Athy Eye On The Past

The announcement of the intended departure of the Dominicans from Athy fills me with sadness. Although a ‘Parish man’ I am conscious and highly appreciative of what the Dominican Order means to the South Kildare town which has been my home town since 1945. The Dominicans are an intrinsic part of the fabric of Athy, the town where successive generations of Dominican Friars have ministered since 1257.

Fr. Ambrose Coleman in his work ‘The Ancient Dominican Foundations of Ireland’ published in 1902, as an appendix to O’Heynes’ earlier work on the Dominicans, noted that the Athy Abbey (as he described it) was founded in 1257 and that provincial chapters were held here in 1288, 1295 and 1305. He related how in 1315 following the battle of Ardscull several of the Scottish Chiefs were buried in the Dominican Abbey.

The dissolution of the Abbey in 1539 lead to the departure from the area of the Prior, Robert Woulff and his small community of friars. The Dominicans never abandoned hope of returning to Athy and early in the 17^th century when their provincial Ross Mac Geoghegan set about reviving the Dominican Order in Ireland, Athy was once again chosen as the location of a Dominican Abbey or Friary.

Athy featured prominently during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s which ended with the arrival of Cromwell in 1649. The Dominican Abbey was attacked and damaged by anti-Confederate troops lead by Preston, while a later attack, this time by Confederate troops resulted in the destruction of the Abbey. Cromwell, following the siege of Drogheda, executed amongst many others Fr. Richard Ovington who was then the sub-Prior of Athy. Rev. Thomas Bermingham who was Prior of Athy during the Confederate Wars was also captured by Cromwell’s troops and imprisoned in Dublin before being exiled to the Continent where he died in 1655. Local tradition relates that the Dominicans from Athy sheltered in Derryvullagh Bog, known locally as the Derries, in the aftermath of the Cromwellian invasion. The Dominicans faced persecution during the remainder of the 17^th century and Fr. Redmond Moore, another Prior of the Athy Abbey, was imprisoned in Dublin in 1666 where he died three years later.

When James II, the Catholic King, came to the throne in 1685 the Dominican Friars returned to Athy. However, following the Battle of the Boyne and the enactment of laws compelling the Friars to leave Ireland the local Abbey was again abandoned. Another 35 years or so were to pass before the Dominicans were to return to Athy. In 1754 the Dominicans built or acquired a house in a laneway off Bothar Bui on the east side of Athy which was to serve as the Dominican Friary for almost 100 years. That laneway, now known as Kirwan’s Lane, was known as Convent Lane following the opening of the Dominican Friary. It is believed that Fr. Thomas Cummins was the first Prior following the return of the Dominicans in 1754. He died in 1788 aged 88 years and is buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery.

Fr. John Kenealy, the Prior during the Famine years, purchased a large house on the west bank of the River Barrow from Mr. Laphen in 1846. A year later the Dominicans moved into Riversdale House having refurbished adjoining out offices as a chapel. Relationships between the Dominicans and the local Parish Priest were not always the best as evidenced by events in 1853. The then Parish Priest, Monsignor Quinn, withdrew the two annual collections which for many years had been taken up in the Parish Church for the Dominican Fathers. Monsignor Quinn, whose two brothers were Bishops in Australia, was moved to withdraw permission for the collections because he claimed a third Dominican priest had been stationed in Athy without his knowledge and consent.

The subsequent history of the Athy Dominicans has been documented by others including Fr. Raymond Dowdall who over several years wrote and compiled memoirs of Irish Dominicans who died between 1930 and 1980. We in Athy have been privileged to have the Dominicans working amongst us over the past 750 years. Since 1754 the Dominicans have maintained a continuous presence in Athy but now sadly as the crisis in vocations deepens they will leave us for the last time.

The Dominicans and the people of Athy have a shared history which has brought both through religious persecutions, war, rebellion and famine. We must now face into a future without the friar preachers who are our links with the founding of the early settlement on the banks of the River Barrow. The departure of the Dominicans will be our loss, bringing to an end an association which has enriched a local community as the riverside settlement grew from village to town over the centuries.

In the early 1980s a few enthusiasts sharing a common interest in photography came together to form the town’s first modern day photographic club. There is a possibility that an earlier photographic club existed many decades ago but the possibility has yet to be confirmed. The initial meeting was held in the Leinster Arms Hotel and was attended by Pat O’Rourke, Gerry Lynch, ‘Bargie’ Robinson, Kieran Brown, Mary MacKenna, David Anderson, and the late Malachy Cardiff.

After almost thirty years the photographic club is still active and holds meetings on the first and third Tuesday of every month in the Woodstock Community Centre. Over the years its members, past and present, have recorded a veritable treasure trove of images of Athy people, places and events, bringing life to the ever evolving story of our town.

Several years ago the photographic club members participated, as indeed did members of the general public, in a photographic survey of the town over a seven day period. That project resulted in the compilation of a unique collection of photographs and videos of everyday life in South Kildare, the importance of which will become more evident as the years progress.

Individual members of the photographic club have proven themselves first class photographic social historians, recording as they do on a regular basis the comings and goings of our local community at both work and play. The club has encouraged its members to do this pioneering work and by dint of its various workshops, organised for beginners and more experienced photographers alike, has made a major contribution to recording the life of our community. This will undoubtedly prove of immense value to future students of our local history.

Athy’s Photographic Club is a member of the Irish Photographic Federation which is one of the most prestigious photographic societies in this country. Club Chairman, Noel Kelly, this year entered a panel of portraits in the National Competition organised by the Federation and was awarded a distinction. His was the first such national award granted to an Athy Photographic Club member.

The Vice-Chairman of the local club is Paddy Joe Ryan of Gouleyduff whose unique photographs of Irish wildlife display a professionalism which belies his amateur status. Secretary of the Club is Con Doyle, while the purse strings are controlled by Pat Fleming. Peadar Doogue, who for many years has been photographing Athy and its people, is the club’s public relations officer.

Each year the club organises an annual photographic exhibition which this year opens in the Heritage Centre in the Town Hall on Friday 10^th October at 8.00 p.m. Admission to the exhibition is free and on the same night the Club’s Annual Photographic Calendar will be launched. This I believe will be the ninth year of the Club’s calendar which has found an appreciative audience not only here in Athy, but understandably wherever Athy people are to be found abroad. This year’s calendar, again devoted to images of Athy, is dedicated to former club member Terence Farrell who at 39 years of age died earlier this year. Terence was a loyal and dedicated member of the Photographic Club and the Club members in honour of his memory agreed to pass on the profits from the sale of the calendar to St. Brigid’s Hospice in the Curragh.

Friday 10^th October at 8.00 p.m. will see the launch of this year’s photographic exhibition and the launch of the Photographic Calendar for 2015. Do come along to the Heritage Centre and support one of Athy’s most active groups whose contribution to the cultural heritage of our town deserves to be recognised and acknowledged.

The October Bank Holiday weekend will see many overseas visitors arriving in Athy to attend the 14^th Ernest Shackleton Autumn School. The school has become such an important feature in the calendar of Polar studies that many of the attendees from the United States, United Kingdom and Spain had booked their trips to Ireland almost twelve months in advance. It is also an important social event in the life of the town and it gives local businesses a much needed boost before the run up to Christmas.

The weekend will commence on the evening of Friday, 24^th October when the newly appointed Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, Mr Peter Carey will officially open the school and launch the exhibition ‘The Crossing of Antarctica’. The exhibition tells the story of the epic first crossing of Antarctica by the Commonwealth Transantarctic expedition of 1955-1958. The exhibition is drawn from the photography of the New Zealander George Lowe who was part of the successful team which climbed Mount Everest in 1953.

The exhibition will be complemented by artefacts from a number of private collections and it will be a unique opportunity to learn more about the expedition which, inspired by Shackleton’s 1914 Endurance Expedition, succeeded in crossing the Antarctic. The expedition will also feature in a talk by Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones whose book on the Commonwealth Transantarctic expedition has just been published.

In tandem with the opening the Shackleton School will host the launch of the latest biography of the Kilkea born Ernest Shackleton. The book titled ‘Shackleton by Endurance we Conquer’ is the latest publication from Michael Smith, the acclaimed author of ‘Tom Crean-Antarctic Explorer’. Michael has dedicated the last 10 years to celebrating in print the Irish heroes of Polar exploration. His new book has generated huge interest at home and abroad and a big attendance is expected on the night of the launch. The book will be launched by the actor and writer Aidan Dooley who has performed his one man show 'Tom Crean' to acclaim all over the world. That show was first performed to an appreciative audience at the Shackleton Autumn School in Athy Town Hall in 2002.

The Shackleton School committee have packed an extraordinary array of events into the weekend together with lectures on various Polar topics across Saturday and Sunday covering both Arctic and Antarctic exploration. Included are lectures on 'Shackleton and his life in poetry'by Jim Mayer and one on the Russian Antarctic Expedition of 1819 – 1821 by American academic, Dr. Rip Bulkeley. Other lectures include the forgotten Victorian explorer Benjamin Leigh Smith by Professor P.J. Capelotti while the early study of the natural history of the Arctic will feature in Dr. Leah Devlin's talk. Modern day exploration will be catered for by Tim Jarvis who recently recreated the famous boat journey taken by Shackleton from Elephant Island to South Georgia to save the crew of the ship Endurance which had been crushed in the polar ice.

