He spent only one day in the place, but George Bernard Shaw's legacy to Carlow is considerable. A room dedicated to the writer, who left property and rent entitlements to the people of the town, is to be opened shortly in the new county library headquarters.
Shaw's ties with the town came about almost by accident. An uncle who died in 1899, Dr Walter John Gurly, left all his properties in the area to his mother and, on her death, to any of his six stepsisters who remained unmarried.
As all six did marry, the final statement of the will came into effect: "In default of such issue I demise all my estate and interests to my nephew, George Bernard Shaw, his heirs and assigns."
Mr Thomas King, the county librarian, says Shaw's first gesture to the people of Carlow was the gift of the old Assembly Rooms in Dublin Street to the Technical Instruction Committee in 1919, which opened a two-room technical school there in 1923. The building later became the county library and remained so until two years ago.
Shaw had stipulated that the building be used for public purposes and that the 18th century facade be maintained. Built about 1794, the Assembly Rooms had been used by the nobility and gentry.
Carlow's civic improvement fund also owes its origin to Shaw, says Mr King. In 1944 the writer, an absentee landlord, wrote to the town council offering the rents from property inherited from his mother's family. The rents then amounted to £180, which Shaw saw as the nucleus of a bigger fund.
The Shaw Room, which was formally opened in conjunction with Carlow's new tourist office earlier this month, features a bust of the writer created by John Schwatchke; a portrait reproduced from the original by Collier, which hangs in the National Gallery; and will have other Shaw memorabilia from time to time.
The room and the tourist office, as well as the county library, are all housed in the former Presentation Convent at Tullow Street/College Street. Redevelopment of the building is ongoing and the next phase will include a museum and cafe.