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In 1840, one man transformed
travel in Britain and Ireland.

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His name was George Bradshaw,

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and his railway guides inspired the
Victorians to take to the tracks.

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Stop by stop, he told them
where to travel,

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what to see and where to stay.

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Now, 170 years later, I'm making a
series of journeys across the length

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and breadth of these islands to see
what of Bradshaw's world remains.

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With the help of my guidebook,
I'm discovering how small places

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often made a big splash
in Bradshaw's day.

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I'm reaching
the mid-point of my train journey

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across the Republic of Ireland,
steered by my

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Bradshaw's Guide to Great Britain
and Ireland,

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which in Victorian times
formed a single state.

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I'm hoping to discover more about
how rural Ireland adapted

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to the technological and social
changes in the 19th century.

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On today's stretch,

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I'll try my hand at cutting
marble, Victorian style...

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It just suddenly fell away!

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..uncover 19th century Ireland's
surprising industrial heritage...

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It's a monumental mill, isn't it?

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Really impressive. It looks like
a fortress.

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..and learn how the railways

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helped bring motorsport
to the masses.

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They estimated that there would have
been almost a million people

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spectating on that event.
You're not serious?

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The first time there was ever

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a gathering of that amount of people
in Ireland.

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Having sampled the pastoral charms
of the Irish Republic's south,

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I'm now continuing along some of its
most important Victorian tracks.

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I'm heading north,
towards the heart of Ireland,

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before veering west
to the spectacular Galway coast.

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Today's stretch takes me
through counties Carlow and Kildare,

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finishing up in the market town
of Athy.

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My first stop is Kilkenny,
where this region's rich

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and complex history
has left its mark.

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My Bradshaw's
recommends Kilkenny Castle,

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the seat of
the Marquis of Ormond.

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"Finely situated on a rock above
the river, it contains much old

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"tapestry, as well as a gallery
of the Butler portraits by Lely

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"and other portraits of Charles I,
Charles II and James II."

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It was evidently
a magnet for Victorian tourists,

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and I feel attracted too.

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According to my 19th-century guide,
Kilkenny is,

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"the old capital of the pale,
or limit, of English authority.

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"The Ormond or Butler family

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"have held possession of the town
since 1,400."

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I'm going in search
of their ancestral seat.

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Are you from Kilkenny,
by any chance?

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Yes.
Well, I'm here for the first time.

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What should I see whilst I'm here?

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What should you see? The castle.

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Are you from Kilkenny? Yes, I am.

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So what do you think of the castle?
You must be very proud of that.

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Oh, I love the castle. It's
the first place I send tourists.

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You do get an unbelievable amount
of tourists here, don't you?

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Absolutely. We depend a lot on
tourism.

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And how would I say welcome to
Kilkenny?

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Failte roimh Cill Chainnigh.

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That's in Irish.

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Well, I guessed that.

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That's very, very nice. And how
shall I say thank you to you?

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Go raibh maith agat. Lovely to see
you. Thank you so much.

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And I'll say that to you,
"Nach bhfuil ag gach".

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Does that mean, "Come back again"?

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No, that means, "Not at all".

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Oh, not at all! I was hoping you
were asking me to come back!

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God bless. Bye-bye. Take care.

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After such
a warm welcome, it's high time

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I saw Kilkenny's famous
fortress for myself.

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Bradshaw's tells me
that one of the best views

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of the town is from John's Bridge,

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and certainly the castle on
its mount above the river

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is imposing and impressive.

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In Bradshaw's day, the noble Butler
family still lived here,

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and tours were strictly for only
upper class visitors by appointment.

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My guide today is Frank Kavanagh.

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You're very welcome, sir.

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Thank you very much, and what
a glorious castle you have here.

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Magnificent. The Windsor of Ireland.

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I believe it, I believe it.
Yes. Oh, yes.

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There's been a castle
on this site for 700 years,

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but following my guidebook, I'm
heading straight for the gallery,

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added as part of a major
refurbishment in the 19th century.

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Absolutely magnificent

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Wonderful Long Gallery.
How long is it, Frank?

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It's 45 metres long,
that's 150 foot long.

