Athy

Athy lock

Athy (Template:PronEng – (Irish: Baile Átha Í, meaning 'Town of the ford of Ae') is a market town situated at the convergence of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometers southwest of Dublin.

Its population of 7,943 (2006 Census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kildare and the 50th largest in the Republic of Ireland, with a growth rate of 31.3% since the 2002 census.

The town is named after a second century chieftain Ae who was killed on the river crossing thus giving the town its name meaning "the town by Ae's ford".

From the first official records in 1813 (population 3,192) until 1891 (population 4,886) and again in 1926-46 and 1951-61 Athy was the largest town in Kildare. In 1837 the population was 4,494 .

Geography

The exact intersection of 7°00'00.00" west longtitude and 53°00'00.00" north latitude lies northwest of Athy near the Athy to Stradbally road Google Map 53°n 7°w.

History

The town developed from a 12th century Anglo-Norman settlement to an important military outpost on the border of the Pale. The first town charter dates from the 16th century and the town hall was constructed in the early 18th century. The completion of the Grand Canal in 1791 linking here with the River Barrow and arrival of the railway in 1846 illustrates the importance of the town as a commercial centre.

Of the many church ruins in Athy, St. Michael's is perhaps the most ancient. It was built in the fourteenth century. Some of the vestry and sidewalls have disappeared, but there is still some of the original church remaining. The dedication to St. Michael is derived from the St. Michael family who were lords of Athy and it is quite probable that it was this family who were the founders of the church.

White's Castle, a tower house built in 1417 by the Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare is now a private residence, and is said to be opening soon for public visits under its new owner.

Barrow Rail Bridge

There is a market house dating from around 1780 in the town square, where, in 1798 "the first wooden triangle was set up on which the United Irishmen were spreadeagled and flogged by the militia".

Athy hosted the Gordon Bennet Cup race in 1903. This has also lead to the popular but unproven belief that it was the origin of British Racing Green colour for racecars.

The town is twinned since 2003 with French town of Grandvilliers (département Oise-Picardy). The Athy twinning committee chairperson is Richard Daly, councillor and principal of the Community College. The French twinning committee is named "La Balad'Irlandaise" . The newly reelected town chairman of Grandvilliers is Jacques Larcher . Towns official visits are each two years. Colleges are organising once a year students exchanges. Musicians from Athy often go to Grandvilliers.

Transport

Athy is connected to the Irish rail network via the Dublin–Waterford main line. Athy railway station opened on 4 August 1846 and closed for goods traffic on 6 September 1976. There is a disused siding to the Tegral Slate factory. This is all that is left of the former branch to Wolfhill colliery. The line was built by the United Kingdom Government in 1918 due to wartime shortage of coal in Ireland. The concrete bridge over the River Barrow on this branch is one of the earliest concrete railway under bridges in Ireland.

The town is located on the N78 national secondary road where it crosses the R417 regional road.

Communications

Though a booming town, Athy has few local media outlets. Local news can only be found in county-wide publications and radio stations. However, attempts are under way to establish a network of local programme makers and podcasters [2].

People

Crom Abu Bridge and White's Castle

• Philip Crosthwaite (December 27, 1825–February 19, 1903) was an early settler of San Diego, California and Rosarito, Baja California. Fought and wounded in the Mexican War became the mayor of San Diego.

• John Minihan who was Samuel Beckett's official photographer, and was originally from Athy, took a series of world famous photographs of the town. Beginning in the early sixties this body of work showed the changes in the town from that time.

• Jack Wall is the local TD for the town. Athy has a tradition of returning a Labour Party candidate

• Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh famously referred to Athy in his poem "Lines written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin", as a "far-flung town". The town is also recalled in the well-known folk songs "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye", "Lannigans Ball" and "We're on the Road to Sweet Athy". Among Athy's many famous inhabitants are Liam O'Flynn of Planxty, the award winning writer John MacKenna, the singer Jack L, You're A Star finalists The Sullivan Brothers and musician Robbie Robinson.

Athy is now also home to author and Holocaust survivor Zoltan Zinn-Collis.

• James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man contains a character named Athy, who was named after the town.

Amenities

Athy is at the confluence of the River Barrow and Grand Canal. The River and Canal are amenities for Athy and enable a number of sporting and natural pursuits.

Rehabilitation

Athy also has Cuan Mhuire one of the biggest alcohol, drug and gambling recovery centres in the country near the town. This Charity was started here in 1965 by Sr Consilio who came to join the Sisters of Mercy in 1959. The Cuan Mhuire charity has since spread from Athy to elsewhere in Ireland.

Athy Heritage Centre

Athy contains the only permanent exhibition on Ernest Shackleton, who was born not far from Athy in Kilkea House. The exhibit is housed in the Athy Heritage Centre, which has a collection of artifacts from Athy's past as well as some interesting articles from Shackleton's expeditions. Among the most impressive is a scale model of the Endurance. Each year the Center arranges and hosts the Shackleton Autumn School, with speakers from around the world to speak on different aspects of Antarctica and Shackleton's life in particular.

Places of interest

• Crom-a-Boo Bridge
• Kilkea Castle
• White's Castle

Sport

• Athy GAA, celebrating a long and proud tradition
• Athy Golf Club [3]
• TriATHY - Ireland's Fastest Triathlon [4]
• Athy Rugby Club, founded in 1880 and five time winner of the Provincial Towns Cup
• Inland Waterways Association - North Barrow Branch [5]
• Athy Tennis Club
• Athy Town AFC (Association Football Club)
• Athy also has coarse fishing on the Grand Canal and the River Barrow.

See also

• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)
• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• Duke of Leinster

Further reading

• A Short History of Athy (1999) by Frank Taaffe, published by Athy Heritage Company Limited

External links

• Athy, Kildare County Council
• Athy Town information services and media
• Athy Shopping and Services Guide
• TriAthy website (triathlon information)
• John Minihan's Official website
• Cuan Mhuire Web Site
• Athy small business directory
• http://perso.orange.fr/grandvilliers-athy or http://www.labaladirlandaise.fr : Official sites of Grandvilliers twinning committee