne in France. My mother was in shock as my father was only 27 years old. We were all very sad.’

Growing up in Athy in the 1950s I remember John J. Stafford of Duke Street, the youngest member of the Stafford family, his sister Judy who married Andy Cleary and who lived in Janeville. I knew nothing then of Edward or Thomas Stafford who died during the war or of their two brothers who also enlisted but survived. Indeed like so many others in Athy I had no knowledge of the suffering and sacrifices of family who lost loved ones in the war of 1914-18.

Two years ago Edward Stafford’s grandson, who was then living in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, arranged a remembrance mass for his grandfather and his granduncle Thomas Stafford. This was held in St. Michael’s Parish Church, Athy on 24^th September, the 100^th anniversary of the death of Edward Stafford. So far as I can recall this was the first church service held locally in recent years in memory of victims of World War I.

Next Sunday, November 13^th, is Remembrance Sunday and a Remembrance Day ceremony will be held at St. Michael’s Old Cemetery at 3.00 p.m. to honour the men from Athy and district who died in the Great War. Fr. Willie Walsh, at present home on holidays with his 95 year old mother in Donard, will join us that day to remember amongst the dead of the Great War his uncles Edward and Thomas Stafford.

Clem Roche, genealogist and World War I historian, has written a book on the men from Athy and district who died during World War I. His book ‘Athy and District WW1 Role of Honour 1914-1918’ will be launched in the Heritage Centre in Athy on Friday 11^thNovember at 7.30 p.m. An open invitation is extended to everyone to attend the book launch. It would be particularly appropriate for family members of those who died in the war to come along to the book launch and to the ceremony in St. Michael’s Cemetery on Sunday and by your attendance honour the lost generation of 100 years ago.

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^ndFebruary. 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 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.

The first meeting of the Board of Guardians of the Athy Union was held in the Courthouse, Athy on Thursday, 29^thApril 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^thMay 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^thMarch. 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………………..

August 3^rd marks the 100^th anniversary of the execution of Roger Casement in Pentonville Prison, England. As a student many years ago in the Kings Inns I passed every day on my way into lectures John Lavery’s monumental painting of Casement’s appeal hearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal. Lavery attended the hearing on the 17^thand 18^th of July 1916 on the invitation of the Presiding Judge, Mr. Justice Darling and being one of the foremost portrait painters of his time produced a stunning painting of the court scene. Lavery, who died in 1941, gifted the painting to the National Portrait Gallery in London but when that august body declined to accept the gift it passed after a number of years to the Kings Inns in Dublin.

The painting shows Casement’s defence counsel, A.M. Sullivan, himself an Irishman, addressing the five red robed Judges who presided at the appeal hearing. Sullivan, who made a fine closing speech on behalf of Casement, was censored by the Kings Inns benchers when he revealed in 1956 a professional confidence told to him by his client Casement during the trial. This was an admission by Casement that he was a homosexual. That same issue had caused much controversy following the publication of Brian Inglis’s biography of Casement in 1973 in which Inglis pronounced himself satisfied that the Casement diaries which referenced his homosexual activities were not forgeries put together by the British authorities to resist public pressure to save Casement from the gallows. Undoubtedly the indefensible use of Casement’s diaries to prejudice his appeal was inexcusable and reflects badly on the British establishment of the time. Now on the centenary of his death it is expected that all of the files held by the British Authorities relating to Casement will be made available for examination by historians.

The Casement ‘Black Diaries’,as they have come to be described, were for many years the subject of controversy with the late Dr. Herbert Mackey publishing several books alleging they were forgeries. Interestingly his brother Frank in a letter to the Irish Independent in June 1973 wrote ‘about a week after Casement’s remains were interned in Glasnevin President De Valera invited my late brother Herbert and his wife to lunch at Aras An Uachtarian. In the course of lunch he informed my brother that he need not expect any help whatsoever from the Irish Government in his efforts to recover the Casement Diaries from the British Government.’ The message was clear.

In September 2001 Roisin McAuley in a letter to the Irish Times wrote ‘Eight years ago for the BBC series “Document” I investigated the charge of forgery against the British government in relation to the “Black Diaries” of Roger Casement ….. having started with an open mind I found compelling circumstantial evidence of forgery and began to believe the forgery theory ….. however, after an examination by a forensic expert there was no doubt in our minds that the diaries were genuine.’

In conclusion she claimed ‘surely the point to be made about Roger Casement is that he belongs to all of us. The debate about the diaries kept him too long anchored to the Republican cause. He is still a Republican hero. But he couldn’t have been Sir Roger Casement, humanitarian hero, if he hadn’t believed in an enlightened role for the British empire. He wouldn’t have been Roger Casement, Republican hero, if he hadn’t seen the oppression by that Empire abroad. And if he hadn’t been homosexual, knowing what it was like to feel oppressed and marginalised, he might not have been a hero to anyone.’

