Kerry Street Sports will be held in the Railway Field on Sunday 7th 1938 This original 26”x20” paper hand-made poster was supplied by Michael McCarthy, Kerry Street. The month was August as it was the only month that year that had a Sunday on the 7th. FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER 2009 Dedicated to our friends and relations living away from home Copyright © 2009 Published by the Fethard & Killusty Emigrants’ Newsletter ISSN 1393-2721 WWW.FETHARD.COM Layout and design by Joe Kenny, Rocklow Road, Fethard Printed by Modern Printers Kilkenny Cover: View of Fethard Town Wall and Watergate Bridge from the East All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER 2009 Table of contents A look back at Lisronagh N.S. .............. 58 Fethard Senior Citizens Club................ 44 A small world! ......................... 74 Fethard Senior GAA Club ................ 114 Acknowledgements ...................... 190 Fethard Town Wall Medieval Festival ....... 160 Aerial Views of Fethard .................. 144 Fethard’s International Boxer ............... 99 All Ireland Volleyball Champions ........... 126 Fethard’s Nonagenarians 2009............. 191 An unlikely connection? ................... 32 Fiodh Árd Bord na nOg ................. 119 Babes in the Wood – programme 1959 ........ 53 Get Shortie!........................... 192 Badgers Over 30s Soccer & Social Club ........ 96 Holy Trinity Church of Ireland .............. 7 Cashel Blue Cheese ...................... 11 Irish Walled Towns Network 2009.......... 128 Christmas Greetings from the Abbey .......... 6 Jackie Aylward – an appreciation ........... 133 Community Employment Scheme ............ 135 Jimmy O’Donnell’s winning entry............ 84 Days of the Father ...................... 198 John Joe’s Corner ....................... 178 Deaths in the parish..................... 154 Killusty National School.................. 150 Do You Remember . 1979? ............. 102 Killusty Pony Show . 151 Don’t lose those memories! ................. 3 Killusty Soccer Club - 40th Anniversary ....... 26 Donations Received 2009 ................. 188 Legion of Mary......................... 10 Emigrant’s poem from 1800s .............. 100 Marriages ............................ 98 Fethard – The town I loved so well ........... 15 Mervyn Colville – Glasnevin ............... 60 Fethard & District Credit Union............. 85 My Uncle, Michael Browne............... 206 Fethard & District Day Care Centre .......... 82 Nano Nagle National School .............. 170 Fethard & Killusty Community Council ....... 182 One of Fethard’s own..................... 24 Fethard & Killusty Community Games ........ 41 Our dear departed 2009.................. 155 Fethard Ballroom Ltd. .................... 47 Parish Greetings ........................ 5 Fethard Bridge Club...................... 19 Patrician Presentation Awards Day.......... 122 Fethard Country Markets.................. 45 Plumber and Painter .................... 164 Fethard Historical Society ................. 156 Researching a History of Fethard............ 140 Fethard Ladies Football Club................ 39 St. Patrick’s Boys National School ........... 180 Fethard Oil — Daly Fuels................. 194 Staff farewell to popular teacher ............. 127 Fethard Parish Church Organ.............. 196 Tailors fit for a president!.................. 86 Fethard Parish Church record .............. 197 The late Canon James Power............... 152 Fethard Players ......................... 57 The Soldiers Tree........................ 51 Fethard Scouts - 27 Tipperary Group.......... 48 Whispers from the past.................... 68 2 2009 FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER Don’t lose those memories! by Joe Kenny (editor) he past twelve months will be two shillings and sixpence. By the age Tremembered by many people of twelve, I was developing my own at home and abroad for very different photographs, thanks to a Christmas reasons, some will have happy memo- present from my mother of a small ries and others very sad ones. As ‘Photographic Kit’ purchased from another year rolls by and takes its toll Donal O’Sullivan’s Chemist. Donal we can only look back and ask, where had a very keen interest in photogra- have all the years gone? Time races phy and his knowledge and encour- on relentlessly, babies become adults agement helped me overcome the and adults become young again. many teething problems I experienced Photography is one of the main aids in those first few months setting up a to enhancing our memories and help- temporary darkroom at home. ing us remember the passing years. Now, over forty years later, I have Every year at this time I really look amassed a collection of thousands forward to researching photographs of images, unfortunately not all cata- for the Annual Newsletter. logued, and the publication of the I first started taking photographs Emigrants’ Newsletter every year at the age of ten with a camera