Memories from 365 combined years of
local Irish military service and how they have been recorded is the lead story on this issue, headlined by the project name,
Dílis Go Bráth,
writes Brian Byrne. The single picture captures the pride of the 15 contributors to the oral history project initiated by Enda O'Neill and recently launched on the stage of the Town Hall. The curated memories can be accessed at the website
dilisgobrath.ie.
The Town Hall was also the venue for the event recorded in colour on the centre spread of this
Bridge, the
Culture Night Extravaganza which turned out to be a most enjoyable and
incredibly varied entertainment from across the performing arts in the community. Among the presentations were hints of Kilcullen life a century ago, from the night of the 1926 Census, performances by two local choirs, and some brilliant displays of dance, both modern and traditional.
The performances of local singers and a writer at the Anvil at Rest concert in aid of Aware is also a colourful highlight in this issue. Unfortunately, we can't play sound from the pages of a magazine, but the images suggest that it was a rockin' good afternoon in Bishop Rogan Park (it was!).
The bits of business this month highlight the new owners of Berneys Chemists, Mark and Claire Domican, and the team that will continue the enterprise's multi-generational ethos as a family pharmacy looking after families. There's also a report from the launch of Tap Retail Kilcullen, initiated by members of Kilcullen Town Promoters, by which customers can now order online from participating businesses and have free delivery. Check out the app.
Among the regular contributors, Julie Felsbergs muses on the continued place of prayer in an era and society where that age-old practice can so easily be subject to mockery, but remains a touchstone to many — including Ireland's champion woman boxer, Katie Taylor, now retired at the top of her career. Fr Gary offers an explanation of twelve key moments in the Celebration of the Eucharist, while on the same page there are details of a pilgrimage to Malta in the footsteps of St Paul that he will be leading in February.
There's an element of spirituality too in John Duffey's article this week, where he recounts his thoughts during a visit to his local church in Ballymount. Billy Redmond has a church in mind too, the Adelaide Memorial Church of Christ the Redeemer, in Myshall, Co Carlow, which he describes as an architectural gem and well worth a visit. Sean Landers has a similar theme in mind, with some commentary on the sparse history of Gormanstown Church. Daithí de Róiste's thoughts this month are on the ancient tower, church and cemetery at Killashee.
Out and Away from Kilcullen, Noel Clare visits 14, Henrietta Street in Dublin, now a museum to tenement life in the early 1900s. Offering an engrossing trip back through relatively recent times, the building puts today's life into perspective when it notes that, in the relatively recent past, families of ten or twelve lived in one room of a building that in total accommodated more than a hundred in primitive and unsanitary conditions.
Eugene Brennan has also gone to Dublin for his theme of the month, the power stations of Dublin Bay, looking into the past beyond the relatively modern icons of the dual chimneys to when the South Wall was built on former mudflats to improve access to docks of Dublin city.
A new contributor, Bernadette Burke (Kelly) recalls Johnny Spencer, a 'kind and gentle man' whom she never knew but who arrived in Kilcullen one day and asked her great-grandfather for a job in his tailor shop in the square. The piece is an enthralling look at an Ireland of the early 1900s where a stranger who had been in the Artane Industrial School could arrive in a small village alone and find friendship, belonging, and become part of a family who never forgot him.
As always, along with schools, sports, and reflection, lots more in the latest Bridge, now on sale in the usual outlets.
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