Two Irish lecturers also feature, Dr. Rorke Bryan will lecture on his time in Antarctica since the 1960s, while Dinah Molloy will speak about her research into the environmental data she has recovered from the logs of Arctic whaling ships of the 19^th century.

Of particular significance, for local people, will be the premiere of the original composition 'Shackleton’s Endurance'at the George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Carlow on Sunday the 26^thOctober. It is a musical composition by our distinguished traditional musician, Brian Hughes and award winning writer, John MacKenna which captures in music and words key elements of the Endurance expedition from its departure in 1914 to the rescue of its crew from Elephant Island in 1916. This is a countywide project with Brian and John being joined onstage by the Kildare County Orchestra and the Monasterevin Gospel Choir, while the graphic artist Craig Blackwell has designed the unique multimedia element for the stage performance. Such has been the demand for tickets for the performance that it is being held in the George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Carlow rather than Athy’s Art Centre to cater for the large numbers wishing to attend. The performance will also see the launch of the CD of 'Shackleton’s Endurance'.

The school is an important feature in Athy’s cultural heritage calendar and I would urge as many locals as possible to attend as many events as they can as it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of a local hero, Ernest Shackleton.

When literature and music are brought together one is almost always assured of a performance not to be missed. Such were my thoughts when John MacKenna, prize winning author and Brian Hughes, a first class traditional musician, announced the project on which both have been engaged for the past 12 months. The project involved a musical composition by Brian Hughes to which the writer John MacKenna provided a narrative. The combined work in music and words is to mark the centenary of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition to the Antarctic.

2014 marks the centenary of the Enduranceexpedition, the greatest survival story ever told. In 1914 Ernest Shackleton and the ship Endurance left Europe as the First World War was commencing. Shackleton, the Kilkea, Co. Kildare born Antarctic explorer and his crew hoped to achieve one of the last great feats by crossing the Antarctic from coast to coast. What followed was one of the most daring and adventurous escapes in the history of Polar exploration.

The musical suite composed by Brian Hughes featuring the Monasterevin Gospel Choir with Brian Hughes and a host of other musicians including Shana Daby and Seamus Brett will be launched as a CD on Sunday, 26^th October 2014. The CD launch is on the same night as the first public performance of the work which will take place in the George Bernard Shaw Theatre Carlow, starting at 8.00 p.m. The performance will feature not only the composer, the writer and the Monasterevin Gospel Choir, but also the Kildare County Orchestra.

The stage presentation also includes a multi media element devised by Craig Blackwell, making this a unique and innovative performance of the story of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. The combination of words, music and visual presentation promises an evening of entertainment not to be missed.

The work was commissioned by Athy Heritage Centre as part of the centenary celebrations of the 1914 Endurance Antarctic expedition. The County Kildare born explorer is the subject of an exhibition in the Athy Heritage Centre which is the only permanent exhibition anywhere in the world dedicated to Shackleton.

Brian Hughes, who in the past has released a number of CDs of traditional Irish music, highlighted for me the work which as the composer he undertook to match the music and the mood to the events which make up the Endurance story. The principal movements of the composer’s suite highlight the optimism of the parting, the devastation arising from the ship’s destruction, the crew’s hopelessness when drifting on ice, culminating in the courageous voyage of the James Caird and the dramatic rescue of the crew members. The beautiful musical suite by Brian Hughes is complemented by the written words of John MacKenna which both the musician and the writer will perform on the Carlow stage on Sunday, 26^thOctober.

The performance will be officially opened by Ernest Shackleton’s granddaughter, Alexandra Shackleton. Alexandra, as patron of the Shackleton Autumn School now in its 14^th year, will be attending the Autumn School which opens in Athy Heritage Centre on Friday 24^thOctober. The performance in the George Bernard Shaw Theatre Carlow is part of this year’s Shackleton Autumn School for which bookings can be made by contacting the Heritage Centre on (059)8633075 or by email at athyheritage@eircom.net.

Castledermot born John MacKenna, who to date has produced an extraordinary range of literary works comprising poems, plays, short stories and novels, has written another novel which will be launched on Thursday, 20^th November. The venue, an unusual one for a literary event, is the Arboretum Garden Centre in Carlow where radio personality Joe Duffy will launch John’s novel, ‘Joseph’. John’s literary works have been the subject of several awards including the Irish Times fiction prize for 1993. His book of short stories, ‘The Fallen’ reviewed in the Sunday Times by Penny Perrick was described as ‘raw beautiful stories set in and around Athy’ by a writer who was ‘marvellously enriching’. Further accolades came with his first novel, ‘Clare’, which has just been republished, when Irish novelist Kevin Casey described MacKenna ‘as a writer of increasing confidence and power’. His literary style drew comparisons with John McGahern when Kate Donovan reviewed his book, ‘The Last Fine Summer’ for the Irish Times.

John MacKenna is a writer whose previous works were usually set in the rural background of South Kildare, bringing comparisons with Hardy’s affinity with Wessex. The new novel, ‘Joseph’ breaks with this literary fascination with place and as one of the most notable contemporary Irish fiction writers MacKenna extends his literary borders with his latest work. The launch is on 20^th November and an invitation is extended to all to attend this notable event.

The Great War of 1914-1918 had a profound and lasting impact on the town of Athy and its hinterland. Research indicates that upwards of 213 men from Athy and outlying districts died in what was supposed to be ‘the war to end all wars’. It is difficult to determine the actual number of Athy men who served in the war as many joined up in England, Scotland and some as far away as Australia and Canada. In June 1915 the Leinster Leader reported that 1600 men from Athy and its environs had enlisted and that number had increased, by how much we don’t know, before the war ended in November 1918.

According to the 1911 census figures, the population of Athy was just over three and a half thousand people, so it is reasonable to speculate that during the 52 months of the war almost every family in the town had a son, father, relative or neighbour who was at the war front.

William Whelan of Castledermot was the first man from South Kildare to be killed in action. He died on the 28^th August 1914 and four days later William Corcoran of Offaly Street became the first Athy man to die in battle. Irish Guardsman Patrick Heydon of Churchtown died on the 4^th of September and was buried in Villers Cotterets Wood along with 98 other officers and men of the 4^th(Guards) Brigade who fought to cover the retreat of their comrades following the defeat at Mons.

Athy men fought and died in every major battle in France and Flanders and they are buried in cemeteries or remembered on monuments which are to be found all along the 400 miles of the Western Front. Nineteen sons of South Kildare are remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres. Seventeen men who died at the Somme are remembered at the Thiepval Memorial, along with 70,000 others who died there between July 1915 and March 1918 and have no known grave.

Eight men are named at Tyne Cot, where those who died in the battle of Passchendaele are remembered. Five more at Loos, four at Cambrai, and two Athy men, Christopher Flynn and Andrew Pender, lie in Artillery Wood in the same cemetery as the Meath poet Francis Ledwidge.

Local man David Walsh is probably best known as a director of plays with Athy Musical and Dramatic Society and Athy Drama Group, but he also has a keen interest in the Athy men who fought in the Great War. Over the past ten years he has visited and photographed the graves of almost all of the Athy and South Kildare casualties who lie in France or Flanders. I’m told that at each grave or monument David left Irish and Kildare flags with some clay from ‘the Crickeen’ in Old St. Michaels cemetery, along with a drop of Irish whiskey to remember and honour the sacrifice of these brave young men, who in the words of Tom Kettle ‘Died not for flag, nor King, nor Emperor,- But for a dream, born in a herdsman’s shed, And for the secret Scripture of the poor.’

It is therefore no surprise that David brings his two passions together for a performance in the Athy Community Arts Centre on Woodstock Street, with the staging of ‘Still and Distant Voices, an oratorio for the Men of Athy’ who fell in the Great War. Written by John MacKenna, with music by Mairead O’Flynn, the oratorio was first staged in Athy’s Presbyterian Church in 1990 and now on the centenary of the start of the war it is to be revived.

For this production David has drawn on the experience of the people he has worked with in the past, as well as some new faces; Chris Fingleton, Tony Cardiff, Noel Kavanagh, Eileen Doyle and Amanda Barry from Athy Musical and Dramatic Society, Damien Walsh and Deirdre Walsh from ONE4The Road Theatre Company, Gerard O’Shea of the Moat Theatre in Naas, as well as newcomers Brian Kelly from Kilmead and Susan Walsh who recently starred in the movie ‘All About Eva’.

The production is a poignant and moving story of the Great War as seen through the eyes of a young couple from South Kildare, a servant girl and her soldier boyfriend in the late summer of 1914. It is a tender and beautiful story told against the backdrop of death and destruction which one hundred years ago marked the daily lives of soldiers in that small part of a foreign land we now know as Passchendaele.

There are just three performances, Thursday 6th, Friday 7^th and Saturday 8^th November at 8.00 p.m. sharp in the Arts Centre on Woodstock Street. Tickets are available from the Gem and Winkles.

If you do nothing else on remembrance weekend, go and see this show in Athy’s Art Centre. I highly recommend it.

November is the month we remember the dead, not only those of a recent generation but even more particularly the dead of World War 1. The war which started in August 1914 and was expected to end by Christmas saw nearly 10 million soldiers die before the 52 months of conflict ended at eleven o’clock on the morning of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918. It was a war which brought untold pain, suffering and loss to many families and here in Athy brought news of death to many households.

While research is continuing into the casualties suffered amongst the reservists and enlisted men of South Kildare the current list of Athy men killed in battle numbers 122. These men, so many of whose bodies were never recovered and so have no known grave, were part of the town’s population of approximately 3,500 people. Their loss created immense social and financial problems for families left without husbands, fathers, sons and brothers.