pur- affords me the opportunity to dive chased at Woolworths in Clonmel for into the archives to unearth images Group at dance in Fethard Town Hall in the late 1940s. This is one of the many photographs taken by Willie Boland on glass plates 3 FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER 2009 never published before. This is a slow processing materials. On the down- process and names of people in pho- side, newspapers and publishers no tographs are more difficult to find as longer keep photographic records and the years pass. future generations will not have the Some years ago I remember meet- luxury of viewing the vast collections ing two Clonmel photographers, of historical photographs available to Willie Boland and Michael Keating, us today. Today’s budding photogra- now deceased, and both relaying how phers also have the added problem they lost a lot of their 1940s and 1950s of losing their stored images with one glass plate negatives due to a ‘crash’ — ‘crash’ of their computer’s hard disk. their storage shelves collapsed under This is one piece of advice that I the weight of the glass plates and will always remember: “There are two crashed on the floor. I often think types of hard disks, ones that have failed and of the wonderful photographs and ones that are about to fail.” memories lost from that era. Since my first computer purchased For the past ten years, digital pho- back in 1988, I’ve had at least eight tography has helped in a great way to disk failures, so PLEASE remember to make photography easy to catalogue ‘back up’ your hard disks or we may and also more affordable without the have no ‘old photographs’ for our ongoing costs of film, chemicals and Newsletter in years to come! ◉ Wedding of Paddy McCarthy and Josie O’Shea, Fethard. 4 2009 FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER Parish Greetings Canon Tom Breen P.P. photographed with assistants after St. Patrick’s Day Mass this year. L to R: Charlie Manton, Allanah Coady, Katie Butler, Tommy Anglim, Fr. Tom Breen P.P. and Harry Butler. reetings once again to all our I welcome Fr. Anthony McSweeney Greaders. The year that is now to the parish team and wish him every drawing to a close had been rather an happiness and a fruitful ministry with eventful but sometimes sad year. Sad us all. because of the passing of so many This season is a time of joy, hope parishioners to their eternal reward and happiness for us all. What went but especially our great friend, Canon on in 2009 we remember and what lies Power, who loved this parish and gave ahead in 2010 we contemplate in hope. to it so many of his talents and gifts, Our prayers and thoughts include all above all his prayerfulness. We extend of you, your families and friends. May our sympathies to his family and the year ahead have reason to tell a friends. Sad also because of the many good story regarding the faith of the reports in our church of abuse cases. parish of Fethard and Killusty. We ask We indeed hang our heads in shame the Lord to guide and protect each of and sorrow as we ask pardon and us now and always. May God bless forgiveness. The challenge now facing and care for each of you. ◉ all of us is quite unprecedented. Let us hope that we meet this challenge in the Canon Tom Breen P.P. & Fr. Anthony McSweeney. most appropriate way. 5 FETHARD & KILLUSTY NEWSLETTER 2009 Christmas Greetings from the Abbey ear readers, when I was asked in Nigeria where I had a very fulfilled Dto write a Christmas greet- ministry. Coming back to Ireland to ing to the exiles of the Fethard and Cork and now Fethard, anything I do Killusty parish, I asked to see a former for the Lord I take as a bonus. letter. To my surprise, I was handed a Many of our senior citizens are sizeable book and very well produced. living longer now. Fr. John Meagher Well done to all concerned. OSA is no exception. He celebrated I am a newcomer to the Abbey his 93rd birthday on 20th September community. In June we held our 2009 and his 70th anniversary of Chapter at which Fr. Gerry Horan, ordination on 24th September 2009. who lives with us in Fethard, was Fr. John is seen every day walking reinstated as the Irish Provincial. One the Main Street of the town. He does of the tasks of a Provincial is to look a full day’s work in the Abbey. Ad at the communities in the country multos annos! and make changes if necessary. The So from the Augustinian com- priest, Fr. Peter Haughey, at the age of munity of Fathers Gerry, John, Tim 85 years was appointed to his native and myself, we wish all our exiles and Dublin. Now Fr, Gerry had to find a readers a very happy Christmas filled successor. The lot fell on me. with the peace of the Birthday Boy. I was just eight years in our Cork A happy New Year to you all. ◉ community and before that, I complet- Fr. Martin Crean OSA ed thirty-three years in our Mission L to R: Fr. Martin Crean OSA (Prior), Fr. Gerry Horan OSA (Provincial), Fr. John Meagher OSA, Canon Tom Breen P.P. and Fr. Timmy Walsh OSA.