Publications

Since the foundation of this local history project in 2014, a number of publications have been produced by the organising committee and may be purchased in print or pdf format.

The Diary of Robert O’Kelly (2015)
42-page A5 booklet with introduction, reproduced from an original manuscript written in 1914 by Castleisland born Robert O’Kelly (1835-1919). The Diary, which includes a short biography of O’Kelly, records many historical milestones, including Repeal, Fenian Rebellion, Land War and Home Rule. O’Kelly’s observations range from the Temperance Movement and the introduction of National Education to the Famine. His achievements in fund raising for the Dominicans in Tralee, and for memorials to the Manchester Martyrs and the Rebellion of 1798 are also set down.

TO ORDER
Print Copy: The booklet is priced at €8 plus post and packing (please email odonohoearchive@gmail.com for current postal charges). Order by email odonohoearchive@gmail.com or by post to Castleisland District Heritage at the address on our Contact page. Payment can be made via PayPal or by cheque to Castleisland District Heritage. Please remember to include name and postal address.
PDF Copy: Purchase in pdf format by email to odonohoearchive@gmail.com. Payment €8 via PayPal.

To Queensland, With Love Memoir of T M Donovan A Castleislander in Australia (2019)
120-page A5 booklet with introduction, reproduced from an original work published in 1926 by teacher and social historian, Timothy M Donovan. In the words of the author, the memoir is an account of ‘personal experiences of an Irish emigrant leaving Ireland for Australia in 1887.’ Donovan, who died in Castleisland in 1950, was the author of a number of books including the valuable and rare, A Popular History of East Kerry (1931).

TO ORDER
Print Copy: The booklet is priced at €10 plus post and packing (please email odonohoearchive@gmail.com for current postal charges). Order by email odonohoearchive@gmail.com or by post to Castleisland District Heritage at the address on our Contact page. Payment can be made via PayPal or by cheque to Castleisland District Heritage. Please remember to include name and postal address.
PDF Copy: Purchase in pdf format by email to odonohoearchive@gmail.com. Payment €10 via PayPal.

The GAA in Kerry A Sketch of its early years (2019) by Michael O’Donohoe.
52-page A5 booklet with short introduction and, where appropriate, footnotes, transcribed from the research papers of the late Michael O’Donohoe, Castleisland. In this work, the development of the GAA is traced from 1884 to 1891.

Earls, Axeteers and Hoggies: Selections from Castleisland District Heritage Archive (2020)
88-page A4 fundraising journal containing 22 articles published on www.odonohoearchive.com Contents: Stop Press: Michael O’Donohoe and the Kerry Newspapers; Bob Finn: Captain of the Castleisland Moonlighters; Glory to God: Castleisland’s Link to the Atlantic Telegraph; Remarks on the Literature of T M Donovan, Castleisland; Kilmurry Castle, Castleisland: In Search of its History; Poff & Barrett: The P D Kenny Affair; Game of Stones: The Earls of Desmond and ‘The Rubbage’; Oileán Chiarraighe – Castle of the Island: The Photo Album; The Market House, Castleisland, and its Associations; The Three Axeteers: Foundation of the Castleisland Moonlighters; ‘Too Honest for the Shoneens’: Father Murphy, RCC Castleisland; Castleisland: The Early Roman Catholic Church; Death before Dishonour: John Twiss’s Speech from the Dock; The Siege of Castleisland; A Portrait of Castleisland Artist, Timothy ‘Mutt’ Murphy; Presentation Convent, Castleisland; Divane’s Calendar – An Inspired Collaboration; Those Hoggies Love to Meet: The Poetry of Maurice J Reidy; Castleisland: Last Resting Place of Matchmaker, Dan Paddy Andy; The Celtic Cross, Kilbannivane: Its Symbolism and Meaning; The Pound, Castleisland; The Diary of Robert O’Kelly.

TO ORDER
Print Copy: The journal is priced at €12 plus post and packing (please email odonohoearchive@gmail.com for current postal charges). Order by email odonohoearchive@gmail.com or by post to Castleisland District Heritage at the address on our Contact page. Payment can be made via PayPal or by cheque to Castleisland District Heritage. Please remember to include name and postal address.
PDF Copy: Purchase in pdf format by email to odonohoearchive@gmail.com. Payment €12 via PayPal.

