.The Irish names of people who had businesses on Milk Market Lane have been added in the past couple of weeks.
IF you’ve been down Milk Market Lane in the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed some nice new additions to the walls.
While the murals have really brightened up the area since they were painted in March, the old Irish names of the people who lived in the area have now been put over each business/building.
Among them are Ó Mathúna, Stretton, de Staic, Ó hAnluain and more. Cllr Sam Locke told us this morning he believes its the only street in Kerry with names as gaeilge over every doorway.
It certainly adds to the street and plans are afoot for more mural additions to the area in the coming months. See what it looks like below…
.The laneway off Church Street where the old creamery was located.
A LOCAL councillor has called on the Council to do something to mark the site of the old creamery at the laneway at Church Street.
Cllr Norma Foley, who is also Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, put forward her motion at the recent meeting of Tralee Municipal District.
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Cllr Foley said after the wonderful developments by the Council and local groups at Milk Market Lane, there should be a commemorative plaque located in the laneway as well as appropriate street furniture and milk churns with flowers.
She said there is great scope to acknowledge the history of the area there. The Council in reply said erecting a plaque would require the agreement of the property owners in question.
.Rachel Templeman, Edwin Byrne and Rebekah Wall in the courtyard of Maddens on Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot Crean
IF you’re down at Milk Market Lane then you should take a look at something special happening there.
The whole area is enjoying a regeneration with murals near The Mall side and plans for a heritage trail in this historic part of Tralee. Now a new enterprise has opened on Saturday which will breathe further life into the area.
Artist and fashion designer, Rebekah Wall, has taken over the old Maddens building — which dates back to the 1890s — and is presiding over an artistic and creative hub containing a coffee shop, artist’s workshop and a boutique.
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“We have a coffee shop, a boutique with work from Irish designers — evening wear, day wear, hats, jewellery — we’ll have a tailoring service and the courtyard area has the potential to host exhibitions, movie nights and more,” said Rebekah, who has been working on the project for the past year and a half.
The courtyard at Maddens with bespoke furniture made from found items.
“We have House of Coffee which is a couture coffee designed by Edwin Byrne and Rachel Templeman, who are both from the area. I wanted to have something that was for local people rather than just the tourism industry and focus on people who work in the area who can pop in and have a coffee and look around,” said Rebekah.
The courtyard is a very attractive feature where people can enjoy a coffee sitting on furniture — made from found objects — by Mike Ahern from Killorglin.
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“All the furniture is for sale and you could find anything out there; seats and tables made from mirrors and palettes, reclaimed oak, tractor seats,” said Rebekah, who stressed that if you want to find something of really good value that is locally made, you know your going to find it at Maddens.
Artist Jennifer Stack also has a studio upstairs while Maeve Moriarty has her Marketing and Consultancy business in the building. It all amounts to everybody complementing each other’s work.
Rachel Templeman, from St John’s Park, who will run the House Of Coffee with Edwin Byrne, is looking forward to the venture.
Edwin Byrne, Rebekah Wall and Rachel Templeman, in front of Maddens on Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot Crean
“It’s fantastic and a great opportunity. The town needs something different and we hope to provide it. We blend our own coffee and will roast it ourselves,” said Rachel.
Rebekah thanked Tim and Theresa Kelliher, who own the building, for their tremendous support throughout the process. With the centre opening on Saturday, Rebekah is hoping people call in to Maddens to see what they’ve done with the place.
.Mayor Norma Foley and councillors visiting the mural on Milk Market Lane on Friday morning. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE mural at Milk Market Lane currently being completed by Kerry College of Further Education students is just part of bigger plans for that area of town to recognise its historical importance.
As we reported earlier this week, the laneway has received a facelift through an initiative led by Kerry County Council and supported by the Kerry College of Further Education, Dulux Paints and Tidy Tralee Together as well as local property owners.
The work to the laneway which connects the Mall and the Market Place/Maine Street area includes the painting of all the properties in the laneway, upgrading of the lighting, improvements to the entrance and the painting of a number of murals.
