Renowned Cannon Hill in Bennettsbridge, on which the almost equally famed Nore Folk Museum stands, was “occupied” by the military last week!

On Thursday, a group of cadets visited the museum to acquaint themselves with its fascinating collection of antique household items, old farm machinery, and war memorabilia.

Curator Seamus Lawlor guided them around the collection of more than 12,000 exhibits, drawing sighs of admiration and exasperation from the enthralled future defenders of the nation.  Outside the museum, they toured Cannon Hill, treading over ground where once rested and dined no less a man than Oliver Cromwell, the feared Lord Protector of England who stopped off in Bennettsbridge on his way to capture Kilkenny City in March 1650.

The cadets were shown a patch of earth upon which the man Irish people have always loved to hate is believed to have actually sat down and enjoyed a few sandwiches and a drop of tea with his troops when he took a break from his long cross country march towards the former Confederate capital.

On Friday, a senior Army Officer stationed at the Curragh called in. Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Ryan complimented Seamus on his collection, extending an invitation to him to visit the highly rated museum at the Curragh.

Seamus proudly showed the Defence Forces officer a set of cannons outside the museum entrance, all pointing towards Kilkenny in remembrance of Cromwell’s overnight stay on the spot. The Lieutenant Colonel thanked Seamus for taking him back to ages long past, to the long forgotten era of the horse-drawn plough, the sword and musket, of the threshing engine, hurling without helmets, dentistry without anaesthetic, smoke filled pubs (there’s a replica of such a pub in the museum) and primitive household appliances like a manually operated vacuum cleaner.

Seamus said he was delighted to have soldiers again visiting Cannon Hill. “Friendly ones this time”, he hastened to add!