Added to the grief of those left behind was the awful realisation that the country which had sent these men into battle turned against them on their return to Ireland. They had been cheered by family and friends as they paraded to the railway station to join up but on being demobbed they found that all had utterly changed. The church and civic leaders who had encouraged their enlistment were silenced by the emerging nationalist majority. The surviving men of the war-torn battlefields of France and Flanders found themselves ignored and sidelined in their home town.

Amongst those who returned home from the war were Patrick Berry of Kilmead and Jack ‘Skurt’ Doyle of Athy, both of whom survived years spent in the prisoner of war camp in Limburg. Not so lucky were Athy men Michael Bowden, John Byrne and Martin Maher who were also prisoners in Limburg. All these men had taken part in the Battle of Mons which opened on 23^rd August 1914 and were captured by the Germans. Bowden, Byrne and Maher died in Limburg before the war ended. John Byrne who was a gardener employed by John Holland of Model Farm died on 27^th September 1918 just weeks before the Armistice. His sister was married to Michael Bowden, an Athy postman who died in Limburg on 27^thMay 1918.

The surviving soldiers of World War I had memories which they did not share on their return home. For them remembrance of times spent in rat infested and muddied trenches in France or Flanders must have included recurring themes of death and suffering. It is difficult for a generation far removed from the savagery of war to understand the hardships endured by these men.

Recent research by local military historian Clem Roche has identified a number of men from landlocked Athy who served in the British Merchant Navy during the Great War. This discovery is an interesting addition to our knowledge of Athy men’s participation in World War I. Theirs is an untold story of bravery on the high seas in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and the Southern Oceans. Of those identified to date all appear to have survived the war.

The men who died during World War I were overlooked by the Irish public for many decades. It was 25 or so years ago that John MacKenna and some friends got together to honour the Athy men who died in war. The simple ceremony of remembrance was held in St. Michael’s Cemetery and has continued each year since on Remembrance Sunday. On Sunday next 9^thNovember at 3.00 p.m. local people will again gather in St. Michael’s Cemetery to pay a deserved tribute to the men from Athy and district who died not only in World War I but in all wars. We will remember young men such as the three Kelly brothers, Denis, John and Owen of Chapel Lane, the three Curtis brothers of Rockfield, John, Lawrence and Patrick and the three Byrne brothers, Anthony, James and Joseph from Chapel Lane, all of whom died during the 1914/18 war.

This year also the oratorio ‘Still and Distant Voices’ written by John MacKenna with music composed by Mairead O’Flynn which was first performed almost 15 years ago will be again performed in the Arts Centre in Woodstock Street on Thurs. 6^th, Friday 7^th and Sat. 8^thNovember, 2014 at 8.00 p.m. each evening.

Remembrance Sunday is a day to honour and respect the memory of those young men from Athy and district who died in the 1914-18 war. In this the centenary year of the start of the war it is perhaps more important than ever that we remember a lost generation. Do come to St. Michael’s Cemetery on Sunday at 3.00 p.m. and if you can attend the performance in the Arts Centre during the week.

On 21^st August 1886 the Kildare Observer under the headline ‘Fatal Accident near Athy’ reported the death of 30 year old Edward McDarby who was killed when the horse and cart in which he was travelling went into the river at Clogorrow. The jury at the inquest on the following day returned a verdict that ‘the deceased Edward McDarby died from fracture of the spine at the base of the skull from a fall of about 15 feet down a slope, the horse and cart falling on him and death being instantaneous.’ A rider was added calling the attention of the County Surveyor to the imperfect state of the fence on the Clogorrow road.

The unfortunate man was survived by his wife, the former Margaret Lacey and four young children, the eldest a 10 year old daughter and the youngest a son just a few weeks old. With the loss of the family’s only breadwinner Margaret and her four children were compelled to enter the Workhouse in Athy. Dr. P.L. O’Neill, who as the County Coroner presided at the inquest, was the medical officer for the Workhouse where the Sisters of Mercy had recently taken over responsibility for the Workhouse infirmary. Margaret McDarby on entering the Workhouse was detained in the female ward, while her children were housed in a separate section of the building which was opened over 40 years earlier. The separation of parents from their children was part of the harsh regime which marked the operation of workhouses in the late 19^th century. Within two years of entering the Workhouse Margaret McDarby died. On 29^thMarch 1888 her remains were brought on the Workhouse trolley across the Stradbally Road to be buried alongside the hundreds of those who had died of starvation or disease during the Great Famine. Like all those who died in the Workhouse her grave was unmarked.

Fast forward to 2014 when with the magic of internet and email I found myself dealing with queries from a lady in New Mexico who was about to visit Athy from where her grandfather had emigrated. That grandfather was Edward McDarby who was three years old when his father was killed at Clogorrow and who lost his mother two years later in Athy’s Workhouse. Edward lived in Athy Workhouse until he was old enough to go to work on the Cosby estate in Stradbally. He later met and courted Ellen McCarthy who lived with her younger brother Martin in Athy and when Edward emigrated to America in 1909 Ellen followed a year later. Edward and Ellen married four years later and having settled in Manhattan, New York City had eight children, one of whom was the father of my female correspondent from New Mexico.

Edward, like his father and namesake, died tragically at a young age. He was 50 years old when in 1933 he was run down by a drunken driver and killed. New York was then in the grip of the Great Depression and the grieving widow and eight children faced an uncertain future. Thanks to a very charitable landlady who allowed the McDarby family to live rent free for as long as was necessary, the experience of the Irish Workhouse was not repeated.

The McDarby children all grew up to do well in America and when I met the visitor from New Mexico I could not but marvel at the courage of a family which had suffered so many setbacks over two generations. Maisy McDarby Stanovich came to Athy with her young daughter to visit the sites and places associated with her great grandparents and her grandfather. A visit was made to St. Vincent’s Hospital where courtesy of the Matron, Helen Dreelan, the American visitors were able to see the now disused old Workhouse wards and what was once the Workhouse Chapel. We walked from the Chapel to St. Mary’s Cemetery along the same route taken by the Workhouse staff who had brought Margaret McDarby’s body to be buried amongst the unknown and forgotten.

It was a sad and poignant journey for the visitors from New Mexico, recalling a great grandmother whose life was marked by tragedy and loss. Her story and that of the McDarby family was a familiar enough story in 19^thcentury Ireland. The journey from Clogorrow to the Workhouse and from there to New York and New Mexico was a long journey extending over several generations. Family ties stretching outwards and downwards to the present generation were re-enforced and strengthened with the visit to Athy of New Mexico resident Maisy McDarby Stanovich.

James Fitzgerald, 20^thEarl of Kildare and later 1^st Duke of Leinster, commissioned the Anglo French cartographer John Rocques to survey his estates in County Kildare soon after Rocques came to Dublin in 1754. Rocques had worked in England for 20 years during which time he prepared plans for various important country estates. On arrival in Dublin he published proposals for a detailed survey of the city which appeared two years later engraved on four sheets. He also published a town plan of Thurles in 1755 before he embarked on the Kildare estates survey.

The Earl of Kildare’s estates were mapped by Rocques in nearly 170 individual maps which were bound in eight oblong volumes covering approximately 68,000 acres. Rocques helped by surveyors using theodolite and chain triangulation produced maps of unprecedented accuracy and detail.

The first maps produced in 1756 were of the Manors of Athy and Woodstock, followed a year later by the Manors of Kildare and Maynooth. The Athy Manor survey consisted of 20 maps, while that of Woodstock comprised 8 maps. The Earl’s estates in Castledermot and Graney were mapped in 1758 and two years later maps were presented for the Manors of Kilkea and Rathangan. The Manor maps were bound in red goatskin, with the title of each Manor surrounded by a decorative border tooled in gold on the upper cover.

Six of the eight Manor folios were put up for auction by Sothebys of London in 1963. It was then that Trinity College Dublin purchased the Manor maps for Athy and Kildare, while the Castledermot Folio went to the National Library Dublin. The Woodstock Manor maps were purchased by the British Library, while Cambridge University acquired the Maynooth Manor Folio. The Graney Manor Folio was purchased by Yale University. The missing folios relating to the Manors of Kilkea and Rathangan remained undiscovered for many years until the Kilkea Folio was put up for sale by a London Auction House in 2003. The Rathangan Manor Folio still remains untraced to this day.

The original eight volumes were housed in the Duke of Leinster’s Library in Carton House Maynooth until 1849 when the library was sold. They were then removed to Kilkea Castle where they remained until they were sold privately to a dealer. It was that dealer, whose identity remains unknown, who put six of the folios up for auction in Sothebys of London in 1963. Rocques maps of Athy are the earliest maps we have of the town and give a wealth of detail about the town at a time when it was emerging from the medieval past.

Interestingly the Lordship of St. John’s, that is Athy west of the River Barrow, was mapped for the Earl of Kildare by Bernard Scale in 1768. In the early maps prepared by Rocques the main street of Athy running from the edge of the town on the Kilkenny side to the Dublin side of the town was called St. John’s Street and High Street. The Bridge at White’s Castle separated the two streets, with High Street the name assigned to the town’s principal shopping street lying on the east side of the river. Over the bridge was St. John’s Street, obviously a name harping back to the monastery which in the 13^thand 14^th centuries occupied a site adjacent to the present St. John’s Cemetery. We still retain the name St. John’s Lane for the laneway which runs at the side of that cemetery, but St. John’s Street has long been renamed Duke Street. It was the second Duke of Leinster, William Robert Fitzgerald whose name is recalled in the town street names which replaced the original medieval street names in the last decade of the 18^thcentury.

