The thrill of riding in the dark is something I’ve come to savour these past couple of winters!
First thoughts about it were that it would be dangerous and boring, with nothing to see in the pitch black of night. How wrong could I be! Nothing compares to being out on a quiet country road or along the Barrow Track on a cold crisp black night, with stars twinkling overhead or occasionally with the Space Station making its way across the skies. Or a clear moonlit night making it easy to pick out familiar landmarks that aren’t so familiar looking in the half light. Especially trees, which take on a whole new shape and appearance. Throw in a few gusts of wind and it can be damn scary!
It’s only possible of course if you have good lights on your bike, front and rear and you pick your route carefully. With 1800 lumens in my front light I can safely get a good 90 minutes of a ride in. Tonight took me out to other worldly Ducketts Grove – is there a more iconic building for the Halloween season?
Another favourite is the along the River Barrow towpath between St Mullins and Clashganny which I did last year, starting out in daylight on the outward journey and coming back by the light of the bike. It can be tricky on the Barrow in winter as the track softens and becomes slippy so you need to be extra vigilant.
And it shortens the winter; being able to keep up the evening cycles is just magic and helps keep a level of fitness up for the following season!
Before the advent of mass produced bicycles at the end of the 19th century, most people would not have ventured beyond their parish, whether in the countryside or in the small towns of the provinces.
Work would have been local, socialising would have been confined to the village hall and tavern and spare time activities included visits to rambling houses for story telling, dancing at the cross roads, playing caid or hurling, a bit of fishing or hunting. And that was probably about it. A simple existence. A hand to mouth existence for most.
Romance was confined to the local population and outsiders were few and far between.
I often think of one of the stories Peig Sayers recalled of ‘the old hag’ who decided to travel from Corca Dhuibhne to Dublin. She set out from Dun Chaoin but when she got over the hill at Sliabh an Iolar she was shocked at the extent of the country side spread out before her and she turned around and never again thought of leaving her local surroundings.
Travel to larger towns or cities was very difficult and lengthy – only a privileged few would have made it to Dublin.
Night cycle to Ducketts Grove
One of the factors that brought social change was the arrival of mass produced bicycles. It extended the range of peoples horizons; for many it was the mode of transport and we all have heard the stories of football and hurling supporters cycling the Dublin from places like Carlow and Portlaoise for Championship games – and home again!
The arrival of Covid-19 and 5kms travel restrictions brought this into focus for me as we found ourselves in lockdown, confined to our own areas, just like previous generations before us. And it was strange and hard to adapt. One business that has boomed since Covid arrived has been the Local Bike Shop. Sales of new and second hand bikes have gone through the roof. Imagine there are waiting lists for new bikes!
Day time visit to Ducketts Grove!
There are a few positive knock ons from Covid – it’s not all doom and gloom and it will be interesting to see if the effect lasts when vaccines are widely available and we get a return to the old normal; but in the meantime people are rediscovering there own localities, the pace of life has slowed down, more people are exercising – especially walking and cycling. People are looking for new routes all the time. There is less commuting with many people working form home. And people are liking what they are experiencing.
Myself and Mary have never done as much cycling, even though we are limited in where we can go; but we have not allowed weather or darkness stop us from getting out for fresh air, exercise and some exploring and rambling around Carlow and environs.
It has been great to see families out together on their bikes, along the fantastic network or local roads that are very safe for cycling. Here’s hoping it continues as we get a sense of what our forefathers experienced 100 years ago!
Headed out this morning for Tullow with the intention of taking in a training session of a visiting county but that didn’t materialise. But the journey proved rewarding in other ways!
Travelling by bike makes it so much better for sight seeing, stopping and observing and today was a short route that packed in a lot of interesting views and history!
The first stopping point was at Grangeford to photograph the memorial to the 2006 World Ploughing Championships held on the Nolan farm. I remember it well. It was combined with the National Ploughing Championships which drew massive crowds as always.
Not much further down the road is a very important location in Irish history. How often do we pass Leamaneh Graveyard at Castlemore without realising the significant history attached with this area? For it is was along this road that Fr John Murphy ‘of old Kilcormac’ was captured by yeomen in 1798 and to then face a barbaric death and treatment after a military court-martial. Fr Murphy was ordained n secret during the Penal times and went to Seville for further studied. On his return he took part in the United Irishman rebellion in 1798. His last journey in County Carlow was after the Battle of Kilcumney (on the road to Goresbridge from Bagenalstown). The rebels were surrounded and outnumbered and eventually retreated in the direction of the Scullogue Gap. Fr Murphy branched off on a different route that took him through Kiloughternane, Ballymurphy, Rosedelig. He celebrated his last mass in Myshall before moving on towards Castlemore, Tullow where he was captured by yeomen. Brought to Tullow, courtmartialed and executed. His body was subject to horrific mutilation with his head placed on a spike on a railing and his body burned. He is immortalised in the ballad of Boolavogue:
‘And the yeos at Tullow took Fr. Murphy
And burnt his body upon the rack
God grant you glory, brave Fr.Murphy
And open heaven to all your men
The cause that called you may call tomorrow
In another fight for the green again’
Continued into Tullow, crossing the Slaney, Carlow’s second river and turning left in the square just before the statue of Fr Murphy. This road passes out by Fr Leo Park, which had been my initial destination, but I continued on out along the lovely quiet road through Ballymurphy and on to the Hacketstown road. A left turn took me back down to the Slaney
and back in the Carlow direction. Taking a right turn at Killerig for Castledermot I diverted to Ducketts Grove. Whether you approach Ducketts Grove from Castledermot side or Carlow side the Castle dominates the landscape. One can only imagine what to must have been like in its heyday. The family home of the Ducketts who held a mere 20,000 acres in the 18th and 19th century. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1933 and fell into ruins. It was acquired by Carlow County Council some years ago and they have done extensive works on developing the gardens and the centre as a visitor attraction.
I was on the home leg now with one final stop off point – Europe’s largest Dolmen at Browneshill. The capstone weighs in at a considerable 100 tonnes! How did they erect it? It’s now a major tourist attraction for visitors in the area.
