Newsletter Spring 2005

Issue No 2
February 2005.

Telephone 00353-56-7722893
Email: rothehouse@eircom.net
Web page www.kilkennyarchaeologicalsociety.ie
 

This is the second newsletter of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, our Spring 2005 issue, we plan to publish 2 newsletters in each year, in which we will tell of the activities, events and happenings in the life of the society, and also let you know of planned future events and activities.

This issue contains many interesting reports on the activities of the various sections and groups within the Society, the report on the activities of the Society and FAS in the Kilkenny Heritage Project is fascinating, it shows the extent and scope of the Society’s and the young folk of Kilkenny activities.

We have also included details of the Society publications both current and forthcoming, we have even included a preprinted order form for our new reprint of the KAS Journals from1946 to 1951, and this would make a useful addition to your bookcase.

We have also included a Membership form for your use, do you know a friend who would like to participate in the activities of the Society, if so, give them the form, and we will do the rest.

The Rothe House Trust is now in place and Brian Collins is the manager of the House, and he has lots of ideas and plans for both the house and the exhibits, all will be carried out in accordance with our Conservation plan.

We have just finished a major restoration of the timber windows of the First and Second Houses, this work caused some disruption to the activities of the house and also to our visitors, however due to the valiant efforts of the Rothe House staff, the disruptions were minimized. The cost of the refurbishment was considerable, and whilst we were pleased to receive a grant from the Heritage Council of Ireland towards part of the cost, the Trust however has to fund the remainder of the conservation work cost.

We had our first Christmas Craft Fair in Roth House, all went very successfully, and the House buzzed all through Christmas, some of our Crafters and exhibitors have even booker their tables for next Christmas! We plan to continue to develop these activities further, so that Rothe House and its contents are more in the general public eye.

There is currently a Book Sale taking place in the Rothe House Shop, lots of books on national and local history, and even the odd, novel can be found on the shelves, Brian still has lots of books, so come along to Rothe House Shop for your books.

We have received some interesting gifts and artifact donations recently and we report on these donations in this newsletter, the Society is always welcoming of suitable donations and gifts for our Museum, Library, and the House in general, the KAS Hon. Curator, Hon. Librarian, and Rothe House Manager are always available to discuss these matters.

We look forward to both hearing from you and more importantly seeing you in Rothe House in 2005.

It was a great privilege to be chosen to be President of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, and to represent it in the highest office of the Society. It was a position accepted with some apprehension, being only too aware of those distinguished people who preceded me. I wish to express my most sincere gratitude for being awarded such an honour.

The last three years have been a very productive period for the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. Much hard work has been done, including many hours of some difficult but successful negotiations, which have now taken the Society into a new chapter of its history. The new structures are now well established and in place which will allow it to develop and expand to its full potential.

Many distinguished visitors were welcomed to Rothe House during that period. One of the most memorable occasions arose as a result of a request by Kilkenny’s Mayor Clr. Martin Brett to hold a civic reception for the Speaker of the British House of Commons, the Hon. Michael Martin and his wife Mary, along with his Secretariat, in the Phelan Room of Rothe House. This was a truly unique and enjoyable occasion for the Society; the Kilkenny City Corporation members were in attendance clad in their full robes, and also the Leas Cheann Comhairle Seamus Pattison, T.D. of the Dail, who was the host of the Speaker of the House of Commons, during his visit to Kilkenny.

Amongst other visitors were the many lectures who were our guest speakers at our monthly Rothe House lectures. The subjects of their talks were many and varied; they were always stimulating, and well received by our members and friends.

Finally, I am very grateful to all of our members and to our loyal friends for the support they gave me during my period as President. Also, last but not least, to our new manager Brian Collins, the staff of Rothe House, the Fas team, and everybody, a thank you for your helpfulness and courtesy to me, at all times during my Presidency.

Carmel Boyd.
President.

Greetings to all our members near and afar, Well 2004 has come and gone. The 2005 AGM will be held in Rothe House on Friday 25^th February at 8.00. pm, and will mark the start of a new year in the life of the Society. Carmel Boyd’s term as President will end this year, and a number of officers of the Council will be retiring under the 3 year rule, so new officers will be taking up the positions of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Hon. Librarian, and Hon. Editor.

