Book recalling Kilcullen 700 on sale soon

A book to recall the highlights of the Kilcullen 700 celebrations which were held through last year will shortly go on sale, writes Brian Byrne.

Titled Kilcullen Before our Time, the publication is built around the very successful series of local heritage talks which were a feature through the year.

It also has memories in photographs of other events which formed part of the celebrations programme. The book is being published by the Kilcullen 700 Committee, with support from Kildare County Council and other sponsors.

The heritage talks by invited speakers spanned Kilcullen's history from earliest days, who provided extensive insights into the large landowners of the area from the Anglo-Norman conquest era.

'Big House' families were dealt with by a variety of local historians. Among these were the Burrowes of Gilltown, the Eustaces, and the various residents of what are today the Castlemartin, New Abbey, and Harristown estates.

A feature of these contributions is the intermixing of families through the timelines of these properties, illustrating how marriage between them was a significant way of consolidating and expanding political and commercial power.

Other themes in the talks series included Ireland's first toll road, which was from Dublin to Kilcullen; the history of the relatively short-lived Sallins-Tullow railway line which had an important connection with Kilcullen; and the story of Frank Conroy, born in the town and killed in the Spanish Civil War. The story of explorer Ernest Shackleton and his strong local background was also a well-attended night, as were the series of Memory Mondays through the year which were summed up in the final talk in the heritage programme.

Contributors to Kilcullen Before Our Time include Ger McCarthy of the Naas Local History Group, Nessa Dunlea of the Kilcullen 700 Committee, historian Liam Kenny, the Shackleton Committee's Kevin Kenny, historian and author James Durney, Colette Jordan from the History Department in Maynooth University, Brian McCabe from the Kill Local History Group, Oliver Fallon Bailey of the Bailey and Blake videographer company, and Kilcullen-based local memories enthusiast Mary Orford.

Other highlights of the year which are part of the book include the launch of Kilcullen Photographic Club's first Calendar, also the first official event of the Kilcullen 700 year. The Celebration Run by St Joseph's NS; the 1798 play by pupils of Scoil Bhride, 'The Old Bridge at Kilcullen'; the opening of the Valley Fairy Trail; and the combined St Patrick's Day Parade and Kilcullen Twinning with Saint-Contest in Normandy are also recalled.

Included too are photos from the planting of 700 trees, the Yarn Bombing of the bridge by the local Suas Knitting Group, and the celebration of Bloomsday in a local garden. As are the celebration of Kilcullen's Olympians, Kilcullen GAA's 130th anniversary, and the Walk with the Light event which closed the Kilcullen 700 year.

Kilcullen Before Our Time has been edited and designed in Kilcullen, and is priced at €10. Details of availability will be finalised soon.

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