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ten metres high, 30 foot high.

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And nine metres wide. It's
everything you expect in a castle.

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And this wonderful hammer beam
ceiling?

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It was the work of John Pollen
in 1858.

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So actually, just before my
Bradshaw's guide,

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a Victorian masterpiece.

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There must have been
a flow of tourists coming here?

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Yes, there would be. Indeed, you had
many visitors coming here,

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by train, as it was the most
convenient way of travel.

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The railway had reached
Kilkenny in which year?

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The railway reached Kilkenny
in 1848 to 1850.

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So absolutely perfectly
timed for the whole thing.

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In the 1800s,
a fashion for historical

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novels and paintings offered
a romantic view of Britain's past.

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The Civil War of the 17th
century was a popular topic,

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and the castle's collection
of portraits would have fired

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Victorian imaginations.

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Following my Bradshaw's,

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I'm looking for Charles I, Charles
II James II. Where would they be?

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Right behind us, looking upon us.
King Charles I and King Charles II.

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The Butlers were staunch
supporters of the Stuart cause,

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hence you have, of course,
James Francis Stuart,

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father of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

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While the British Isles were torn
apart by civil war, the Butlers,

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or Ormonds, stayed staunchly loyal
to the British crown.

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Here in the Long Gallery,

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Victorian visitors could steep
themselves in the story.

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All around you there are members
of the family.

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James Butler, first Duke of Ormond,

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the most eminent member of the
family,

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buried at Westminster Abbey, right
close to his arch enemy, Cromwell.

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As well as admiring the paintings,
tourists could marvel at the lavish

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19th-century restoration, which
included a rather unusual material.

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This is the essence of our city,
black marble.

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Bradshaw's talks about

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"Good stone and dark marble
are abundant in this locality.

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"Most of the houses are of this
material."

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This is what he's referring to?

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Exactly what he's referring to,

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the entire city of Kilkenny is built
upon this marble.

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I'd love to linger
in the Long Gallery,

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but this remarkable stone
has sparked my curiosity.

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A Victorian favourite,
it found fame around the world.

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And the story starts
just east from Kilkenny.

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My search for the Irish black stuff,
I refer, of course, to Kilkenny

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marble, has led me
to Butler's Grove Quarry.

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In Victorian times,
this was a thriving source of marble

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and building stone.

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However, when concrete
increased in popularity

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in the early 20th century,
the quarry was forced to close.

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It was resurrected in the 1970s
by Jim Harding's father.

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Hello, Jim. Michael, how are you?
Good to see you.

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I've come in search
of Kilkenny marble,

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and I guess I've come to
the right place? You have.

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You've come to one of two old
Kilkenny marble quarries.

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This is actually the only one
that's left open.

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Marble was first quarried
commercially in Kilkenny

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in the 1730s, and when the rails
arrived a century later,

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they quickly became vital
to the industry.

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The railways were extremely
important in Victorian times.

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It was actually quite difficult

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to transport heavy blocks anywhere
other than by rail.

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So they would have been brought
from here to a railway station,

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then transported literally
everywhere.

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Most of the bigger blocks that came
out of here would have been shipped

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to Liverpool and then delivered
by rail again out of Liverpool.

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The Victorians used the stone
for everything from fireplaces to

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gravestones, and it was even
employed to build railway stations.

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In geological terms, this particular
marble is a sedimentary limestone,

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formed from a fine black mud
370 million years ago.

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And what is the quality of this
stone that makes it so special?

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It's a really,
really dense black material.

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That's actually quite scarce.

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There's not that many markings in it,
and it's really good quality.

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Jim discovered a fresh seam of
this rare stone a few years ago,

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allowing production, paused
since the 1900s, to begin again.

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Methods have moved
on since Bradshaw's day,

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but he's going to show me
an old-fashioned technique

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used by Victorian quarrymen
to split the blocks of stone.

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What do you do?
Drop the two side ones in?

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These side ones have to
go in one at a time. One down.

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Second one in.

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And now the actual wedges.

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This cunning system of pins and
wedges should mean a gentle tap

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is all that's required.

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Now we move round
to the back of the stone

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and we literally start to tap them.