The verdict on 2004? Much done, much still to do, perhaps. The Rothe House Trust has been established as planned in the Conservation Plan and is now responsible for managing Rothe House under its new manager Brian Collins. This Newsletter features separately matters relating to House, which is now the concern of the Trust, and matters relating to the Archaeological Society.

The reports on the Society’s activities show plenty of action on a broad front in pursuit of the Society’s objectives. The various Committees on Membership, Conservation, Programme, Library, Museum, Editorial, and Youth Project have all been busy with their work and report progress. Two new projects, on Gravestone Recording, and on Living History and Folklore are in the initial stages and will develop further in 2005.The participation of members in all of the Societies activities is essential, and all committees and groups would welcome new members, so give the chairpersons a call.

We are keen to increase our membership of the Society; new members bring in new blood and new ideas. We have included a Membership Form in this posting, this can be used by any of your friends to join, or can even be given as a gift to someone interested in local history, archaeology, and related subjects. The life of the Society and the achievements of its objectives depend on an active membership, and as we regretfully loose some members each year we need a steady flow of new members to maintain the life of the Society.

Our great loss in 2004 was the passing of Dorcas Birthistle, a long time member and officer of the Society, and a diligent and effective worker and organiser in the Society’s affairs, she is greatly missed.

The issue of our first Newsletter last year received many favourable comments and responses from members, especially those living far away from Kilkenny, and this year we plan to issue two Newsletter, one in Spring (this one) and one the Summer. We will be pleased to receive your comments, reactions, and or suggestions to this newsletter, and we look forward to a full mail bag, maybe we can feature a Members letters section in the Summer edition.

Peter McQuillan
Chairman.

Members, contributors and others have been completing the questionnaire which was sent out with Old Kilkenny Review 2004, and completed copies have been accumulating steadily over the past month.

The responses will be collated and considered in due course. They will form a useful body of opinion to inform the Society in future discussion of matters relating to the journal. It is not too late to return your questionnaire and thus have a say in the process, whether in favour of the status quo or some change.

A number of specific points have been raised, some of which have exercised the mind of the current Editor over the years he has been involved with the journal, and will no doubt concern future editors.

A particular concern is the difficulty of attracting articles dealing with areas of County Kilkenny other than the city; a problem arising, perversely, from the increasing popularity of local history. This interest is evidenced by the historical societies which exist now in a number of towns, villages and districts around the county. These societies serve to encourage research on their own areas, and almost inevitably to publish the results. This very desirable outcome has, of course, the effect of lessening local material being submitted to Old Kilkenny Review.

We shall be delighted if, once the history of an area has been published; subsequent findings and shorter articles on particular topics are submitted to us in order that we may continue to offer our readers aspects of the history of the whole county.

Intending contributors are reminded that the editor is always pleased to have advance notice of material in preparation, and indeed to receive articles prior to the usual closing date of 1^st September 2005.

Edward Law.
Hon. Editor.

It is hoped to restore the library to normality soon now that the disruption of window repair work is finished. As well as interference caused by the actual work, the library seems to have been in constant demand as a temporary storage space during the contract.

In December Brendan Neary donated a substantial collection of material belonging to the late Nell Prendergast. Comprising about 8 boxes this contains a wide range of material some of which relates to local and national archaeological sites and finds and is of significant interest. We thank Brendan for this valuable contribution which is much appreciated. Members are at present engaged on the sorting and collating of this collection.

In January we took delivery of the records of 75 years of the Kilkenny People newspaper kindly donated by the proprietors of that enterprise. This covers the period back to 1917 and will augment and complete the library’s collection of local newspapers. Most of the collection is fully bound and in good condition while some other sections are loose. New shelving has been constructed to accommodate it. A team of helpers is currently working on a condition survey in order to check, clean and catalogue the collection. When this operation is finished we will send for binding the sections necessary to create an unbroken sequence of this valuable newspaper on our shelves.