On Thursday, 20^thNovember at 7.30 p.m., Castledermot born writer John MacKenna will have his latest novel launched by radio presenter Joe Duffy. The launch takes place in the Arboretum, Carlow and promises to be an interesting and entertaining evening with Joe Duffy who presents every afternoon on RTE a programme which has been controversially described as a ‘whingers forum’. In truth however a more reasoned view would regard his programme as a major contribution to public broadcasting in Ireland. His programme allows the general public access to the airwaves at a time, insofar as rural Ireland is concerned, when the same airwaves seem almost exclusively serviced by and for those living within the Dublin Pale. Joe Duffy has recently made a very real contribution to Irish historical studies with his unique compilation of the names of the young children killed during the 1916 Rising. I understand an open invitation is extended to everybody to attend the book launch in the Arboretum on the 20^th and I am sure the author John MacKenna would appreciate support on the night.

Banking administration in Ireland has changed, and not for the better, within the last few years. Long standing bank customers are now faced with extraordinary and ridiculous requests for passports, driving licences and utility bills to prove to bank officials with whom they have been dealing for years that they are who they claim to be.

I had experience of this quite recently when local officials in the bank where I have banked for over 30 years required me to prove who I was before I could operate another account. This prompted me to question the difficulties facing the customers of St. Dominic’s Penny Bank, which is closing this month, should they wish to use any of the existing financial institutions to open saving accounts.

The Penny Bank is a much valued facility, especially useful for those people who might not be able to avail of banking facilities in our local banks or credit union. Quite a lot of those people do not have driving licences or passports and consequently will not be able to meet the financial institutions requirements to allow savings accounts to be opened.

I am told that the Penny Bank opened in 1984 and for the last 30 years has provided what is essentially a social service for those unable to avail of main stream banking facilities. A meeting in the Dominican Priory on 22^ndMarch 1984 chaired by the late Fr. Jim Harris, Prior of St. Dominic’s on 22^ndMarch 1984 agreed to open a Penny Bank. Present at that meeting were Margo Gough, Ivan Bergin, Donal Murphy, Jack O’Rourke and John Neavyn who acted as Secretary. The Penny Bank opened for the first time on Saturday, 7^th April 1984 from 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. manned by volunteers Michael Ryan and Tom Walsh.

Trustees of the Penny Bank were appointed and that role was undertaken by Donal Murphy, Ivan Bergin and John Neavyn. Appointed as promoters were Patricia Murphy, Maureen Ryan, Peter Grant, Paddy Rochford and Tony Foley. Ann Handy worked in the Penny Bank Office for many years and in 2003 Phyllis Fennin took over the running of the office with the late Kevin Watchorn. In recent years St. Dominic’s Penny Bank has been open 6 days a week with Patricia Holligan and Ann Robinson helping out in addition to their normal duties in the Dominican shop. During the 40 years of the Penny Bank’s existence five Dominican Priors have been in charge of the local Priory. Fr. Jim Harris, Fr. Con Roche, Fr. Jim Dunleavy, Fr. John Heffernan and the current Prior, Fr. Joe O’Brien.

I understand that the Penny Bank has several thousand customers, all of whom benefit from the Savings Scheme which pays out substantial monies in the weeks prior to Christmas. The money saved by the local people and made available to them in the lead up to the festive season brings enormous benefit to local shops. It would be difficult to estimate the value to our local economy of the Penny Bank’s savings money spent in Athy each December but it must be millions of euro rather than thousands.

What will happen if the Penny Bank is not continued? It cannot be continued by the Dominicans as regrettably the Friar’s preachers will in time be leaving Athy after more than 750 years of service to our community.

The Penny Bank must be saved. It is a vital service for families who cannot avail of banking facilities. If it is allowed to die those families will either lose the incentive to save or perhaps keep their savings at home. Either will be a cause of concern. Without the regular savings entrusted to the Penny Bank the loss to the local economy will be enormous. If people, especially elderly people, continue to save and retain their savings by way of cash in their homes issues of personal safety will be a concern.

There is undoubtedly an urgent need for the community to come together to examine how best to retain the Penny Bank in Athy. There should be no question of its dissolution without every avenue being examined as to the feasibility of retaining what is an essential social service. It is also a vital local service and a community already facing the loss of its Post Office and its replacement by a sub Post Office should act immediately to stop this further erosion of services in Athy. The townspeople need to act to help regenerate the town which has so many natural and manmade assets of sufficient quality to justify its claim to be one of the best situated provincial towns in Leinster.

Last Sunday in St. Michael’s Church of Ireland at the top of Offaly Street an ecumenical service was held to remember the men from Athy and district who died in the 1914-18 war. This was the first time that the different churches in Athy came together in a church setting to commemorate those men who 100 years ago enlisted in their hundreds to fight in France and further afield. It was appropriate that the centenary of the start of the 1^st World War was marked in this way given that the young men from Athy were encouraged by Church and civic leaders of 1914 and later years to join the English army.

The service, organised by Reverend Olive Donohoe and Fr. Gerry Tanham, commenced with a hymn and was followed by the following reflection on the war:

Those born in times of peace do not recognise the true face of war. Similarly those of us born decades after the war which shattered the lives of so many from our community do not perhaps recognise those lives lost in the muddied battlefields of France and Flanders.

Encouraged by Church and civic leaders young men from our town enlisted in their hundreds during the 1914-18 war. Many did not return. Many were never found – for they lie today where they died.

In the public domain acts of remembrance for those who died in the war were overtaken by political instability and conflict. As a result the grieving process for deceased fathers, sons, husbands and brothers retreated into the privacy of family homes. For decades the war dead were forgotten and overlooked by a people whose lives were immersed in the War of Independence, the subsequent Civil War and an emerging and developing statehood. They were a forgotten generation – young men whose dreams were never realized. The great shame was that of later generations who failed to recognise the sacrifices made by the young men of 1914-18 and who failed to disentangle public acts of remembrance from the political legacy of the new Irish State.

In this the decade of centenaries we are remembering so many elements of our shared Irish history – including the beginning of World War I, for we now accept that it was an important part of Irish history and of a past which influenced and shaped our local community. Athy lost at least 122 young men during the 1914-18 war. The loss of life for the town and its hinterland was in excess of 220 men.

In 1966 the then Taoiseach Sean Lemass, a one time critic of Remembrance ceremonies in Ireland, acknowledged that Irish men who had enlisted during World War I were motivated by the highest purpose and died in their tens of thousands believing that they were giving their lives in the cause of human liberty everywhere not excluding Ireland.

It is appropriate that here in Athy some members of the local community took a lead almost 25 years ago to remember the local men who died in the 1914-18 war. Commemoration ceremonies have been held each year since then and today in the centenary year of the start of the war we come together for an ecumenical service in the Church which records on wall memorials the sacrifices of the Hannon brothers and their cousins from Ardreigh House.

The various religious denominations here in Athy share a common heritage – a heritage of loss and sacrifice endured by the men from Athy and district who fought in the 1914-18 war. Our collective remembrance respects and acknowledges different traditions and loyalties and it is appropriate that we come together to commemorate the men of Athy and district irrespective of any underlying cultural or political differences.

The poet Lord Dunsany was moved to write his poem ‘to the fallen Irish soldiers’ following the Irish government’s refusal in 1928 to allow a war memorial to be built in the garden of Merrion Square.

“Sleep on, forgot a few more years, and then

The ages, that I prophesy, shall see

Due honours paid to you by juster men,

You standing foremost in our history,”

Dunsany prophesised that attitudes would in time change and that due honour would be paid to the Irishmen who died in war. Today we gather to pay that honour to a generation we did not know, but whom we should always remember for sacrifices suffered on the battlefields of the Great War.

Towards the end of the service the names of the 122 men from Athy who died in the 1914-18 war were read out, starting with Frank Alcock’s name and ending with that of Francis Verschoyle. Amongst those names were William Corcoran of Offaly Street, the first Athy man to die in the war. At 17 years of age Christopher Gleeson of Upper William Street was the youngest Athy fatality, while Christopher Power of 8 Plewman’s Terrace at 59 years of age was the oldest. Three Athy families each suffered the loss of three young sons. The Byrnes, the Kelly’s and the Curtis families are forever linked to the awful destruction of young life during the war.

The Sunday afternoon service was a unique event, bringing together members of our local community in a common act of remembrance for a lost generation.

‘Soldiering is in the Athy blood’ was an oft repeated comment of 19^th century observers of the South Kildare town whose men folk were to be found in large numbers amongst the ranks of the English army and navy. Today soldiering has been replaced by music prompting my thoughts last night after an entertaining concert in the local Arts Centre that ‘music is in the Athy blood’. The latest musical event in our Arts Centre was a benefit concert to raise funds for St. Vincent’s Hospital. Organised by members of the extended Day family, with Carmel Day topping the bill, it featured Athy artists throughout.

Supporting Carmel who gave a superb singing performance, was another talented singer Geraldine O’Connell and a young dancer, Jade McCartney. Completing the Athy line-up were the three members of the Shamrockers, a ballad group founded some years ago and now led by Rob Chanders Senior. Rob, playing guitar and lead singer, was joined on stage by his son Rob Junior on 5 string banjo and mandolin and Brendan Connolly on bazooka. Brendan also shared the vocals and the ballad makers gave us rousing renditions of ‘The Ferryman’, ‘Donegal Danny’ and several more classic Irish ballads which got a huge response from the audience.