Roger Casement played an important if somewhat peripheral role in the Easter Rising of 1916. For that his place in Irish history is secure as indeed is he in his role as a humanitarian for his work as a British civil servant in the Putumayo Peru in 1910/1911. His personal life is of little relevance, even though his biographers over the years have sometimes thought otherwise.

Some weeks ago I wrote of the attempt by Irish Volunteers from County Laois to disable the rail link between Carlow and Athy on the eve of the Easter Rising in Dublin. The men involved, Eamon Fleming, Michael Grey and Michael Walsh travelled to Athy and cut down a telegraph pole which they laid across the railway track to prevent troops travelling to Dublin. A subsequent statement from Eamon Fleming located the action at Maganey, while a contemporary press report referred to a local man named Nolan from Ardreigh who came across the incident and reported it to a nearby signal box attendant. I am trying to pinpoint whether the Irish Volunteers activity took place as claimed at Maganey or nearby Ardreigh.

Was there a signal box in Maganey station in 1916? If not given Nolan’s address as Ardreigh it is likely that the Volunteers attempted to block the track at Ardreigh. Anyone with any thoughts on the matter might contact me or indeed anyone in Ardreigh or Maganey who might have heard where the Volunteers operated that Sunday morning.

Kildare County Council has recently embarked on a survey of memorials, plaques and signs throughout the County of Kildare. They are part of our cultural heritage, marking as they do people of the past, historic events or heritage landmarks of town and countryside. This is the first attempt to collect this information and when the project is completed it is intended to make its results available to the general public. In turn the public’s help in identifying and recording local memorials, plaques and signs is sought.

The Heritage Officer of Kildare County Council has prepared guidelines for the survey. While advising that graveyard memorials are not included almost every other form of commemorative memorial or plaque is deemed worthy of recording. Even what the guidelines describe as ‘significant street names and laneways’are to be included. Interestingly bench marks, armorial plaques and mile markers also come within the ambit of the survey. The Council’s Heritage Officer Bridget Loughlin who is overseeing the survey would like to get the following information. The memorial/plaque name, where it is located, a brief description with any background information and a photograph, although I suspect the latter while helpful is not essential.

In recent years probably more plaques have gone up in or around Athy than in any other time in the past. Nelson Street has a plaque to Johnny Lynch, musician, while the Dominicans are honoured with a plaque on the entrance wall to the former Dominican Church. The Christian Brothers are remembered with a handsome memorial in Edmund Rice Square, while the Sisters of Mercy have the riverside car park opposite the Parish Church dedicated to their Order.

Until recent years the Town Hall had a large plaque commemorating the founding of Macra na Feirme and its founder Stephen Cullinane but it was removed when the Macra monument was unveiled by President Robinson some years ago. I wonder where that plaque is today? The impressive Town Hall has in more recent years received plaques honouring the local men who fought in the 1914-18 war, as well as a plaque honouring Ernest Shackleton, the polar explorer. This year as part of the centenary commemorations of the 1916 Rising a plaque was affixed to the west wall of the Town Hall.

A few years ago the Enterprise Centre arranged for tourist plaques to be placed on the more important buildings in the town. Whites Castle, Canal Harbour, Crom a Boo Bridge, St. Michael’s Church of Ireland church, Methodist church, St. Vincent’s Hospital are but some of the buildings highlighted in this way.

Bench marks will be seldom recognised but offhand I can recall bench marks on the Town Hall, Crom a Boo Bridge and St. Vincent’s Hospital. There are a few more around the town awaiting to be identified. Memorials are less scarce and in the main square of the town we have the water fountain presented to the people of Athy by the Duke of Leinster. Just behind it is the more recently unveiled memorial to the men and women from the locality who in 1798 sought religious and civil liberty.

Would the stone archway taken from the ruins of the cavalry barracks in Barrack Lane and reassembled in Woodstock Street come within the definition of a memorial? I would think so, as undoubtedly will the superb canal lock gate which adorns the roundabout on the Dublin Road. The various pieces of sculpture provided by Kildare County Council under the percentage scheme for major capital projects must also be included in this survey. Examples are to be found at the Flinters Field site, at Butlers Row and the Fairgreen housing site.

What the Council refers to as ‘significant street names’ may pose problems when it comes to their inclusion or exclusion from the survey. I cannot imagine that any one street name is any less or more significant than another. Our principal street names commemorate members of the Duke of Leinster’s family, while many of the laneways bear the names of long forgotten property owners. The building boom of the Celtic years which came somewhat later to Athy than elsewhere resulted in the creation of a lot of housing estates with names which do not resonate historically or otherwise with the ancient town on the River Barrow.

If you can help the County Council in its countywide survey of memorials, plaques and signs do contact Bridget Loughlin, Heritage Office at the Council Offices, Naas, ph. (045) 980791 or email Bloughlin@kildarecoco.ie.