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It just suddenly fell away.

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That's it.
You hear it cracking first.

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I heard a little sound and then off
it went.

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So, what have we done there?
We've made quite a clean break.

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What you've done is you've cleaned
it all the way across.

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Look at that!

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These days, machines do much of the
work that was once done by hand,

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but the real magic occurs at
the polishing stage.

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What you do is, you go up and down
along it here,

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and you try and get as much of that
heat and wax into that as possible.

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Let's give it a go.
OK. That's it.

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Isn't it lovely how the black
appears through the blue wax there?

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It is. That's what actually brings
up the black polish on it.

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Such a lovely stone.
It is a fabulous material, yeah.

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The best marble is still

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highly prized for fireplaces,
just as it was in Bradshaw's day.

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Well! You're really getting into
that.

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I think that's just about got it.

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Isn't that the most beautiful piece
of stone?

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It is lovely, isn't it?

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That would grace any fine house or
castle. It would and does.

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Sadly, I can't stay and hone
my skills, as it's time for me

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to continue my journey.

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My next destination
is something of a riddle.

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As I travel north from Kilkenny,
according to my Bradshaw's guide,

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we soon reach Bagenalstown.

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But there's no trace of it on the
map,

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so I'm going to alight at
Muine Bheag and investigate further.

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With no Bagenalstown
mentioned on the railway map,

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I'm going to have to dig deeper to
find the spot described in my guide.

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Thank you very much. You're welcome.

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I'm looking for Bagenalstown.
You're in it.

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Doesn't say so. Muine Bheag.

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Ah, that's the Irish. That's the
Irish for Bagenalstown.

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What does that mean? Is that
a translation of Bagenalstown?

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Small wood.

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Small wood, OK. Do you know who
Bagenal was, who had the town? No.

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Well, OK. So I'm in the right place.
You're in the right place.

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I just have to find Bagenal now.
That's it.

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Thank you. No problem. Bye.
All the best.

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It seems the
locals are as in the dark as I am.

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I'm hoping historian Pat Nolan
can unravel the mystery.

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Pat! Hello, Michael. Welcome to
Bagenalstown.

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Well, you call it Bagenalstown. I
thought it was called Muine Bheag?

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Depends who you talk to, really.

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It was Bagenalstown because the
Bagenals were here

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since 1585,
and they built a lot of this town.

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By the 1920s, the idea of naming
a town after the local landed

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gentry had begun to seem outdated.

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I imagine the name was changed
after Irish independence?

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Yes, well, the attempt was made,
after Irish independence,

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in the mid-1920s.

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A chap called Cleary got quite
heated about the whole thing,

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and he wanted to be changed from
Bagenalstown,

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which he felt had the
wrong connotations,

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and call it Muine Bheag from an old
Irish name, a very old Irish name.

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What happened, anyway, was nothing.

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Because people who used to call it
Bagenalstown continued to do so,

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and people who called it Muine Bheag
continued to do so.

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In the 1950s, there was even
a public vote on the matter,

234
00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,320
and the locals opted to stick with
Bagenalstown.

235
00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,200
But surprisingly, a few years later,
the station was officially named

236
00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,400
Muine Bheag.

237
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,120
No-one is quite sure why that is,

238
00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,320
but there is a tradition that our
Irish national rail system

239
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,200
tend to use the Irish forms of names
quite considerably.

240
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,920
It's the use of the Irish language
rather than anything else.

241
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,960
And Muine Bheag is accepted
as the name in Irish of this town.

242
00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,800
It's not just the name of this place
that confuses visitors.

243
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,200
Back in the 1700s,

244
00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,040
one of the Bagenal clan
left behind an incongruous legacy.

245
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,800
To see it, you have to walk through
the public library.

246
00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,400
What a transformation from one
side to the other.

247
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,280
Yes, it's quite something.

248
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,280
It is amazing. This was part of his
grand plan.

249
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,200
Bagenal had the idea of creating
another Versailles

250
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,360
here in Ireland.

251
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,400
He had terrific ideas,

252
00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,400
and indeed he created some of them,

253
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,480
and then, guess what,
the money ran out.

