Spring growth for Kilcullen 700 trees

Just for those who don't often go down the Mass Path to the Mill Stream area, the 700 trees that were planted in 2019 to mark Kilcullen 700 are doing well.

It will be interesting to see that patch of new woodland develop over the next five years, when growth will be be much stronger, and what will be the effect on the reeded areas around it.

Below is the planting day four years ago.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Launch of 'Kilcullen Before our Time'

The book Kilcullen Before our Time, based on the heritage talks and events of the Kilcullen 700 celebration in 2019, was officially launched today by Noel Clare of Kilcullen Community Action, at a low-key socially-distanced event held outside Woodbine Books, writes Brian Byrne.

Noel said it was very strange to be organising an event to which they had to be careful not to invite too many people, and that it would be held outside a bookshop by a group of people 'with strange hairstyles'. "The book should have been launched last March, but for obvious reasons that didn't happen."

He recalled what a wonderful year of events 2019 was. "I don't think anyone could have foreseen that it would have been quite as successful, and that it would have so many individuals, groups and organisations involved. All did their bit to make the event the success it was."

Noel reminded those present of the beginning event, the launch of the Photography Club's first Calendar, and the closing event of the 'Walk with the Light' from Old Kilcullen to the Town Hall. "But right through the year there were so many other events that were so memorable in their own way, too many to go through today."

On the development of the book, Noel noted that because Kilcullen was looking back 700 years, it seemed fitting that there would be talks on different aspects of the town as it grew and changed. "Thanks to Nessa Dunlea's connections with the County Kildare Local History Group, we got an amazing group of speakers, with so much knowledge about the various places around."

He name-checked them as Ger McCarthy of the Naas Local History Group, Nessa Dunlea herself 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.

"Those talks were amazing, it is great to be able to have a record of their content, and it is wonderful to have this book, going forward into the future, with all that knowledge."

Noel also thanked in her absence Bridget Loughlin, Heritage Officer with Kildare County Council, who provided the initial sponsorship which made the publication possible. Other key sponsorship was given by Kilcullen Development Association. He highlighted too the work of the Kilcullen 700 Committee, which made the whole year of celebration happen, under the direction of committee chair Nessa Dunlea.

Kilcullen Before our Time is primarily a series of articles based on the heritage talks, interspersed with photographic memories of many of the other events which were held as part of Kilcullen 700. It is now on sale in Woodbine Books at a cost of €10.

"Spread the word around," Noel urged those present, noting that the publication would be an ideal gift also to send to anyone from Kilcullen who is living abroad.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Grow, trees, grow!

Some nice pics in from a regular reader, showing that the 700 trees planted by Kilcullen families last year are doing very well. Lovely variety too.

Beat the Virus: Stay At Home. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Kilcullen 700 book is completed, Covid delays launch

Kilcullen 700 seems a long way back just now, but the book based on the Heritage Talks has now been printed, writes Brian Byrne.

As well as articles in Kilcullen, Before our Time from each of the contributors to the talks series, there are pages of photographs from many of the Kilcullen 700 events, making the book a good record of the myriad of activities which made the celebration such a community-wide success.

The impact of the coronavirus situation means that a launch of the book by its publishers, the Kilcullen 700 Committee, will have to wait until the current restrictions are lifted.

But it is something to look forward to in these difficult times. Let's remember the late Bernard Berney's oft-repeated philosophy, 'this too will pass'.

Beat the Virus: Stay At Home. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

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.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Final Kilcullen 700 presentations

Final presentations of Kilcullen 700 plaques were made recently to thank the recipients of their support for the year-long celebrations in 2019.

They were to Pat Stafford for Kilcullen Credit Union, Geraldine and Tony Gahan, and Jo Mallon of An Tearmann.

A plaque was also presented to Kay Hartigan, related to the planting of 700 trees in the middle of the year.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Bye bye, Kilcullen 700

Pic: Noel Clare.

And that's a wrap. Wayne Aspell taking down the last of the Kilcullen 700 banners from the bridge.

Suggestions (tongue in cheek!) that maybe a Kilcullen 701 year should be continued have met with a distinctly cool response from the committee who managed the whole year.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Kilcullen 700, a look back

"So, what was Kilcullen 700 all about?"

A question asked by someone during December who will remain nameless, writes Brian Byrne. Someone who must be the only person in town who wasn't involved in some way or other.

Truth is, the celebrations of 700 years since the bridge was built that started the riverside settlement of today's Kilcullen wasn't just one thing. It was pretty well everything that happened in the town through last year. So in a way, because it wasn't one single event, maybe there's an excuse for Kilcullen 700 not standing out in individual memories. We all just absorbed it as we travelled through 2019.

