It was surely a coincidence that their great grandfathers travelled
from Cork about the same time at the turn of the last century to settle in this
area. Thomas McEvoy settled in
Vicarstown, while James Sullivan came to live and work in the Castlemitchell
area. Three generations later the
Sullivan and McEvoy families were united when Denis Sullivan, one of twelve
siblings from Foxhill, married Ann McEvoy of Kilberry. Both families were deservedly immensely proud
when in Emily Square on Monday night of last week Shane and Adrian Sullivan,
great grandsons of the two Corkonians, were welcomed back to their home town
following their successful run in the “You’re
a Star Competition”. There has
seldom been such an enthusiastic gathering in the Square, which in it’s
lifetime stretching back over 300 years, hosted political, military and social
gatherings of all kinds. Arthur Griffith
and De Valera spoke from a platform set against the facade of the early 19th
century Town Hall, while successful teams from Athy’s county champions of 1987
to the later Leinster title holders, Kildare, have graced Emily Square with
their presence.
I have seen a photograph of the Griffith/De Valera meeting and was
in attendance when the football champions came to receive the applause and
appreciation of the Athy people.
However, I believe that those who turned out for the Sullivan Brothers
last week exceeded anything I have ever seen before in the Town Square. It surely was a remarkable occasion, and one
may I say which was graced with great aplomb by the Chairman of the Town
Council, Richard Daly, who acted as Master of Ceremonies. Shane and Adrian delighted their fans with a
number of songs and then spent well over an hour dealing with many requests for
autographs from young and old alike.
It was a wonderful occasion and one which brought a fitting end to
the weeks of support and encouragement which the singers received from the
people of Athy and elsewhere. There have
been many great occasions in Emily Square, but the night of March 6th
2006 must rank high on the list of those events which will be remembered for a
long time.
But even as the cheering echoed beneath the Town Hall Chambers,
where hanging Judge Norbury plied his deadly trade during the period of the
1798 Rebellion, sadness cast its long shadows over the gathering. News had reached many of us earlier in the
day that 50 year old Malachy Cardiff had died suddenly at his place of work in
Tegral. Malachy was a great supporter of
the Sullivan Brothers and like them, he and his brothers Tony and Damien were
songsters who had graced many local functions over the years. Indeed, Damien and Malachy Cardiff were up to
recent years the most successful and entertaining singers in this area and as
the Sullivan Brothers star ascends, the man who entertained us so well for so
long passes away.
It was a cruel blow, especially for Malachy’s family, his wife Ann
and the Cardiff children. Malachy
travelled to the Helix on the penultimate night of the singing contest to
support the Sullivan Brothers and with them that night also, and every night of
the competition, was Malachy’s brother Tony.
Indeed, Tony, a leading member of Athy’s Musical and Dramatic Society,
and like his brothers, a musician of exceptional talent, was helping and
guiding the Sullivan Brothers throughout the competition and was on hand on the
night of their return to Athy to supervise the sound system for the new singing
stars.
Malachy Cardiff’s death is a tragic loss of a young man who
contributed so much in terms of his musical ability to the local
community. The Musical and Dramatic
Society, the Folk Mass Group and countless charity gigs over the years, all
affirm his generous commitment to the local community. Athy Lions Club, part of the largest charity
organisation in the world, has over many years been the recipient of the
generosity of the Cardiff brothers, Malachy and Damien, who time and time again
willingly gave of their time and talents to help some charitable event or
other. Malachy’s passing is a terrible
tragic loss for us all. Ar dhéis Dé go
raibh a anam.
I received a number of letters and e-mails last week, all from
overseas and all of them very welcome for the kind words and the information
they brought. Mary Caulfield wrote to me
from America for a copy of Eye on Athy’s
Past and in passing referred to her great grandfather, Dan Caulfield of
Levitstown who lived through the 1798 Rebellion. Caulfield was a supporter of the Irish cause
and while I don’t at present have a great deal of information on him, I hope to
correct that in the not too distant future.
In the meantime if there is anyone who can give me any information on
the Caulfield family, and especially Dan Caulfield, I would be delighted to
hear from them.
Joe Carbery wrote to me from Victoria, Australia having read some of
my articles on World War I and the involvement in that war of the men from
Athy. Like myself he grew up in a
nationalist setting which showed intolerance and at best indifference for the
men who enlisted in the British Army and fought in foreign wars. In the same way that my prejudiced attitude
towards the first World War and the men who fought in it changed as I read more
and more on the topic and on the social history of the time, so Joe’s attitude
also changed. As he wrote in ending his
letter to me, “a country’s past, like a
person’s character, is made up of many parts and the denial of any of them
lessens the true expression of that country’s persona”. It was nice to hear from Joe Carbery, a
brother of Jerry’s, whom I believe first went to the Southern Hemisphere,
specifically New Zealand, almost 24 years ago.
Another letter received during the week was from John Clandillon,
who lives in Cheshire in England, and who tells me that his grandfather was
born in White’s Castle in 1870. I hope
to bring the story of the Clandillon connection with Athy to you at some future
date.
The High Court has given its judgment on the Kildare County
Manager’s application for a Judicial Review of the An Bord Pleanala’s decision
to reject the Inner Relief Road proposal.
That decision now puts an end to the Inner Relief Road which was
first proposed in the mid-1960’s and which has devoured vast amounts of
taxpayers and ratepayers monies in the intervening 40 years. The latest expensive, and quite needless move
by the County Manager to overturn An Bord Pleanala’s decision, has not only
cost the public dearly but has wasted much valuable time which should have been
spent in bringing forward alternative road proposals. The County Manager has failed to progress the
developmental needs of Athy and has ignored the well signalled wishes of the
local people for a road development which would enhance, rather than destroy,
the priceless fabric of the town centre.
His judgment has been faulty and quite frankly his position as County
Manager for Kildare is now untenable.
Others, whose judgment have also been sadly faulty are the
Councillors at Town Council level and County Council level who pushed through
the Inner Relief Road project, mindless of the wishes of the people of
Athy. There was only one County
Councillor in the area who opposed the Inner Relief Road. Councillor Mark Dalton deserves credit for
his principled stand on the issue. His
County Council colleagues in this area deserve no credit for what they
did. As for the Town Councillors, the
best that can be said for most of them is that their judgment was on par with
their apparent inability to conduct the business of the town in the manner
which we are entitled to expect from Town Fathers. Exempted from that criticism are Councillors
Dalton, Cunnane and English who have consistently opposed the madcap road
scheme which by virtue of the High Court decision has now been consigned to the
waste bin.
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