254
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,720
It doesn't look anything like
Versailles!

255
00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,280
No, it doesn't. It's
modelled on the Athens Parthenon.

256
00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,320
So he was somewhat geographically
confused, you might say.

257
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,520
And so here this mini-Parthenon
sits, amongst the suburban houses

258
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,120
and the municipal buildings, and the
sheds with their tin roofs.

259
00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:14,760
Quite a contrast, really.

260
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,880
It is, but at least it's now serving
a practical current,

261
00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:24,040
present day use as the library, so
you know, some good came out of it.

262
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,080
The curiosities that I uncover
with my Bradshaw's guide

263
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,240
never cease to amaze.

264
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,000
And just up the road from
this charming town,

265
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,280
I've found the perfect place to
break my journey.

266
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,280
Walter Bagenal did not succeed in
completing his new Versailles,

267
00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,440
but many people still think that
their town bears his name,

268
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,080
and certainly this inn does,

269
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,000
and this is where
I shall spend the night.

270
00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,400
I'm now rejoining my route along the
Waterford branch of the famous

271
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,760
Great Southern & Western railway,

272
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,320
built to connect the rural
hinterland with Dublin.

273
00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,760
Its engineer was
the Irish Brunel, William Dargan,

274
00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:12,280
born and bred in these parts.

275
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,240
I find myself on a very busy train,
and I'm just going one stop

276
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:21,280
to Carlow, which my Bradshaw's tells
me is the capital town of the county

277
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,240
with a population of about 9,900,
who return one member -

278
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,320
Bradshaw's loves to tell us

279
00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,160
how many Members of Parliament are
sent to Westminster -

280
00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,840
and are employed in the grain
and butter trade.

281
00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,240
It's built on the east bank of the
River Barrow.

282
00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,840
Now where you get grain,
and where you get a river,

283
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,200
you'd normally get mills.

284
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,520
And mills were a source of wealth,
and of jobs.

285
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,680
I'm bound for a mill which was once

286
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,240
so important it had its own station,
Milford.

287
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,320
Sadly, the stop went
out of service in 1969

288
00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,160
so I'm leaving the train at Carlow.

289
00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,200
Morning! How are you? How was your
trip? Very nice, thank you very much.

290
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,280
And I've spotted some
very important work going on.

291
00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,880
Oh, wow, you're putting in the signs
saying you've got to

292
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:07,760
stand behind this line. Yeah.

293
00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,560
In Irish. Are you only doing them
in Irish today?

294
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,200
No, Irish and English.

295
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,000
Now I've often seen this sign in
Irish, how do you pronounce it?

296
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:22,120
Fan Taobh Den Line. Den...Li...

297
00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,360
We just put it down!

298
00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,040
My Irish lesson over,

299
00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,480
I'm heading up the road to
the banks of the River Barrow.

300
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,560
In the early days
of the Industrial Revolution,

301
00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,120
forward-thinking landowners sought
to make the most of this

302
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:37,960
valley's fertile countryside.

303
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,880
Here at Milford Mills,
their legacy is unmissable.

304
00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,920
Hello, Shay.
Michael, welcome to Milford.

305
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:48,960
Thank you. It's a monumental mill,
isn't it? Really impressive.

306
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,480
It looks like a fortress.
Absolutely.

307
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,480
You wouldn't expect to find a major
industrial site

308
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,280
in this quiet rural setting,

309
00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,080
but at its peak, it was the largest
mill complex in Ireland.

310
00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:04,080
Historian Shay Kinsella
has been researching the story.

311
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,680
Well, this is an enormous
and impressive building,

312
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,600
but am I right in thinking there was
even more than this, originally?

313
00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:12,720
Absolutely, this is only
one of three buildings.

314
00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:14,440
This is the only one
that's survived.

315
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,080
This was the oatmeal mill,

316
00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,440
there was also a massive flour mill
and a huge malthouse, as well.

317
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,280
The mills were
the brainchild of John Alexander,

318
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,520
a Belfast man who, by 1790,
had brought together

319
00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:29,600
the power of the river
and the area's agricultural riches.

320
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,080
By the time the railways came
half a century later,

321
00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,040
his son was running
the thriving mill.