Another project recently initiated by Kildare County Council is a building survey of the county which seeks to identify buildings of historical interest or architectural merit. Athy has a wealth of such buildings and indeed in the opinion of many is the most interesting town in the county of Kildare in terms of its layout and architecture. If you are contacted by the team involved in the building survey do give them every help in identifying and recording the building which may be your home or your business address. It is purely an architectural survey and is in no way connected with property tax, rating systems or anything that is detrimental to your interests. Your cooperation with the survey team would be much appreciated and will undoubtedly be reflected in the quality of the survey teams final report

I have had a lifelong fascination with reference books. From an early age these compendiums of facts and figures fascinated me. Haydn’s Dictionary of dates was one such book and although last published in the late 19^thCentury it was commonly available in many public and school libraries in the 1950’s. The dictionary had particularly grandiose titles. The 1881 edition enjoyed the title “Haydn’s dictionary of dates and useful information relating to all ages and nations containing the history of the world to the Autumn of 1881”. Not many publications would make such claims today!

As a young historian first dabbling in history of his hometown, books such as Michael Kavanagh’s Bibliography of County Kildare were an invaluable resource as I worked my way through the records in the National Library in Dublin in the early 1970’s. When I first began working on Athy’s history the immediate difficulty I faced was trying to identify where I could extract information relevant to this history of the town. Michael Kavanagh’s book was a great starting point as it identified all publications in both books or periodicals relating to the County of Kildare and thanks to Michael’s meticulous research I was able to extract much information on the town.

For an amateur researcher such as myself there was quite a great deal of trial and error, sometimes chasing a reference down a blind alleyway, but invariable there was always the joy of finding some nugget of information long forgotten about the town. I can recall long hours in the reading room of the National Library hunched over the microfiche readers while I carefully read through old issues of the Nationalist!

What I didn’t truly appreciate and only really did when my family and I moved to Athy in 1982 was that much information still remained within the living memory of the inhabitants of the town. Sometimes there was a story retold from father to son or perhaps a document preserved carefully in the family’s possession but all this information has gradually informed my writings and research into the town’s history over the last 40 years.

There is no doubt that the advent of the internet has allowed local history studies to blossom in a way that I could not have foreseen more than 40 years ago. The modern researcher can access census records, valuation office records, army records at the touch of a button. The recent release from the military archives of the records of those who served in the War of Independence has been an absolute boon, not only for professional historians, but for the families who now have a greater sense of what their grandparents and great grandparents did more than a century ago.

At the same time this commitment to the digitisation of our records has its downside. The accessibility of the internet also makes it very ephemeral. How many of us have gone on holidays with a digital camera, taken a multitude of photographs and have yet to print one off? How often have we viewed a picture in a family album of relations long dead and now unknown to us for the sake of a label? This is something we must bear in mind for future generations. I am aware that the National Library has a policy of “harvesting” websites to be stored digitally but like all technology time overtakes it and there is always a fear that the technology of today will not be recognised by the technology of tomorrow and these records may no longer be accessible to us.

With the introduction of the e-book many years ago, we were led to believe that it sounded the death knell for the printed book, but I am confident that the dictionaries, anthologies, bibliographies and encyclopaedias which grace my shelves and punctuate my research will assist me in many years to come.

Few communities are as fortunate as we are in having a full time museum in our town which has been assiduous over the last 20 years in collecting and recording the town’s historical development. It is something that is very easy to take for granted but it is important that we continue to support the museum. I am often surprised that the first time many of our towns inhabitants cross the threshold of the museum is when they are showing it to a friend or relation from abroad. It is an important resource that we must not neglect and I would encourage both young and old to use the museum as often as possible. The museum’s latest exhibition “By Endurance We Conquer – Shackleton’s Men” will be opened at 2.30pm on the 30^thof August next, just after the unveiling of the statue of Ernest Shackleton at Emily Square, Athy. All are welcome to attend.

During the week I received a query relating to Mark Hill from County Clare, a Christian Brother whose teaching career ran from the late 1860s to 1919 when he died. His name was not familiar to me and so I referred to the Annals of the local Christian Brothers monastery which I was allowed to copy some years ago. The Annals provide useful, if somewhat sporadic details relating to the affairs of the Christian Brothers in Athy. Unfortunately for extended periods the designated annalist failed to keep the record up to date but nevertheless what remains is helpful for an understanding of what happened in the Christian Brothers schools in Athy from 1861.

An entry in the Annals for 1863 noted that at the beginning of the year Michael Lawler ‘who showed himself a warm friend from the commencement’ offered to pay for the gas consumed in the Brother’s Monastery and to continue doing so during his lifetime. It was a commitment Michael Lawler, by then a Justice of the Peace, renewed on 5^th November 1885.

Another generous benefactor was Patrick Maher of Kilrush, whose daughter was for a time Superioress of the local Convent of Mercy. He donated the sum of £400 to help finance the building of the school rooms in St. John’s Lane prior to the arrival of the Christian Brothers in August 1861. Patrick Maher, who was also a generous benefactor to the local Sisters of Mercy, made many other financial contributions to the Christian Brothers over the years for various improvements to the schools and the monastery.