Carmel Day’s singing was the highlight of the night’s entertainment and her name can now be added to the lengthening list of local singers and musicians who have provided many of the wonderful nights of entertainment enjoyed in the local Arts Centre since it opened. Incidentally the Shamrockers plan to release their first album next February, an event to be looked forward to.

On the same day as the evening concert I went to the local Library to hear and read what is being proposed by Waterways Ireland in relation to the development of the pathway for use by walkers and cyclists along the towpath of the Barrow Line. Stretching from its junction with the Grand Canal at Lowtown to St. Mullins, south of Graiguenamanagh, the towpath covers a distance of 112kms. I had followed the controversy which unfolded in the letter pages of the Irish Times some weeks ago as both objectors to the pathway proposal and those supporting the project outlined their views. I had an open mind on the issue, despite my often repeated observation that here in Athy we have not made maximum use of the waterways which pass through the town. I have been particularly pleased in recent times to see the berthing of boats at the town centre harbour next to Crom a Boo bridge. The boats present a wonderful sight and congratulations must go to Cliff Reid and his associates for encouraging boat owners to use the facilities here in Athy. Perhaps the benefit of removing the silt dumped at the harbour during the Barrow Drainage Scheme will now be seen. If it was removed it would allow the harbour to revert to its original size so that more boats could be accommodated.

To return to the waterways consultation day in the local Library I learned that what is called the Barrow Blueway is intended to support diverse recreational activities and help grow and develop business along its route. Its purpose is to facilitate cyclists and walkers to use the towpath and this will require surfacing sections of the existing towpath. I gather replacing some existing grass surfaces with bonded material to provide a cycling surface ranging in width from 2.0m to 2.5m is the principal reason for many objectors opposition to the proposal.

The work proposed by Irish Waterways includes not only the cycle/walk way, but also the provision of picnic tables and seating at viewing points along the way. Undoubtedly there is merit in what is proposed by Irish Waterways, facilitating as it will greater use and enjoyment of a much neglected facility. Hopefully the concerns of the objectors will be taken on board by Irish Waterways and wherever possible the pathway development will be carried out with minimal damage to the environmental aspects of what is a wonderful facility combining nature with manmade features.

During the week I learned of the passing of Biddy Telford, the last of the Telford family who once lived at Barrowford. Her brother Anthony died many years ago. It will be recalled that he married a Swedish lady, Gunda, who first arrived in Athy in the 1940s as a governess to the children of the first manager of the newly opened Wallboard factory. The Telfords were at one time proprietors of the Athy Tile and Brick Company and they also had an association with Ardree House on the Carlow Road which now sadly lies derelict, having been unoccupied for many years.

Christmas is a time for home and hearth when we welcome back to our shores those of our extended families whom live abroad. But we should give a moment’s pause to those of our country men and women who are unable, for various reasons, to return home. The Kilkea born Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton was one of those whose life was mostly lived outside the country of his birth and because of his pursuit of discovery in the Antarctic regions many of his Christmas’s were spent in the icy wastes of the Polar regions. Just one hundred years ago Shackleton's ship Enduranceleft the island of South Georgia on the 5^th of December heading towards the pack ice of the Weddell Sea. He was embarking upon his ambitious plan to cross the Antarctic from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. Ultimately the expedition ended in heroic failure and Shackleton and his men would spend two Christmas’s in the Antarctic before returning to civilisation.

Christmas for Shackleton invariably meant time away from hearth and home and with companions in the windy wasteland of the Antarctic. His Christmas of 1902 was spent on the Antarctic barrier with his companions Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Dr. Edward Wilson, both of whom would die later on a trek back from the South Pole in 1912. Christmas was important to Shackleton and unbeknownst to his colleagues to supplement their standard lunch of Bovril, chocolate, biscuits and Plasmon he had stowed away in his spare socks a small plum pudding weighing 6 ounces which he produced as a surprise on Christmas day with a piece of holly. Although he spent much of his life away he understood the importance of observing the rituals of home life. Christmas in 1908 would again find Shackleton in the Antarctic this time on the Antarctic Plateau at a height of 9,500 ft. almost 250 miles from the Pole.

In his book The Heart of Antarctic he wrote about Christmas day in 1908 ‘we had a splendid dinner. First came hoosh, consisting of a pony ration boiled up with pemmican with some of our emergency oxo and biscuit. Then in the cocoa water I boiled our little plum pudding. This with a drop of medicinal brandy was a luxury, then came cocoa and lastly cigars and a spoonful of crème de menthe’.

As for many of us at Christmas time food was an important part of the celebration but never more so for those explorers starving themselves in their endeavours to reach the holy grail of the South Pole. To return to Shackleton’s expedition of 1914, December 25^th of that year found the Endurance battling its way through the ice but Shackleton was able to have a full sit down meal with his fellow crew members in the Mess cabin of the ship. One of the ship’s officers decorated the mess with flags and Christmas presents were exchanged. This was later followed by a luxurious dinner consisting of turtle soup, whitebait, jugged hare, Christmas pudding, mince pies, dates, figs and crystallised fruits with rum and stout as drinks. The evening concluded with a sing song amongst the men but one can only imagine the variable quality of the voices after a day of indulgence!

The last few Christmas’s of Shackleton’s life were spent abroad. In Christmas 1919 he was coming to the end of his service with the British army in Northern Russia where it was fighting in support of the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. Shackleton's expertise had been required in assisting the British troops in training for cold weather conditions. Embarking upon a royal navy ship HMS Mars he met A.S. Griffiths an old school pal of his from Dulwich College days with whom he had played truant more than 30 years before. Christmas day was spent in reminiscence with his Griffiths while that night Shackleton joined the sailors of HMS Dublin for a Christmas party aboard their ship.

Christmas 1922, found Shackleton in the Southern Oceans on his expedition ship the Quest. Sadly for Shackleton the man who placed such importance on the rituals of everyday life Christmas celebrations were not possible as no cooking could be done in the difficult atrocious conditions that the ship encountered. It would be Shackleton’s last Christmas as he died just over a week later at South Georgia in the early hours of the morning of the 5^th of January.

In May 1971 twenty four young men gathered for a meeting in the Leinster Arms Hotel at the corner of Leinster Street and Emily Square. They were there at the request of local pharmacist Des McHugh who in conjunction with his Kilkenny based brother-in-law Paddy Reynolds wanted to explore the possibility of establishing a Lions Club in Athy. Lions Club International was founded in 1917 and is recognised today as the global leader in community and humanitarian service. Its mission statement is ‘to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions Clubs.’

During the meeting which was sponsored by the Kilkenny City Lions Club it was decided to form a Lions Club in Athy. The names of the founding members of the club, now known as charter members, were Tully Curry, Des Perry, Michael Prendergast, John King, Jim Loughrin, Des McHugh, Ken Turner, Michael Dwyer, Dick Barrett, Kieran O’Grady, Michael Walsh, Ger Moriarty, John Perry, Gerry Carbery, Richard Norris, Liam Porter, Michael Cunningham, Gerry Cleary, Johnny Watchorn, Michael Wall, Barry Donnelly, Trevor Shaw, William Cade and Liam Owens.

It was then an all male organisation, unlike today when women play a prominent role in the running of the club. Forty three years after its foundation Athy Lions Club through its members is still heavily committed to fundraising for local charities, as well as being involved in many community enhancing projects. Within the present Lions Club membership there are four members who were involved in the initial meeting held in the Leinster Arms hotel 43 years ago. They attend the monthly Lions Club meetings, as well as involving themselves in the club’s fundraising activities which in recent months included a cycle rally, a charity auction and the annual Christmas Food Appeal. Their commitment and dedication over the 43 years of the club’s existence was marked last week with the presentation of Melvin Jones Awards to Gerry Cleary, Michael Dwyer, Ken Turner and Trevor Shaw.

The Melvin Jones Award is the highest award that can be granted by a Lions Club and in the case of Athy Lions Club this is only the second occasion that such awards were made. Previously the late Johnny Watchorn was the recipient of the Award for his work over many years on the governing body of the National Lions Club organisation. The award to the four local Lions Club members was a unique event marked by the presence of the Lions District Governor who travelled from Cork to present each of the recipients with a Melvin Jones plaque.

The members of Athy Lions Club have made a huge contribution to the local community during the 43 years of the Club’s existence. Perhaps the most visible reminder of the Club’s work is the sheltered housing scheme in the grounds of St. Vincent’s Hospital. That was a project headed up by Athy Lions Club, funded in part by government grants and funds raised locally by the Lions Club members. Another major project was the purchase in conjunction with St. Michael’s Parish of Dreamland Ballroom on the Kilkenny Road which is now used for sporting and other community based activities.

If you are interested in the work of the Lions Club and would like to be involved as a Lions Club member in raising funds for local charities I would welcome hearing from you.

Ken Sale from Graysland and originally from London passed away a few days ago at 80 years of age. Ken came to Athy with his wife, the former Maisie Day from Dooley’s Terrace, Athy and his two daughters in 1981. I returned to Athy the following year. I first met Ken when he volunteered to help the newly established Museum Society to get ready its first premises in the vacant classrooms in Mount St. Marys. That was in 1983/’84 and I recall with gratitude the outstanding help Ken gave during the weeks involved in setting up that first local Museum. At the funeral Mass on Sunday his daughter Katie gave an eloquent touching eulogy which surpassed anything I had previously heard on such occasions in our Parish Church. It was a wonderful tribute to a man whose path first crossed mine 30 years ago.