Our Boston based benefactor, Bertha Ann De Leon, visited the library last year and was very happy to see her Gilbert volumes in memory of Eamonn & Mary Breen displayed in a specially made display case. During the year we have had many other interesting overseas visitors using the library to research their past. These came from the US, Canada, Australia as well as Europe.

In the library collection we have a large number of duplicate copies of the Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society which can be offered for sale to members in order to free-up shelf space. These are VoI II, Part III, 1882, Vol II, Part V, 1883 and Vol III, Part II 1886. These may be had at €12 each, plus postage and interested parties should contact the librarian.

The council has given approval for reprinting early editions of the OKR, which have become very scarce. It is proposed to include the first four editions, 1946 to 1951, in a single volume which will be available in March. We hope these will be of interest to members. The attached pre-publication order form outlines the contents of these which have now become collector’s items.

If any members have items borrowed from the library which they may have inadvertently forgotten to return, I would request that these might be dropped back before the new Hon. Librarian takes office.

On a personal level I want to thank the members of the library committee and the many helpers who have willingly given of their time to carry out the various tasks in the library over the last three years. Their advice and cooperation has been so very helpful to me and was much appreciated.

Charles Cullen,
Hon. Librarian.

Pre-publication offer

Many Society members and others have found great difficulty sourcing copies of the older issues of the Old Kilkenny Review from sixty years ago. The Kilkenny Archaeological Society has decided to reprint these older editions, starting this year with publication of the first four issues of the journal, all bound together in one hard-backed cover volume.

A list of their contents is shown below. The book will sell at a cost €25 per copy in bookshops.

List of Contents of Volume Number I of the republished issues of the Old Kilkenny Reviews for the years 1946 – 1951

1946/1947
"Come with us"!………………………………………………  John O Leary
Events of 1946 and 1947
Editorial Comment………………………………………….…. H. B.
Ballyragget and District…………………………………….... Tom Lyng
A Tour on the upper Nore…………………………………..... John S Gibb
A Kilkenny Survey………………………………………..…….Hubert Butler
The Seven Bishops………………………………………....… Rose Springfield
Place-names in Co Kilkenny………………………… ....……Owen O Kelly
Foulksrath Castle & Families connected with it…… ……... Mr J S Gibb
The cave of Dunmore……………………………… ……....…. Willie Monks
St John’s Priory……………………………………………...… Rev T J Clohessy
St Fiacre’s Well………………………………………........…. An T-Ar Michael OFM Cap
List of Members 1947-47, Rules and Balance sheet of Society

Editorial, Events of 1950, Officers, Committee & members, Rules

For orders placed and paid for in advance, before the end of March 2005, a special pre-publication price of €20 + postage and packing. (Books will be packed in bubble wrapped to give additional protection)

The cost of Post and packing is

€4.00.-Ireland. €5.00 - UK & Europe. €6.00. - Rest of the World.

If you would like to order a pre-publication copy or copies (it will make very suitable gifts) please return the Order Form with your payment to KAS Publications, Rothe House, Parliament Street, Kilkenny, Ireland, before 31 March 2005. Orders will be dispatched on receipt of books from printer.

Kilkenny Archaeological Society Publications.

The society has published over the years a number of books, pamphlets, prints and even maps, all relating to the history of the City and County of Kilkenny.

I have listed below some of the currently available publications along with details of prices etc, you may like to order copies for your own library, and even those of your friends.

Mary Flood is in charge of our Genealogical Section at Rothe House, a very knowledgeable and efficient researcher. Did you know that KAS can provide you with an efficient and family research service in respect of your Kilkenny ancestors?

The KAS data base covers the entire county of Kilkenny, and has in excess of 500,000, yes that’s right, we have a half a million records collected from church and civil sources throughout the county. This data base and our extensive records can be utilised to locate the origins of that elusive Kilkenny ancestor, provided of course that they have left behind them either birth marriage and or death records. The KAS database also includes details of Tithe Applotment records, Census returns and information from Graveyard and Tombstone inscriptions throughout the County.

