‘If you shall take me into your service I shall do all in my power to do my duty faithfully and well’ – James Woods to the Irish Civic Guards, 25 October 1922 From the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty at 2.30am on the morning of Tuesday December 6th 1921, up until the official end…… Continue Reading
Patrick Buckley, Castleisland: Setting the Genealogy Record Straight
Castleisland District Heritage has recently acquired a number of articles published in the Garda Review relating to the family of Patrick Buckley, a victim of the Ballyseedy Massacre of 1923, and his wife Delia.[1] This donation coincided with a query from a family in the UK about Buckley ancestry, notably Mary Julia Buckley, daughter of…… Continue Reading
Castleisland Co-Op Mart 1957 to 2023
Castleisland Mart stands within a stone’s throw of the offices of Castleisland District Heritage. John Roche, Chairman of Castleisland District Heritage, is one of its founding members and has been asked to place on record a sketch of its formation. Only those of us 75 and over have a memory of rural Ireland…… Continue Reading
An Poc Sídhe: A Tale from the Fairy Forts for Halloween
On high cliffs above the Atlantic sea, The genius of thy country came to thee. One sacred object still before thy view, For hapless Erin some great deed to do. – ‘O’Connell’ by Ellen O’Connell Fitz-Simon[1] Halloween is upon us and to celebrate, we present a folktale about fairy forts from the abundance of material…… Continue Reading
Hands Up For History: O’Connell and Davis on the Importance of Heritage
‘Art is your proper friend’ – Thomas Davis Castleisland District Heritage has received notification of grant aid from Kerry County Council’s Community Enhancement and Community Support funds (Department of Rural and Community Development). The funding is timely and has enabled the purchase of office equipment to continue recording and communicating the history and heritage of…… Continue Reading
Limekilns: A Note on Castleisland Industry in the Nineteenth Century
A recent donation to the archives of Castleisland District Heritage recalls the fifty-year history of Pensher Fire Brick Works in Durham. The donation, a firebrick from one of the limekilns of local man, Davy O’Connor of Ballymacadam, is stamped ‘NOBLE.’ He believes the bricks may have come from Cork but as yet, no firebrick manufacturer…… Continue Reading
Profile of Kerry Moonlighter, Jack Hickey of Brosna
He was the last of a generation of men whose deeds of valour, honesty of purpose and souls of cheer will long live in historic old Ahane. In 1925, Jack Hickey, otherwise John L Hickey of Ahane, reminisced on his involvement with the Moonlighters: Not very many came to aid the poor Irish…… Continue Reading
Sean O’C Riada of Castleisland, ‘Mother of Sinn Fein’
The first Sinn Fein Club in East Kerry was organised in the early twentieth century by James E O’Connor, Daniel O’Mahony and Sean O’C Riada, serving the roles of chairman, treasurer and secretary respectively.[1] It was called, contemptuously, The Tailors’ Club ‘as so many of that art were involved’: The first in Castleisland…… Continue Reading
‘It is not our intention to bore you’: Some Recent Additions to Castleisland District Heritage
Scartaglin Parish News Scartaglin Parish News for the years 1977-1981 have been added to the archive of Castleisland District Heritage. The first carries a foreword by Fr John J Scanlan, CC, Scartaglin: It is the first time in the history of Scartaglin that a newssheet has been issued locally. Those who scripted it…… Continue Reading
The Lombards of Castleisland, County Kerry
A recent enquiry about the Lombard tomb at Old Kilbannivane, Castleisland revealed the long association of this name with the town. Jerry Flynn, a member of the committee of Castleisland District Heritage, has compiled data from the tomb and reports as follows: The tomb comprises approximately a 4 meter square, bottom rectangle about 3…… Continue Reading