Coming to the end of 2014 I want to thank the people who have contacted me during this year offering information and help with the stories which have appeared in this column. I am always delighted to hear from you.

Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year to all the readers of Eye on the Past.

Fr. Anthony Gaughan, author of several well researched and well written books on Irish historical figures and places has written a four volume account of the Archbishops and priests who served in the Archdioceses of Dublin from the 17^th century to 2011. Interested as I was in the priests who served in the Parish of St. Michaels I culled the following information regarding those priests from Fr. Gaughan’s books.

The 17^th century list of priests is principally got from official records of ‘Popish Priests’ compiled for the purposes of the act which sought to banish priests from Ireland. The first name recorded is that of Fr. John Fitzsimons who was Parish Priest in Athy in 1697 and recorded as living there in 1704. Interestingly, Fr. Fitzsimons was ordained by Archbishop Oliver Plunkett who is now one of the saints of the Irish Catholic Church.

Daniel Fitzpatrick was recorded as the Parish Priest of St. Michael’s in 1744, even though he was then living across the border in Queens County. James Nell, or Nele, was Parish Priest from 1771 until he died on 28^thOctober 1789.

Maurice Keegan served as a curate in St. Michael’s Parish for seven years from 1780 until he later returned as Parish Priest, which position he occupied from 1789 to 1825. The parish church was burned down in 1800 and Fr. Keegan claimed compensation, which with funds collected locally was used to finance the building of the Parish Church which stood until 1960.

The list of curates who served in St. Michael’s Parish commences with the name of Christopher Burke, 1838-1840, followed by Andrew Colgan who apparently served as curate for part only of 1840. The listing of curates seems incomplete as the next curate recorded was Daniel Forrest who in 1853 stayed one year in Athy and later took up the presidency of St. John’s College in Sydney, Australia. His replacement was James Gaffney whom Gaughan describes as a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a writer. Unfortunately I have not yet succeeded in finding out any details of his literary work. He was joined two years later by James Doyle and in 1857 Thomas Doyle became the third curate in St. Michael’s Parish. The family name of Doyle was one to which the Athy parishioners obviously became well accustomed as another James Doyle came to the town as a curate in 1862. Seven years later he was appointed Parish Priest of the Parish over which he presided until his death on 17^th November 1892. James Doyle’s curacy overlapped with that of Michael Curran who served in Athy for four years from 1868. Three years after he departed from the parish Fr. Curran died at the young age of 32 years. Yet another James Doyle joined the parish in 1874 and served for 13 years. Sharing part of that time were fellow curates James Brennan and Thomas Brennan. Laurence Farrelly replaced James Brennan and the existing curates were replaced in 1881 by Edward Dunne and James Carroll, neither of whom were there in 1892 when William Duggan arrived to serve as the Parish curate. He remained in that position for 16 years before transferring to another parish and returning in 1917 as Parish Priest of nearby Castledermot. William Duggan’s name is noted in the ‘History of Athy Golf Club’ as one of the group of people who came together to establish the local golf club.

Perhaps the saddest indictments of the unhealthy living conditions in Athy at the turn of the 20^thcentury were the entries for Laurence Doyle, born 1870 in Annamoe, Co. Wicklow who was ordained in February 1896 and Mark Doyle, born in Graigue, Co. Kilkenny in 1869 and ordained in October 1892. Both died in Athy while serving as young curates in the parish of St. Michael’s. Mark Doyle died on 16^thJanuary 1900 aged 31 years and his namesake Laurence Doyle who transferred from Moone parish to replace him died age 32 years on 1^st August 1902.

.....TO BE CONTINUED AT A LATER DATE

Two years ago Aubane Historical Society reprinted in book form as Volume 1 Reports from the Irish Bulletin for the period 12^th July 1919 to the 1^stMay 1920. Earlier this year Volume 2 was published by the Belfast Historical and Educational Society bringing the Reports up to the 31^st August 1920. Further Volumes are expected to complete the work. The Irish Bulletin was the official organ of Dail Eireann during the 1919-1921 period. It was started by Laurence Ginnell, a former M.P. who in 1919 was Director of Publicity of the Dail. At the start, it was issued as a “Summary of Acts of Aggression” by the Crown Forces and later evolved into a fortnightly new sheet before being eventually issued as a weekly.

The Bulletin was intended for foreign journalists and Members of Parliament in Westminster to highlight aggressive acts of Crown Forces in Ireland. Frank Gallagher, later editor of the Irish Press, was the principal compiler of the bulletin under the editorship of Desmond Fitzgerald (Father of Garret Fitzgerald) and following Fitzgerald’s arrest under the editorship of Erskine Childers. Volume 1 of the Irish Bulletin as published by the Aubane Historical Society includes a number of references to Athy including the following:

“In Athy County Kildare on Monday evening (21^st July 1919) 40 demobilised British Soldiers rushed up Duke Street and forcibly entered the shop owned by a Sinn Feiner. After destroying everything they could lay their hands on, they completely wrecked the cycle stores in front of the shop, smashing the cycles and windows. They then tore down and burnt the banner with an Irish Motto in Leinster Street. Volunteers had to guard the houses and premises of other Sinn Feiners in the town”.

I first heard of this occurrence when interviewing the late Hester May many years ago. The cycle shop was rented by Bapty Maher from Tom Downs and was located where Mrs. Flaherty’s betting shop operated until recent years. Bapty Maher was a member of the local IRA and was imprisoned in Ballykinlar Prison of War camp with Athy men Joe May and Dick Murphy.

The banner in Leinster Street torn down and burnt by the Ex-British soldiers was part of street decorations for an Aeriocht which was to be held in Geraldine Park. It was outside the premises of Mrs. Darby whose daughter Bridget was Secretary of the Gaelic League and in later years a member of the local Urban District Council.

As a result of the mob violence, the local Urban District Council as reported in the Irish Bulletin “found it necessary to take action to protect the lives and property of the people of the town. The following resolution was passed at their last meeting - in view of recent wanton and malicious disturbance of property and the organised attempt to terrorise the people of the town by a section of demobilised soldiers and the inadequate protection afforded by the civil authorities, we call upon the well disposed citizens of Athy to enrol themselves with the Town Clerk to preserve the peace, property and civil liberties. The Chairman of the Council, Mr. P.P. Doyle stated that he had written a letter to the District Inspector of Police pointing out that a number of police stood idly looking on when the mob was destroying private property”.

Further reports in the Irish Bulletin later in the year noted a raid by a large party of police on the residence of a farmer in Ballycullane. The raid took place on Saturday, 22^ndNovember 1919 but the name of the farmer was not given. That same day, Edward Malone of Dunbrin, whom I believe to be Eamon Malone, was arrested. He would later serve time in Mountjoy Jail where he participated in a hunger strike. Eamon Malone served for a time as Officer Commanding the Carlow Kildare Brigade IRA. The small Council Housing Estate at Woodstock Street is named Malone Place in memory of the IRA leader.

The Irish Bulletin reported a raid on Monday, 12^th April 1920 by Military Police on the home of Thomas O’Rourke who had been elected as a Sinn Fein Member of Athy Urban District Council some time previously. Following that raid, four of his sons were arrested. Thomas Junior, James, Francis and Michael O’Rourke were apparently not charged and presumably were released soon afterwards.

The O’Rourke family lived at Canal Side where Thomas was a Lock Keeper. Following his death, his widow moved to live at the 5^th Lock in Inchicore, Dublin where it would appear that her son Michael also lived. Michael was listed as Captain of A Company, Carlow Kildare Brigade in 1921 and 1922 with an address at the 5^th Lock Inchicore.

I have in the past sought information on the O’Rourke Brothers and while some details have been furnished to me, I am still hopeful of getting more background information on the O’Rourke Brothers who played important roles during the War of Independence.

During the week I finished reading Eileen Gough’s biography of a forgotten Irish patriot, Diarmuid Lynch. He was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood [IRB] and reputedly the last person to leave the burning GPO in Dublin as the Easter Rebellion came to a close. Diarmuid Lynch was a very interesting man who having spent the early years of the new century in New York returned to Dublin, as did his friend Tom Clark in 1907. Both were members of the IRB and both were involved in the 1916 Rebellion. Lynch, like Clark, was sentenced to death but because he had been granted American citizenship some years previously, he, like De Valera, had his death sentence commuted to a term of imprisonment. On his eventual release he returned to New York where he renewed friendship with the elderly Fenian John Devoy. Both were to disagree profoundly with De Valera during his extended sojourn in America while the War of Independence was ongoing in Ireland.

I was interested to read of Lynch’s links with the Philo Celtic Society of New York during his early years in America. The society, founded by Galway born Micheal Ó Lóchain in 1872 with its first branch in Brooklyn, sought to encourage the speaking of Irish as an everyday language. Ó Lóchain was a school teacher in Brooklyn and as first president of the Philo Celtic Society saw the society spread throughout America. He died in 1899 and Diarmuid Lynch was later appointed president of the society. When Lynch returned to Ireland in 1907 he was replaced as president of the society by Athy man Michael J. Doyle. Michael J. was, I believe, the son of Michael and Ann Doyle of Woodstock Street and later of Hillsgrove House. Michael Senior died in 1921 aged 95 years having served as a member of Athy Town Commissioners and Athy Urban District Council for many years. Both he and his sons, Martin E. Doyle who was clerk of Athy Union, and Peter Paul Doyle served on the local Urban District Council. Martin was chairman of Athy UDC from 1915-1918 and was followed in that position by his brother Peter Paul Doyle for two terms from 1919. The Doyle family connection with Athy Urban District Council is probably unique insofar as Michael Doyle Senior, like his two sons, had served as chairman of the Urban Council in 1904 and as chairman of the Town Commissioners in 1884.