Poff and Barrett: A Miscarriage of Justice (2021)
88-page A4 fundraising journal containing 20 articles, most of which have been published on www.odonohoearchive.com Contents: 1. Browne, Poff and Barrett; 2. Poff and Barrett: Murder without Motive; 3. Poff and Barrett: Who Killed Thomas Browne?; 4. Poff and Barrett: Caught in the Crossfire; 5. Poff and Barrett: Guilty until Proven Innocent; 6. ‘A Community on Trial’: Overview of Murder at Dromultan; 7. Poff and Barrett: The Testimony of Bridget Brosnan; 8. Poff and Barrett: The Case against John Dunleavy; 9. Poff and Barrett: The Role of Fr Scollard in their Conviction; 10. Remember Poff and Barrett; 11. Poff and Barrett: Final Hours; 12. Poff and Barrett: Last Words; 13. Poff and Barrett: The Truth Will Out; 14. Poff and Barrett: Global Search for Justice; 15. The Poff Family of County Kerry; 16. Poff’s Farm: Recollections of Mike Marshall; 17. The Poff Farm at Mountnicholas; 18. The Family of James Barrett of Dromultan; 19. Poff and Barrett: Location of their Remains; 20. Castleisland and the Patriotic Sullivan Brothers of Bantry.

John Twiss: Judicial Murder in Castleisland (2021)
84-page A4 fundraising journal containing 17 edited articles published on www.odonohoearchive.com Contents: 1. They Hanged John Twiss; 2. Murder, Mystery and My Family; 3. John Twiss and the Campaign for his Reprieve; 4. The Man from Cordal; 5. John Twiss and his Legal Representatives; 6. John Twiss: Blood of Gentlemen; 7. Death Before Dishonour; 8. John Twiss: ‘A Pure Brave Soul’; 9. Countdown: Political Endeavours to Save John Twiss; 10. The Trial of John Twiss: Notes on Jury Packing; 11. The Twiss Family of Ballahantouragh; 12. ‘Where is Glenlara?’: John Twiss from a Cork Perspective; 13. ‘Three Cheers for Castleisland’: The Innocence of John Twiss; 14. John Twiss: Cover-ups and Confusion; 15. John Twiss of Castleisland: Family Links to the ‘New World’; 16. John Twiss of Castleisland: ‘Mythical Clergyman’s Son’; 17. Transcription of Trial of John Twiss.

EARLS OF DESMOND (2022) FUNDRAISING JOURNAL VOL IV
88-page A4 fundraising journal with lavish illustrations of the Earls of Desmond by illustrator Noel Nash. Contains 15 edited articles most of which were published on www.odonohoearchive.com Contents: 1. The Earls of Desmond A Headcount; 2. A Brief Guide to the Earls of Desmond, and Contenders; 3. The Legacy of Baron de Monte Marisco, Lord of Castle Island; 4. Royal Sliabh Luachra Land of Kings; 5. The Fitzgerald Castles of Cordal; 6. The Lost Castles of the McElligotts; 7. Fitzgerald of Adraval; 8. Apes, Geese and other Enchantments: Earls of Desmond in Legend; 9. Hunted: Pursuit of Gerald, ‘Rebell of Mounster,’ 1581 to 1583; 10. Fall of the House of Desmond; 11. Rev James Carmody, Parish Priest and Historian; 12. The Geraldines An Experiment in Irish Government 1169-1601; 13. The Seignory of Castleisland; 14. Ballymacadam Castle: Towards a History of a Geraldine Stronghold; 15. A Sketch of Molahiffe Castle and the Manor of Molahiffe.

A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF REV. WM. CASEY, P.P. OF ABBEYFEALE (2022)
52-page A5 booklet documenting the life of Rev Wm Casey reproduced from the original written by J D Harnett of Abbeyfeale in 1908. Reproduction includes additional front matter and illustrations. Covers designed by Noel Nash, illustrator, Castleisland District Heritage.

BOB FINN CAPTAIN MOONLIGHT (2022)
88-page A5 booklet containing articles relating to the Moonlighter Movement in Castleisland led by Captain Bob Finn, with other articles relating to the Land War in the district. Publication includes additional front matter and illustrations. Covers designed by Noel Nash, illustrator, Castleisland District Heritage.

‘ALL TAKE NOTICE!’ Pound Road and its People (2023)
52-page A5 booklet about Pound Road, Castleisland, a community within a community which survived despite often appalling living conditions until the cottages were finally demolished in the 1960s. This publication, produced in collaboration with nonagenarian Mikey Conway, one of Pound Road’s most senior citizens, takes notice of its life and times. Covers designed by Noel Nash, illustrator, Castleisland District Heritage.