In 1865 the local G.P. Dr. Thomas Kynsey paid for the provision of a house library for the Christian Brothers. In April 1880 J. Delaney of Market Square died and left the sum of £100 to the Christian Brothers. Strangely a week later his own son Denis also died and in his will he left the Christian Brothers the sum of £20.

An interesting entry for March 1901 referred to the sale of a property in Duke Street by Miss Ferris of Woodbine Cottage to a sitting tenant, John E. Duncan. Apparently she had willed the property to the Christian Brothers but shortly before she died the property was sold for £200, a price considered to be excessively low, thereby depriving the Christian Brothers of a valuable bequest.

For a period of five weeks starting in November 1918 the Christian Brothers schools were closed due to the influenza epidemic. Brother Alipius Cummins, a novice in the monastery, fell victim to what we now refer to as the ‘Spanish flu’. Having failed to get a trained nurse in Athy or Dublin the Brothers turned to Minnie Murphy who had served in France during the First World War. Referred to in the Annals as ‘Sr. Flora of the Square’ Ms. Murphy took charge of the patient for 4 nights. He eventually recovered and the Annals noted ‘she took no fee, though a professional trained nurse. For this charitable act the Brothers are deeply grateful.’

In 1925 the Annals recorded the success of Edward Behan at the examinations for executive officers and he was subsequently appointed to the Customs and Excise. It noted ‘his success was of considerable advantage to the community, adding as it did to the prestige of the schools and demonstrating the efficiency of the teaching. He was at the time of his appointment nearly 20 years of age. His education had been to a great extent ruined through his having been interned for over 12 months in the troubled times.’ This is the first reference I have found to the internment of Edward Behan. Was that internment during the War of Independence or the Civil War? Can anyone help me identify Edward Behan?

John Bealin, formerly of Stanhope Street, died in New York on St. Stephen’s Day 1924. In his will he left the sum of £200 to his former school in Athy. His father Mark Bealin had a bakery business at 2 William Street and was secretary of the local committee set up in the town to build the original school premises for the Christian Brothers. He died in 1866 and on the subsequent remarriage of his wife, his three sons, including the 14 year old John, emigrated to America.

These are just some of the persons who over the years helped the Christian Brothers to maintain a presence in Athy. There are many more unnamed and forgotten individuals without whose assistance the early Christian Brothers schools in Athy could not have continued. As to the original query regarding Brother Mark Hill I discovered that he came to Athy in 1892 and five years later was appointed Director of the local Christian Brothers community. He moved to Kells, Co. Meath in July 1900. The only other entry in the annals concerning Brother Hill noted how he organised a bazaar in Easter week 1900 to help pay the cost of building a new oratory in the Christian Brothers monastery.

One of the great sporting heroes of my teenage years passed away last week. Danny Flood was one of several young Athy men who lined out with the Kildare County Senior football team during the 1950s and 1960s. A towering figure over 6 foot tall with the physique to match, Danny manned the full back position on the county team for a period of 10 years from 1954. His first game as a Senior Kildare player was against Wexford in a National League game played in Ferns on 10^thOctober 1954. Ten years later he made his last appearance on the county team, this time against Meath in a game played in Croke Park on 7^th June 1964.

Danny was a key member of the county team during the course of the 1956 Leinster Championship when the Shortgrass county won the Leinster Championship for the first time in 21 years, only to lose to Cork in the All Ireland semi-final. I remember those matches and the enormous goodwill that victory in the Leinster Final of 1956 generated amongst young and old alike within our local community. Daniel Flood, a local man from Leinster Street, was assuredly Athy’s footballing hero after the success of the 1956 Kildare team.

As a young teenager I have vivid memories which I have never lost of a giant of a man whose spectacular fielding of the ball on the full back line was hugely impressive. Equally impressive was his athleticism which seemed magnified by his huge frame and the energy with which he defended the Kildare goal. I recall a match in Geraldine Park where the Kildare defence led by Danny were defending the goal nearest to the dressing rooms. I was on the terrace looking across to the goal and can still see Danny charging from the penalty area across towards the side line where the ball was being gathered by a member of the opposing team. When he was a few feet away from his opponent Danny launched at his opponent and sent him sprawling over the side line. It had all the hallmarks of a foul, but I cannot recall if it was given as such. What I remember is the athleticism of the man who appeared to me as a giant of a player.

Youthful memories accumulated when one is 13 or 14 years of age always tend to magnify and unintentionally perhaps distort. When I was a young follower of G.A.A. matches I looked upon Danny Flood and his county colleagues such as Seamie Harrison and Larry McCormack as a generation ahead of me. Now that I have gathered in the years I find to my amazement that as a young teenager of 14 years of age I was watching and admiring Danny Flood, a young man of just 22 years of age. The age gap between us was a mere 8 years.

Danny Flood died last week, his wife and one son having predeceased him. He retired many years ago as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Irish army and lived just outside Kilkenny city. He is survived by a daughter and four sons. My sympathy goes to his children and to the members of his extended family.

