Walking alongside Moate's history at DVD launch

by David Flynn

A presentation on the history of Moate has been captured in a new DVD that was launched on Thursday, March 20, before a large audience in the town's Tuar Ard Theatre.

The documentary film displays the area's physical and social geography spectacularly, and tells of the many happenings in Moate over many centuries, stretching back to the Ice Age.

The DVD project, entitled ‘A Walk and Talk in the Town of Moate’ began two years ago through a four-person Moate team made up of Fr Jimmy Murray, Olive Quinn, Nuala McDermott and Sean Keane.

Fr Jimmy narrates the video, which tells the story of Moate, past and present, in the midst of great photographs, drawings and footage of the town.

At the launch on Thursday evening, Fr Jimmy began by congratulating the Moate Community School U16 girls who, earlier that day, had won the All-Ireland championship against Ursuline of Thurles.

He welcomed the large gathering at Tuar Ard to the launch and thanked Mick Bracken and Stephen Rosney for the hours they spent putting the DVD together.

"Thanks for your talent, professionalism, enormous patience and great sense of history," said Fr. Jimmy.

"Thanks also to Nuala and Olive for your care and common sense in editing the work to make it what it is. Sean Keane also - thank you for your love of history and the knowledge you put into this production."

The gathering watched the 35-minute film, introduced and presented by Fr Jimmy, who began by talking about the history of the landscape of Moate beginning at the time of the Ice Age, and the creation of the eskers.

The audience then heard about the Anglo Normans in Moate and the building of the Motte & Bailey in the town.

The documentary footage featured scenes from the landscape above Moate and told the history of the old houses of the town. The gathering heard about family names like ‘Clibborn’ and about that family’s early Moate members.

Fr Jimmy also discussed the history of the Quaker cemetery in Moate and told that, while the first burial was there in the 1660s, the first headstone was placed there in 1807.

The audience also heard an interesting anecdote about a building in the town destroyed on the night of the big wind in 1839.

The pre-Famine growth in Moate's population, the arrival of the Carmelites in the town in the 1700s, and the Wesley and Methodist church in the town opening in 1823, were also discussed.

The story of how Weaver's Row got its name and of the craftspeople that lived there was shown on the documentary as well as the history of the Georgian houses in the town. Fr Jimmy also talked in the DVD about the end of the Moate to Athlone train service in 1987.

In addition, the documentary covered the 1997 amalgamation of three schools to create Moate Community School, as well as apects and views of the Dun na Si heritage park.

It was a first hearing, for most of the audience, of the song ‘Moate My Old Friend’ by singer Charlie Landsborough, which was played on the documentary DVD.

Nuala McDermott addressed the gathering after the DVD screening and praised the commitment of all involved in its making.

"From Olive, Sean and myself, a huge thank you to Fr Jimmy for getting this project off the ground," said Nuala.

Mick Bracken, the cameraman who worked on the DVD, told the audience that Mount Temple singer Tony Allen, of Foster and Allen fame, told him about the Charlie Landsborough song and that very few people had heard it before. Local councillors Tom Farrell and Vinny McCormack were among those in attendance at the launch.

"It was absolutely brilliant, the way it was done, showing the aspects of life of Moate from A to Z," said Cllr Farrell.

Cllr McCormack added that it was great to see such a packed house at the Tuar Ard, and that whatever Fr Jimmy does always attracts great interest.

The Fianna Fáil councillor said that he was in the Carmelite School in the early 1990s and found Fr Jimmy "always a brilliant man" in the school.

"Really well done to him and the production team, Nuala, Olive and Sean, who put in a tremendous job. It's a real education," he said.

"I'd have some knowledge of the history, but the depth Fr Jimmy went into it, and the way he did a tour of the town, was excellent."

The DVD can be purchased for €10 in the Carmelite shop and Mulhall's shop in Moate.