Our First Project – Celbridge’s Military Story
The Irish Military Heritage Foundation CLG has been awarded a grant under the Kildare County Council Heritage Grant Scheme 2019. The grant has been awarded towards the Foundation’s inaugural project – Celbridge’s Military Story. Our aim is to bring to life some of the hidden stories in the Celbridge area. Celbridge is the home of our editor/producer Wesley Bourke, over the last few years the History Squad in the local primary school, Scoil na Mainistreach, have highlighted the lost stories of the Celbridge area; and showed just how quickly history can be forgotten. They inspired us and we decided to find out more. We will be producing this project through film and articles.
Every community has a hidden voice that opens a window into the past and every community has a unique story; Celbridge, in County Kildare is no different. The area is home to many Óglaigh na hÉireann / Irish Defence Forces serving personnel and veterans; family members of persons who have served in both World Wars; historians with detailed knowledge of stories such as the moving plight of the Belgium refugees who came to Celbridge in 1914, or the events in the local area during the War of Independence and Civil War. Adding to this historiography Celbridge has several landscapes connecting it to its military past such as Castletown House & Parklands whose owner Thomas Conolly in 1865 toured the battlefields of the American Civil War; or Tay/Tea Lane cemetery which after a wonderful restoration has unearthed the stories of Henry Grattan Jr. MP and Gerald Dease
Over the coming months we will be interviewing local historians, veterans, and members of the community whose relatives have since passed away. This project aims to unearth stories lost to time and preserve Celbridge’s Military Story for future generations.
We would love to hear your story. If you have a story to tell please get in touch.