The election of Michael J. Doyle as president of the Philo Celtic Society was an enormous honour for the Athy man. Unfortunately I have little knowledge of his contribution to the development of the society. He occupied the position for one year only, being replaced by Richard Dalton who like Diarmuid Lynch was a member of the IRB and a close confidant of the Fenian John Devoy.

Peter Paul Doyle, known locally as P.P. Doyle, served on Athy Urban District Council from 1908 to 1928, while his brother Martin E. Doyle was a Councillor from 1900 when he was co-opted in place of Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill. He died on 10^th October 1927 but did not sit on the Urban Council after 1920. Interestingly Martin married twice, his first wife Isobel having died aged 33 years in 1911. His second wife Sarah was elected to Athy Urban District Council following the local election on 26^th June 1934. She was re-elected in 1942 for her final term of 3 years.

There are many gaps in my knowledge of the extended Doyle family whose members made a major contribution not only to local politics here in Athy but also through Michael J. Doyle to the Irish scene in New York at the start of the 20^th century. The book on Diarmuid Lynch which I mentioned at the start of this Eye is a paperback published by Mercier Press which provides a fine outline of Lynch’s life and his contribution to the Irish Republican cause on both sides of the Atlantic.

I was saddened to hear of the sudden death of Portlaoise based bookseller John McNamee. John I met whenever I visited his book shop, which was every time I was in Portlaoise on business as the shop was quite near to the local courthouse. He was deeply involved in the book trade with an interest in books generally and as president of the Booksellers Federation was watching with some anxiety the development of eBooks and their likely impact on book sales and the future of local bookshops. Local history was another abiding interest of Johns and he was involved in the production of several excellent books on different aspects of his adopted county’s history.

My sympathies are extended to his wife and children on his sad passing.

I recently came across a press cutting in which reference was made to Athy, described as ‘a thriving market and business centre set amid rich fields’. The Dublin based journalist, writing in what I believe was a national newspaper, went on as follows:- ‘This is no town in the doldrums. In a word the town is a reflection of its citizens. They are friendly, hospitable, heart warming folk who do not let the grass grow under their feet. They are up and doing. They have not only the graces of living; they live.’

What a wonderful tribute, written I believe sometime in the early 1950s at a time when day to day life was difficult for most people in provincial Ireland. But then the main streets of Athy were replete with shops, all of which did business. There were few closed business premises in the 1950s, unlike the urban landscape dotted with empty shops which faced us here in Athy as 2014 came to an end.

Happily there is a belief and a feeling abroad that the business tide has begun to turn and that we are facing into a better future which will culminate in the building of the outer relief road and the start of new industries and retail business in Athy. Our town like many other provincial towns in Ireland has gone through difficult times in the past. The 1930s were a particularly difficult time, economically and socially for the people of Athy what with the economic war, large scale unemployment and emigration.

The resurgence in the town’s fortunes started with the opening of the asbestos factory in 1936 and the founding of what in later years was called the Social Club in the second half of the 1930s. The club began as the South Kildare Lawn Tennis Club, with tennis courts and a pavilion in grounds just beyond the former Technical School on the Carlow Road. That tennis club was still functioning in the mid 1950s when I remember the late Mattie Brennan of Offaly Street was the club’s caretaker.

It was when the tennis club committee arranged to buy the Legion Hall in St. John’s Lane that the Social Club came into being. Apparently local solicitor Henry Donnelly, together with Sidney Minch and Major Tynan of Monasterevin, played important roles in facilitating the sale of the Legion Hall for the sum of £200. That was in 1939. Minch and Tynan were associated with the British Legion and it was in that capacity that Minch particularly, who also served as a T.D. for Kildare, facilitated the sale of the Legion Hall to the Social Club trustees. One of the founders of the Club was the local curate, Fr. Morgan Crowe, who would later describe the contribution the Social Club made to the cultural life of the town of Athy as ‘outstanding’.

The Legion Hall built in 1926 as a social centre for demobbed World War I soldiers required improvements and additions, all of which were carried out by the Social Club. In time the club had a billiard room, a card room, a badminton court, as well as table tennis tables. Perhaps its most enduring legacy was the drama section of the club established in 1943 which for many years performed plays in the Social Club hall and in the local Town Hall.

Some of those associated with the Social Club included John Stafford, Pat Mulhall, Liam Ryan, Ger Moriarty, Tadgh Brennan, John Dolan, Frank Kelly, Ken Reynolds, John W. Kehoe, Frances and May Fenelon, Joe Martin, Patsy O’Neill, Tom Fox, Jo and Florrie Lawler, Dany and Tommy Walsh, Nora McKenna, Kitty McLoughlin, Mary Harrington, Nellie Fox, Brendan Mulcahy, Tommy Doyle, Clare Moore, Fergus Hayden, Chrissie Burke, Paddy Flynn, Maureen Purcell and Agnes Doyle. The list of members of the Athy Social Club is not exhaustive but I feel it important to record those named, all of whom at different times were part of the club which made a huge contribution to the social and cultural life of Athy in the 1940s and the 1950s.

On Sunday 25^thJanuary at 3.00 p.m. the Dominican Church will be the venue for a specially arranged ‘Songs of Praise’ organised by Athy’s Lions Club. Five choirs are scheduled to perform that afternoon and their performances will be interspersed with congregational hymn singing which will give everyone attending an opportunity to participate in what promises to be a unique afternoon of music and song. There is no admission charge but those attending can contribute to a retiring collection at the conclusion of the ‘Songs of Praise’. All monies donated will go to local Lions charities.

It was Thomas Hardy who wrote: ‘It is better to know a little bit of the world remarkably well than to know a great part remarkably little.’ I was prompted to remember these words on reading Eamon Kane’s recently published book, ‘Diseart Diarmada - Castledermot’. Eamon displays a passion for his own place in his historical account right through the early medieval period to the post medieval period of the village once known as Tristledermot, later Diseart Diarmada and today Castledermot.

The history of this ancient village, far more important in its day than the neighbouring village of Athy, can be readily understood when we view the ancient ruins which are today to be found in Castledermot. That Castledermot was a settlement of importance can be gauged by the remains of the Franciscan Monastery and the remaining remnants of the town walls known as Carlow Gate. St. John’s Tower, the only remains of the priory of the Crouched Friars of 1210, stands proud to remind us of the importance of Castledermot as an ecclesiastical centre which extended even further back than the 13^th century. The Romanesque doorway now fronting St. James’s Church is the only remains of the Church of St. Diarmuid founded in the 6^thcentury. The 10^th century granite crosses of Castledermot get particular attention in Eamon’s book, as does the neighbouring High Cross of Moone. Indeed Eamon’s detailed description and explanation of the motif and iconography of these wonderful examples of early medieval ecclesiastical sculpture is more than sufficient reason to buy the book.

Eamon, whom I described at the launch of the book as a true Irishman, a proud Gaelgoir and a man of impeachable Republican principles, was not afraid to voice his views when dealing with the Castledermot charter school, the first of its kind in Ireland. The school opened in 1734 with the intention ‘that the children of the Popish and other poor natives of the kingdom may be instructed in the English tongue and in the principles of true religion and loyalty.’ It closed in 1831 which prompted Eamon to describe its closure as ‘another failed attempt at the conquest of Ireland.’

This is the fourth publication in 100 years dealing with the village of Castledermot and it is the most comprehensive account to date, the worth of which will be appreciated by anyone interested in local history.

The recent announcement of the intended retirement of Jack Wall as one of our local T.D.’s no doubt gave cause for much discussion as to his likely successor. A member of the Oireachtas since 1992 when following a lengthy period as chairman of Kildare County G.A.A. Board he was nominated to the Senate. He was subsequently elected to the Dáil in 1997, having been elected as an Athy Urban District Councillor three years previously. Currently he is chairman of the Labour Parliamentary Party. It was Joan Bruton, current leader of the Labour Party who referring to politics as ‘a tough and rough business’acknowledged that Jack Wall was ‘one of politics true gentlemen who sought always to represent the true interests of the people of South Kildare.’

Jack and myself during my short political career were on opposite sides of the party political divide and we did not always agree on how the best interests of Athy should be advanced. However, I can readily agree with Joan Bruton’s assessment of the Castledermot man who crossed Athy to set up home in Castlemitchell after spending a time following his marriage to Ann in the house in which I now live. I wish Jack well in his retirement and mindful that his cherished wife Ann is no longer with him express the hope that old age will come to him in the company of his many friends.

Finally this week I want to end with the mystery of a World War I medal found some years ago in a drain in Guinness’s brewery in Dublin. The medal had been awarded to Athy born Thomas Lawler who was killed in action in Flanders on 12^th November 1915. He had enlisted in Carlow, joining the Royal Engineers, but a note which I made some years ago, long before the medal was brought to my attention, indicates that at the time he enlisted in Carlow he was living in Dublin. His war medal was recently presented to the local Heritage Centre and the presenter, himself a Dublin man, believed that a number of Thomas Lawler’s brothers had also enlisted to fight in World War I. Can anyone help me identify Thomas Lawler’s family and where they lived?

