Honouring the many who protected Athy's heritage

A WEEK after I was awarded the ‘Spirit of Kildare’ Heritage Award I cast my thoughts back four decades to remember the men and women with whom I started a journey to protect and enjoy the heritage and history of Athy and south Kildare.

The first time I organised a meeting of like-minded people was in 1983 when I called a public meeting in the local courthouse.

My intention was to set up a local museum society and eventually to open a local museum in Athy.

I have previously written of this in an Eye on the Past which was published in the Kildare Nationalist on 5 April 2022. Support was readily available from the Sisters of Mercy who made available a vacant classroom in Mount St. Mary’s for use as a museum room.

My son Seamus, who is now a director of the Shackleton Experience, assisted me in opening that early museum every Sunday afternoon over a number of years, and continued to help when the museum was moved to the Town Hall.

That meeting in 1983 was my first involvement as a community activist, but perhaps the most important development in my story occurred when I was contacted by Noreen Kelleher, Sr Joseph of the local Sisters of Mercy, and Marie Hunter.

They had been involved in setting up a girls’ club and recognised the need for developing social action for Athy.

I was asked to join them and soon afterwards we formed a Limited Liability Company called Athy Community Council Limited, which operates to this day.

That council was the originator of a number of wonderful initiatives which are today still in operation.

The first was the setting up of a creche in Clonmullin which in time led to the establishment of a further creche in Woodstock.

Athy U.D.C. gave us a rent-free house in Woodstock, which was used as a creche and also as a resource centre. Another initiative was the publishing of a monthly newsletter written by Noreen Kelleher. I wrote the Editorial each month for the newsletter, which lasted for a number of years before it ceased publication. In its early years, Athy Community Council sought the support of Athy Urban District Council (UDC) in commissioning a social survey of Athy.

Dr Tom Collins of Dundalk Regional College carried out the survey. His report led to the setting up of Athy Alternative Project, which works with young people at risk of or involved in criminal activity to improve their life options and participate in the community.

Amongst the early members of the group which managed the project were Judge Mary Martin and Deputy Garda Commissioner Pat O’Toole. That organisation has now been extended to cover counties Carlow, Laois and Offaly.

One of the almost forgotten achievements of the community council was the approach we made to local man Dominic O’Rourke to revive Athy’s Boxing Club.

Boxing was one of the sporting activities to which Athy youths were accustomed since the time Sydney Minch established a boxing club in the 1930s.

Fr Denis Laverty, a young curate in St. Michael’s Church, organised a boxing club in the mid-1960s. The club went into decline when Fr Laverty left Athy in 1970.

We invited Dominic O’Rourke to revive the club and he did so with the help of a few friends. Athy Boxing Club became in time, under Dom’s stewardship, one of the most successful clubs in Ireland.

Dom was also elected President of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association for a number of years. The boxing club had free use of a building in Nelson Street in its early years as did the Aiséirí boat committee.

I recall with great pride that the then Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. Higgins, came to Nelson Street to formally launch the Aiséirí boat. That boat, which travelled on part of the River Barrow for a few years, was replaced by the boat now operated by Cliff Reid.

Apart from the community council work, the largest community effort I was associated with was the Inner Relief Road controversy which spanned several years. Both Kildare County Council and Athy UDC wished to construct a relief road through the centre of the town, a route not favoured by a majority of the local people.

They preferred to have an outer relief road built, and consequently the Athy Urban Development Group was formed following a public meeting at which I was appointed chairman.

The development group comprised Joan Collis, Vera Doyle, Mick Grufferty, Padraig Healy, Henry Howard, Fiona Rainsford, Liam Rainsford, Peggy Whelan and Carmel Reddy. Following a six-day hearing held by An Bord Pleanála, the Board, for the very first time ever, refused a local authority’s application to construct a new road and the outer relief road was approved.

It was noteworthy that Kildare County Council had approximately twelve expert witnesses who gave evidence at the hearing, whereas the objectors led by myself had only two expert witnesses, namely Conor Wall, an environmental consultant and Derek Tynan, architect. Both were Athy men who gave of their services free of charge.

Subsequent judicial review proceedings filed by Kildare County Council were dismissed and despite another few years marked by the Council’s refusal to build the outer relief road, that road was eventually constructed and opened last year as the new Distributor Road.

The campaign by Athy Urban Development Group proved to be a huge success due to the dedication of its members named above, and the support of a majority of the residents of Athy.

Three men with whom I was associated in an unsuccessful attempt some ten years ago to invigorate Athy’s commercial life were Trevor Shaw, Brian Dooley and Paul Langton. With Trevor’s passing, Athy lost one of its great champions. The other two men continue to display spirit and commitment in support of Athy’s development.

Many men and women have been involved with me over the last 40 years in unveiling and protecting the heritage of our town.

The Spirit of Kildare Award last week was not just for me, but for those wonderful men and women, many of whom are no longer with us.

In their own way, they contributed hugely to enable all of us to better understand and appreciate the history and heritage of this once small medieval village on the banks of the river Barrow.

Note: Trevor Shaw, Paul Langton and Brian Dooley were three other stalwarts who displayed spirit and commitment to support Athy’s development who were regretfully not referenced in the printed version of this column.