By Ger Cody
Photos: jbs photos kilkenny
Like many cities and towns in Ireland, Kilkenny is blessed to have at its disposable a mountain of recorded history that people can access.
Be it the construction of your family tree, history of your local GAA club, or information on historical facts that occurred in Kilkenny, amenities are available in ‘Ye Faire Citie’ to satisfy your curiosity.
There are many, mostly volunteers, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for satisfying our lust for information from yesteryear.
We think of our wonderful library service, formerly of John Quay, now at the Mayfair, and of course the wonderful Rothe Hose.
Information from days of yore can also be be garnered form Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny County Council and The Kilkenny Great war memorial group.
We can now add two names to that august group as a means of tracking our rich Kilkenny Heritage.
Enter the father and son team of Eamon and Paul O’Toole.
Although no longer with us, Eamon spent a large portion of his life travelling Ireland and collecting postcards which he purchased at various sales, car boot sales and fairs. An absolutely magnificent selection of cards that show Kilkenny in all its pictorial glory.
Eamon will also be remembered for many years of service as a valued employee of Crotty’s bakery on Parliament Street.
He will also be rembered fondly for his work at Kilkenny’s Brewery Club.
And now, thanks to Eamon and his son Paul, this collection was exhibited recently at a Culture night exhibition at Ryans Bar on Friary Street. And as the event was a mere stones throw from the Observer office, needless to say we attended.
The significance and importance of the O’ Toole collection is massive, not just for the family but for Kilkenny itself.
The Kilkenny Observer spoke with Una Lennon at the TASK art studio where where Paul practises his art.
Said Una: “Paul is one of our studio artists in the TASK art studio in the Auxiliary hospital. Pauls background in draughting and architectural design drawing is very evident in his artwork.
You can see both modernist and futurist influences. His interest in buildings, old and new, came from his late dad Eamon.”
When Paul first showed his dad’s postcard collection of postcards to Una, she was intrigued, not just by the images, but by Mr. O’ Toole’s pride in Kilkenny – travelling to fairs and car boot sales over the years, determined to find old images to collect.
“In an age of ‘online shopping’ and ‘next day delivery’, it would be easy to forget the dedication of previous generations and the lengths that they went to, to collect and preserve such gems” continued Una.
Ms Lennon told this paper that It was important to showcase this collection. “The event that we had for Culture Night in Ryans was a great success – conversations flowed, and memories were shared about the people and places of Kilkenny” said a delighted Una. And it would appear that the showing at Ryan’s is not the end of the story.
“We are hoping to showcase the collection again in the near future so that many more can come and appreciate historic Kilkenny, so watch this space” advised Una.
Paul also paid thanks to TASK in general and to Una and Cathal in particular.
“Both Una and Cathal supported my idea of displaying my fathers collection from day one and I cannot thank them enough for all they have done” said a delighted Paul.
One can confidently state that Mr O’Toole’s hundreds of man hours spent collecting these cards and the thousands of miles spent traversing the country in his Nissan Pulsar or his Toyota Corina cars has certainly left a legacy to shout from the tree tops.
These photographs can provide glimpses into lives past, long-ago events, and forgotten places. They can help shape our understanding of culture, history, and the identity of the people who appear in them.
We at the Observer noticed that on the night of the exhibition, Many people in attendance marvelled at the postcards on display created a conversation of a life and time long since gone.
Let us hope that this postcard exhibition, curated by Paul O’ Toole will travel further in the years ahead.
