A Piano for Margaret

A Family memory by Betty Maguire.

A Piano for Margaret.
One of the highlights of the year when I was young was our annual holidays on my aunts Farm in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. After the city’s smells, O’Keefes the knackers in particular, a short distance from where I lived in the Liberties in the centre of Dublin, it was wonderful to get out of the bus at Deerpark and immediately the heady scent of the flowering currant bushes in the hedges outside the house assailed our nostrils first. Then the smell of turf burning and the warm welcome from my Aunt Connie and Uncle Lar and family not forgetting Jess the family sheep dog who wagged his tail so much one would be afraid It would drop off.
Once upon a time my cousin Nell also happened to be visiting there at the same time as us. We got to yarning about a house simply called “ The Lodge” which Nell’s father and mine were always talking about. It was where their mother was born and reared, and it seemed to us to have held a kind of magic for them. Neither Nell or I had ever been to visit it. No information was forthcoming by our relatives. So we decided to sneak off to Rathdangan to visit the Lodge and see for ourselves. We had our bicycles with us so we were mobile. It was about seven miles mostly uphill. The Sun shone, the birds were the only sound we heard on our cycle run and we stopped now and then to admire the countryside. Red poppies intermixed with blue cornflowers were growing at the roadside. The elderflower was in blossom and the scent of new mown hay was all
around us. We went from brilliant sunshine to dark shade as we went through Hume Wood. The trees met overhead. Here and there a shaft of sunshine broke through. It was like natures Cathedral. We felt we were on a pilgrimage, and fell to whispering. A hen pheasant sitting in the hedge nearby gave us a sharp eye as we passed by. We also stopped to look at Finn Mc Cool, his wife and his dog Bran on the side of Ceadeen Mountain. The figures can still be seen in the general flora of the mountain to this day. At last we came to the village of Rathdangan where we enquired our way to the “Lodge” and we were directed down a boreen. As we came towards the house an old crone was standing at the gate, dressed in black from head to toe with a black high crowned hat just like a witch.
She said “ I know who ye are ! Appleby’s !“ ( I was more than ever convinced that she was a Witch as in my innocence I didn’t realise that she put 2 and 2 together and also saw a family resemblance.
We were invited into the house and a great fuss was made of us by “ Peter of the Lodge and His sister Kate of the Lodge “ ( Thus they were always known by our fathers) Nell stayed to chat to Kate and I followed Peter as he had some farm chores to attend to. Peter brought me on a tour of the farm. It nestles in a beautiful glen on one side of which was Ceadeen Mountain with a wonderful panoramic view spread out before me and I was quite lost in admiration of the scene, but Peter said “You are seeing it at it’s best. It is not so inviting in the winter when it’s cloudy, wet, and windy.’’ I didn’t believe him. To me it was just pure magic as I was brought up in the inner city of Dublin with slums and tenements all around where I lived.
We returned to the house and had a real farmhouse tea, boiled eggs and brown bread with fresh country butter.
I had a chance to experience a favorite memory of my father when he was young. It was sitting in the inglenook and looking up the chimney at the stars in the heavens, I only saw blue sky and powder puffs of white cloud drifting past.
Presently Kate brought us into the parlour. Nell and I both exclaimed at once “ A piano ”. We both played the piano and we dashed over hoping to play a bit of music to entertain Peter and Kate, but alas it was not to be for when we opened up the lid of the piano we were shocked to see all the keys were black and mildewed and the wood was rotten, due to the damp, as the room was never heated or used. Having said our good byes and thanks we returned to Deer park and told of our visit to the Lodge.
One of the first things I said to my mother was about the state of the piano. Being of a musical nature I was deeply upset by this.
“There is a wonderful story about that piano, I’ll tell you about it” she said.
My great grand father had one daughter, Margaret. At that time about 1860 or shortly after, there was hardly any employment for women except domestic work, which was hard labour, unless you could acquire a bit of education and aim for something better.
He knew Margaret was clever and musical as well. So he decided to do something about it. He had a few guineas saved up so he harnessed his horse to the common cart and set out for Dublin, 50 miles away. Most of the side roads were little more than boreens. The main road to Dublin from Baltinglass was probably macadamed.

