Self-guided heritage trail. Brochures available locally.
Stop 1 The Heels of Carrick On the Dundalk Road close to the roundabout Patrick Kavanagh penned here every time he visited Carrick. From here the Church spire can be viewed sticking up like a paling post from the hill.
Stop 2 The Dale (Deal) Outside the Valley Lodge Pub, O’Neill St The street outside was the scene of the ass fair. Carrick has been a market town since the 15th century and different parts of the town served different needs. Donkeys and asses were sold mainly to dealers from Crossmaglen.
Stop 3 Dalin Men In the Valley Lodge There is an old saying which goes “From Carrickmacross to Crossmaglen there are more rogues than honest men” in “The Green Fool” Patrick quotes the famous lines written by a local priest about an incident that took place in Carrick on a Fair Day. A young innocent lad went into an eating house and was later arrested for being obstreperous. When he appeared before the Magistrates he claimed in his defence that someone put whiskey in his tea. Nearby is St. Joseph’s Church which was built in 1866. Inside there are beautiful Harry Clarke stained glass windows and the Stations of the Cross are by Richard King. On the left of the street there is a row of ornate stone cottages. St. Joseph’s Terrace (Weymouth Cottages). The “B” crest denotes Bath as Lord Bath, Viscount Weymouth, had these cottages build on his estate.
Stop 4 The Kicking Mare Cross Lane Kavanagh bought a horse in the Fair to pull the plough only to discover it was not suitable for the task. The Horse Fair took place on this side street. At the end of the street is “The Horse Hill” where the horses’ health was tested by running them up and down this steep hill.
Stop 5 Kavanagh’s Mare Close by FBD premises in O’Neill Street Here an auctioneer sold horses and Kavanagh sold on the mare he had bought in the Fair.
Stop 6 Mary Dooley’s Eating House Outside Credit Union Building O’Neill St On the Day the county folk had their favourite eating house where they gathered for a meal. Walking through Main St on your left is ‘The Shambles’ where butchering was and still is carried on.
Stop 7 The Hiring Fair Corner of O’Neill St & Main St at AIB Bank Young men and women hired themselves out as farm labourers and servants. The men stood at this corner and the women stood outside the Bank. Boys and girls as young as ten or twelve partook in the Hiring Fairs.
Stop 8 The Pork Market Outside Wells & O’Carroll Office, Main St The Pork market was located here and Carrick was famous for its pork. The pigs were fed on the spent barley and wash from the local distillery and it was claimed that this gave an added flavour and tenderness to the pork and bacon. Patrick tells of a stroke he pulled on the dealers.
Stoop 9 Life and Death Outside Markey’s Pub, Main St Walking towards the Church of Ireland you pass the entrance to O’Duffy Car Park, the site of the former Viscount Weymouth Grammar School (1711 to 1955) its past pupils contain many notable names. The students used to hurl stones from the school quad over the roof of Markeys in an attempt to hit the dial of the church clock. Continue down the Church Hill past the Convent of St. Louis. This is the site of the castle erected in the 1620’s by the Earl of Essex.
Stop 10 Shadows of Trent On the Wall beside Convent Avenue Gate, Church Hill William S. Trench was a land agent on the local estates before and after the famine. He promoted assisted emigration and carried out numerous evictions and as a result he was not well liked by the tenants. He wrote ‘Realities of Irish Life’ to justify his actions. This poem is from Kavanagh’s early works. Note: Just beyond the gate a local eccentric carved snippets of history on the stone wall. These have been over painted in black and white to highlight them. Return along Main St to make your way to the next stop.
|