I did not think that there was a juryman ever put a coat on his back would find me guilty A reporter of the trial of John Twiss in 1895 made the following assessment of him from his speech from the dock: He was an ignorant man in the sense that he got no…… Continue Reading
Killeentierna Glebe – A Nineteenth Century Lawsuit
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
Keeping up with the times: Carnegie Library and Hall, Castleisland
Castleisland’s cherished Carnegie Library reopened its doors in September 2017 as a modern, revamped, co-working office space.1 The building had been idle since the courthouse closed its doors in 2011, exactly one hundred years since Mr William Hugh O’Connor had thanked Mr Andrew Carnegie for his generosity in handing over £1,500 for the…… Continue Reading
Daniel O’Connell The Liberator in Castleisland
If a re-enactment of Daniel O’Connell passing through Castleisland on his way home to Darrynane Abbey was staged, thousands of extras would be sought, such was the size of the crowd that turned out to greet him in December 1843 when he stopped at the town’s Brandon Arms Hotel.1 As early as 12 o’clock…… Continue Reading
Nineteenth Century Castleisland – the Heart of the Collection
Michael O’Donohoe’s detailed study of Timothy Charles Harrington’s nineteenth century newspaper, the Kerry Sentinel, might be described as the heart of the O’Donohoe Collection.1 It is, essentially, an A-Z of Castleisland-related people and subjects in the nineteenth century.2 The subjects, which run over many hundreds of pages, are varied and numerous. By…… Continue Reading
Military Record of Castleisland
It was inevitable that Michael O’Donohoe, son of Castleisland Garda, Matt, and a former resident of Barrack Lane, should take an interest in the military history of the town. The collection holds material on the general development of law and order in the Castleisland district including notes on the barracks, bridewell and courthouse and…… Continue Reading
County Kerry Elections past and present
Michael O’Donohoe’s interest in psephology and political history is borne out in the quantity of collection material relating to elections and electors in the nineteenth century and in modern times. Indeed, in 1982, Tom McEllistrim, Minister for State at the Department of Finance, wrote to Michael, ‘You mentioned that you were interested in the…… Continue Reading
Castleisland in Deed
Notes on a number of legal agreements appear in the collection. Michael’s interest appears to have been in the history of the land and property held in Castleisland by Daniel J Kelliher, one time shopkeeper and publican of Main Street. The business no longer remains but a lease on the premises dated 21 March 1910…… Continue Reading
The RIC resignations at Castleisland
O’Donohoe’s research includes material on the RIC resignations in Castleisland in 1887. In April of that year, thirteen RIC constables, stationed in and near Castleisland resigned from the force. The immediate cause was Conservative government’s introduction of the Criminal Law and Procedure Bill which allowed the police to deal summarily with conspiracies to withhold rent, …… Continue Reading
The Castleisland Act 17 June 1824
In a letter to his wife from Tralee dated 25 March 1824, Daniel O’Connell wrote, ‘I came here yesterday about one o’clock to attend a consultation with Lord Headley, etc, on an act of parliament for dividing Castleisland among the six gentleman of whom Lady Headley, his mother, is one’.1 A nineteenth century correspondence…… Continue Reading