Big turnout to protect right of way

They came in their ones and twos and threes to make the dozens and scores and then the hundreds who turned out last night to protest their right and the rights of generations to freely use the river bank at Carnalway Bridge.

And if it was the most dull and dreary and miserably wet night of the month so far, the riot of umbrella colours and the fighting good humour of everyone there made it an evening of almost festive aspect.

Perhaps the little ones in buggies didn't quite know what was going on, but they will in the future be told that they were part of a movement that set out to protect their own future right to walk, swim, picnic and fish at Carnalway.

And, as Kilcullen historian Des Travers told them, the right to walk along the river had been there ever since it was part of a medieval road that linked settlements and castles and abbeys all along the Liffey from Great Connell in Newbridge through Athgarvan and New Abbey to Ballymore.

"These were places of religion, of habitation and defence, and of business," he said. "These were points of contact that joined to make a road that went from the Curragh to Ballymore and thence to Dublin. So we are talking about an ancient way and a very important one."

Pastor Robert Dunlop of the Brannockstown Community Committee (centre above) said they were there 'on serious business', but he emphasised they were not there to pick a fight with any neighbour, 'either natives or newcomers', or to flout any laws or engage in any kind of aggressive behaviour.

"Nor are we here to play down any difficulties that have arisen at Carnalway Bridge as a result of unsocial behaviour and the scattering of litter," he added. "We sympathise with the difficulties of landowners who have to deal with this, and we in the community are ready to cooperate in any way in alleviating such problems."

Noel Clare of Kilcullen Community Action said that the numbers of people who had turned out on such a night indicated how much the fields and the right of way meant to the people of the area. He said there was almost a 'spiritual' connection with the River Liffey for the people of the Brannockstown and Kilcullen region for generations.

"It was a place where families came, and it was always somewhere that was very important socially in the life of the area. Many people learned to swim here, and in my own case, while I didn't learn at Carnalway, I certainly improved my techniques over all the time that I used to swim here."

He said that it would be a shame if the right to walk along by the river disappeared, as had others in the area because of 'lack of interest' in maintaining them, but he knew of at least two such ways which had been saved because people got together and made representations to the landowners concerned.

"I hope that this difficulty can be resolved in a similar way, where people who live within the community can get together, can work together, in the spirit that has always existed in the Brannockstown community. With rights come responsibilities, and there are issues of litter and vandalism and the privacy that people are entitled to in their own homes, but it is my wish that we can come together and, through dialogue, work these out so that future generations can enjoy the riverside area here."

Charlie O'Rourke told how he had fished from the bank for over 30 years, as had his father and those before him. "If we fishermen, who stock the river, come to the bridge and can't get down to the bank, we have to walk home again. We really need to have this place reopened."

Local councillor Billy Hillis told the protestors that Kildare County Council was investigating the matter of the arbitrary closure of the way to the riverbank. He said history of people swimming there had already been confirmed some years ago, when the planners accepted that a proposed power station nearby would not be appropriate because, among other reasons, discharge from it could contaminate the swimming area at Carnalway.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure that this right of way is reopened, no matter how far it has to go," he said.

Concluding the addresses, Pastor Dunlop said that Brannockstown had the somewhat romantic reputation of being a 'sleepy village'. "And we are normally very glad that it is a sleepy village ... but Brannockstown is awake tonight. We would encourage the people who have always gone over that stile to continue to do so, because this IS a right of way. We have legal advice that this is so, as well as the consensus of the great majority of people who live in this area.

"We are here tonight to show our solidarity on the issue, and I hope that those of us who have grandchildren will make sure that they can enjoy Carnalway as much as we have. This is our right of way and we will settle for nothing less."

Brian Byrne.

[ED NOTE: More pictures here.]