322
00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,880
The second John Alexander of Milford

323
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,120
was a great believer
in the power of the railways.

324
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,960
When the mill started
to become extremely successful here,

325
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,840
he decided that a railway would be
the best access up to Dublin

326
00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,880
and down to Waterford, for
transporting the goods from here.

327
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,280
And that railway station was named
Milford railway station.

328
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,600
John Alexander II invested £6,000
in the Great Southern & Western

329
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,640
railway, and soon the trains were
taking his business to ever

330
00:17:58,640 --> 00:17:59,920
greater heights.

331
00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:03,320
Mr and Mrs Samuel Carter Hall,
the travel commentators, visited here

332
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,960
in the early 1840s and said these
mills were fitted to astonish

333
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,800
Englishmen, that Milford was
laying down the gauntlet even for

334
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,120
the cotton mills and the flour mills
of Manchester,

335
00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:12,640
and that the capacity of the river

336
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,040
and hydropower that should be
harnessed across the UK.

337
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,400
From the early 1800s, British and
Irish producers got a further boost

338
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:25,040
from the Corn Laws, which protected
them from international competition.

339
00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,520
Then, in the 1840s, famine struck
Ireland, and the government's

340
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:33,080
response marked the beginning
of the end for Milford's heyday.

341
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,600
The idea was to flood the market
with cheap accessible flour

342
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,640
so that bread could be produced
for the population in distress,

343
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,280
but at the same time it put huge
pressure on the milling

344
00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:44,720
industry here to compete with these
foreign imports, and unfortunately,

345
00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:45,760
the Milford mills here

346
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,320
definitely went into decline
from that date onwards.

347
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,160
What happened to the mill after
that?

348
00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,280
From the 1860s up to 1890, this
building was left idle,

349
00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:53,640
the plant was left idle,

350
00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,560
and the building started showing
definite signs of decay,

351
00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,000
until another John Alexander decided
it was time to give this building

352
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,800
a new lease of life and make history
for Carlow and Ireland at same time.

353
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,480
Towards the end of the 19th century,

354
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,520
the best minds in science
and engineering

355
00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:12,480
discovered how to harness the power
of a new technology, electricity.

356
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,160
The world's first power station
was built in 1882, and

357
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,080
just nine years later, the invention
gripped even this sleepy town.

358
00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,640
In 1890, then, John III
was approached with an idea,

359
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,320
to install a dynamo here

360
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,040
which would have generated
electricity by hydropower.

361
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,720
A very pioneering idea at the time.

362
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,560
John III was himself a bit
of an innovator, a pioneer,

363
00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,120
a very progressive thinker, so he
latched onto this with both hands.

364
00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,920
Carlow was the first inland town
in Ireland

365
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,000
and Britain to be lit
throughout by hydro-electricity.

366
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,960
The plant ran for a decade,

367
00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,000
but closed when a new generator was
built, closer to the town centre.

368
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,680
But that wasn't
the end of Milford's energy story.

369
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,320
Hello, Michael. Come on in.

370
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,840
Hello, John. Lovely to see you.
Thank you, sir.

371
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,640
The latest in this line of
remarkable men

372
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,680
is John Alexander V, who still
lives in the ancestral home.

373
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,280
So, John, I imagine this is
a display of your ancestors, is it?

374
00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,600
Yes, the ones lived in Milford, yes.

375
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,960
Which one first put an
electricity turbine in the mill?

376
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,160
My grandfather, who I remember well.

377
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,880
He was born in 1850, but I can
remember him well growing up.

378
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,440
This house, I suppose, being very
close to mill,

379
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,760
must have benefited
from electricity. Yes, it did.

380
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,560
Was this one of the early houses?

381
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,840
I think it's one of the first,
certainly in rural Ireland,

382
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:39,720
to be electrified, yes.

383
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,000
In the 1980s, John decided to build
a new turbine in the old mill hall,

384
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,600
which still generates enough
electricity

385
00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,280
to power nearly 200 lightbulbs
continuously.

386
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,440
You're still putting
electricity into the grid?

387
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,120
Absolutely, right now quite a lot,

388
00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,200
because we've had quite a lot of rain
today.