With the passing of my footballing hero of 60 years ago I am left with memories which can no longer be diluted or exaggerated. They remain fashioned by six decades of intermittent recall to remind me of a time when Gaelic football and footballers were an important part of a young lad’s life. Thanks for the memories Danny.

The role and functions of local authorities have evolved and changed enormously over the years. Borough Councils were brought into existence, usually by royal charters, as in Athy, where the 1515 charter of Henry VIII provided for the annual election of a Provost and the appointment of a Borough Council. Its functions were largely confined to control of the local market and collection of market tolls to finance the building of town walls. Control and power rested with the Earls of Kildare and their nominees, a position which was to remain until many Borough Councils such as Athy were abolished in 1840. It was succeeded a few years later by Town Commissioners elected by property owners in the town. Their functions were extended to include paving and street cleaning and were further added to during the course of the 19^th century. Replaced by an Urban District Council in 1901 the Council as we knew it up to more recent years played an important part in the economic and social life of the town of Athy.

As we approached the last decade of the 20^th century huge demands were made on Athy U.D.C. in terms of planning and economic development. Those were the years of the Celtic Tiger, but even as other nearby towns were flourishing Athy began to feel the effects of several factory closures. The shirt factory on the Dublin Road closed, followed by the loss of Peerless Rugs in 2001 and three years later the closure of the Shuttleworth factory. These losses were the catalysts for the setting up of an investment, development and employment forum by the local Council. Represented on that multi agency body with Athy U.D.C. were Kildare County Council, members of the Oireachtas and officials of the I.D.A., County Kildare Enterprise Board and Athy Chamber of Commerce. The local Council’s involvement was indicative of its developmental role as one of its primary functions under the 1963 Planning Act. As an extension of that role and with a view to regenerating the retailing sector in Athy the Council engaged consultants to prepare a retail strategy for the town in 2008.

All of this work was carried out against a backdrop which saw the transfer to Kildare County Council of functions once the responsibility of the Urban District Council. This was done in advance of the subsequent legislative changes which saw the abolition of Town Councils and the taking over of their functions by County Councils.

One of those roles was the provision of local authority housing. Perhaps the greatest change to the previously unrivalled role of local authorities in the provision of social housing was the emergence of voluntary housing associations. A number of such groups have provided social housing in Athy in recent years. RESPOND built 43 houses in Flinter’s field in 2001 and eight years later provided 28 house and a community building at Ardrew Meadows. In more recent years TUATH housing association provided 37 houses in Clonmullin, 14 houses in Cois Bhearu and 4 houses in Ardrew. The CLUID housing association provided 36 houses in Coneyboro in 2013.

The role of the former Town Council in the economic regeneration of the town was complemented by a similar role in relation to the social and cultural life of the townspeople. In about 1985 the Urban District Council established and funded a cultural recreational sub committee comprised of Council members with a large membership from the general public. That sub committee did much good work in fostering and encouraging cultural activities which led in time to the setting up of Athy’s Art Centre in Woodstock Street. That Centre is presently managed by Directors representing Kildare County Council and a number of cultural interests in the town.

The former Town Council’s encouragement of the arts and cultural activities generally was first recognised with the official opening of Athy’s Heritage Centre in the Town Hall in 1992. This again was a joint venture involving Athy U.D.C., Kildare County Council and Athy Museum Society. The management of the Heritage Centre rests with Athy Heritage Company Limited which like its sister company, Athy Arts Company Limited, is a company limited by guarantee with directors representing Kildare County Council and various cultural and social interests in the town. The former Town Councils role in fostering and encouraging cultural activity in the town was formally recognised with the winning of an Excellence in Local Government award in 2010.

Kildare County Council has continued to exercise a highly commendable role in community affairs insofar as Athy is concerned. The unveiling of the Shackleton statue as part of the Decade of Commemoration events planned for the county is further proof of the Council’s commitment to Athy. It’s rather a pity that the positive story was somewhat lost in the unexpected headlined story which appeared in the front page of this newspaper last week.

Danny Kane and Mary Fleming came from a similar rural background in South Kildare. Danny was from Oldgrange, while Mary was from the nearby townland of Fontstown. In age they were a generation apart but both passed away within weeks of each other. Mary was an extremely devout person whose commitment to her church never waivered, while Danny’s work ethic was an essential part of his approach to life.

Mary left Ireland as a young girl in 1937 at the height of the economic war. She would spend the next 67 years of her life in England where she qualified as a nurse and midwife. Even in retirement she continued working as a health visitor in Northampton, near to the home place of the great English poet John Clare. She was however never lost to Ireland or to the extended Fleming family and she returned to Athy 12 years ago. Here in Athy she renewed her commitment to the local parish in the same way as she had committed herself as a volunteer in her UK parish over many years.

Danny Kane, who was one of the most agreeable persons one could meet, left school like so many of his peers at an early age. His lack of formal education did not in any way impinge on his ability to relate to people and he enjoyed an excellent relationship with everyone as he passed through life. While working on local farms at an early age he developed an extraordinary work ethic which he maintained all his life.