Some years ago I came across a pamphlet published in 1641 by Mr. Hierome, described as ‘Minister of God’s word at Athigh in Ireland’ with the title ‘Treason in Ireland’ and subtitled ‘For the blowing up of the Kings English forces with a hundred barrels of gun powder with the names of the chief agents.’ Not content with this alarming claim the reverend gentleman added two further subtitles which bearing in mind the pamphlet was intended for distribution in England was clearly designed to provoke a reaction against the Catholic rebels. ‘With a relation of the cruelties of the Irish rebels used against the English protestants there, killing them, ravishing the women, cutting them to pieces, hanging them by the hairs of their head, scalding them, cutting off their heads and firing their towns and houses.’ The title page was completed with a further subtitle ‘With two battles fought betwixt the Protestants and the rebels, the rebels having the worst in both. With a plot discovered at Athigh’.

The five pages of text accompanied by a pictorial depiction of Athy on Page 6 claimed that a captured rebel by name William Rafter confessed that Irish rebels numbering 500 and including ‘popish priests, friars and Jesuits’ intended to take Athy and the castle. With its capture English troops were expected to march from Dublin to relieve the town and the road to Athy was undermined with gun powder ready to be exploded as the troops passed. However, having discovered the rebels plans the English troops surprised the awaiting rebels and ‘slew three or four hundred of the rebels and the rest fled into the woods.’

The rebels, according to Hierome’s account, regrouped and marched on Athy but ‘God prevented their intention by one master Carot Topey, an English colonel appointed by the Lord’s Justices over 500 foote and 100 horse who with his regiment fell upon them and slew 300 of the rebels and put the rest to flight. The regiment of rebels are about 2,000 strong. Colonel Topey lost in this skirmish 55 men, that is 50 foote and 5 horse.’

The following year Athy was again the centre of military activity when the English army under the Earl of Ormonde marched out of Dublin to attack the Irish rebels in and around South Kildare. The resultant campaign was the subject of another pamphlet which claimed to explain ‘How God had fought his own cause miraculously, manifesting his mighty power by delivering the protestants, miserably distressed under a cruel and inhumane adversary.’ On 5^thApril 1642 the English troops having camped overnight near the rebel held castle of Ballyshannon marched towards Athy. On their way they burned houses and killed a few straggling rebels and on reaching Athy found ‘the greater part of the town all burned by the protestants the day before to prevent the rebels, who in great multitudes had entered in and were about to fire the castle – church and other places, wherein the protestants to the number of 300 besides children were preserved.’

The army marched to Ballyadams where having been entertained liberally they then drove 200 head of cattle and 1000 sheep to Athy where the inhabitants were in great distress for want of meat and drink. On 12^th April 1642 the Irish rebels were repairing the bridge at Maganey which had earlier been destroyed to prevent them attacking the English settlers. Up to 700 men were involved in this work and the intention was apparently to march over the bridge when repaired and intercept the English troops on their way from Maryborough to Athy. The rebels however were attacked by 30 dragoners and 30 horse and prevented from finishing the bridge repair work. On 14^th April all the English troops previously dispersed throughout South Kildare and the Queens County marched into Athy where the soldiers were quartered and the horse troops assigned to several locations in and around the town.

The second pamphlet printed by G. Miller for W. Bladen in 1642 included the following account of hangings in Athy. ‘On 15^th April one Brocke, an English papist, of whom the corrupt part of the protestant clergy thereabouts made use of in former times for vexing of the honest clergymen and their hearers, with divers other rebels were hanged. The number of rebels hanged during the time of our army being there is conceived to be about 70’. That same day the army left Athy and on the march back to Dublin they encountered rebels at Kilrush and in the ensuing battle about 1000 Irish rebels were killed and 15 rebel colours were captured.

The centuries old pamphlets record events which for the most part have slipped out of our historical narrative. Their recovery adds much to our knowledge of the unfolding story of post medieval Athy.

Athy’s literary legacy is to be found in a large number of publications starting with the Athy Literary Magazine which was to have a longer life than later publishing ventures based in Athy. On sale every Tuesday, the small eight page magazine cost one penny. Throughout its short life the magazine gave an unvarying mixture of leading articles of local interest, extracts from literary works such as Dickens, Pickwick papers and material from national magazines of the period. To these are added contributions poetic and otherwise from the magazine’s local readers. The last known edition of the Athy Literary Magazine was the 25^th edition which appeared on Tuesday, 17^th April 1838. Three years later Samuel Talbot published the first volume of “The Press” which was intended as a monthly magazine devoted to the advancement of science, literature and the industrial arts. Consisting of twenty six pages, it cost four pence but unfortunately no further edition appeared.

Looking through the material I have collected over the years, I came across a long forgotten magazine, “The Green Hills” published at Christmas 1964 by pupils of the local Christian Brothers secondary school. The copy I have is literally a photocopy of the magazine which was compiled and written by students of Athy C.B.S. It’s of interest to note that the magazine’s editor was Michael Keane who later became editor of the Sunday Press. Michael informed his readers that “the magazine was born in a moment of ambition which was quickly immersed in a cloud of activity that included the forming of an editorial board. “The magazine staff, which I assume also doubled as the editorial board, consisted of Michael Keane Editor, Seamus Clandillon Entertainment, Gerard Moriarty News Editor, Joseph McNamara Sports and Martin Wall Features.

In its opening page two new teachers, “Mr. Hannon and Mr. Kelleher”, were welcomed to the Athy school and while we learned that Mr. Kelleher was middleweight champion in intervarsity boxing while a student in U.C.C., student/teacher relationship in 1964 did not apparently allow the student reporter to mention the teachers first names.

Michael Stapleton, a second year student, gave voice to his opposition to a six day school week. “It’s not fair to have to go to school six days a week. I have to go nine and a half miles to Athy so I have to get up early every weekday morning and also get up early on Sunday to go to Mass”.

Sixth year student Ger Moriarty filed a feature on girls whom he described as “funny things” which explained, he claimed “why us fellows find it so hard to understand them”. Anthony Lynch a sixth year student and a member of the Kildare County Minor Team wrote of his experiences in playing for his county in Croke Park.

“We quietly prepared ourselves for the proudest moment of our youth. Following in the footsteps of so many of my countrymen, I was playing for Kildare in Croke Park. As the minutes ticked away we had time to admire the dressing rooms. The dressing rooms were so big that they dwarfed us. Inspections over, we received our usual final instructions and proceeded to the tunnel. As the first man stepped on to the field the silence was broken as the crowd erupted with cheers and counter-cheers. We made our way quickly to the Railway goal and the soft green formed a cushion beneath our feet as we kicked the ball about. We won the toss and defended the Canal goal. I really felt deserted as I walked back to my position and would have given anything to be up on the deck of the Hogan Stand”.

Michael Keane conducted an interview with Pat Mulhall, a former CBS pupil of the early 1930’s, who described how each Wednesday afternoon was given over to gaelic football, gymnastics, drill and figure marching. Pat, referring to former pupils who had attained eminence in various spheres of life, expressed the hope that a picture gallery or role of honour of former pupils who had brought honour to the school would be set up in Athy CBS.

The pupils who contributed to The Green Hills magazine of fifty one years ago certainly brought honour to their school with the publication of what was Athy CBS first school magazine. Did it I wonder continue beyond its first edition? Those pupils, not all of whom are still with us, are scattered throughout Ireland and further afield and included Philip Tierney, Michael Keane, Dan Flinter, Vincent Gray, Timothy Doyle, Joseph McNamara, Dominic Timpson, Paul Kelly, Donal Flanagan, Kevin Ryan, Alexander Kelly, Anthony McCarthy, Patrick Merelehan, Tom Delaney, Alan Clarke, Dermot Lawler, Patrick Foley, Seamus Clandillon, Michael Dineen, Anthony Lynch, Liam Fahey, Aidan Prendergast, Michael O’Cathain, Jim McCarthy, Reg McHugh, Dan Luttrell, Liam Perse, Ned Martin, Tony Higgins, John Fingleton, Michael Stapleton, Declan Caffrey, Frank Ryan, Anthony McEvoy and Martin Wall.

Declan Caffrey second year student penned the following lines :-

“We’re proud of our school and our greatest ambition,

Is to add to its honour and fame an addition,

Scoil na mBraithre its called and we have no scruples,

In saying that its boys are the finest of pupils”.

Successive generations of CBS students would concur.

Dominicans and Athy

Athy's Photographic Club

The 14th Shackleton Autumn School

John MacKenna, Brian Hughes and the Musical 'Endurance'

Remembering Athy's World War I Dead - 'Still and Distant Voices'

Remembrance Sunday 2014

Edward Darby and New Mexico resident Maisy McDarby Stanovich

Mapping the Manor of Athy

Athy's Penny Bank

An Ecumenical Remembrance of Athy's World War 1 dead

Carmel Day and Day family concert

Ernest Shackleton's Christmases

Melvin Jones Awards for four Lions Club stalwarts

Some Catholic clerics of St. Michael's Parish

Athy entries in the Irish Bulletin July 1919 to May 1920

Michael J. Doyle of Athy and the Philo Celtic Society of New York

Athy of Yesteryear

Eamon Kane's Diseart Diarmada

Medieval Warfare in and around Athy

The Greenhills Magazine