Our home town of Oldcastle was judged last week as part of Co-Operation Ireland’s ‘Pride of Place’ competition and it has gotten me thinking about this place that I love and now call home. Oldcastle is a small town nestled in the north-west corner of Co. Meath. We are close to the borders of both Co. Westmeath and Co. Cavan. In fact if you were to walk to the end of my garden and cross over the next couple of fields, you’d be in Co. Cavan. When my partner and I were looking for a house to buy some eight years ago, we saw two places advertised near Oldcastle. Despite the fact that my mother is a north Meath woman and my partner is a Meath man, I had never heard of Oldcastle and had no idea what kind of a place it was. To my eternal shame, I had never heard of the Loughcrew Cairns, or Sliabh na Caillí, until I moved to Oldcastle. And my field of interest is history, mythology and folklore. (Blushes furiously)
Like so many others, when I first encountered the cairns I was overwhelmed by what I found. The intricacy of the art, the majesty of the site and the views – especially on a clear day – are astounding. The whole experience is breathtaking every time I go up there, and that’s not just because of the climb from the car park!!
I feel very lucky to live so close to such an ancient and magical site. Imagine that you lived just two and a half miles from Stonehenge, or Machu Picchu and could go there anytime you wanted, day or night, 365 days a year, and just sit there absorbing the essence of these places. Now you have some idea of how we feel about living in Oldcastle. I am proud of the fact that the Loughcrew cairns are largely unspoilt and that visitors from all over the world can come and see them in the raw, as it were.
But I love living here for more than just the cairns. I like the fact that I can walk the mile from my house into Oldcastle and recognise most of the people I encounter along the way. I like the fact that Oldcastle’s shopkeepers know you by name. I like that there is no big shopping centre or mall in Oldcastle. In fact there aren’t really any chainstores, no Boots or Next or Argos, no Tesco’s, no Eason’s, no Harvey Norman. I know some people would bemoan the absence of such temples of consumerism, but I like that Oldcastle is still a traditional unspoilt north Meath town. In fact the basic layout of the town has not changed since the eighteenth century.
Liam Tuite, a native of Oldcastle, who is now a renowned architect, gave a talk in Oldcastle at the end of April as part of the Laurence Gilson Commemoration Weekend. Its fair to say that he really opened people’s eyes to the range of architecture we walk past every day in this corner of north-west Meath. You can hear Liam’s talk and see the buildings and other structures he was talking about here
But a town, or any settlement, is more than just the sum of its buildings. It is people that make a community and it is people that both create and experience pride in their place. Last Wednesday, we were involved in a small way in Oldcastle’s presentation to the judges from the Pride of Place competition. There is more information about the competition here. It was beyond our wildest hopes (rather than the blarney this time!) to see so many members of the community at the event upstairs from the town’s library. Women and men, children, older people, members of the immigrant community, well over 200 people crowded into the room to show their pride in their town. Local clubs, groups and organisations were on hand to explain the activities they do and the judges had plenty to look at in the information boards each group had prepared.
After some chat with the community and displays of Irish dancing by local children, the judges headed off for a tour of the area taking in the majesty of the Loughcrew Cairns, the history and splendour of Loughcrew House and Gardens, and many community projects. They arrived back for more tea and chat before leaving Oldcastle.
Later that evening, there was a perfect example of a community coming together. The local athletics club, St. Brigid’s of Ballinacree, had organised a 5k run and walk to raise funds for pallative care services and in memory of a very popular woman from the area. One of the organisers told me the next day they had been hoping for 50-100 people to take part. I can only guess at their surprise and pleasure when 516 people turned out, some pushing buggies, others with wheelchairs, lots of children, all of them taking the route around the town and raising money for a very worthwhile cause in the process. I was standing with my little daughter and a couple of neighbours to cheer everyone on and ended up with aching arms from all the clapping!
I ended the day feeling very proud to be part of such a vibrant community, home to organisations ranging from Active Retirement to the GAA to the Le Chéile festival to Equivox writers group. And that is just the first few that spring to my mind. Oldcastle may not be as big as Navan or Cavan, may not be as well known as Kells or Trim, but it is a friendly community of people who are lucky enough to live in such an amazing spot.
The Tidy Towns Committee deserve to be singled out here as it was they who co-ordinated Oldcastle’s entry into the Pride of Place competition and who have all worked so hard to keep the town looking well. I really hope all their hard work pays off.
So we won’t know the results until the autumn, and we do genuinely wish well to everyone taking part, but I can safely say this will be an even prouder little town if we win. Good luck Oldcastle!!!!
