I attended the official opening of the new section of the River Nore Linear Park that stretches from Riverside Drive to Talbots Inch last Monday.
This is a part of the river that I know from my schooldays and it was a summer playground for generations of children. It was here I caught my one and only fish (an eel ), learned to swim and had my first tentative drag on a cigarette, among other things.
I took my first walk on the path last Saturday and some memories of those long gone summers came back. The weather was awful, but I was well wrapped up against the gale force wind and rain.
The first field, always known locally as “The Third Field” for some reason, was the first stop. “Rescuers ready, rescuers go!”, that was the call I remember from the early sixties as the late Tom Timmins put his water safety recruits, including my two sisters, through their training in the freezing waters. No showers, no changing rooms, you just clambered up the muddy bank and dried off as best as you could in the long grass.
A little further on the remains of the suspension bridge, swept away in the floods of 1947, are still visible. It was used mainly by workers at the woollen mills, but that industry closed down sometime in the sixties. Maybe it could be the site for the new road that they’re trying to drive through the middle of the city. The new path ends at the weir, Kilkenny’s answer to St Tropez, Florida and the Costa Del Sol in the sixties. Yes, there are plenty of weirs on the river Nore, but there’s only one spot known as “The Weir.”
It was here that I finally managed the dog’s paddle in the pool below the weir and was able to progress to the real swimming area, complete with a concrete bank and diving board. This was as close as it got to a proper swimming pool in the sixties. The diving board is gone and there’s a notice warning against swimming, as the water is deeper in some spots. Last Saturday wasn’t the day to take a dip, but I’ll be back, if and when we get a few decent days this summer.
Swimming moved on from the Third Field to The Weir, then to the swimming pool and now the Watershed. What an awful name! I can just imagine some PR company sitting around listening to suggestions.
“Well it’s a big building and it’s full of water. How about the Water Warehouse?”
“No, that sounds like some factory making bathroom equipment. Maybe we should name it after some local person involved with swimming?”
“That’s too predictable, we need something more modern. How about Waterworld?”
“Can‘t, that was the name of a Kevin Costner film that cost, and lost, a fortune. We don’t want it to be associated with that.”
“That’s right. It’s a fitness centre, so start thinking along those lines.”
“The Fit Pit?”
“No.”
“Flabby Days?”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Splash and Carry? The Celtic Diver? The Deep End?”
“Look we’re getting big money for this project, so let’s get serious. Give me something with water in it.”
“OK, I know you didn’t like the warehouse idea, but it’s a big building full of water, so how about The Waterhouse?”
“Not bad, but there’s a firm of accountants called Waterhouse and it’s not the best time to be reminding people of financial matters.”
“The Watergate?”
“There’s a theatre here already with that name. Do you know anything about Kilkenny at all?”
“I have it! Let’s call it the Watershed. It can mean a building full of water and “watershed” signifies change. They’ll love that idea. I can hear the opening speeches already - “This development is a watershed in the development of leisure facilities in Kilkenny.”
“Perfect. Lash off a few different designs when you get back to the office. Oh and don’t forget to get out the invoice. Well done team, another job well done. I think we deserve another bottle of red. Garcon!”
Something for the Weekend
January drags along, with not a lot happening. One possibility for a good night out is the Panto, Puss in Boots out in Castlecomer.
I’m heading out there on Thursday (yesterday ) to watch the performances of John Coogan and Ellen Stapleton, among others, and will be giving a report on the goings on next week. Ellen is a regular contributor at the Monday night sessions in Cleeres and we’ve been missing her voice while rehearsals have been taking place. If the weather improves a walk on the new Linear Path is worth considering, it might help to get rid of the weight put on over Christmas, or you could head up to the new swimming pool. What’s it called again?
