Bringing the world to the Shackleton story

While at Cross and Passion College in Kilcullen, Aline Egar dreamed of becoming a primary school teacher, writes Brian Byrne. A lack of fluency in Irish stymied that. “I do love the language, but it wasn’t good enough at the time,” says the Brannockstown woman, now Aline Fitzgerald, who is general manager of the newly opened Shackleton Experience in Athy. Her journey from Brannockstown to that position has arguably been as complicated as some of Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions.

Shelving her original ambition, Aline went on to study Hotel & Catering Management at Brighton College in the UK. After four years there, she worked at several hotels in Ireland, then, in 1996, made another move to another country. “I got a position as Sales Manager with the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in Chicago,” she says. “It was a fantastic experience in a very beautiful city. My work focused on selling the hotel as a venue for corporate events." Her territory spanned the area between Chicago and the West Coast, and she thrived in her job, earning the company’s President's Club Award twice. However, much as she was enjoying it, there was always a pull to return home. “I was always something of a homebird,” she laughs.

The opportunity to return to Ireland came in 1999, when the group was opening the Four Seasons hotel in Dublin, and she transferred to help with that. Initially, as Sales Manager, she helped build the hotel's profile in the Irish market and worked to attract North American leisure visitors. Later, as Director of Sales & Marketing, she oversaw a broad range of key activities. In 2015, with the Dublin hotel joining the InterContinental Hotel Group, she coordinated communications and interactions with various stakeholders to ensure a seamless transition. Aline says she absolutely enjoyed working with the Four Seasons group, calling it an ‘incredible’ company. “I met many amazing people, and I was mentored and really supported along the way, which was so beneficial. But ultimately I wanted to make a change."

After leaving the hotel business in mid-2015, she took a short-term contract with Trinity College Dublin to manage its involvement in the EU Discover Research event, held every 25 September in over 250 cities as European Researchers Night. "That was a really fun thing to do. It was helping people to understand that science is not just in a laboratory, but also includes other topics and subjects as well. My role was to coordinate with the various schools within Trinity so they'd host a programme on the night. We ended up with something like 75 different events."

The next adventure began when a friend sent her the specification for a role as General Manager of a museum in Dublin's GPO, proposed by An Post as an immersive visitor experience about the prelude and aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising. "I applied and got the opportunity. Ultimately, so much of what I had done in the past related to the museum world. You need to attract visitors. It's very focused on customer service and delivery, and on coordinating everything happening out front and what's happening behind the scenes." Taking the post at the end of 2015 put her right at the heart of the 2016 Commemorations and the opening of the museum in March 2016 in the historical GPO building. "It was an incredible experience," she says. "I worked there for just over eight years, but I had a little girl towards the end of 2019, and she was starting school, so my commute to Dublin wasn't working for me anymore. I left in July of last year, basically giving up my three- to four-hour daily commute to be home. I'd rather spend that time with her than on the N7."

The opportunity to manage the new Shackleton Experience in Athy arose, and Aline took on the role of General Manager in March of this year. Up to its official opening on 10 October, she was immersed in finishing the project. In many ways, it was a repeat of her work with establishing the GPO Museum, though on a physically larger scale. "We're in a historic building that has had many lives. The Experience is on three levels, which is quite extensive. There's a lot for people to engage with, and the dwell time for our visitors is around two hours, which is quite something."

The Experience includes a 1920s-style cinema screening documentaries about Shackleton and his expeditions. "We also have several different interactive pieces — for instance, you can sit in what appears to be the James Caird lifeboat, and you are watching a video telling you about the individuals and that journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. It's phenomenal, you really feel that you're riding the waves, and you're enduring that trip just like they were back then. You also get the experience of pulling a sledge, giving you the essence of what that must have been like." The over 200 artefacts scattered throughout the museum also indicate how extensive the whole thing is. "The previous museum, which was much smaller, already had such an incredible collection ... we've had many on loan to us, others donated."

You can build it, but will they come? Aline does not doubt that the iconic story of Shackleton and his colleagues has enough pull to make a pilgrimage to Athy a must for many visitors from around the world, not least because the Autumn School devoted to the explorer has become a major international event over the last 25 years. "We're fortunate that we have that following already, with attendees from all over the world. We also maintain relationships with other polar museums, which certainly serve us well. That's a very positive place to start from when you open something of such significance as we now have in Athy."

