Funding to restore old Chronicle printing press

The Kells Printing Works has received a grant from the Heritage Council Of Ireland of €15,424 to complete the restoration of the old Wharfedale printing press.

The historic piece of machinery which was used to print the Meath Chronicle for many years from when it was founded in 1897, is one of five machines from the old Newmarket Street Printworks, which was rediscovered in 2016.

The other four machines have been restored and the final milestone, is the restoration of the Wharfedale press.

The Wharfedale now under restoration is an integral part of the print heritage of Kells and when it goes on display in the Sawmills in Kells, it will draw visitors and provide a focal point to develop and preserve the Letterpress printing skills.

“The community can engage through letterpress classes, talks, exhibitions and artists in residence programmes,” says Carol Lee of Kells Printing Works .

Restoration engineer Cyril Lee (aged 78) has completed phase one of the project and will now commence working on phase two and expects to have the works completed by the end of August.

Cyril has completely stripped down the machine and cleaned each component and in some cases has retooled worn parts as the machine was built in Otley, England in the 1850's and modern components are not suitable.

This particular model printed the Meath Chronicle newspaper from 1897, when the Daly brothers set up the newspaper.

It was printed in Newmarket Street, and appeared on Saturday morning as an eight page newspaper and had a print run of 2,200 copies a week.

As well as being the founder of the Meath Chronicle, Tom Daly was its first editor. In 1907, James Davis began printing the Meath Chronicle on a contract basis for Tom Daly in Navan.

In 1917 following the death of the Daly brothers James Davis purchased the Meath Chronicle title which is still printed in Navan to this day.

The invention of the Wharfedale in 1856 revolutionized an industry whose technology had been largely dormant for four hundred years. The foundation document of the Irish state, the 1916 Proclamation, was printed on a Wharfedale press in Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday night 1916.

There is one functioning Wharfedale in Ireland, in the National Print Museum, which was used in 2016 to print copies of the 1916 Proclamation, commemorating the centenary of the original printing.

The printing works was rediscovered in Kells in 2016 – over 30 years after it was locked up in situ when the owner Briany Finnegan died.

The building is now set to become a functioning print works that celebrates lettering as a modern art form which will tie in nicely with the legacy of St Colmcille and the world famous Book of Kells.