In or about 1971 Danny purchased a small grocery shop at 32 Woodstock Street. I am told that the enterprising young man from Oldgrange found that the mortgage repayments exceeded his income and so with friends Syl Bell and Eddie Ryan he purchased a chip van. Travelling to various functions in the area selling chips proved profitable and prompted Danny to open a chipper in part of the existing grocery shop in Woodstock Street. In time Danny gave over the entire premises to the fish and chip business and it flourished while Danny was the proprietor before selling it on in 1998.

Legion are the stories I have heard of Danny’s thoughtfulness and generosity during his time as the shop proprietor in Woodstock Street. It was the same spirit and thoughtfulness which saw him working later in his life as a volunteer driver for the Cancer Society. After retiring from the business he had built up over 26 years Danny worked for a time as a driver for his brother-in-law Fergal Blanchfield. This was followed by a spell as a driver with local hardware firm Griffin Hawe Ltd. and later as a taxi driver for Vals Cabs and Ernest O’Rourke-Glynn.

Sadly in more recent years Danny was troubled by a heart complaint brought on unquestionably by a life of hard work and long hours. He was scheduled to have heart surgery for some time past but health cutbacks caused the operation to be postponed several times. When at last the call came it was via a text message while Danny was attending 12 mass at St. Michael’s Parish Church. He was admitted to St. James’s Hospital the following morning but tragically following a 14 hour operation died shortly after being transferred to the intensive care unit.

Danny is survived by his wife Fidelma who on their marriage in 1972 brought together two families, Kanes and Blanchfields, who are long associated with this part of the county of Kildare. Fidelma and their 8 adult children have lost a wonderful caring husband and father and a man for whom the local community came out in their hundreds to honour on the occasion of his funeral.

The contrasting lifestyles of both Danny Kane and Mary Fleming, both from rural backgrounds, were founded on commitment, one to the church, the other to the family. Mary, who remained single throughout her whole life, found contentment and purpose in the Catholic Church and in her later years on returning to Ireland found great happiness with the extended family members, young and old, with whom she spent her final days. Danny found great happiness in his family life and the life stories of Danny and Mary while different in so many ways show that their passages through life were marked by dedicated commitment to life’s true values. Our sympathies go to the families and friends of Mary Fleming and Danny Kane.

1916 was a difficult year for the town of Athy. The Great War had entered its third year and there was no sign of it ending. The patriotic fervour and martial ardour that greeted the outbreak of war in 1914 had long since diffused. The town had grown accustomed to regular reports of casualties from the western front and a number of Athy men had been invalided home. The year began badly with torrential rains, the worst in memory occasioning the overflow of the Barrow and the flooding of many farms in the Athy area on New Year’s Day 1916.

By that year over 1600 Athy men were serving in the war and the separation allowance paid to the families of soldiers was a significant bulwark against the endemic poverty of pre-war Athy.

Life in both Athy and Ireland however was itself not without incident. The Easter Rising would erupt in Dublin in April 1916 and one Athy man, a young Irish volunteer Mark Wilson, would find himself at the heart of events serving in the Four Courts garrison. At the same time Sir Anthony Weldon, a fellow townsman from Kilmoroney House and veteran of the Boer War, was in command of the Limerick Military district. His humane and sensitive treatment of the Irish Volunteers in Limerick in the aftermath of the Rising was much applauded at the time as no doubt his avowed beliefs as an Irish Home Ruler contributed to his benevolent approach. He himself would not survive the war, dying at home in 1917 from the after effects of gas poisoning

1916 would mark for Michael Bowden of Athy his second year in captivity in Germany as a Prisoner of War. The publication of his picture in the Saturday Herald newspaper on 10^th June 1916 with that of his brother in law John Byrne was of some comfort to his family, but he would never return home, dying in the camp on 7^th May 1918 without ever seeing a child born after his departure for France on the front in the late summer of 1914.

I have no doubt that Bowden and the many other Athy men imprisoned in Limburg would have derived great comfort from the masses they celebrated with Fr. James Crotty, the Dominican friar who had been Prior of the Dominican community in Athy for two years from April 1900 and whose parents left Athy for New Ross in 1867 shortly before Fr. Crotty's birth.

Some aspects of life continued as normal. The South Kildare Agricultural Show which had been cancelled in August 1914 because of the outbreak of the war was held that summer and local vet, John Holland, received the prize for having the best three year old gelding in the show. His son, John Vincent Holland, recently returned from working on the railways in Argentina and now an officer in the Leinster Regiments, would win greater acclaim on the Somme battlefield in September where his actions in leading a bombing party would see him awarded the Victoria Cross. While local vet John Holland enjoyed his success, his former gardener, John Byrne, remained in captivity in Limburg where he would die as the war headed towards its conclusion in September 1918.

The Hannon family from Ardreigh secured a prize at that same agricultural show for having the best gelding in the four year old category. The grief and loss they suffered in 1915 when a son was killed would be compounded by the further loss of Lieutenant John Coulson Hannon in summer of 1916.

