Old photo recalls self-starting Kilcullen

This fuzzy photograph is somewhere in RTE's archives, and was flashed up last night during an introductory sequence in the TV programme 'What Are You Working For?', writes Brian Byrne.

The programme was a repeat broadcast from the opening episode back in September, with Phillip Boucher-Hayes examining the nation's pay packets — tackling everything from gender pay gaps and the 'gig economy' to what we most value about our jobs.

That programme is worth a look at any time, as it poses real questions about those racing ahead and those being left far behind in our 'resurgent' economy, and you can do so here until 9 May.

But the photograph of a 'Factory Sites Available' sign in Kilcullen — with the comment during the programme on how the Lemass government was changing Ireland from an inward-looking country to an open and growing economy — is a reminder of a time when a group of local people took the future of Kilcullen into their own hands.

In doing so, Kilcullen Development Association put in train a process which was far ahead of future government policies, including IDA advance factories, and the provision of affordable housing.

It's a great story, and out of its own local history, there are probably still lessons for today.

Tennis club growing nicely

The first of a series of assessment and coaching sessions at Kilcullen Tennis Club for young players was very successful last Saturday, writes Brian Byrne. They will be continued on coming Saturdays and will result in the development of an autumn coaching programme for youngsters.

The reformed club officially got under way earlier in the summer, and the membership already stands at over 100, according to the prime mover in the project, Eamonn O'Toole.

Both hard courts are now fully refurbished and painted, and high fencing as well as sound deflecting material has also been installed.

Earlier this year Kilcullen Development Association — which supported the formation of the original Tennis Club in the same location back in the 1950s — provided a terms-free loan of €24,000 to get things moving. A number of local businesses have pledged sponsorship amounting to several thousands of euro, and a development plan is in train to add two more courts, and a sheltered viewing area. It is also planned to install lighting.

Now that the club is officially open application can be made for further funding from organisations like Tennis Ireland and the Sports Council.

KDA thanked for fence funding

A long-awaited new fence along the pedestrian walkway to Bishop Rogan Park has been constructed by the local residents with the help of Kilcullen Development Association, writes Brian Byrne.

Our before and after pictures set show just what a difference this makes to the walkway, as pointed out by Pat Kelly and James Delaney of the BRP Residents Association.

“We really have to acknowledge the generosity of KDA for its grant for this work,” says Pat, noting that the residents first mooted the project over a decade ago. He and James, and Steve Davis, comprised the working committee to finalise the work once the funding came through.

The palisade fence, sourced from McDermott Fencing in Kilashee, Naas, was erected by Gareth Corrigan.

Big turnout for 'Magician' unveiling

The threat of seriously inclement weather didn't deter a large number of people turning out this afternoon for the unveiling of The Magician sculpture, writes Brian Byrne.

The piece, commissioned from local artist Noel Scullion by Kilcullen Development Association, commemorates all those involved with, and supportive of, the work of KDA since its first iteration in 1949.

"This is about the infectious nature of inspiration," the artist said after the sculpture and accompanying plaque had been unveiled by Mrs Rita Nugent, whose husband Paddy had been one of the prime movers behind the work KDA achieved in bringing industry and affordable housing to the town in the 1960s and 1970s.

"The magic of the human mind and body that makes good and great things happen is symbolised here with the inside-out head, the hands, and the radiating letters KDA."

Concluding by saying it has been a 'privilege' to be involved in the endeavour, Noel emphasised that, since the foundation of KDA, getting things done has become 'part and parcel of the fabric of this community'.

At a reception afterwards in Kilcullen Heritage Centre, John Martin outlined the beginnings and the development of KDA down the decades, making particular reference to the vision and persistence of people like Paddy Nugent and Cllr Michael St Leger, and continued by others such as the late Pat Dunlea and other new directors when they had taken over the operation of KDA from the founders.

He noted that over the last 15 years, at the request of Paddy Nugent himself, the assets of KDA had been distributed in over €1m of grants to some 22 local community and social organisations.

Responding on behalf of the Nugent and St Leger families, Seamus Nugent, Paddy's eldest son, recalled his own memories of growing up in a time when there 'was no attitude of entitlement, that the State would provide'. "If you couldn't find a job you had to leave and find one somewhere else. So my father and the rest of the small KDA committee were driven to improve the town, to making it a better place to live in, to creating jobs and housing that people could afford, so that the generations after them would not have to leave, and the town would prosper and grow."

