A hardy day for the story of the Valley

Despite a very rainy session, yesterday's talk on the acquisition and development of Kilcullen's Valley Park recalled memories for some and provided new insights for others, writes Brian Byrne. It was delivered by Noel Clare of Kilcullen Community Action as part of Heritage Week.

He started with a historical overview of the area before the first bridge was built in 1319, marking the beginning of the modern settlement of Kilcullenbridge. Before that, the Valley is believed to have been part of a road constructed by the FitzEustaces connecting their land at Castlemartin and Ballymore. After the Franciscans established New Abbey in 1486, it became the main route for massgoers from Kilcullen until a landslip rendered it impassable, forcing the journey to be made via part of today’s New Abbey Road.

"That became unnecessary with the building of the church in Kilcullen in 1872," Noel noted, also recounting the story of bridges built, destroyed, and extended from 1319 to the late 1970s, when the current bridge was doubled in width.

The evolution of the Valley Park began with the purchase of the property from the late Tom Molloy in the early 1970s for £2,000 by Kilcullen Community Council. "Many thought it was utterly crazy to spend £2,000 that the Community Council didn't have, on an old cowshed and an overgrown wasteland. But some people had the vision, and school principal Brian Keyes and garage owner Jim Corrigan personally guaranteed an overdraft for the purchase."

Several schemes were employed to raise funds to repay that overdraft, including a weekly 300 Club draw and a waste paper collection, which was transported weekly to the Smurfit paper mill in Dublin for recycling. "Households and businesses saved up paper, and we bundled it each week, with Brennan's lorry transporting it to Dublin." The overdraft was cleared in nine months.

In 1975, after initial failed attempts to manually carve a path to St Brigid's Well, local plantman Dan Breslin was hired by Jim Collins of the Community Council to bulldoze a track. He brought in a large machine, a Caterpillar D8, and began work. However, on the first day, the riverbank failed and the machine ended up in the Liffey. "Calls were made, and it seemed like every plant operator in the country came with their equipment to help get Dan's D8 back onto land." They succeeded, and eventually, the pathway that is now the park walk was created.

Continuing the narrative, Noel described the subsequent design and landscaping, under the supervision of George Speirs of Burtown Nurseries in Athy. It was officially opened as a park in 1978 by Sylvester Barrett TD, Minister for the Environment. In 1979, it received a national Best Environmental Award.

All of this required substantially more funding than the original £2,000. Attendees at yesterday's event heard about two main initiatives, one being the annual Kilcullen Community Capers, where each electoral area of the Community Council competed in a week of talent shows. "This became so popular that Jim Collins conceived the idea of installing a cable TV system into all the pubs so that those without tickets to the Town Hall performances could view the shows," Noel recalled. "It was such a big thing at the time that the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, Conor Cruise O'Brien, came to Kilcullen to launch it."

Another fundraising effort through the 1970s was a series of 'Lord Mayor Elections', where candidates sold 'votes' on draw cards. Michael 'Porky' Lambe won the first in 1977 and has worn the robes many times in the decades since. "In another year, John Dillon was the front-runner by a long way against Vincent Darby. In the final days, Vincent and his campaign manager, Denis Melia, gambled all their collected funds on a horse race. Their horse won, putting Vincent just ahead of John. The prize was a trip to America, but both John and Vincent ultimately went. It was a significant event at the time, and they enjoyed a great relationship with the Irish-American community on their travels."

Other details shared at yesterday's event highlighted many other moments in the journey that brought the Valley to its place as an essential part of today's vibrant town centre, including the relocation of the Spout, Kilcullen's water supply for 200 years, and a decision not to blow up the conglomerate boulder that is actually an interesting feature. Notable names included Paddy Brangan and John Sherlock, who built the retaining stone wall along the Valley and extended the St Brigid's Well grotto, which today brings people from afar. Liam Keogh, who was present yesterday, fashioned the original metal seats used in the Valley. The park is also where you'll find the names of many community stalwarts who did their bit to help make Kilcullen what it is today.

So, it rained. It didn't matter. As someone put it, "we were the hardy ones out." And we came away smiling.

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