1916 was also a defining year for the Kilkea born Ernest Shackleton. On the day that the Irish volunteers struck for freedom in Dublin on Easter Monday Shackleton set out on an extraordinary 800 mile boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia with his Irish comrades Tom Crean and Tim McCarthy.

It was ultimately with the assistance of the Chilean Navy tugboat ‘Yelcho’ commanded by Commander Luis Pardo, that the rescue was effected on 30^thAugust 1916. This dramatic event will be celebrated in Athy Heritage Centre Museum next Friday night, 7^thOctober, with a reception to be hosted by the Chilean naval attache to Ireland, Mr. Ronald Baasch. The reception will be followed by a lecture, at 7.45pm by the distinguished Chilean navy historian, Dr. Fernando Wilson. All are welcome to attend.

100 years on Athy and Ireland has been transformed and none more so in the prominence of women today in Irish life and society. This has been particularly apparent in sport, with the extraordinary level of participation of young girls and women in our national game, Gaelic football. It was particularly uplifting to see the County Kildare ladies football team take the Intermediate All-Ireland title in Croke Park last Sunday in front of a capacity crowd of 35,000 people and I extend my particular congratulations to the two representatives from Athy, Orlaith Moran and Niamh Mulhall on their wonderful achievement.

Last week I travelled to Belgium with a group of local historians from Northern Ireland and from the Republic to visit sites associated with the Great War. The human evidence of the tragedies of that war can be found there in the cemeteries and memorials dotted across the Flemish countryside.

The main setting off point for any visit to the Great War sites is the town of Ypres. The nearby countryside was the location of various battles including the third battle of Ypres, commonly known as Passchendaele where the British army suffered huge losses in what is now regarded as a senseless and pointless battle.

On the eastern side of the town on the road to Menin is the Menin Gate memorial on which are listed the names of more than 54,000 soldiers killed in and around Ypres and whose graves are not known. Their names are engraved in Portland stone panels fixed to the walls of what is called the Hall of Memory and included are the names of at least 19 men from Athy and south Kildare. Many of them were killed in action on 26^thApril 1915 including Joseph Byrne of Chapel Lane, a sergeant in the Dublin Fusiliers. Other casualties on that day were James Halloran of Crookstown, Patrick Tierney of Foxhill and James Dillon, Christopher Power and Patrick Leonard, all of Athy. Leonard died of his wounds on 29^thApril, while Power at 59 years of age was possibly one of the oldest recruits from this area.

Each evening at 8 p.m. a short ceremony takes place at the Menin Gate memorial when the Last Post is sounded by buglers of the local fire brigade. The poignant scene as a wreath was laid by two members of the Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic groups was evidence of the shared history of the two parts of our island boosted by the involvement of the 16^th Irish Division and the 36^th Ulster Division in the Great War.

A few days later we visited Thiepval, that other great memorial to soldiers who died in the Somme battle sector before 20^th March 1918 and have no known graves. The names of approximately 72,000 soldiers are listed on this memorial for the missing, including the names of 18 men from Athy and district. Two of the south Kildare men named on the memorial died on 6^th September 1916. They were Peter Keogh of Ballindrum and Robert McWilliams of Athy. Three days earlier Thomas Stafford of Butlers Row was killed. His brother Edward was killed in action two years earlier. John Mulhall, a 20 year old from Athy, joined his comrades in death on 23^rd October 1916, as did 25 year old Athy man Joseph Murphy eleven days previously. John Delaney was killed in action on 9^thSeptember 1916, while Edward Dowling of Castledermot died six days later. James Dunne of 3 Offaly Street was killed on 13^th November 1916, while Robert Hackett died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. None of these men have known graves and their names are included on the Thiepval memorial. I was delighted to see at the Thiepval memorial a wreath placed there on behalf of the people of Grandvilliers, the French town twinned with Athy.

Not far away Guillemont was the scene of continuous fighting in the second half of 1916 as the English soldiers fought to take possession of the village. As the scene of repeated attacks and counter attacks the village of Guillemont was virtually a fortress with numerous dugouts and tunnels which defied the heaviest artillery barrages. On 3^rd September 1916 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant John Vincent Holland of Athy broke through the defences of what was regarded as one of the strongest fortified villages held by the Germans. Holland, who was attached to the Leinster Regiment, gained the Victoria Cross for his bravery on that occasion.

The capture of Guillemont by Holland and his men was regarded as one of the most important events of September 1916. Today a Celtic cross stands outside the Parish church in Guillemont and on the church wall is a plaque commemorating the deeds of John Vincent Holland, Thomas Hughes and David Jones, all three of whom received the Victoria Cross for their actions at Guillemont on 3^rd September 1916.

Not far from the village is the Guillemont Road Cemetery in which those killed in action in the September attack are buried. Amongst them is Raymond Asquith, son of the British Prime Minister. Nearby is the last resting place of John Hayden of Castledermot who died at Guillemont on 3^rd September 1916.

