MONEENROE HALL
Moneenroe Hall was built in the thirties, shortly after the Church. Dances contributed to social life and proceeds were used to clear some of the debts in the parish. Céilis were popular in the forties and dance goers came from near and far, mainly on bicycles. A branch of the C.Y.M.S. was formed in the fifties and billiards, snooker and badminton became popular. Castlecomer Church of Ireland teams were welcomed to play the local teams and teams from other parishes. In those early days it was all men’s teams. This reflected society at the time. A couple of decades later when badminton became popular again it was all mixed teams. The real symbol of C.Y.M.S. was the large snooker table which dominated the purpose built snooker/billiard room and provided great entertainment especially during the winters. In the fifties, the newly formed Railyard Football Club made use of the hall for indoor training and indeed for meetings. Committee and AGMs were held there and no doubt some meetings were held to plot the downfall of Muckalee or Glenmore. When development of the New Park was moated in the early eighties a memorable American tea party was held in the hall as a fund-raiser. The basketball fraternity also used the hall down through the years as they only had an outdoor court at Railyard football club. In the pre-cinema and television era, Moneenroe Hall was synonymous with ‘The Pictures’. It was run by a number of locals and was very successful. It was testimony to their enterprise that the hall used to be packed and the atmosphere was great. The hall which is very well proportioned and has a fine stage, always had a show business dimension. People of a certain age will remember Vic Loving and her travelling show. Anew McMaster also performed in the hall. Perhaps the greatest show business phenomenon was local talent taking to the boards. The Muintir na Tire five areas talent competition provided great entertainment in the seventies. The only requirement of the hall committee was that a group be properly constituted. A youth club was established in the early sixties. This proved a place for the youth in the locality. A branch of the I.C.A. was established in the hall and cookery classes were given there. Irish dancing was always associated with the hall. this extended from teaching youngsters to coaching adult set dancers. In 1974 the hall got a face lift which included painting the complete interior, sanding and cleaning the maple floor. The area all around the hall was concreted. The facilities were used for private celebrations, silver even golden jubilees were celebrated. There were three celebrations of local ordinations. In 1980 the practice of offering hospitality following funerals was established. Times changed: In 1958 a state of the art cinema was built in ‘Comer’. Big ballrooms like the Mayfair in Kilkenny and Dreamland in Athy boomed. Then the pubs expanded buildings cabaret lounges with all the creature comforts. Did these changes affect the hall? Of course they did! The Railyard G.F.C. which had enjoyed the environs of the hall for so many years built its own comfortable club rooms. This became a venue for gatherings that would normally use the hall. So, for at least a decade the signs ere that the hall had outlived its usefulness. The building, owned by the diocese was Parish property and the responsibility of the P.P. Thankfully, there was a meeting of minds. The Community Council got a lease on the building and appointed a subcommittee to re-develop it. So the tenure of the hall is that it is still owned by the diocese but with the leasehold held by the Community Council who have the responsibility of managing it into the future. The three main sub-committees who completed the re-development will continue the management. The development cost close on four hundred thousand euros. The Parish Finance Committee contributed forty thousand. Barrow, Nore, Suir (B.N.S) Leader, and Kilkenny Co. Council were other sources of funds. The lesson to be learned from this success story is, don’t have too much democracy around the table, pin down responsibility to like minded people and let them get on with the business.
Moneenroe Hall was built in the thirties, shortly after the Church. Dances contributed to social life and proceeds were used to clear some of the debts in the parish. Céilis were popular in the forties and dance goers came from near and far, mainly on bicycles. A branch of the C.Y.M.S. was formed in the fifties and billiards, snooker and badminton became popular. Castlecomer Church of Ireland teams were welcomed to play the local teams and teams from other parishes. In those early days it was all men’s teams. This reflected society at the time. A couple of decades later when badminton became popular again it was all mixed teams. The real symbol of C.Y.M.S. was the large snooker table which dominated the purpose built snooker/billiard room and provided great entertainment especially during the winters. In the fifties, the newly formed Railyard Football Club made use of the hall for indoor training and indeed for meetings. Committee and AGMs were held there and no doubt some meetings were held to plot the downfall of Muckalee or Glenmore. When development of the New Park was moated in the early eighties a memorable American tea party was held in the hall as a fund-raiser. The basketball fraternity also used the hall down through the years as they only had an outdoor court at Railyard football club. In the pre-cinema and television era, Moneenroe Hall was synonymous with ‘The Pictures’. It was run by a number of locals and was very successful. It was testimony to their enterprise that the hall used to be packed and the atmosphere was great. The hall which is very well proportioned and has a fine stage, always had a show business dimension. People of a certain age will remember Vic Loving and her travelling show. Anew McMaster also performed in the hall. Perhaps the greatest show business phenomenon was local talent taking to the boards. The Muintir na Tire five areas talent competition provided great entertainment in the seventies. The only requirement of the hall committee was that a group be properly constituted. A youth club was established in the early sixties. This proved a place for the youth in the locality. A branch of the I.C.A. was established in the hall and cookery classes were given there. Irish dancing was always associated with the hall. this extended from teaching youngsters to coaching adult set dancers. In 1974 the hall got a face lift which included painting the complete interior, sanding and cleaning the maple floor. The area all around the hall was concreted. The facilities were used for private celebrations, silver even golden jubilees were celebrated. There were three celebrations of local ordinations. In 1980 the practice of offering hospitality following funerals was established. Times changed: In 1958 a state of the art cinema was built in ‘Comer’. Big ballrooms like the Mayfair in Kilkenny and Dreamland in Athy boomed. Then the pubs expanded buildings cabaret lounges with all the creature comforts. Did these changes affect the hall? Of course they did! The Railyard G.F.C. which had enjoyed the environs of the hall for so many years built its own comfortable club rooms. This became a venue for gatherings that would normally use the hall. So, for at least a decade the signs ere that the hall had outlived its usefulness. The building, owned by the diocese was Parish property and the responsibility of the P.P. Thankfully, there was a meeting of minds. The Community Council got a lease on the building and appointed a subcommittee to re-develop it. So the tenure of the hall is that it is still owned by the diocese but with the leasehold held by the Community Council who have the responsibility of managing it into the future. The three main sub-committees who completed the re-development will continue the management. The development cost close on four hundred thousand euros. The Parish Finance Committee contributed forty thousand. Barrow, Nore, Suir (B.N.S) Leader, and Kilkenny Co. Council were other sources of funds. The lesson to be learned from this success story is, don’t have too much democracy around the table, pin down responsibility to like minded people and let them get on with the business.
