…the Huntington peace visit to Kilkenny
BY JOHN FITZGERALD
We’ve all heard or read about the depredation wrought in Ireland by Oliver Cromwell when he led his Roundhead army on a bloody re-conquest of the country.
But in 2002 a little publicized “peace mission” to Kilkenny from the tyrant’s birthplace sought to heal the old wounds and attempted, in a small but touching way, to help bring closure to one of the bitterest chapters of our past.
A delegation from Arise Ministry, a peace and reconciliation group based in Huntingdon, included Kilkenny in its visit. As the capital of Ireland’s rebel Confederacy from 1642 to 1649, the City was a prime military target for Cromwell.
Leading the peace delegation was Shirley Bowers, who called first to Callan, which endured a three-day siege in February 1650.
Townspeople turned out in large numbers to greet the Huntington group. Historian Philip Lynch showed them the remnant of Skerry’s Castle in West Street, scene of a fierce battle where a brave captain famously led a small and vastly outnumbered garrison that refused to surrender. All but a few survived the fighting; including the captain’s “warrior wife” whose exploits became the stuff of legend.
Ms. Bowers heard the story of what befell the town at the hands of the man from Huntington and his all-conquering army. She was also shown the ruin of St. Mary’s church in Green Street, scene of a massacre of civilians seeking shelter from the fighting. Ms. Bowers expressed her group’s deepest regret at what happened in Callan all those years ago, stressing the essential role of conciliation and religious tolerance in today’s world.
Arriving in Kilkenny, she was greeted by Mayor Betty Manning, who invited her and the group to City Hall following a brief but highly informative tour of local heritage sites, buildings, and landmarks. A highpoint was a tour of the magnificent St. Canice’s Cathedral, where the 17th century invaders famously stabled their horses.
In March 1650, Cromwell’s army besieged the City, battering the walls with cannon and raining destruction on the former Confederate Capital. Despite heroic resistance, Kilkenny fell after a week of fighting… a major outbreak of plague having contributed to the defeat.
Shirley Bowers had a special gift for the Mayor and the people of Kilkenny. She presented her with a symbolic key to the City and a framed letter signed by church leaders in Huntington. This is still on display at City Hall.
Ms. Bowers explained that she had been heartbroken to read of the atrocities committed during the invasion and of the Cromwellian shipments to Barbados of so many thousands of people. Though she was neither “pro” nor “anti” Cromwell in historical terms, she emphasized the importance of addressing the far-reaching social and political consequences of his actions.
She explained: “We feel called to go to those places where Cromwell’s legacy is most keenly felt in order to bring healing and reconciliation. Where God’s name was used in the past to bring death and destruction, we through our love and apology, hope to sow seeds of life and hope.”
The right Mayor at the right time…
It was a blessing that Betty Manning held the Mayoralty on the occasion of the Huntington peace visit. Like Shirley Bowers herself, she had a special interest in caring for the marginalized in society, but she also happened to be one of the people most committed to preserving what remained of the old City walls.
Three-and-a-half centuries after Cromwell, Betty Manning waded into battle to ward off a second “siege” of the walls, one brought about by the ravages of time, unwise or misguided planning, and the downside of modern property development.
Undaunted by obstacles that might have vanquished another civic leader, she led a tireless campaign to avert the impending destruction of a vulnerable and precious part of the City’s heritage.
In particular she championed the restoration of Talbot’s Tower with its five-foot thick walls and cobble-domed ceiling… a structure hailed by the late archaeologist and historian John Bradley as “the finest piece of military history in these islands.”
This conservation success story might not, without her passionate lobbying and advocacy, have survived the march of modernity, let alone be opened to the public to become the premier tourist attraction it is today.
If there was a common theme in the vision of Shirley Bowers, of the Huntington Arise Ministry group, and that of Mayor Betty Manning, it might be that we should learn from our history and treasure what has come down to us from the past…even those parts of it, like Oliver Cromwell’s unfriendly visit, that we’d prefer to forget!
(My Novel, Invaders, which has a special focus on the Cromwellian era in County Kilkenny, is available from Amazon)
