Eye on the past

Eye on the Past: The year that was 1861 in Athy

by 20/09/20 10:00am

EYE ON THE PAST NO. 1445 By Frank Taaffe THE  Leinster Express reported in September 1861 that Athy had 44 public houses. The town population that year was 4,113 housed in 745 houses which gave a ratio of a public...

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One of biggest parades and pageants even seen in Athy

by 06/09/20 11:00am

By Frank Taaffe IT was reported in the local press as one of the biggest parades and pageants seen in Athy in living memory. The occasion was the inaugural An Tostal Festival which was held throughout Ireland between 5 and...

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Man makes daring escape from Athy in 1960

By Frank Taaffe MIKE Robinson, born in this parish 77 years ago and now a long-time resident in Australia, sent...

Wednesday, 19/08/20 - 12:01am Read More

A look back at the history of Athy Museum Society

By FRANK TAAFFE THIRTY-seven years have passed since Athy Museum Society was founded following a public meeting in the local...

Saturday, 01/08/20 - 4:21pm Read More

Gordon Bennet race made Athy epicentre of the motoring world

By Frank Taaffe The Gordan Bennett race of July 1903 made Ireland, for a short time at least, the epicentre...

Sunday, 26/07/20 - 2:05pm Read More

Fr Matthew’s Temperance medals donated to Athy heritage centre

Eye on the past By Frank Taaffe IN a recent*Eye on the Past I made reference to Fr Mathew’s Temperance...

Sunday, 19/07/20 - 10:07am Read More

Athy has proud tradition of marching bands

ATHY’S documented musical legacy stretches back to the 1880s with an extant account which records the existence of a band...

Wednesday, 06/05/20 - 10:00am Read More

1082. Photo evokes happy memories of times past

THIS week an interesting photograph was shown to me and the wonders of modern technology allowed me to scan it...

Tuesday, 10/09/13 - 9:22am Read More

Journey to a place of pilgrimage. No 1079

BOOKS open up avenues to places previously unknown and sometime suggest journeys never before planned. I was conscious of this...

Tuesday, 20/08/13 - 8:54am Read More

Poems of the Great War: Eye on the Past 1078

 AUGUST is generally one of the quieter months around the town of Athy as the schools have yet to re-open.However...

Tuesday, 13/08/13 - 8:41am Read More

1077: History written in our roads and buildings

INLAND towns such as Athy benefitted enormously from improved road making practises of the 18th century. Prior to then, responsibility...

Tuesday, 06/08/13 - 9:10am Read More

People I admire

EYE ON THE PAST 1065 LAST week I had occasion to reflect on the writers I have enjoyed over the...

Tuesday, 14/05/13 - 8:44am Read More

A forgotten freedom fighter

EYE ON THE PAST 1058 RESEARCH which I carried out in recent years gave me the names of only two...

Tuesday, 26/03/13 - 11:24am Read More

A hero of the Latvian nation

St Michael’s Cemetery Athy was the scene of an unusual gathering last week when a group of Latvians accompanied by...

Tuesday, 12/03/13 - 10:37am Read More

Centre helps us to value our heritage

PART of Athy’s developing cultural heritage is the Heritage Centre located on the ground floor of the town’s 18th century...

Tuesday, 05/03/13 - 9:07am Read More

EYE ON THE PAST 1054: Remembering the voice of Sunday evening radio

THE recent death of Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin sent me searching amongst my sports books and in particular amongst the...

Tuesday, 26/02/13 - 10:02am Read More

EYE ON THE PAST 1052: town mourns passing of two stalwart campaigners

WITHIN the space of a few weeks Athy has lost two of its most stalwart campaigners. You may think it...

Tuesday, 12/02/13 - 10:01am Read More

Offaly St- A street of memories

DAVID Neill was half a generation ahead of me and so, although we were both of Offaly Street, we never...

Tuesday, 22/01/13 - 12:00pm Read More

A to Z of business in Athy

PORTERS Directory and Guide published in or around 1909 carried an alphabetical list of names of Athy businesses associated with...

Wednesday, 12/12/12 - 9:54am Read More

Athy’s sole llink to 1916 ‘Rising

WE are facing into a series of centenary commemorations over the next 10 years or so.  These will include the...

Tuesday, 27/11/12 - 10:44am Read More