Many of the young men from Athy and district who died in the Great War have no known graves. It was the French herald in Shakespeare’s play Richard III who seeking permission spoke the lines:-

‘That we may wonder o’er the bloody field

To book our dead, and then to bury them.’

Thankfully today we don’t need permission to ‘book our dead’ of the Great War.

The October Bank Holiday weekend will see many overseas visitors arriving in Athy for the Shackleton Autumn School. Now in its 16^th year the school brings together international and Irish polar experts and enthusiasts to deal with a wide range of topics concerning the Antarctic and those who have attempted to conquer its inhospitable regions.

In this the centenary of Ernest Shackleton’s courageous exploits following the crushing of his ship, ‘Endurance’ it is wonderful to relate that the Shackleton Autumn School has grown over the years from strength to strength. This year we will welcome eleven members of the Devon and Cornwall Polar Society, many of whom will be visiting Ireland for the first time. Another large group travelling from Norway includes the director and seven staff members of the Fram Museum Oslo. I am told that tickets for the weekend have been purchased by people travelling to the south Kildare venue from Belgium, Spain, Germany and America. Of course there will be, as in past years, a considerable number of attendees from the UK confirming, if such was needed, that Athy’s Shackleton Autumn School has become the premier annual polar event held anywhere in the world.

This is a huge compliment for an event which started off with great enthusiasm but without any experience among its organisers. The contacts made and developed throughout the world of polar studies arising from Shackleton’s connections with Athy have been hugely beneficial in developing the Shackleton Autumn School. It is now an event of huge importance which brings enormous benefits to Athy’s fledging tourist industry. Every bed and breakfast facility in the town of Athy is fully booked for the October Bank Holiday weekend and I am told that bookings have had to be made in surrounding towns by some attendees.

2016, important in itself in terms of Shackleton’s centenary, has been an extremely good year insofar as the development of the local Heritage Centre is concerned. The Heritage Council earlier in the year granted the Heritage Centre full museum status. The award was the culmination of three years work in improving standards and meeting the exacting requirements of the Museum Accreditation Programme. This was achieved with minimum staff levels and limited funding but was a just reward for the enthusiasm and willingness to work of all those involved, whether on a voluntary or paid basis, with the Heritage Centre.

This year also saw the acquisition of the cabin from the ship the‘Quest’in which Ernest Shackleton died in 1922. Acquiring this extraordinary piece of polar history for the Athy Heritage Centre was the work of many people, helped by the Centre’s good standing and acknowledges that it was the only permanent exhibition anywhere in the world devoted to Ernest Shackleton. The cabin is presently in Letterfrack, Co. Galway, undergoing conservation work before it comes to Athy to become part of the growing Shackleton display in the Town Hall.

Reports in the national press and television media concerning the cabin’s shipment from Norway to Ireland provided wonderful publicity for the Heritage Centre. It was matched some months later when the statue of Ernest Shackleton was unveiled in Emily Square. The statue has proved to be extremely popular in terms of visitors stopping off in Athy to see the wonderful work of the sculptor, Mark Richards. It has also proved popular amongst the locals, some of whom may have had doubts as to whether the statue was appropriate for Athy. Thanks must go to Peter Carey and his team in Kildare County Council for their foresight in commissioning a beautiful work of art to mark the centenary of the rescue of Shackleton’s men following their abandonment of the polar ship ‘Endurance’.

The development of the Heritage Centre is just a part of the town’s regeneration plan, as is the ongoing shop front painting scheme which has drawn much favourable comments in recent weeks. The town is on the right track insofar as planning for the future is concerned and we can look to the future with a confidence which was not previously shared by many.

The Shackleton Autumn School will be opened at 7.30 p.m. on Friday, 28^th October by Mark Richards, the man whose wonderful work stands proud today in Emily Square. Everyone is welcome to attend if for nothing else than to enjoy the wine reception which this year is being kindly sponsored by the Athy Solicitors.

The lectures commence on Saturday morning and continue on Sunday. Pick up a programme from the Heritage Centre or the Athy Lions Book Shop in Duke Street.

Their passing brings sadness not only to family and friends but also to a community which remembers times past and experiences shared.

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.

Jimmy Robinson and Athy's C.Y.M.S.

Stafford Brothers and World War I

Joey Carbery Irish Rugby International

Athy's Association Football Club

The early history of Athy's Workhouse

Sir Roger Casement

Memorial, plaques and signs in and around South Kildare

Local history research

Local benefactors to Athy's Christian Brothers

Danny Flood

The role of the local authority in the ecomonic, social and cultural regeneration of Athy

Danny Kane and Mary Fleming

1916 in Athy

Tour of World War I sites in Flanders

2016 Shackleton Autumn School

Jimmy Robinson and Athy's C.Y.M.S.

Stafford Brothers and World War I

Joey Carbery Irish Rugby International

Athy's Association Football Club

The early history of Athy's Workhouse (1)