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Athy

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Athy
Baile Átha Í
Town
River Barrow, Crom Abu Bridge and White's Castle
River Barrow, Crom Abu Bridge and White's Castle
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyCounty Kildare
Elevation
71 m (233 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total9,588
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid ReferenceS680939
Websitewww.athy.ie

Athy (/[invalid input: 'icon']əˈθaɪ/;[1] 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[2]) 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 2nd century chieftain Ae, who is said to have been killed on the river crossing, thus giving the town its name "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.[3]

History

The town developed from a 12th century Anglo-Norman settlement to an important British 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 the arrival of the railway in 1846, illustrate the importance of the town as a commercial centre under English rule . In fact, from early on in its history Athy was a garrison town loyal to the Crown. English garrisons stayed in the Military Barracks in Barrack Lane after the Crimean War and contributed greatly to the towns commerce. Home for centuries to English soldiers, Athy gave more volunteer soldiers to the Great War of 1914-18 than any other of similar size town in Ireland. Although many local historical pamphlets tend to focus more on nationalist historical events, these are not the sum of Athy's complete history, given its garrison past.

The town is twinned since 2003 with French town of Grandvilliers (département Oise-Picardy). The French twinning committee is named "La Balad'Irlandaise" . Towns official visits are each two years. Colleges are organising once a year students exchanges. Musicians from Athy often go to Grandvilliers.

Historical features

Of the many church ruins in Athy, St. Michael's is perhaps the most ancient. It was built in the 14th 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[citation needed].

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".[9]

Seven kilometers south of Athy is Levitstown (originally Lyvetiston), a hamlet along the diverted River Barrow with Levitstown Mill and Levitstown House, a country house. The village was the location of a well-known skirmish in the early 16th century between the followers of the Earl of Ormonde and those of the FitzGeralds, the Earls of Kildare, in which 17 men and women were slaughtered.[10]

The birth of Motor racing

1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy. Athy. Alexander Winton in the Winton Bullet 2

On Thursday, 2 July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through Athy. It was the first international motor race to be held in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, an honorific to Selwyn Edge who had won the 1902 event in Paris driving a Napier. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in the British Isles, and their secretary, Claude Johnson, suggested Ireland as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads roads. The editor of the Dublin Motor News, Richard Mecredy, suggested an area in County Kildare, and letters were sent to 102 Irish MPs, 90 Irish peers, 300 newspapers, 34 chairmen of county and local councils, 34 County secretaries, 26 mayors, 41 railway companies, 460 hoteliers, 13 PPs, plus the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Patrick Foley, who pronounced himself in favour. Local laws had to be adjusted, ergo the 'Light Locomotives (Ireland) Bill' was passed on 27 March 1903. Kildare and other local councils drew attention to their areas, whilst Queen’s County declared That every facility will be given and the roads placed at the disposal of motorists during the proposed race. Eventually Kildare was chosen, partly on the grounds that the straightness of the roads would be a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland the British team chose to race in Shamrock green[a] which thus became known as British racing green, although the winning Napier of 1902 had been painted Olive green.[11][12][13][14]

The route consisted of two loops that comprised a figure of eight, the first was a 52-mile (84 km) loop that included Kilcullen, The Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Athy, followed by a 40-mile (64 km) loop through Castledermot, Carlow, and Athy again. The race started at the Ballyshannon cross-roads (53°05′07″N 6°49′12″W / 53.0853°N 6.82°W / 53.0853; -6.82) near Calverstown on the contemporary N78 heading north, then followed the N9 north; the N7 west; the N80 south; the N78 north again; the N9 south; the N80 north; the N78 north again. Competitors were started at seven minute intervals and had to follow bicycles through the 'control zones' in each town. The 328 miles (528 km) race was won by the famous Belgian Camille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes in German colours.[12][15]

Transport

Barrow Rail Bridge
Athy Court House

The town is located on the N78 national secondary road where it crosses the R417 regional road. In 2010 the N78 was re-aligned so that it no longer heads from Athy towards Kilcullen and Dublin via Ardscull, but now connects with the M9 motorway near Mullamast. The old Athy-Kilcullen section of the road previously known as the N78 is now the R418.

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.[16] There is a disused siding to the Tegral Slate factory (formerly Asbestos Cement factory). This is all that is left of the former branch to Wolfhill colliery. This side 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. Bus Éireann and JJ Kavanagh's also provide frequent services to Athy.[17]

Places of interest

Ruins of Levitstown Mill, south of Athy

Amenities

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

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 Centre 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.

Rehabilitation

Cuan Mhuire 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.

Communications

Athy has few local media outlets. What's On Athy is a monthly glossy magazine containing listings for events in Athy and South Kildare, along with feature articles on matters of local interest and people. It publishes interviews and an archive of old photographs. What's On is distributed free and may be obtained widely, including from the Heritage Centre and Community Library, both located in Emily Square in the town centre. The magazine is available online [2]. Otherwise 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 [3]. Many locals have worked in the national media from award winning writer and broadcaster John MacKenna to Newstalk morning presenter Ger Gilroy. Athy native Olivia Doyle is a well-known journalist and was News Editor at the Sunday Tribune up to 2007 when she became Arts Editor of the weekly national newspaper. Another Athy person who works for the same newspaper is the author and sports writer Ewan MacKenna, who ghost-wrote an acclaimed biography of the Armagh gaelic footballer Oisin McConville. Athy native Bill Hughes is a respected international film maker.

People

Athy lock
St. Michael's Roman Catholic church.

Sport

  • Athy GAA, celebrating a long and proud tradition
  • Athy Golf Club [4]
  • TriATHY - Ireland's Fastest Triathlon [5]
  • Athy Rugby Club, founded in 1880 and five time winner of the Provincial Towns Cup
  • Inland Waterways Association - North Barrow Branch [6]
  • Athy Tennis Club
  • Athy Town AFC (Association Football Club)
  • Athy also has coarse fishing on the Grand Canal and the River Barrow.

See also

Further reading

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

Notes

a. ^ According to Leinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903, Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours of red, white and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively. It also stated red as the color for American cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.</ref>

References

  1. ^ Athy. (2001). In Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary [1]. Retrieved February 17, 2007. The dictionary does not use IPA notation, but the pronunciation given, \ə-ˈthī\, is apparently equivalent to IPA /əˈθaɪ/.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2006_census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Entry for Athy in Lewis Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
  4. ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
  5. ^ http://www.histpop.org
  6. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
  7. ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
  8. ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850". The Economic History Review. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  9. ^ Blue Guide, Ireland (9th edition) Brian Lawlor ISBN 0-7136-6130-5 p270
  10. ^ The Earls of Kildare and Their Ancestors, from 1057 to 1773, Marquis of Kildare, Hodges, Smith & Co., Dublin, 1858
  11. ^ Circle Genealogic and Historic Champanellois
  12. ^ a b Leinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forix_GBT_1903 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forix_Gordon_B was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Bleacher report, The Birth of British motor racing
  16. ^ "Athy station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  17. ^ BE Timetable

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