Knockbeg Archive
The following stills are taken from the film donated to our museum by Monsignor Brendan Byrne Carlow. Stills edited by John Keogh If you can name any of the people please let us know !
The film was found in the archives of Knockbeg Library and was beautifully resored !
It dates from the early 1930's
Tullow Historian Christopher McQuinn comments as follows :
This is a remarkable production showing
local life as it was experienced eighty-six years ago.
The footage covers everyday street scenes, a road race, a fair day, Corpus Christi, a fancy-dress parade,
a carnival (fun fair), etc. The carnival may have been held in the field behind the Captain Murphy Memorial Hall. It moved to Murphy's field on the Dublin Road in the 1950s, a site now occupied by Flynn’s and by Aldi.
The filmmaker was Fr John Lalor, a Rathvilly native who was parish priest of Ballon-Rathoe from 1923 to his death on 17 June 1947. Fr Lalor used show his films to the boarders in St Mary's College,
Knockbeg.
It was there that Msgr Brendan Byrne discovered this film, and a number of others, during the recent renovation of the college. Msgr Byrne had the film
restored by Super8 a French film restorer based in Galway and subsequently presented it to Tullow Museum.
Research by Tullow native, Msgr John Byrne established
that the film was made around 1936, rather than 1945 as first thought. The cinema dates from 1940 and is not shown in the Square here.
Among the people identified
in the film, are: Msgr John Byrne's father, John (Byrne’s Garage), John Kelly (Crosskeys), Michael (Mickey) Murphy, Jack Flynn, Tom Bolger (Kill), Fr James Mahon (?), Guard Kelly (father of Marian Ryan, Abbey Street)
Latest comments
Hello , My connection to Thoms Traynor is from his wife on the Davis side .
Please if you have any photos of the bridgidine convent farm from the 1800's/1900's my great grandad Joseph Roche and his son Thomas ran this farm throughout their lives. Thank You 🌻🙏
If you have any photos of Murphy Shop on The Green, Tempelowen, or if the Roche Family, Shroughan/Mullawn, or Thornhill Ardattin can you please forward to me 🙏🌻thank You
We know that Tom Doyle( boxer) and his younger brother Edward are in this photo.