In conclusion, Seamus paid tribute to the 'unsung heroes' like his mother Rita. "When Paddy was out sorting the world, Rita was at home raising six children. And she was there to pick up the pieces when things were not going well, offering comfort and sound advice.

"The men get their pictures in the papers, and the statues," he finished. "The women get the worry, and their reward in Heaven."

For some considerable time afterwards this afternoon, many memories of those days were shared between older and newer members of the community of Kilcullen, with the members of the St Leger and Nugent families present, some of whom had travelled from America for the occasion.

A link to all the pictures from the event is here or alternatively here.

New sculpture commemorates Kilcullen vision and creativity

Kilcullen has a new sculpture in place this morning, to commemorate all who were involved in Kilcullen Development Association, writes Brian Byrne.

'The Magician', by local artist Noel Scullion, celebrates local vision and creativity, in particular the contribution to the town's mid-20th century development by the late Paddy Nugent and Michael St Leger.

An official unveiling event will be organised later, but the piece was put in place early this morning at the bridge.

Pictured are Gerry O'Brien, Brendan O'Connell of KDA, artist Noel Scullion, Nessa Dunlea of Kilcullen Heritage Group, and stonemason Seamus Fahy who prepared the location for the piece over recent months.

The sculpture is made from Indian black granite, the same material as the 'Spear' sculpture by the same artist at the Dun Ailinne Commemoratove Park in Nicholastown.

A feature of the design is that the eyes of the face 'follow' people as they walk or drive slowly by. Other elements will show when it is lit at night.

The artist says the joined hands in the design represent the creativity that is found right across a community, something for which Kilcullen has always been known.

Kilcullen Development Association was founded in 1949, and among other things was responsible for bringing industry to the town and developing affordable housing in the Moanbane Park and Bishop Rogan Park developments. The organisation also contributed to the development needs of many local community organisations.

CPC garden development under way

The mid-term break is being taken advantage of to get the rough work done on new gardens in the grounds of CPC, writes Brian Byrne.

The work is being carried out by local contractor Michael Murphy, and contributions to the cost have been made by a Kildare County Council grant and Kilcullen Development Association.

The plan includes the provision of new paths across re-landscaped parkland to a central hard-top area with seats. A planting schedule will be devised in the coming week or so.

Four trees had to be taken down unexpectedly prior to the landscaping work, when they were found to be badly rotted and dangerous. They included a beech tree that might have been up to a hundred years old.

"They found that one of them had apparently been struck by lightning," says Noel Clare of KCA/Kilcullen Tidy Towns, which is monitoring the work. "A large bough at the top was all blackened and ready to fall."

For a later stage of the garden development, there are plans to have a feature installation in the central hard-top area.

New screen facility in Town Hall Theatre

The Town Hall Theatre can now be offered as a venue for an extended range of activities following the installation of new projector equipment, writes Brian Byrne.

In addition to the ceiling-mounted projector, which can be linked directly to a computer, there's a full wide screen which can be pulled down in front of the curtains.

It means that groups and organisations making presentations in the 110-seat theatre no longer need to use portable equipment on the stage, and having the screen in front of the curtains retains the intimate ambience of the venue.

The Theatre is now an attractive proposition for corporate and training presentations. Nessa Dunlea of the Kilcullen Heritage Centre also suggests that it could now be used by a Film Society which might be formed, recalling the venue's heyday as one of the most important cinemas in Kildare in the 50s and 60s.

The equipment was funded through a donation from Kilcullen Development Association.

Remembering Kilcullen stalwarts

Anyone taking a walk through Kilcullen's Valley Park will notice that quite a few people are remembered there in plaques at different points.

But there's a generation of Kilcullen people who wouldn't remember these community stalwarts, and have no idea of why their names are recorded in the park. And nobody in the 'new' Kilcullen cohort, who came to live in the town during recent years, could know how much of what they have in their adopted town was due in no small measure to those named on the assorted plaques.

