1974 – Ida Brings Clonmel to Book

Irish Times, 1 January 1974

The late Ida Grehan was a feature writer for the Irish Times, and in the first edition of that paper in 1974 she regales the readers with her recent visit to Clonmel. The poor old town was savaged in her review, as she tut-tutted her way from one tourist attraction to the next, even going so far as interrogating the locals as to why they hadn’t made a better effort to restore the Scot’s Church. Her review was the equivalent of running one’s finger along the mantle piece and scoffing at the dust. The day may have been saved, however, by the elderly man in the flat cap on the Old Bridge, who appeased her somewhat by knowing where Lady Blessington’s Bath was, and promising to post her a copy of White’s My Clonmel Scrapbook. One wonders what Ida would make of the beautifully restored civic buildings that are to be enjoyed in Clonmel today? One wonders did she get the book aswell…?