Meeting to organise 'Kilcullen 700'

The replacement bridge erected following the destruction of the first one.

A public meeting is to be held with the view of setting up a broad-based working group to organise a celebration of the 700th anniversary of Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

The initiative next year would mark 700 years since the first bridge at Kilcullen was built across the Liffey, in 1319. It was constructed by a canon of Kildare Cathedral, Maurice Jakis, and formed the basis of a settlement that became Kilcullen Bridge. The new settlement eventually replaced the original monastic town of Old Kilcullen, which had been in existence since the 4th Century.

The matter was discussed at the recent fortnightly meeting of Kilcullen Community Action, where the decision to call a public meeting in the Town Hall for early March was taken. The date will be confirmed next week.

It was suggested that regular annual events in the community, such as the River Festival, could all be incorporated into a special programme for the year which would include opportunities for all social, sporting and business organisations to suitably mark the seven centuries of Kilcullen as a distinct entity.