KD SoundCloud - Memories of Kilcullen in the 1930s

The late Paddy Nugent's parents came to live in Kilcullen in 1930, writes Brian Byrne. As an adult decades later, Paddy became a key figure in Kilcullen's development, being a founder member of Kilcullen Development Association. At a difficult economic time, along with some other Kilcullen people of the time, he helped to lay the foundations of the thriving town that we have today.

During the mid 1980s, while I was an RTE radio journalist, I did an interview with Paddy about his memories growing up in Kilcullen in the 1930s. I never used it for broadcast, and only found the tape again a few years ago.

This programme is edited from that conversation, which is a unique recollection of an era that was completely different from today. I'd be very glad to hear of any similar.

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That Was The Week - Sunday 17 May 2020

A look back at the news on the Kilcullen Diary to the week ending 17 May 2020.

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So, what do you think of the Diary audios?

I'm getting some interesting listenership figures from the recent audio programmes introduced to the Diary, writes Brian Byrne. Much more than I expected.

I have to say that I'm enjoying doing them, they bring me back to my radio days in the 1980s and 1990s. It's a medium I always said I'd get back to, but never did much, apart from occasional contributions on KFM over recent years.

Many of you have also been listening to the latest short programmes I introduced from this week, the On This Day series which I plan to do each weekday if they remain popular.

Today's one is about the invention of Coca-Cola. Others are on the sinking of the Lusitania, the opening of the Channel Tunnel, and the first American in space, Alan Shepard.

Unlike the rest of the Diary, or the other audio programmes, these aren't Kilcullen-centric. But I hope you're finding them appealing.

These help to get me up early in the morning, though not as early as I had to do when I started my broadcasting career with It Says in The Papers on RTE back in the very early 1980s.

When I began that, it meant leaving Kilcullen at 4am to be in RTE and go through the newspapers, having a script ready for live broadcast by 8am. I did get a lot faster before I finished.

If anyone has any comments, critiques or suggestions, they'd all be appreciated.

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That Was The Week on 3 May 2020

A look back at the news of the week on the Kilcullen Diary, produced and presented by Brian Byrne.

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KD SoundCloud: NYC under lockdown

Frances Brennan, originally from Old Kilcullen, has worked in New York City for 25 years. In this episode of the Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud she talks to Brian Byrne about what it is like there under coronavirus lockdown.

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KD SoundCloud: David Byrne talks food, sustainability, and Crean's Place

David Byrne, co-owner with David Hogan of the Crean's Place restaurant business in Kilcullen, talks to the Kilcullen Diary about his longtime interest in food, and the mission of Crean's Place.

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Innovative Kilcullen thinking produces protective face masks

Two Kilcullen based companies recently got together to make protective masks from a horse blankets material to help in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, writes Brian Byrne

And in the last 10 days, Tara Equestrian and Carve On have made and distributed some 3,500 masks to front-line staff in a number of hospitals around the country, and even abroad.

Our special audio report can be heard above.

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The Eyes Have It

Fourteen years on from setting up her own optometrist practice in Kilcullen, Nichola Kennedy looks back at her childhood and working life. Produced and presented by Brian Byrne.

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KD SoundCloud: Marching with the Saints

In this edition of the Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud, we're doing a little fiction, a short story of mine from the early 1990s, writes Brian Byrne.

Sometimes, though, real life follows fiction, as it did in this case.

I hope you enjoy. (Cover photo by Victor Freitas from Pexels.)

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Maintain Hope: Coronavirus creates a crisis in funding

An appeal for those who can afford it to consider signing up for the Tenner a Month fundraising for the Maintain Hope charity has been made by its Kilcullen-connected founder, Gerry O'Donoghue, writes Brian Byrne.

The arrival of coronavirus has both impacted on the charity's fundraising events here at home, as well as directly on the Children's Home near Nairobi in Kenya which it has supported for 16 years.

As Gerry O'Donoghue says, 'because schools are closed, even their once guaranteed daily meal is denied to them'. "Our needs were never greater, but our opportunities to meet them were never fewer.

"We are now depending on our Tenner a Month campaign. If you have been thinking about supporting us, please sign up now. The bank details are on maintainhope.org, in the Tenner a a Month tab. This is the worst possible time to be asking for help, but these are the worst of times."

I spoke with Gerry last evening to establish the detail of the emergency, and you can hear the interview on the Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud above.

Maintain Hope is regulated by the Charities Regulator.

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Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud: Remembering Kilcullen Capers

Through the 1970s until 1982, Kilcullen Capers was an annual event in which different areas of the village and parish were pitted against each other in a week of variety shows, writes Brian Byrne.

The 1982 event was the tenth year, and as it happened, was to be the last. Not knowing that, I made recordings of rehearsals and participants in a number of the shows, which later I turned into an audio documentary.

For this latest episode of the Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud, I have uploaded that documentary, which recalls a very special period in Kilcullen. It's a full 45 minutes, so pick a suitable time over the weekend, with a pot of tea or even a glass of wine.

Enjoy, and for those of you who were there, happy memories.

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The Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud

The Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud is a new space on the Diary dedicated to audio, writes Brian Byrne.

As it develops, we'll be providing interviews, documentaries, memories and more in a radio format, which hopefully will also build a resource of life, stories, community, business, history and heritage in audio form.

I spent a long time in radio in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was one of my favourite mediums in my journalistic career. I always said I'd like to get back to it, but lacked the time. This is one way.

Let me know if you have any ideas to include in future episodes. For the moment I'm doing it from the cocoonery, but when all this is over I'll be getting out further with my microphone.

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Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud: Dawn Behan of Woodbine Books

In this latest episode of the new Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud, we talk to Dawn Behan, three and a half years in from opening Woodbine Books in Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

We'll be continuing this series in which we hope to offer an eclectic mix of interviews, documentaries, stories and memoir. If you like it, do let us know.

Meantime, you'll definitely love Dawn's story of a dream turned to a business.

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Diary SoundCloud: Jim Crawford, Manager of Ireland U-21 Football Team

In this episode of the Kilcullen Diary SoundCloud, Brian Byrne talks to Jim Crawford of Ballyshannon, the newly appointed Manager of the Ireland Under-21 Mens Football Team.

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