The Albert Duthie Collection
A winter’s snowy day scene of White’s Castle and Mulhall’s on Leinster Street.
While the mill on the other side of Crom a boo bridge stopped working around 1925, it’s ruined building wasn’t demolished until around 1964, which is probably dates this photo to around then.
While the mill on the other side of Crom a boo bridge stopped working around 1925, it’s ruined building wasn’t demolished until around 1964, which is probably dates this photo to around then.
C.I.E. Barge 76M on the Grand Canal after coming off the Barrow at Ardreigh Lock and heading towards the mill & drawbridge. This photo may be on one of her last journeys in the late 1950s (or maybe even her last in Jan 1960!) The barge was built for the Grand Canal Company in 1937 in Dublin. Towards the end of her working life, she spent time on the Barrow being worked by the Bolger Family from Graiguenamanagh.The Grand Canal's fate as a transport route was sealed in November 1959 when C.I.E. announced it was withdrawal from using barges on 1 January 1960. Barge 76M was the last cargo boat to leave Edenderry Harbour
St. Patrick's Day 1953
Click Crane operations at the start of construction of the houses that replaced the Leinster Arms car park on left hand side (heading towards Dublin) of Leinster Street opposite to the hotel. Lehan’s on corner of Stanhope Street & (if memory serves me correct) Miss Dallon’s sweetshop on corner of Emily Square had been replaced by Bradbury’s Off-licence.
Lalor’s pub as it was on Leinster Street in late 60’s/early 70s. Now Ann’s Place.
John Allen and Paddy Duff working on the Barrow path. (Probably late 1960s/early 1970s).
John, who lived on Meeting Lane off Emily Square, worked for the Town Council and was well known around town.
Loading operations of sheets of Bowaters wallboard on to Rexi Rowan’s barge “Shruleen” (Previously C.I.E. barge 76M). Barge moored at Athy Canal Habour near Augustus Bridge where William Street crosses the canal. The load of wallboard was delivered to Dublin by barge. Some of the people in the photos - Rexi Rowan (barge owner), Pauge Dooley (drove loading truck on the day & for years at Bowaters) and Tony Johnson. Names of street coming from William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster (1749-1804), himself, and the bridge after one of his sons, Augustus FitzGerald (1791-1874). The bridge was built a few years after his birth. Augustus went on to become the 3rd Duke of Leinster on his father’s death. Purcell’s (now The Auld Shebeen) can be seen in the background of first and fourth photos.
Minch Norton’s malthouse on Stanhope Street. Dated back to around 1847. Demolished sometime in the 1970s.
History from the Minch Malt website :- “Matthew Minch, a tenant farmer from Portersize, Ballitore, opened his first malting business in Athy in around 1845. Although he didn’t come from a wealthy background, Minch proved that hard work, passion and dedication go a long way. Within 2 years he had acquired two further small malting premises located in Stanhope Street and Offaly Street in Athy. In 1921 Minch merged his malting business with that of P.R. Norton, a maltster with premises in the adjoining counties of Carlow, Laois and Kilkenny and the new company was called Minch Norton. Today, Minch Malt is registered in Ireland as Minch Malt Ltd and is owned by parent company Boortmalt whose headquarters is in Antwerp, Belgium.”
History from the Minch Malt website :- “Matthew Minch, a tenant farmer from Portersize, Ballitore, opened his first malting business in Athy in around 1845. Although he didn’t come from a wealthy background, Minch proved that hard work, passion and dedication go a long way. Within 2 years he had acquired two further small malting premises located in Stanhope Street and Offaly Street in Athy. In 1921 Minch merged his malting business with that of P.R. Norton, a maltster with premises in the adjoining counties of Carlow, Laois and Kilkenny and the new company was called Minch Norton. Today, Minch Malt is registered in Ireland as Minch Malt Ltd and is owned by parent company Boortmalt whose headquarters is in Antwerp, Belgium.”
A piano-accordion player on Leinster Streeet outside Prole’s Tailor & Outfitters. (Late 60s/Early 70s ?) Does anyone on the group know who the musician is and what the event or occasion might have been ? (Prole’s became Williamsworth’s and then Heffernan’s.)
(2nd April 2022) Sixty three years ago tonight, if you had been in Athy, you could have gone along to be entertained by Athy Drama Group’s production of “Blithe Spirit” by Noel Coward. Stars in a 1945 film of the play had included Rex Harrison & Margaret Rutherford.
As I mentioned in a previous post, “Athy Drama Group” was set up in 1958 by Dorothy Yates. Over the following 7 years to 1965, they staged 7 productions, initially at 2 a year. “Blithe Spirit” was their second production & was presented on the 2nd and 3rd April 1959. You could have buy a ticket for the show for 3/-.
This post has photos from the production, the poster and programme for the show plus a review in a local paper.
As I mentioned in a previous post, “Athy Drama Group” was set up in 1958 by Dorothy Yates. Over the following 7 years to 1965, they staged 7 productions, initially at 2 a year. “Blithe Spirit” was their second production & was presented on the 2nd and 3rd April 1959. You could have buy a ticket for the show for 3/-.
This post has photos from the production, the poster and programme for the show plus a review in a local paper.
A few photos of various vintage relating to the town hall clock and bell (both visible in the late 1950s photo of the Townhall).
The view over the square through the bell opening is shown in the second photo (again probably late 1950s)
The weights and pendulum for the clock itself are shown in photos three & four. For scale, the pendulum is around 4 feet long and the weights pit opening top to bottom 8 ft (1970s photos) Text from a post I posted in Jan regarding an article on my Dad winding the clock is repeated below, which might help understanding of the last 2 photos:-
“I loved as a young boy in the early 1970s going with my Dad, Albert Duthie, when he wound the mechanical Townhall clock on Emily Square once a week. Once at the back of the clock, he would climb and straddle a tall step ladder. He would have to use his whole body weight to start to move the mechanism using the crank-arm key and then by rocked back and forth rather precariously at the top of the ladder he wound the weights to the top. “
The view over the square through the bell opening is shown in the second photo (again probably late 1950s)
The weights and pendulum for the clock itself are shown in photos three & four. For scale, the pendulum is around 4 feet long and the weights pit opening top to bottom 8 ft (1970s photos) Text from a post I posted in Jan regarding an article on my Dad winding the clock is repeated below, which might help understanding of the last 2 photos:-
“I loved as a young boy in the early 1970s going with my Dad, Albert Duthie, when he wound the mechanical Townhall clock on Emily Square once a week. Once at the back of the clock, he would climb and straddle a tall step ladder. He would have to use his whole body weight to start to move the mechanism using the crank-arm key and then by rocked back and forth rather precariously at the top of the ladder he wound the weights to the top. “
I posted a photo on 16th March of White’s Castle and Mulhall’s in the snow. I have since come across a photo of my Dad’s taken in the opposite direction looking up Leinster Street, on what I am assuming is the same 1960s snowy day (From comments possible dates: Feb 1960; 1962/63) Bryan Brothers Drapery, Anthony’s Auctioneers, Carolan’s newsagent and Lehan’s (pre yellow tiles!) are the premises easily identifiable in the photo.
Athy canoe club in action on the Barrow with photo taken from the Horse Bridge (Early to mid 1970s - AIB building built)