He stayed one night in ballyknockin at his cousin’s Mary Ann before travelling on to the city, and making his way to the auction rooms on Ormond Quay and Bachelors Walk and there he purchased a piano for Margaret. He loaded it on his cart and set out on the return journey. The embankment road was not built then. He would have had to travel to the Naas road through Robinhood lane and Saggart village and on up through the very steep road to the Slade valley and on to Brittas and Blessington, all mostly uphill. There were no weather forecasts then, but of course country men were great judges of the weather ( they had to be) but even so we all know how fickle our weather can be. He had to walk all the way himself to save the horse who had to pull the cart with the piano on it. It is hard to imagine what the journey was like in those day’s but a commitment for a better life for his daughter was what motivated him.
What a wonderful thing for a poor farmer to do for his daughter. To spend his little nest egg and set out on this hazardous journey was a great adventure in those days. The end result can be seen today. All the descendents of that young girl have contributed greatly in different levels of achievement to the present Celtic Tiger in, Business, Government, Nursing, Medicine, Teaching, Justice and Public Services.
I wonder as he approached home and saw the candle left lighting in the window, did he know at all and thought of Portia’s words on returning home from Venice.
“ THAT LIGHT WE SEE BURNING IN THE HALL
HOW FAR THAT LITTLE CANDLE THROWS ITS BEAMS
SO SHINES A GOOD DEED IN A TROUBLED WORLD”

The picture is the earliest photograph in my collection. It is of Joseph Appleby, Margaret Appleby, Nell Appleby and Maureen Appleby.

Lisbon by Night

Swiss Travel

Swiss Travel

Some photos from the 2003 trip. Really enjoyed my first trip and have booked another trip this Summer. Here are a few more photos.

My Brother Frank

Stiil to be seen playing football somewhere in Dublin today, Frank always had a football ready in case there was a game somewhere. This must be from the mid sixties taken by me in our back garden.

Kilkenny, Mary Maguire, Francis Maguire

Kilkenny

More from Kilkenny

My Auntie Maureen Maguire, my Grandad, Francis 'Titanic' Maguire.

From the Archives

Dad was born in Watergate, Kilkenny. Really in the centre of Kilkenny City near the Smithwicks Brewery. The Maguires lived over a shop and Dads Auntie ran the shop. More about that later. The earliest photos are now almost 90 years old and although small in size still are of a good quality and I have started scanning them all in. At present I have about 2,000 digital photos on my Laptop and have thousands of old photos to scan in. Here are a few from Kilkenny in the 1920's or therabouts.

The man behind the camera

Taken by Mum, while on a short cruise in Porto.

Christmas 2006

Christmas Day was held in our House this year. next Christmas will probably be held down in Maggies Meadow in Tipperary, when the new House is finished. More about that later. It was a tight squeeze in the house in Cherryfield as there was the 3 girls, Aishling, Lauren and Karen, my Brother Frank, his wife Joan as well as myself and Mum of course. Apart form traditional gifts it was of course a rather hi tech affair. At any one time up to three laptops going on the intrnet, Nintendo Lites sending texts and drawing wirelessly, iPods being charged, songs downloaded etc. Also still some traditional touches such as dolls and a big Dolls House as well. As usual Joan and Frank did much of the cooking and the food was fantastic and Mum did her Christmas Puddings. On Christmas day i had to drop down a Christmas Pudding down to Mums Sister and they were waiting for the Pudding when I arrived. The Mulhalls almost had the dessert spoons ready when I called.
In the Photo is Mum with my 3 Nieces, Aishling (jumping about) Karen ( dark hair ) and Lauren.

Ramdom Photo

When we were in Vienna, the lady who owned the Apartment gave some suggestions of places to visit. One was to visit a famous Ice Cream Parlour, called 'Ticky' it was one one of the U Bahn lines so eventually we found it. It was much bigger than expected, they had several shop fronts and a large Cafe. Was well worth a visit, and certainly very popular with locals as well as tourists.

