Rev Thomas Herbert against William Meredith Esq Kerry Assizes 19 & 20 July 1836. This was an action for trespass, quare clausum fregit. The defendant pleaded the general issue as to part of the trespass and liberum tenementum. The circumstances of the case are as follows: Upwards of 80 years ago [ie c1756]…… Continue Reading
County Kerry’s Contribution to Lexicography
As a school principal and a local history researcher, Michael O’Donohoe made good use of the dictionary. Indeed, the collection includes a copy of his own 1977 edition of Foclóir, on the cover page of which is proudly written, Micheál S O Donnchadha.1 Michael’s research papers reveal that he made frequent reference to Rev…… Continue Reading
Thomas Moore: A Discourse on his Paternal Ancestry
Kerry historian Jeremiah King described how, after the subjugation of Leix by the English, Sir Arthur Chichester transplanted some of the O’Moore family into Kerry in 1608, ‘lest the White Moors should be extirpated.’1 In the following century in the county Kerry, one John Moore was born, father of Thomas, Ireland’s nineteenth century bard.…… Continue Reading
The Lost Castles of the McElligotts
In earlier times, the McElligotts held an impressive number of castles in the parish which takes their family name: Bally Mac Elligot distant to the east from Tralee about three miles, has in it the ruins of some considerable castles but it is chiefly remarkable for its name, which it takes from the Mac…… Continue Reading
A tribute to Robert Adolphus Lynch, Collector of Kerry Folklore
In September 1840, the Castleisland correspondent of a newspaper recorded the accidental death in Canada, by a fall from his horse, of Lieutenant Robert Adolphus Lynch: His premature death, for he was yet unvisited with the hoar of age, will be a source of great and lasting regret to the circle of friends whom…… Continue Reading
Charles Bianconi and the Yorkshire Calendar
Entrepreneur Charles Bianconi, founder of a public transport system in Ireland, leased land in Main Street, Castleisland in the nineteenth century. The late Michael O’Donohoe researched Bianconi’s link to the town, as can be read on another page on this website. Recently, the O’Donohoe archive was contacted by a lady from Wexford who had…… Continue Reading
The Battle of Lixnaw
In the ‘Castle of the Island’ in the year 1422, an indenture was drawn up between James, Earl of Desmond, and Fitzmaurice, Lord of Kerry and Lixnaw. The document, witnessed and sealed by the Bishop of Ardfert, reveals how two powerful families engaged in a treaty for peace. Indenture of Agreement between the Earl…… Continue Reading
Castleisland and the patriotic Sullivan Brothers of Bantry
“In his day he did something for Ireland.” – from My Ambition, A Young Man’s Song by T D Sullivan On the morning of Friday 3rd April 1914, the remains of the great Irish patriot, Timothy Daniel Sullivan, were interred in Glasnevin Cemetery.1 Among the many expressions of sympathy, one described ‘T…… Continue Reading
Mary Agnes Hickson and the Earls of Desmond
Nineteenth century Kerrywoman, Mary Agnes Hickson (1825-1899), is perhaps best known for her Selections from Old Kerry Records which she compiled from historical manuscripts inherited from her father.1 The volumes served to establish her reputation as a genealogist and historian. This was underlined in the first volume of her subsequent work, Ireland in the…… Continue Reading
From Waterspouts to Moving Bogs: the weather in Kerry
Adverse or favourable, discussion about the elements is part of our daily lives. Our literature abounds with tales about weather-related events and their effect on people and the environment. In times gone by, before the improvement of roads and bridges, people in everyday situations were often caught out by freak weather conditions. In Castleisland,…… Continue Reading