Our Library, with its books on local interest and its copies of original Kilkenny newspapers, and our extensive archives and holdings of records of family and local matters, also provide useful sources of information for genealogical research.

So if you wish to learn of your Kilkenny family history, or know someone of Kilkenny ancestry, who is interested in their genealogy, let them know of our activities, and give them information of the KAS Genealogical service.

We have enclosed a copy our general application form, for your and your friends information, in addition further information can be obtained by browsing the KAS website, which can be accessed at www.kilkennyarchaeologicalsociety.ie.

Rothe House Trust: Managers report from Brian Collins.

With the completion of the restoration works to the windows of the first and second houses of Rothe House, we have been looking into ways to represent and spruce up our existing exhibits and also to arrange for the display of some new artefacts from the museum collection of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. We are truly fortunate to have such a unique collection of pieces from Kilkenny’s history within the walls of the Rothe House Museum, and it is important that we periodically rotate pieces out of storage so that they can be seen and enjoyed by the public. Occasional changes in our exhibits will also give the public a reason to come back again and again to see what’s new in our Museum.

We recently received from the Heritage Council a scale model of Rothe House and its gardens, along with surrounding neighbourhood buildings. The model is interesting in that it shows the size and scope of the Rothe House complex, and also it shows just how large is the Rothe Burgage plot. We will be building an exhibition around this model, and one of the elements of the exhibition will be to hi-light the Burgage Garden and its importance to the house and the Rothe family.

This new exhibit will be located at the beginning of the tour of the house, so that each visitor will get an idea of the entire complex as it was in John Rot he’s day. We hope that the new exhibition and the model will help with future fundraising for the Burgage garden restoration.

We are all very excited about our planned re-presentation of artefacts and future exhibitions, and hope that all members of the Society and the general public will periodically drop bye to see what is new in Rothe House, and importantly share with us their opinions of the work being done by myself and our hard working staff.

Brian Collins,
Manager
Rothe House Trust

The following is a very brief report from Geraldine Mc Gilligan, the Kilkenny Heritage Project Co-ordinator, on the activities of the project. Visitors to Rothe House have been surprised and intrigued to see many young ladies and even the occasional male carrying out research, inputting information on PC’s, and assisting in our shop and about our museum, all under the strict control of Geraldine.

The Kilkenny Heritage Project is a Community Response and Training Programme, which is sponsored by FAS, KAS and the Rothe House Trust. FAS are Ireland’s national training and employment authority, and they aim and task is to improve employability, job skills and mobility in the workforce. They also promote competitiveness and social inclusion along with meeting labour market needs.

Many FAS programmes assist and benefit community groups, and the Kilkenny Heritage Project is part of this programme. We currently have ten trainees on the course in Rothe House. The trainees range in age from 18 to 25 years of age. The training programme includes computer applications, where they become literate in all computer packages suitable for an office environment, reception skills that are learned through being trained in the Rothe House bookshop and museum, they are also taught to research and enter genealogical records for County Kilkenny, onto the KAS Genealogical database.

Currently the trainees are working on the Civil Records of Co. Kilkenny from the years 1864-1910; they are also working on the Canon Carrigan's Volumes of Kilkenny, transcribing information on Kilkenny surnames and county place names.

The aim of the Kilkenny Heritage Project is two fold, firstly it is to provide trainees with an opportunity to learn valuable skills, which will help them gain employment, and further their training and also gain valuable social skills vital when competing in today’s job market, the second aim is to awaken an interest in local history, and genealogy, and also provide KAS with valuable genealogical and historical information for its research programmes

.

The recently completed programme of archaeological investigations on the new Waterford bypass has produced nearly a hundred new sites along the 19km route, about half of which were located in Kilkenny.

The earliest discoveries dating from the Mesolithic (9000-4000 BC), were found near the railway level-crossing at Newrath marsh, about five miles before Waterford. Here, ephemeral traces of lakeside huts associated with chipped stone artefacts were recorded. Until now Kilkenny’s Mesolithic had been represented by only a handful of flints and this new site is consequently of great significance for our understanding of early settlement in the county.