They include George Spiers, Landscape Consultant of Burtown Nurseries, Athy who advised free of charge on the layout of the shrubs and trees over a two-year period 1976-1978

Sylvester Barrett TD, Minister for the Environment, who performed the opening ceremony in June 1978

Michael St Leger, a Clare man who lived his entire working life in Kilcullen, and worked tirelessly as a County Councilor for all the local people. Michael was a driving force in setting up Kilcullen Development Association and from his employment on The Curragh raised a large amount of the funds for the Kilcullen Non-Stop Draw. It was his idea to build affordable houses in Bishop Rogan and Moanbane Park, which he saw completed. As chairman of Kildare County Council he had the honour of cutting the tape to open the Kildare section of the new dual carriageway. Also as chairman of KCC, he welcomed Richard Nixon, President of the USA on his visit to Kildare. The President responded by inviting Mick to visit him in The White House, which he didn’t get around to doing.

Barry Coffey, Engineer, Kildare County Council Roads Engineer and Kilcullen resident, was very involved with Kilcullen Canoe Club and advised The Valley committee on various aspects of the development from 1975-1978.

Jerry Kelly, Chairman of Kilcullen Community Council was a great community worker during his lifetime and over a period of 40 years supported community endeavors and encouraged the local residents to become involved. Jerry loved Kilcullen and his songs and poems about Kilcullen remain with us to this day.

Fr Henry Flanagan OP, Dominican College, Newbridge, carved the sculpture in Portland stone of St Brigid feeding the poor, which was unveiled by Jerry Kelly in 1977.

Paddy Brangan, resident of St Brigid’s Avenue, over a period of three years used 400 tons of stone from the Hill of Allen to build everything you see today in The Valley – walls, St Brigid’s Grotto, picnic area, pond, steps, paths etc. A quiet unassuming man, every stone had to be laid correctly in place and admired before Paddy would leave work each evening.

Mary Connolly, Chairperson of Kilcullen Community Council from 1978 to her death in 1983, was the driving force that kept us all together. Her talents for organising and leading the community were unparalleled. She led by example and wished to include everybody. She was highly respected by the local people and various statutory bodies which she dealt with during the very successful years of KCC. One of the high points for her was Kilcullen winning the Best Environmental Award in Ireland 1979 for The Valley development. The development and building of the Kilcullen Community Centre during her five year stewardship, led Kilcullen to be recognized nationwide as a leader in community development.

(The Diary is grateful to Jim Collins, known as 'Mr Valley' during the 1970s/1980s, for his work in fundraising for the purchase and building of the Valley Park, for providing the information above. As it happens, he is the only living person of all those who have their names on plaques in the park. This article originally appeared on the Kilcullen Page of the Kildare Nationalist.)

The passing of Gay Warren

We have learned with some personal sadness of the death of Gabriel (Gay) Warren, founder of Renley Engineering, after an illness.

He will be sadly missed by his loving wife Pearl, sons Mark, Gary and Johnny, daughters-in-law Helen, Majella and Lucy, grandchildren Katie, James, Ralph, Aimee, Sam and Harry, and his sister May.

His remains are reposing overnight in the Church of Our Lady and St David, Naas. Requiem Mass will be celebrated tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 am and burial will follow afterwards in St Corban's Cemetery, Naas.

At the age 32 years, Gay Warren, left his engineering job in Unidare Ltd in Finglas in 1970 to set up his own business. With the help of Kilcullen Development Association, who supplied the building behind what is now the King Koil factory, Gay set up Renley Engineering with a start-up local workforce of 10 men. This was great news for Kilcullen, as at that time Renley was the one of the first industries in the town to employ men.

Renley Engineering Works manufactured lamp standards, transformer boxes, switch gear and other electrical items to supply under contract to the ESB. At one stage, Renley employed over 60 people.

A generous man with his time and expertise, Gay was involved for some years on the Board of KDA. After 23 years as managing director of Renley, He chose to retire in 1993 at the early age of 55. Since his retirement, he kept in touch with the many friends he made in Kilcullen over the years.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

The passing of Ann Pascouau

Dear Brian.

Sad news from the south of France at the weekend -- the sudden death of Ann Pascouau, nee Barrett. Ann, aged 56 years, was married to Francois Pascouau who worked in Kent Rubber, Kilcullen, from 1966 to 1970.

Ann, who was from Kildare town, also worked in Kent Rubber. They returned to live in France in 1970.

