Pitch Perfect: Duhallow Youth and Public Speaking

By NOLLAIG MURPHY Development Officer, IRD Duhallow

Following on from IRD Duhallow’s recent Public Speaking for National School event, we are delighted to present our fourth installment from the excellent speeches we heard at our closing ceremony in October. One of our participants chose to speak on the topic of local history; In this issue, we will hear about The History of Newmarket Town, by Robyn Murphy.

The History Of Newmarket Town

By ROBYN MURPHY, Newmarket G.N.S.

Have you ever been to Newmarket? Newmarket is a small town situated in North County Cork. It is located in a beautiful area of Northwest County Cork bordering counties Kerry and Limerick. It was founded in the 17th century and is historically known as Áth Trasna. It originated as a market town in the area of Duhallow. It was founded in 1620 when King James 1 of England gave a license to Sir Richard Aldworth to hold markets and fairs. This historic year marks the official birthday of Newmarket town. The Irish form for Newmarket is Áth Trasna, which means the crossing of the ford.

Sir Richard Aldworth’s ancestors remained closely tied to the town until the 1920 and what once was the Aldworth family home or Newmarket Court, still stands overlooking the town. In 1927 the religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph, took over the building and they remained in Newmarket for 46 years. The building is now known as the James O’Keeffe Memorial Institute, and it now accommodates the rural development company IRD Duhallow. Many activities take place in this building, and it is a very busy place.

Some notable people came from Newmarket. The famous solicitor and speaker John Philpott Curran was born in Newmarket. Beautiful sculptures can be found about people associated with the town, including Sarah Curran, youngest daughter of John Philpott

Curran who was associated with Irish Patriot Robert Emmet. The wonderful writer Alice Taylor, famous for her book of memoirs, To School Through The Fields is from Newmarket.

There are five streets in Newmarket Town and on one of these streets there is a Cultúrlann, where many cultural events take

place. Newmarket has its own anthem which most people who live in the town know, it is called ‘Up Up Newmarket’.

Newmarket is a small place, but a great place. I hope you all liked hearing about the town and if you get a chance, you should pay it a visit.

Then vs. Now: (TOP) Newmarket early 1900s. From a series of postcards of the town. (BOTTOM) The same town today.