Megalithic tombs such as those at Knockroe, Newmarket and Clomantagh have for long provided proof that parts of Kilkenny were important in the Neolithic (4000-2500 BC) but the homes and settlements of the contemporary population have never been recorded – that is until now. Excavations by the archaeologists Joanne Hughes and Joanna Wren at Granny and Newrath townlands revealed two separate settlements dating from the Early Neolithic (4000-3500 BC). Both contained traces of rectangular wooden houses that would originally have resembled log-cabins. A fine collection of flints and pottery were also recovered including chert arrowheads and a previously undocumented type of lidded pottery vessel. The houses were built by the some of the first farmers to have settled in Kilkenny and are in fact the oldest dwellings to have been yet found in the county.

During the Bronze Age (2500-700 BC), South Kilkenny was an area of particular importance and this was reflected in the nature of a number of the new discoveries. In Newrath Joanna Wren excavated an ancient burial site which produced what has been described as an ‘exquisitely decorated’ urn that accompanied the body. Cooking-troughs known as fulachta fiadh were also excavated, as were a number of wooden trackways and hurdles that provided access across the marsh at Newrath. One of the most important finds of the project was an Iron Age metal-working site which has produced some of the earliest evidence from Ireland of iron working.

South Kilkenny has until now been neglected somewhat by archaeologists and it is to be very much welcomed that such a wealth of new discoveries have been made there. When the sites are published, which will hopefully take place in the not too distant future, they will undoubtedly add an important chapter to the evolving story of Kilkenny’s past heritage.

Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Ms. Joanne Hughes of Headland Archaeology Ltd. for information on the sites excavated.

Cóilín Ó Drisceoil
Member of KAS Conservation Committee.
 

Slide Projector.
Very Reverend Dean Cecil Weekes has given a gift to the society of a 35 mm Slide projector, this new projector will be used for our lectures, this was a very timely donation, as our existing slide projector had just about reached the end of its useful life, and we have had to borrow a slide projector from the Heritage Council. We are looking forward to using the projector at the forthcoming March lecture.

Kilkenny Newspapers
Mr Joe Hayes, Managing Director of the Kilkenny People Newspaper Group has donated to the society the remaining bound copies of the Kilkenny People newspaper. The editions papers cover the years from 1920 to 1980. Our Hon. Librarian Charles Cullen gives a full update on this donation in this newsletter. Some of the bound volumes were immediately put onto the shelves of the Library, others have yet to be restored thanks to very generous financial assistance from Kilkenny People Newspapers Group, but it is hoped that all will be available for students and researchers in the near future.

Local History
Canon James Brennan recently deceased, was a very active member of KAS, and he made a donation of a number of books on Dame Alice Kytler to the KAS Library. Canon Brennan had a great interest in local history and had researched and studied the activities of Dame Kytler and Bishop Ledred in 14^th.century Kilkenny, and his M.A. thesis in Local Studies at the National University Maynooth Outreach Campus in St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, is a masterful study of this time in Kilkenny’s history, a copy of the thesis is in the NUIM Library in St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny.

Crafts and Trades
We have had a very exciting gift for the Museum, a donation from the Hopkins family of Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. Bob Hopkins has donated a set of handmade Coopers Tools, along with records of the history of the trade of the cooper. The tools were originally used by Bob’s grandfather and father in the Guinness Brewery Cooperage.

Bob is a man of many talents, having recently retired from being the Headmaster of Dundalk Grammer School, before that he studied at National College of Art in Dublin, and he has also donated some of his sketches and drawings of coopers at work.

It is intended that these tools will form part of exhibition on local trades at Rothe House in the future. Ann Tierney our Hon, Curator and Brian Collins the Manager of Rothe House are looking forward to this and exhibition.
 

I hope that you have enjoyed our 2^nd newsletter, once again we welcome your contributions and suggestions on the newsletter, please forward them to:

Joseph Ledwidge,
Hon. Secretary,
Kilkenny Archaeological Society,
Rothe House, Kilkenny.