The next step is painting the old Irish names over the doorways of each building so expect to see Ó Connaill, Mac Domhnaill, Ó Cróinín, Uí Chonchúir and more adorning buildings all the way around to corner down to Maddens over the coming weeks.
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The laneway itself has survived turbulent times over the years, including being razed to the ground by Cromwell’s forces in the 17th century.
The buildings today were small shops in the 1800s which catered for the small farmers who brought their produce to market.
Mrs Young and her daughter painted in the mural inspired by a photo from the 1890s taken at Milk Market Lane.
Two figures in the mural are taken from a photo of Mrs Young and her daughter taken in the 1890s. They lived in Milk Market Lane and were well known for their mutton pies.
Paul Hanrahan of the ‘That’s Perfect’ shop nearby has done much research on the area and said he approached the Council about doing something to mark its historical importance.
He is hoping in the coming months that there will be information on each family installed on the walls outside each house along the laneway.
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Following a proposal by the Tralee Municipal District members and with their financial support, the revamp of the laneway was undertaken as a pilot project to revitalise laneways/streets around the town.
The project, under the leadership of Jean Foley, Tralee Municipal District Officer, was also supported by Dulux Paints who kindly sponsored the colour scheme for the laneway.
Joe Moynihan and his team of volunteers from Tidy Tralee Together have been busy painting all the buildings over the last few weeks.
Students from Kerry College of Further Education at work on the mural at Milk Market Lane on Wednesday. Photo by Dermot Crean
In the past week, the students of the Kerry College of Further Education with their teacher, Mary Kirby have been painting the mural, giving the streetscape a new lease of life.
Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Norma Foley commended the project as a real community-driven initiative which brought young and old together to benefit the area.
“There is so much positivity in Tralee at the moment with all public bodies and agencies, business, community groups and ordinary members of the public getting involved in initiatives like this. Already the redevelopment in the Mall and Denny Street are spilling over into the surrounding areas. The Tralee Municipal District staff, the volunteers from Tidy Tralee Together and the students from the KCFE are doing a wonderful job in enhancing the streetscape and I hope this could be replicated in other parts of the town,” said Cllr Foley.
Tralee Municipal District Officer, Jean Foley said: “I commend all those who are contributing to transforming this laneway including the business community in the locality that have supported the project from the beginning. It is hoped that these minor works will lead to further growth and redevelopment in the laneway and surrounding streets.”
“Watch this laneway as it continues to transform over the coming weeks with a more formal cutting of the ribbon to take place when works are fully completed,” she added.
.Students from Kerry College of Further Education, Niall O’Callaghan and Matthew Hayes, at work on the mural at Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot Crean
THERE is something special happening in the town centre these days as students from Kerry College of Further Education paint a mural in historical laneway.
Milk Market Lane has been transformed over the past couple of weeks as Tidy Tralee Together received funding from Tralee Municipal District councillors to give the area a makeover.
The walls along the laneway and around the corner have been painted over the past couple of weeks and students from the KCFE — under the tutelage of Mary Kirby — designed and began the mural of three shops, recalling times past.
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“Mary Kirby’s students have been fantastic,” said Joe Moynihan of Tidy Tralee Together who is overseeing the work which is expected to be finished by the end of next week.
Two local residents Con McCarthy and Kathleen O’Connor were passing by while we were taking photos. “It’s fantastic, so beautiful,” said Kathleen. “It brings back all the memories of the people who lived here,” said Con.
Meanwhile, another laneway nearby recently received a mini-makeover. Two wrought iron archways were installed in the middle and end of Barrack Lane some weeks ago. Both projects are helping make the town centre more attractive to locals and tourists. Scroll down for more photos…
Con McCarthy and Kathleen O’Connor in front of the mural in progress on Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot Crean.Students from Kerry College of Further Education, Eugenia Rodina, Bernie Kinch and Clodagh Byrne, at work on the mural at Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot CreanStudents from Kerry College of Further Education at work on the mural at Milk Market Lane. Photo by Dermot Crean.One of the new archways in Barrack Lane, with the other one in the distance.