For Aline, the job fits perfectly with a part of her that has always been comfortable as a tourist in her own land. "Being in the world of tourism appeals to me, shouting from the rooftops about things in Ireland that we're proud of and have every right to be. Here in the Shackleton Experience, we are something that not everybody relates to as being an Irish success story, but he was from Kilkea just out the road, and he was proud about his Irish heritage."

No less proud, probably, than Aline Fitzgerald and her team are to tell his story to a world beating its way to South Kildare.

This article was first published in The Kildare Nationalist.

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Public consultation event on Corbally-Liffey recreation trails

Images: Kildare County Council.

A reminder that views and ideas from the public on a proposed recreational trail between the Corbally Canal and the Liffey Corridor, including Kilcullen, are being sought by Kildare County Council, writes Brian Byrne. A public consultation event as part of a feasibility study is being held in Naas TODAY Wednesday 2 April to facilitate this.

The event in Naas Library & Cultural Centre will include an exhibition aimed at enabling understanding of the scope of the project and the options being considered. It will run from 4pm to 7pm.

The Corbally Canal is between the Newbridge Road, Naas and Corbally Harbour north of Kilcullen and extends approximately 8km. The River Liffey between Newbridge, Athgarvan and Kilcullen extends approximately 10km. Kildare County Council aims to develop and connect these areas via new recreational trails, where feasible.

The study is being prepared by JBA Consulting Ltd and the project is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS). Waterways Ireland are a key project partner.

More details of the project and the public consultation event can be found here. 

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Tasty lineup for 2024 Taste of Kildare

Some of the organisers, chefs and partners.

Fallons Restaurant in Kilcullen will again be one of the Taste of Kildare Festival 2024 participants, taking place in September at Naas Racecourse, writes Brian Byrne. In total there's a network of over a hundred food partners taking part in the festival.

Taste of Kildare is organised by the tourism board for the county, Into Kildare. It will comprise food stalls offering a very wide range of Irish and global cuisines, and famous chefs will give demonstrations from the festival's stage — a star-studded lineup includes Rachel Allen, Derry Clarke, Gary O’Hanlon, Ross Lewis, Martin Shanahan, Natalie Collins, Jordan Bailey, Holly White, Mindi Keane, Duro Vdovic, Melissa McCabe and Martin Lewis among others. Workshops led by leading industry experts will still feature.

Different zones at the event will include Tastes of the World, The Terrace, BBQ Experience, Harvest Lunch Experience, The Cocktail Bar and The VIP Garden Area and VIP Lounge. There is also a Food Truck Village, Music Stage and the Bord Na Móna Family and Kids Zone.

Running from 20-22 September, the final day is a dedicated family day and is sponsored by Bord Na Móna, with children under 12 admitted free and families are encouraged to pre-register on the Taste of Kildare and on Ticket Master in advance.

Tickets are now on sale at www.tasteofkildare.ie/tickets and are priced from €15 for general admission. A bundle ticket priced from €27.50 per person includes admission and two signature dishes from any of the participating restaurants for one session on any one day over the weekend.

 

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Disappointment at KCC response to signs request

Old signage in Kilcullen (which doesn't always point in the right directions).

Disappointment has been expressed to the response from Kildare County Council to a request to provide street and laneway name signage in Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne. Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer told the recent meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge MD that road and laneway names 'tell the history' of a town, which she believes is essential to supporting and developing its character.

The councillor had raised the matter by way of question, saying that such signage would assist tourists in locating the many attractions in Kilcullen. Officials said the Transport Department have no plans to instal additional signs, and that there is a preference to keep signage to a minimum in town centres.

The report also said that any development of bespoke signs on streets and laneways would require careful coordination to maintain the character of the town centre, "in particular where heritage buildings are impacted." Officials also suggested the community might identify locations where signs are required, and then next steps in the process of funding and provision could be considered.

Cllr O'Dwyer said she noted the report 'but did not accept it'. "I will continue to work on this," she said. 

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Planning for Glamping Centre upheld by ABP

A new tourism Glamping Centre on the greenway at Burgage Moyle in Blessington has got the green light from An Bord Pleanála, following an appeal, writes Brian Byrne. The amenity, being developed by locals Pat and Theresa Phibbs, is aimed at enhancing the tourism offering in the area.

The development was designed and application managed by Kilcullen's Murphy Design & Build, and had previously been granted permission by Wicklow County Council, but that decision had been appealed. "However, the permission was recently upheld by ABP in accordance with the conditions previously set out by WCC," says Pat Phibbs. 