When you look at the year, the sheer variety in the Kilcullen 700 tapestry is almost mind-boggling, trying to take it in as a piece. There was, of course, a committee. Its makeup was fluid, depending on what events were imminent. It was run by Nessa Dunlea as chair with an almost military discipline aimed at keeping a wide variety of elements from becoming chaos. But once an event was decided, the group involved just got on with it, reporting in only often enough to let all know it was happening.

In advance of the year, logos for the celebration were designed, one by Gareth Landy, the other by Michal Uhruskis aka The Signmaker. Gareth's (above) became the 'signature' of Kilcullen 700 across virtually every aspect of the celebration, while Michal's was the centrepiece for the bridge banners (top picture) and the commemorative plaques which were presented to various groups contributing to the year.

The first official use of Gareth's logo was on the Kilcullen Photography Club's 2019 Calendar, their first such publication and the launch of which was the first official event for Kilcullen 700. The logo subsequently became the theme focus for contributions by pupils of St Joseph's NS Halverstown and Scoil Bhride NS Kilcullen (posters below).

The celebration of Halverstown NS's 60th anniversary was another incorporation into the 700, which included a Celebration Run and a Past Pupils Reunion Day. An inter-schools quiz was another related event.

There was enough information about the plans in January for Billy Redmond to pen a poem highlighting almost all of the events which subsequently did happen.

The first of a series of monthly local heritage talks was on the Gilltown-based Borrowes family, given by Naas historian Ger McCarthy (above with Mary Orford and Nessa Dunlea). Subsequent talks included the story of Castlemartin (Nessa Dunlea), the history of trains in the area (Liam Kenny), the story of Ernest Shackleton (Kevin Kenny), a history of New Abbey House (Colette Jordan), the Kilcullen Toll Road (Brian McCabe), the Eustace family (Ger McCarthy), and a series of videos under the banner of The River Liffey Stories, including a segment on the river at Kilcullen.

Another regular highlight that just grew and grew was the monthly Memory Monday morning events organised by Mary Orford and her Meitheal of Memories team. Over the course of the year they discussed a variety of living stories from an earlier Kilcullen, as well as producing a fascinating range of documents and artefacts. They were all brought together in December in a roundup presentation in the theatre.

A combined St Patrick's Day Parade and Twinning of Kilcullen with the Normandy town of Saint-Contest was both colourful and moving, and a very inclusive event in the expanding Kilcullen 700 calendar. On the same weekend, the Valley Fairy Trail was launched (below).

The 1798 Rebellion as part of Kilcullen's heritage was celebrated by the local Camphill Communities, whose members developed and performed a costumed presentation exploring what might have been in the minds of ordinary local people during that conflict. The pupils of Scoil Bhride took on a similar theme, producing a play written about the local battle which featured the bridge on the Liffey.

One of the future-related contributions to the celebrations was the planting of 700 trees beside the old Mass Path to New Abbey by representatives of local families. With the trees provided by the Tree Council of Ireland, a book listing the names of families associated with the planting was later placed in the Heritage Centre. A River of Tulips at the Naas Road end of town flowed into full colour during the spring and summer. Later, different sets of flowers kept it going through to the autumn.

Many cultural events marked the year of 700, notably John McKenna's presentation of his 'The Mental' in Woodbine Books. There was also the Arts Trail with contributions including paintings in varied media through photography, knitting, quilling, ceramics and clay art, from both professional and amateur artists, displayed in several locations through Kilcullen.

The 'yarn-bombing' of the bridge and square area by the Suas Knitting Group was one of the most colourful aspects of Kilcullen 700. The imagination of the knitters brightened up the June Bank Holiday weekend in great style, in what were in many ways the knitted stories of Kilcullen. On the same weekend, up to 150 pre-1988 cars found parking spaces in Kilcullen in a visit by the Gordon Bennett Classic Car Run 2019. Among the drivers was Irish rally legend Rosemary Smith.

The Bloomsday opening of Tony and Geraldine Gahan's gardens in aid of KWWSPCA went off very well, with brilliant music and being fortunate with the weather.

A very special event was the unveiling of a plaque to Kilcullen born Frank Conroy, who was killed as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. The unveiling was by Christy Moore, a longtime supporter of Conroy's cause.

Kilcullen Tennis Club held a special Kilcullen 700 Mixed Doubles competition, and their special guest was Pat Lynch of Logstown, one of the original club's founding members.