JAN 2007

Went into Dublin City on Friday to meet my friend, Orla for a Birthday meal and drink. The most popular area for tourists in Dublin is the Temple Bar area. Most of the tourists go there to see all the old Cafes, Restaurants, Pubs, clubs and Art Houses. As we looked for somewhere to eat I wondered how may tourists actually know the whole area aside from a couple of places is about as old as Disneyland Paris. In the early 70's the whole area was bought up by the national bus company and they hoped to build another bus terminus and garage. The whole area became more or less derelict, as the properties were bought up. The only new large building was the new Central bank built in the late 70's. Purely to make money while more properties became available some of the run down properties were rented out on short term leases and a number of small shops opened, mainly selling records, jewellery etc., and the area became a kind of alternative area where younger people came to enjoy the bomemian athmosphere. The plans for a new bus station never materialised and instead the area was allowed develop, I suppose organically and more little shops opened up. The streets were dug up and cobblestones were put back down to make the area look more 'Authentic'. In fact most of the cobbles were 'robbed' from other areas and in one area of Dublin the cobbles had to be returned back to their rightful place. What has happened since is the influx odd dozens of pubs and clubs. The area has been successfully developed, although I feel its still a bit of a con job and looking at the prices in the restaurants and pubs. it certainly looks that way. Infact Dublin has become one of the most expensive tourist destinations, and Having travelled around Europe I would agree.
Its actually the same with a lot of 'old Dublin', Most of Dublin Castle has been rebuilt in recent years, but much of it now looks older now than it ever did. The same thing probably happens all around the world. Last year I was in Carcassione and the castle there looks and is very old but you can easily see that many old looking towers were added about 100 years ago to make it look more 'oldy worldy'
Back to the meal finally gound a small restaurant off Grafton Street, probaly no bettter or worse than one in Temple Bar. Probably find next time I go past this restaurant it will have been changed into a 15th century cafe. And I don't think they had cafes in 'dem' days either!

2007 More news

No new stories just an update really. Plans for House Hunting in France were delayed due to a lenghty delay in sale of a property in Ireland. Now that is sorted out the plan is to go on a couple of holidays to France and have another look around. Hope to have some new 'old' tales soon. Mum has been writing away and sent one story in for a writing competition. That story is still 'embargoed' at the moment.
Sundays for as long as I have been driving have been an excuse to bring Mum and Dad when he was still with us for a short drive or occasional trip on the 'DART' The other Sunday we drove to Booterstown Station and parked the car outside. Mum has free travel for herself and luckily I go free as well. The first DART train that arrived was completly full, mainly of Rugby supporters going to an International. So full was the train that we didnt get on. In fact when the doors opened there was no room. We got a later DART to Malahide Village. Malahide is a nice seaside place and we have been going there for more years than I care to remember. I can remember going as a child with my Uncle and Aunt. Once we walked down to Uncle Matts house, about 2 miles away and we then walked further to get a long forgotten Bus which went directly to the Village in Malahide. Then main things I can remember was getting one of those cardboard aeroplane kits in a sweet shop and having chips, bread and butter, and lemonade on the beach. By the time we had our meal and paddled about at the little beach it was almost time to go home.
The most recent visit was rather quicker to get there and we went for a stroll to the sea front and then back to a Pub for something to eat. Much of Malahide has been re developed, not all good but one thing I like is a sculpture by Niall O'Neill. I worked for a few years with the Sculptors Society of Ireland and Niall was at the time Chairman. Being an artist usually means a bit of a bohemian lifestyle, sometimes laidback. And Niall is no diffferent. Funny enough although the SSI was a rather laidback place to work I always felt more work was done there than any other place I have worked, the friendly athmosphere seemed to encourage work and many worthwhile art projects were undertaken, especially in schools and exhibitions etc.
If you ever find yourself on hols in Dublin, a short day trip to Malahide is recomended, and have a look at Nialls sculpture too, best enjoyed by geting fish and chips in the local takeaway and sit in the little park and admire the view.

2007

Making holiday plans for 2007. In 2003 Mum and I went to Switzerland and Mum said she enjoyed that travelling holiday the most. Had a good look at my map of Switzerland and those Swiss Rail Journeys Videos made me look to the Northern corner of the country. It can be very expensive so the first thing to do is to get acccomodation in advance. Luckily the Swiss have several websites including www.bnb.ch, which lists inexpensive accomodation on a interactive map. After sending few emails I got a reply from Zurich of 2 rooms with Breakfast for less than 35 euros per night. Also made sure it was easy to get from the railway station. In fact Zurich Trams go right in front on the B and B so no long walks back after excoursions. Zurich itself is supposed to be boring but I will make my own mind of that, its at the very least well located and its built on a lake with several boat trips to other towns. Also its within an hour of Lucerne, St Gallen, Lake Constance and other less well known places. Booked the Airplane tickets already to get a good price, 150.00 return. I used to work for The Red Cross and the fare to Switzerland used to be 600 pounds. That was until Ryanair kicked Aer Lingus into reality. havnt booked them yet but buying a 'Swiss Pass' for 200 euro gives a weeks travel on all Trains, Buses, trams, funiculars and even Boats all over Switzerland. Food can be very expensive so as last time will do our own snacks and for example in Lucerne we found a roof Top Cafe-Restaurant that was more than adequate and still less than about 10 euro for a lunch time meal. I must post some more photos of the last visit to Switzerland.

