Grisly gore at Memory Monday

Yet again, our Memory Monday sessions struck a chord with people, writes Mary Orford. This month’s theme was 1798, marking the anniversary of the Kilcullen events on May 24th.

Lots of local colour (and colourful information — of the bloody variety!) was provided by research by David Byrne. It must have taken hours of research but the information extracted from newspapers of the day was fascinating (a lot of murder and theft occurred in the Kilcullen area in the late 18th century) and the articles set the late scene of what the town of Kilcullen Bridge was like leading up to the 1798 rebellion.

Gerry O’Donoghue brought along a pike and a facsimile 1798 flag. We learned that a pike could carry out all sorts of murder and mayhem and the pikemen who survived the battle and were captured met with a grisly end, probably in Market Square as a sign to the locals that rebellion was not encouraged.

It seems that the battles in 1798 were gory and gruesome where no quarter was asked or given by either side. Gerry’s talk and the newspaper reports of the time prompted an audience discussion around place names and the location of houses in the district. If we’ve learned anything from our Memory Mondays, it’s that everyone carries around the most amazing local history in their heads.

The audience turned photo detective as well with photos of ICA members Halverstown Cricket Club — lots of familiar faces from times gone by.

Thanks to our audience for turning up and adding the magic ingredient to the success of our monthly gatherings and even more thanks are due to David Byrne for his time consuming but fascinating research and Gerry O’Donoghue for sharing the 1798 Kilcullen story.

Dates for Memory Monday for your diary: 8th July, 9th September, 14th October, 11th November. Meanwhile, the Meitheal of Memories team look forward to welcoming you all at our next Memory Monday — Monday 10th June. 11am in Kilcullen Heritage Centre.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy