Despite the “Off the Beaten Craic” theme to the current Irish Stew podcast series, on this episode hosts Martin Nutty and John Lee follow the well-worn track of history that flows through Athlone like the broad River Shannon.
Their guide is the affable Vincent Harney of Athlone Guided Tours, a well-researched, perceptive storyteller who peels back the layers of the Athlone story from atop Athlone Castle, while crossing the Shannon, and as they trod the ancient streets back into the very heart of Irish history.
Along with local history, Vincent shares his story of growing up in a big farm family in nearby Cornafulla, the post office his parents operated, his own time as postmaster, and lessons learned working the family farm.
“In the post office, I loved hearing the old people’s stories and hearing about their history. And we would know the history of the fields around us, like the one field given away for a loaf of bread during the famine,” Vincent recalls.
Inspired by those stories, Vincent started a new career leading historical walking tours to share how Athlone’s origins as a river ford placed it at the crossroads of Irish history, how Norman and Cromwellian armies both marched over its first timber bridge, about the accommodation built into the stone bridge for the gentry's sail boats, and why the railway bridge was considered an engineering marvel of its day.
Vincent reveals Athlone's surprising connections to the Titanic disaster with the sad tale of the ill-fated passenger Margaret Rice, whose body could only be identified by the shoes she wore, purchased from the venerable Parsons of Athlone in the red brick building that still stands today at the corner of Custume Place and Northgate Street.
Vincent spins a happier tale about Athlone native John McCormack, tracing the singer’s unlikely rise from a working-class family to global fame as one of the greatest tenors of all time.
The episode wraps with Vincent making a compelling case for visiting Ireland and coming to Athlone when you do, reminding us, “the history of Ireland is here in Athlone.”
Next week, Irish Stew talks organic farming and agritourism in Offaly with Margaret Edgill of Mt. Briscoe Farm and Pippa Hackett, former Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Links
Athlone Guided Tours
Hidden Heartlands Travel Resources
Irish Stew Links
Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 32; Total Episode Count: 135
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