Relatives and friends of Ann have gone to attend her funeral in France which will take place on Wed 26th July. Our sympathy is with Francois and their two sons Jean-Pierre and Yves.

Jim Collins.

[ED: Kent Rubber was the original occupier of the factory which is now owned by King Coil. Built by Kilcullen Development Association as an 'advance factory' before the IDA got hold of the concept, Kent made swim hats for export. Francois was a technical expert in the process, and during his time here was a very popular guy. He played rugby with Old Kilcullen Rugby Football Club (OKRFC).]

St Patrick's wonderfully restored

St Patrick's Church at Carnalway is now in wonderful shape following the completion of a €195,000 restoration begun just five years ago.



The church had been in danger of collapse because when it was rebuilt in 1894 no foundations had been put under the original walls, the lower parts of which were retained in the rebuild.

The result was that the centre section of the church was splitting apart, under the weight of the subsiding trancept, and saving it required the pouring of concrete under the walls to provide a new foundation.

St Patrick's is a superb example of religious architecture, with strong 11th-century style Hiberno-Roman detailing inside and out, even to the gutters. This work was carried out in 1894 under the supervision of the Diocesan Architect James Franklin Fuller.

There has been a church on the site since the 13th century. The current Rector is John Marsden, and the church is one of three in the Newbridge Union -- with St Patrick's Church in Newbridge and St John's Church in Kilcullen.

"We started to raise money in 2000 because there was subsidence and damage," says local parishioner Hubert Beaumont, whose family have been active in the parish for generations, and who was showing people around the church yesterday as part of a fundraising event involving visiting the nearby Carnalway Lodge gardens.

"The whole project is a marvellous story of how a new Rector and very generous support from the parishioners can get something done. And particularly from Kilcullen itself -- the Kilcullen Development Association were incredibly generous towards the fund. Indeed, after an initial substantial donation from KDA, the subsequent fundraising was relatively easy."

The project also involved repairing the church roof and renovating the gutters, and restoring the organ as well as repairing the internal damage.

"It was one of those occasions when everybody concerned rose to the occasion, and our commitment is that the church should be seen by as many in the community as possible, and as often as is possible."

Hubert also paid tribute to the 'dynamic' influence of Rev Marsden in the project. "As well as being a highly spiritual man, he also believes that it is important to maintain the church's buildings. He's now looking at St John's in Kilcullen, which also needs work."



Brian Byrne.

The passing of Paddy Nugent

A young Paddy Nugent presiding over a dinner for Non Stop Draw promoters and collectors.

The Diary has learned with sorrow of the death of Paddy Nugent, who was in a very real way one of the architects of the Kilcullen we know today.

He will be best known among those of us who grew up here as the founder of the Kilcullen Non-Stop Draw, set up in 1949 to raise funds for Kilcullen Tennis Club.

The draw became one of the most successful of its type, and the proceeds were subsequently used for parish funds also.

In 1960, Kilcullen Development Association Ltd was formed to make better use of the draw funds, and among other benefits it cleared the parish debt for work on the church roof.

KDA then bought 44 acres of land on the Naas Road, and began development of an industrial site, long before the IDA ever came up with the idea.

In following years, KDA, with Paddy Nugent still at the helm, built the first 'affordable houses' at Moanbane Park, followed in 1971 by Bishop Rogan Park.

Other projects supported by the draw funds until 1978 included The Bridge Magazine, the Primary School, the Boxing Club, and the Canoe Club. From 1978 until the draw was wound up in 1990, the funds went to KARE.

A full account of KDA and Paddy Nugent's involvement in the building of modern Kilcullen can be read in 'Thirty Years of the Bridge', a compendium of articles from the first three decades of the magazine.

Pictured here on left when he received a community award for all he had done for Kilcullen, no doubt there will be many more stories told about Paddy in the next few days and weeks.

In the meantime, he is sadly missed by his loving wife Rita, sons Seamus, Paddy and Joseph; daughters Margaret, Maureen and Geraldine; and all his extended family and friends.

His removal will take place from his residence in Kilcullen to Kilcullen Parish Church on Monday evening, to arrive at 7.30. The funeral will take place to St Brigid's Cemetary after 11 o'clock mass on Tuesday.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.

— Brian Byrne.