A competition sponsored by Bank of Ireland in Kilcullen for National Heritage Week prompted a superb range of 'Past Times' windows, tableaux, and live displays throughout the town. There were four winners — Perfect Images, Ger's Fruit and Veg, Armelle's Kitchen, and Kilcullen Drama Group (above with the judges) — but all of the contributions resurrected many memories of Kilcullen's people and past.

A 700 celebration of Kilcullen's Olympics, Special Olympics, and Transplant athletes down the decades proved to be a quite amazing event organised by Kilcullen Community Centre. Special guests Ronnie Delaney and Michael Carruth provided gold medal backgrounds to the achievements.

Kilcullen GAA Club incorporated its own 130th anniversary celebrations into the 700 with, naturally, a Black and White Ball in Keadeen Hotel.

Memories of growing up in Kilcullen were recalled in a memoir launch at Woodbine Books, where Eithne Logan, née Brennan, recounted events, people, and the different times for a child in the 1950s. Another Woodbine event, not quite bookending the whole Kilcullen 700 year, was the launch of the 2020 Kilcullen Photographic Club Calendar.

The actual final event of the celebrations was the symbolic lighting of the tower at Old Kilcullen, where the original monastic community of Kilcullen was established. Followed by a 'lantern walk' down to Kilcullen and the subsequent switching on of special lights on the bridge, the 'Walk of Light' concluded a very special year with style and a substantial amount of emotion.

So, what was Kilcullen 700 all about? All of the above, and more. More being the opportunity for all of us here to look back at where we came from. Now for 2020, perhaps the chance to look at where we're going from here?

(If I have left out any event associated with the celebrations of last year, apologies. Remind me and I'll rectify it — BB.)





Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy

Kilcullen 700 concluded with uplifting Walk with the Light

There was a great mix of feelings during last evening's final event of the Kilcullen 700 celebrations, writes Brian Byrne.

They were about history, heritage, reflection on Kilcullen past, present and future. There was a sense of accomplishment, and of completion of another phase in the town's 700-year-old existence ... along with the many hundreds of years further back on the original Kilcullen monastic site, on the hill across from the even older mysteries of Dun Ailinne.

The weather was chill but kind, a great evening for a walk through time. Speeches were short, which was appropriate because this was primarily an evening for all of us to consider our own place and space in this, Kilcullen's own continuum.

Christy Howard, chair of the Old Kilcullen Area Community Association said the event celebrated the history, the people, the culture, and what it is has been like to live in Kilcullen. "Kilcullen 700 has been an unbelievable success," he said. "We have all been re-educated, and reinvigorated, and encouraged to preserve what we have and enhance our future. We will continue to make Kilcullen a great place to live, to work, and to retire in."

He commended the drive of Nessa Dunlea, chair of the Kilcullen 700 Committee, for pushing through the celebrations during the year, and on behalf of OKACA he made a presentation to her.

The local Church of Ireland minister, the Reverend Tim Wright, said it was great to be standing on a site where Christianity had been proclaimed for many many years. He noted that the imminent lighting of the tower as part of the event was a reminder that Jesus was the 'light of the world'. "As we walk down the road, our lights will guide us. As we live in Kilcullen, our actions will define us. It is my prayer that the light of Kilcullen will continue to shine."

Fr Martin Harte then said a prayer asking that the light of God guide the community through life.

Nessa Dunlea asked Pat Lynch, a senior member of the Kilcullen community, to officially switch on the lights that would shine on the tower for the duration of the event, representing Kilcullen's past. Then there was a period of silence to allow people to reflect on all those who had passed through Old Kilcullen down the centuries.

The large group which had gathered at Old Kilcullen, an appropriate mix of young and old, new and longtime local inhabitants, then made their way down the hill and into Kilcullen, guided by our local gardai.

At the bridge, the Kilcullen Gospel Choir entertained, and then Noel Clare of the Kilcullen 700 Committee concluded the talking by thanking all those in the community who had helped make the Kilcullen 700 year so successful and inclusive. He invited two children from one of the new families in Kilcullen, Ashwika and Alexander Tiwari, to officially switch on new lights set into the bridge, which will be used to highlight special occasions and events in the town in the future.

Those present were then invited to the Heritage Centre for a very welcome cup of tea.

(All the Diary's photos of the event are here.)

Pat Lynch, right, with Ashwika and Alexander Tiwari who switched on the new lights on the bridge; with their parents Joanna Suska-Tiwari and Abhishek Tiwari.

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy