by John Roche, Chairman of the Michael O’Donohoe Project In his book, A Popular History of East Kerry, published in 1930, T M Donovan gave a first-hand account of the formation of the organisation known as the Castleisland Moonlighters. Though born almost three generations apart from Donovan (he was born in the 1860s,…… Continue Reading
‘Too Honest for the Shoneens’: Father Murphy, Roman Catholic Curate of Castleisland[1]
He left in each parish warm-hearted friends and a memory as green and as lasting as the shamrock of St Patrick[2] On Sunday 11 September 1881, a meeting took place in the village of Currow under the auspices of the Castleisland Land League attended by about 7,000 people. Among the speakers was Castleisland publican,…… Continue Reading
Those Hoggies Love to Meet: The Poetry of Maurice J Reidy
There’s little need for rapid pace, Nor frowns that wrinkle up your face. Castleisland poet Maurice J Reidy, better known as Moss Tommy, is fondly remembered in the town as a great character, often found thumbing a lift along the road with a satchel hung over his shoulder or, if travelling out of town, with…… Continue Reading
Mind the Little Ones: A Cillín at Inch na Leanmh, Kilquane, Cordal, Co Kerry[1]
The cillín – a burial place for unbaptised babies – is thought to have originated with church teaching of limbus (limbo).[2] A strong belief in purgatory is suggested to have brought about the concept of a separate burial ground for young children. The practice, according to the studies of Fr Tom Looney, Parish Priest…… Continue Reading
The Pound, Castleisland: A survey of the era
The pound, an enclosure used to impound straying or seized (confiscated) animals, was once a common feature of the towns and villages of Ireland.[1] The practice of impounding animals dates back to at least the fourteenth century.[2] Inevitably, many streets took their name from the structure, and Pound Lanes and Pound Roads became part…… Continue Reading
Ballyhennessy Sandhills: Portrait of a North Kerry Wonder Dog
It is doubtful if any other dog has received such whole-hearted cheers in the history of the track – Wimbledon, August 1937 Ballyhennessy Sandhills was born in June 1935 and reared on a farm in County Kerry with ‘a wheelbarrow in a barn for a bed and two goats for company.’[1] He was a greyhound,…… Continue Reading
A Thousand Words: Castleisland’s Tribute to the ‘Special Artist’
Many of the artists of nineteenth century journalism remained anonymous, dubbed, nonchalantly, ‘special artist.’[1] Yet without the work of those nameless artists, a spectacular gap would be left in the record of people and events which left their mark on history. The work of the special artist helped to alleviate the challenge faced by…… Continue Reading
Castleisland: The Early Roman Catholic Church
Ecce Nunc In Pulvere Dormiam / Behold now I sleep in dust – Job ch7 v21 In medieval times, there were several small churches in the Castleisland area. In Castleisland itself, there was St Nicholas Church. With the fall of the last Earl of Desmond in the sixteenth century, the church was confiscated and eventually…… Continue Reading
Céad Míle Fáilte Penang: A 1970s Cultural Exchange
In one of his collections of essays and poetry, Rays of Cheer (1978), Castleisland’s M J Reidy – otherwise Moss Tommy – gave space to an essay by one of his supporters and admirers, educationalist and music composer, Puan Katijah Tan Guat Bee, of Penang, an island off the coast of Malaysia. Katijah’s essay,…… Continue Reading
Dicksgrove: Notes on the Families of Meredith and Coltsmann
Dicksgrove, near Castleisland, was long synonymous with the family of Meredith, landlords there since the early eighteenth century.[1] Indeed, Richard Meredith (1739-1821), who planted, built upon, and improved the estate, is said to have named Dicksgrove after himself.[2] Meredith’s improvements were said to have been made on the site of ‘the Bailleagh forfeiture.’[3] This…… Continue Reading