"There were serious challenges to overcome in this application and we cannot overstate the importance of having Martin and his team at Murphy Design & Build involved in the project. His in-depth knowledge of the planning laws as well as his ability to interpret rural development plans and tailor the application to meet all requirements, were instrumental in getting this project across the line."

The developers are confident that this is going to be great asset to West Wicklow and surrounding areas, and is a start in their wish to change West Wicklow from a drive-through location for day trippers, into a GoTo destination for discerning tourists, bringing valuable revenue to all local businesses.

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Kilcullen company designs landmark tourism project

Rendering of glamping site (image: Murphy Design & Build).

A major tourism initiative near Blessington which has been approved by Wicklow's planners was designed by Kilcullen-based Murphy Design & Build Solutions, writes Brian Byrne.

A Glamping Centre at Burgage Moyle will incorporate five detaching glamping pods, and an associated management building with a shared kitchen, guest bathroom facilities, and publicly accessible toilets. The project, for Pat and Theresa Phibbs, will also include three serviced bays for camper vans.

"Martin Murphy compiled a very detailed and professional application on our behalf," Pat Phibbs told the Diary, noting that there were 'great challenges' in getting approval, which required dealing with Dublin Corporation and the National Roads Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland in addition to Wicklow CC planners.

"It's a landmark development, as it's the first time any development of this type has been able to get approval with such close proximity to Blessington Lakes. We're very fortunate to have a professional of Martin's calibre in Kilcullen."

One of the glamping pods (image: Murphy Design & Build).

Management building (image: Murphy Design & Build).

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Light a candle tonight for Brigid

Kildare people are invited to light a candle in their homes tonight, the eve of St Brigid's Day.

The initiative is designed to provide a county-wide 'beacon of light' to celebrate its patron saint. Images shared on the Into Kildare Facebook page with the hashtag #𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗨𝗽𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗮𝗿e will be in with a chance to win a Whitewater Shopping Centre gift voucher.

Candles are available free in Kildare libraries.

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Autumn push for walking in Kildare

A programme for walking in Kildare is being encouraged by Into Kildare under the banner Let's Walk Kildare This Autumn!, writes Brian Byrne.

Forest walks and trails, exploring The Curragh ancient lowland grassland (above), and learning the history of the County's bogs are just some of the suggestions from the programme.

The organisation, which promotes tourism within the county, says says autumn gives a chance to explore less visited routes and 'enjoy fabulous blue skies and amazing golden sunsets' among the attractions.

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The Old Hardware is a designated Cycle Café

Pic: The Old Hardware.

The Old Hardware in Narraghmore has been approved as a 'designated Cycle Café' in a scheme being promoted by Kildare County Council to encourage cycling.

There are 12 approved locations already, and six more are pending approval. A further three are awaiting inspection visits.

Kildare County Council has secured funding of €8,500 from the Department of Transport to help support Bike Week initiatives this year, in addition to further funding of €50,000 from the Department of Rural and Community Development for Cycle Café schemes.

"The approved designated Cycle Cafés will help boost the profile and benefits of cycling in Kildare," says Declan Keogh, Kildare County Council’s Road Safety, Cycling and Sustainable Transport Officer, "and also ensure that cyclists are provided with much needed ‘pit stops’ along their routes, while also taking in the lovely attractions and amenities the county has to offer.”

The currently approved list includes three Cafes in Athy — Cuan Mhuire Garden Centre, The Emigrant Bar & Eatery, and The Auld Shebeen. The original one, and inspiration for the scheme, is Sean Fogarty's Cartwheel Cycle Cafe Shop in Ballymore.

The others are Behans Service Station in Castledermot, Crookstown Service Station, The Faraway Tree Restaurant in Donadea, The Three Counties in Maganey, The Old Hardware in Narraghmore, The Elms Gormey Pantry & Interiors at Punchestown, and in Sallins there are two — Lock 13/ Flanagans, and O'Reillys SuperValu.

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Out of town: Altamont Gardens

Only 40 minutes or so from Kilcullen, Altamont Gardens is one of those relatively hidden places of tranquility which seem to abound in the Carlow area, writes Brian Byrne.

Today owned by the Irish state at the wish of its late owner, Corona North, it is managed by the OPW and free to visit apart from a nominal parking fee. And while browsing through the extraordinary, maybe unique range of trees, shrubs and flowers, ponder on a labour of absolute love.