Porto Traditional Boats

Cafe World

The Majestic Cafe was opened in the 1920's and hasn't changed much since. The dark red leather seats are well worn but still perfectly comfortable, The tables also seemed original, unlike the famous Bewleys Cafes in Dublin the tables dont wobble!. There are a number of similar cafes in Porto. For those looking for Bars or Public Houses, Porto doesn't have many. Parts of Porto are very run down, some Shops/Offices are in a ruinous state and in need of renovation. Much of the roads, and footpaths have been replaced and perhaps the many ruined buildings will be next. Much of the inner city is a Unesco World Heritage site and perhaps property has to be restored using traditional building and perhaps individuals cant afford expensive renovation or restoration. More to follow

Oporto

Arrived back today from Porto, Portugal. The holiday began arriving at Oporto Airport. A fairly new and modern Airport and apart from the usual long walks it has a brand new Metro/Tram connection bring you right into Trinidade Metro station where several lines meet. The Hotel Malaposto was easy enough to find, however it was a long walk mostly uphill and Oporto has a one way traffic system which made it difficult to access the Hotel by Bus. The boring, to some bits first. Yes there is a modern new Metro system with 5 Lines and also you could see new old tramlines being put down for a Heritage Tram. There is already a very old tram line running along the North quay which makes a nice trip to the sea side (well a short walk further along) and again you can follow about 3 Km of tram lines due to be re opened after years of neglect. Talking to an English guy running a shop it has taken 5 years to put the rails down, almost as long as it took to build the new Metro system. Most of the shops and Cafes seem to be in a bit of a time warp. Coffee can cost as little as 50 cent and a bowl of soup 80c. But maybe not Haute Cuisine is on offer. On the first day apart from going on the old tram we also hopped on a bus which eventually reached a little beach called Madalena. Even in October it was like a warm Irish Summer day. The bus trip was not for the fainthearted and the driver was blowing his horn around each twisty corner and shouting at motorists around him. On the bus we met an English Couple who had just arrived by car and caravan and they also couldn’t believe the roads and relayed the nightmare journey driving a car and caravan to their camping site ( Only mad Englishmen drive caravans in the midday sun?)
On another day we went on a short boat trip along the city quays with a supposed free trip thrown in to a local Port tasting trip. However the free drink of port was really a con and left a sour taste in the mouth (sick joke sorry). We also visited several cafes and one famous one the 'Majestic' stood out. Mum noticed there were at least 3 'Ernest Hemingway' types in the cafe and several people writing letters and passing a whole afternoon over coffee. We also visited Mac Donalds which in Oporto was previously a Cafe rather like the Majestic and the 'art Deco' interior was retained plus they still do nice coffee and local soup. More to follow........

Next Trip

Have just booked flights and accommodation for a short break in Porto, Portugal. Amazingly flights were only 55 euro including stupid 10 euro charge for paying by Visacard ( Thanks to Ryanair for the 2 cent flights, the rest is supposed to be charges and fees) Alpha rooms.com had plently of 3 star hotels and I chose one for 30 euro per night which came well reccomended. Portugal certainly is still an inexpensive destination. Getting from the Airport will be simple as there's a new Tram/Metro which pulls up directly outside the terminal. Apart from going around Porto itself, which will be easy due to its mew Metro and tourist Trams, we hope to go up the Douro valley, on train and a boat trip. The river Duero is where sailing ships used to race one another to rush the new years wine to the Port for distribution. The term 'Port' probably comes from this but haven't checked it out yet in case I'm completely mistaken. Have got a good few articles on the region and seems to be a lot to do and see there.