389
00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,920
It's an amazing history, isn't it?

390
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,280
Five of you here in Milford called
John Alexander,

391
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:07,080
five of you wedded, in various ways,
to the mill.

392
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:08,160
Absolutely, yeah.

393
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,440
Well, you're a very
worthy John Alexander.

394
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,000
A great pleasure to meet you.
Well, thank you.

395
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,480
I'm now embarking on the last
leg of today's journey, and there's

396
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,680
just time to see how Carlow's
sprucing up is coming along.

397
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,560
Smell of fresh paint. They've
done the line,

398
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,040
but they haven't yet
redone the words.

399
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,880
My next stop is just 20 miles north.

400
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:45,320
I'm now heading for Athy,

401
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,000
which my Bradshaw's tells me is on
the Barrow,

402
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,040
where there is an old castle built
by Lord Kildare in 1506.

403
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,840
In fact, he gave his
name to the county.

404
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,680
But I'm attracted to Athy for
something that happened there

405
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,160
long after my Bradshaw's
was published

406
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,200
which made it internationally
famous.

407
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,440
In the last decades of Victoria's
reign,

408
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,480
a new rival to the railways
emerged from the workshops

409
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,160
of the Industrial Revolution,
the automobile.

410
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,600
The age of mass motor travel
was still a long way off,

411
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:16,840
but for the elite,

412
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,880
this new machine opened up a fresh
world of pleasure and excitement.

413
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,560
Veteran car enthusiast
Laurence Roe can tell me

414
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,440
how this small Irish town played
a big part in the story.

415
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:29,440
Laurence!

416
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,240
Michael, nice to meet you.
Welcome to Athy.

417
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:34,400
Thank you very much.

418
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,440
What a beautiful collection of
vintage cars.

419
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,880
What is the connection between Athy
and cars?

420
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,440
Well, Athy's connection dates back
to 1903,

421
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:45,760
when the first
closed circuit race ever

422
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,160
to take place took place here.

423
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,320
Prior to that, the previous

424
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,000
races were on open roads, where there
was other traffic, little

425
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,480
control of spectators,

426
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,800
and this was actually the first
closed circuit ever.

427
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,120
It subsequently became known as
Grand Prix, really.

428
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,400
The groundbreaking event was the
fourth in a series of international

429
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:12,480
races sponsored by newspaper baron
James Gordon Bennett Jnr.

430
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,320
Famous for his passion
for adventure,

431
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:18,760
he backed everything from polar
expeditions to balloon races.

432
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:20,800
Is this THE Gordon Bennett?

433
00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:22,440
It is THE Gordon Bennett, yes.

434
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:24,400
So when one says, "Gordon Bennett!",

435
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,480
one's referring to this gentleman?
Yes.

436
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,160
Bennett was known for his playboy
lifestyle,

437
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,800
and the story goes that it was
a New York party that saw his name

438
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,040
become an expression of incredulity.

439
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,640
He arrived at the party slightly
inebriated

440
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:42,640
because Gordon Bennett lived on lamb
chops and champagne.

441
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,800
And when he arrived in the house,

442
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,800
he decided he wanted
to use the facilities.

443
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,400
And the facilities in these old
houses were

444
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,880
usually down a dark corridor.

445
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,480
So he decided to do
what he had to do

446
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,400
in the front room into the fireplace,

447
00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:59,600
So his friends said,
"Oh, Gordon Bennett!"

448
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,400
I've often used the exclamation
myself

449
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,280
with no idea what I was getting
myself into.

450
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:04,400
Well, there you are now.

451
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,520
The first Gordon Bennett races were
held on the continent, on the open

452
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,760
road, but in 1902, the event was won
by Selwyn Edge representing England.

453
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,160
So it was down to
the United Kingdom of Great Britain

454
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,320
and Ireland to host the next event,
but with strict speed

455
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,560
limits on the British mainland,
it was decided to hold it across

456
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,400
the Irish sea, where restrictions
were temporarily relaxed.

457
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,880
The area around Athy was
chosen for its convenient location.

458
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,520
The railways were important to bring
in the drivers or the spectators?

