Spirit of Athy's Woodstock area shines through new book

THE vibrancy of an area can be measured by the activities of its residents and their engagement with their community as a whole. This was very evident at the launch in Athy Library last Tuesday night of the publication of Woodstock.

It was a lovely evening which began with music from talented local musicians Carmel Day and Rob Chanders. Rose Doyle, chairperson of the Athy West Urban Community Group, spoke of how Woodstock is squeezed in between the Barrow and the Grand Canal and clearly this sense of intimacy has created a community that is both close and loyal to its residents. The focus of the night was the launch of Woodstock, a book both by, about and created by the community nestled between the Barrow and the Grand Canal.

This colourful and attractive publication draws strongly on the spirit of the community at Woodstock and has chapters on sport, music, heritage, river, games, birds and community life. The book was the brainchild of the Woodstock Castle Press, a non-profit community publishing initiative established by artists Mark Durkan and Mary-Jo Gilligan in collaboration with communities in Woodstock. Over the last number of months, four editions of the magazine Woodstock have been published, both digitally and in print, celebrating the heritage, landscape and social life of the Woodstock area.

The communities of St Dominic’s Park, Carbery Park, Greenhills, Townparks and Castle Park received copies of the publications and with the publication of the book it will now be available to a wider community in the town.

As I understand it, the publication can be ordered online from woodstockcastlepress.ie, but hopefully copies will find their way into our local shops, an ideal gift for Christmas.

Like many prominent buildings in Athy, we have become so used to the existence of Woodstock that we forget how important it is to our town’s history. The early elements of the castle are likely to date back to the 12th century and it is quite possible, as articulated by archaeologist Marc Guernon at the launch last Tuesday, that the original town may have grown up around the castle.

The Barrow, as we know it today, would have presented a quite different sight in the early 12th century and the castle when it was first constructed in stone was probably built very close to, if not on, the banks of the River Barrow. Much of the area of Woodstock now would probably have been under water or consisting of a series of islands.

It was clear at the launch of the book that the community is very proud of its history, and particularly of the castle, and there was an eloquent plea made that the castle be integrated more closely into the community, giving it some particular function or role. That is something perhaps that the newly-established Athy Civic Trust can turn its mind to over the next number of months.

The work of the Athy West Urban Community Group builds on the work started by the Athy Community Council well over 20 years ago and we shouldn’t forget the work of people such as the late Sheila Chanders, whose input and those of her neighbours was vital to the success of the early years of the Woodstock Community Project.

The book is rich in images of the Woodstock area and particularly images of the castle in its various iterations since the early 18th century. One illustration which was lacking, probably because I have only recently come across it myself, is the picture here with the article which was published in or around 1809 in the Irish Magazine. The title is ‘View of the White Castle and Bridge of Athy from Woodstock’.

As an example of the illustrator’s craft it is not particularly good, although it does show the basic elements of the town, including the White Castle, the bridge and Woodstock Castle, although the castle portrayed in the image is not one I would recognise. The importance of the illustration is that it preserves the only surviving image of the Athy Barracks in Woodstock Street.

If you take a closer look at Woodstock Castle to the right of the image, you will see just behind it a wall over which some roofs appear and to the far right you can see smoke curling from the chimney of the gable end. This is the only known image of the 18th century Athy Barracks, the last vestige of which is an arch that stands forlorn in Woodstock Street.

For me, this is an exciting discovery and a reminder that the quest for historical knowledge is a never-ending search.