It would have been easy for Corona North — named by her father, Fielding Lecky-Watson, for one of his favourite rhododendrons — to sell up after her mother Isobel left her the house and estate of 140 acres on the bank of the Slaney, and live comfortably with her husband Gary for the rest of her life. But she had inherited something else too, a love of plants and a Quaker sense of work from both the Lecky and the Watson sides of her family. Her father and mother were especially interested in planting, and bringing trees and shrubs to Ireland from various parts of the world.

Growing up, she had lived the comfortable and very social life of a 'big house' gentry family — hunting, racing, parties and everything else that went with her station. But at the start of WW2 she went to England and became a nursing volunteer. At the end of the war she returned and worked with her parents on managing the estate. They raised cattle for dairy, chickens for eggs and consumption, grew fruit, and caught salmon from the river. All these were the foundation of dinners at Altamont which became renowned.

It was at one of those, a party held skating on the frozen one-acre lake in the gardens in the exceptionally cold winter of 1965, that she met her future husband Gary North. They moved into the house from a lodge on the grounds after Isobel died in 1983 at the age of 101. Corona then got seriously stuck in to getting the gardens back to glory. A mission not always appreciated by her husband, who is said to have often grumbled, as he blew a hunting horn to persuade her to come in to dinner, that 'the woman has evaporated again'.

The garden was still pretty much a wilderness, although it had previously been a very impressive formal affair established around an 18th century house originally built by an Anglo-Norman family named St George. As you walk the path around the lake, today resplendent with azaleas, rhododendrons and magnolias, it is also worth thinking about how that lake came about. It was a make-work project by the then owners in the 1860s, the Borrors (Burroughes) descended from the de Burgh Normans who settled in England, to help local people affected by the Famine. It was dug with shovels and sweat, and probably meant the survival of many families in the nearby Myshall (where this writer's great-grandfather came from, and hence the particular interest) and Fenagh villages.

Back in the later years of her life's work, Corona established garden holiday courses at Altamont which attracted thousands of visitors and pupils. In order to 'keep the gardens intact for future generations to enjoy, and instil in them knowledge and a love of gardens, wildlife and nature', she succeeded in getting the Irish Government's agreement to take over the property after her death.

She passed away at her beloved Altamont on 7 February 1999, eight years after her deceased husband could no longer blow the hunting horn to remind her that it was time to come in. Prior to her passing, she had planted some new oak trees in an ice-age formed glen downside of the Gardens where there are already oaks hundreds of years old.

On a nice day, think of Altamont for a drive from Kilcullen and a day's tranquil pleasure. And as you walk from the small but very interestingly stocked garden centre to the gardens themselves, you'll cross over a sign in the ground marking a herbaceous border planted in her memory.

Now you'll know who she was. More photographs here.

Equine projects now allowed Leader funding

Equine activities and rural tourism projects such as equestrian centres and riding schools will now be able to apply for Leader Programme grants, writes Brian Byrne.

This follows a move by Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Heather Humphries to amend the legislation for Leader applications to allow such projects.

The move has been welcomed by Deputy Martin Heydon as particularly useful for rural tourism projects of this kind in Kildare. “The extension of funding to ancillary activities for the equine industry highlights the importance and strength of the industry,” he says, “and indicates the opportunities for spin off business and creation of more jobs from it in important rural areas.”

Liffey Greenway for Kilcullen in amendments to County Plan

A feasibility investigation for a River Liffey Greenway from Newbridge to Kilcullen is to be inserted into the Draft County Kildare Development Plan 2017-23, writes Brian Byrne.

The section is part of an initiative being proposed for such a Greenway along the river from the Dublin to the Wicklow borders within County Kildare. It becomes part of the Plan’s objective to work with the National Transport Authority, Kildare Fáilte, Fáilte Ireland, Waterways Ireland and all stakeholders to develop a co-ordinated approach to the selection of, and delivery of and servicing of future greenways, blueways, trails and routes throughout the county.

It is one of a number of amendments and material alterations to the Plan which have been agreed by the Council and the authority’s management.

Another amendment involving Kilcullen is an increase of New Dwellings Target for the town from 800 to 812 during the life of the Plan, because of a revealed increase in population shown by the 2016 Census estimate.

The public are invited to make observations and submissions on the changes to the Plan, which are on display at Aras Chill Dara in Naas, and at public libraries. Submissions can be made in writing to Kildare County Development Plan 2017-2023, c/o Senior Executive Officer, Planning Department, Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas, Co Kildare; or online.