459
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,160
Bring in the spectators, because they
estimated there would have been

460
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,240
almost a million people spectating
on that event. You're not serious?

461
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,280
The first time there was ever a
gathering of that amount of people

462
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,520
in Ireland, and the railways played
a big part from all over the country,

463
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,800
bringing people to see
this amazing scene.

464
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,240
I had no idea it was on that
scale. Absolutely.

465
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,360
For safety, the roads were
closed off to other traffic,

466
00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:00,560
setting the template for the
Grand Prix, which began in 1906.

467
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,400
And the race also gave birth
to another tradition.

468
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,080
Each country had a colour.
America was red, Germany was white,

469
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:14,360
France was blue, and the British
chose emerald green.

470
00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:16,120
Partly as a gesture to

471
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:18,240
Ireland for hosting the race

472
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,640
and this subsequently became British
racing green.

473
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,480
So it was a tribute to the host
nation, to the Emerald Isle.

474
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:28,360
Sadly, racing green failed to
triumph, as the trophy was

475
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:29,360
won by a German car.

476
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,200
The '03 Gordon Bennett race was won
by Camille Jenatzy,

477
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,040
driving a 60 hp Mercedes
at an average

478
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:41,320
speed of 49.2 mph, which was
remarkable speed at that time,

479
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,240
over a circuit which was 327.5 miles.

480
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,680
I can't believe they were averaging
nearly 50mph

481
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:53,240
over 300-and-something-mile circuit
in 1903. Yep, absolutely amazing.

482
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,840
And to get those speeds, they would
have had to do over 70mph

483
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,520
in some of the straight stretches
to try and achieve that.

484
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,080
Much of the original course
can still be

485
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,720
driven on the roads around Athy,
and the race is commemorated

486
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,360
every year by members of the
Irish Veteran and Vintage Car Club.

487
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,040
And they're out for a drive today.

488
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,960
The first thing we have to do is
pump up the fuel.

489
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,000
Here? Yes.

490
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,320
These days, a turn of the key is all
that's needed to send fuel from

491
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,200
the tank to the engine.

492
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,240
But in the 1900s,
it was rather harder work.

493
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:27,240
OK!

494
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,400
Laurence takes
the wheel of his 1906 Wolseley

495
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,360
to give me a taste of the race that
attracted

496
00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:37,840
a million awe-struck spectators.

497
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,920
I'm guessing that, at the beginning
of the 20th century,

498
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,080
the population of Ireland can't have
been more than five or six million.

499
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,320
It's impossible to think of any
sporting event now

500
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,600
that would gather a fifth or a sixth
of the population.

501
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:51,800
Absolutely.

502
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,760
I suppose when you think about it,
most people hadn't seen a motor car.

503
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:56,920
They didn't know what they looked
like.

504
00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,520
To have this piece of machinery
travelling at amazing speeds

505
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,120
would have been really spectacular.

506
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,000
On the open road with Laurence, you
begin to realise

507
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,400
how extraordinary the sight of a
speeding car must once have been.

508
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,800
First locomotion, then the internal
combustion engine,

509
00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,880
the 19th century truly brought
transport revolutions.

510
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:26,560
This part of my journey has made me

511
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,120
think about the role of great men
in history.

512
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,520
The Dukes of Ormonde, of Kilkenny,
Walter Bagenal of Bagenalstown,

513
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,920
five generations of John Alexander,
and Gordon Bennett.

514
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:44,040
And I'd like to add one more name,
the railway engineer who built

515
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:48,920
this line, and many others,
a native of Carlow, William Dargan.

516
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,440
On my next journey,
I'll visit the Irish National Stud.

517
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,240
A bucking experience!

518
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:03,520
Oh, the horse is going
very fast now!

519
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:05,960
This is absolutely exhausting!

520
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,600
I'll discover how harsh life was
for the Irish poor.

521
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,280
When you came in here, you gave up
everything

522
00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,120
and you signed up to a life
within the workhouse.

523
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,960
And I'll uncover an astronomical
feat of Victorian engineering.

524
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,400
What a construction.
It was known locally as The Monster.

525
00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,360
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