Michael O’Donohoe plotted the development of hotels in the town of Castleisland from the late eighteenth century. Among the earliest inns documented are Bailey’s Hotel and Meredith’s Hotel. Others named include Brandon Arms Hotel, Chute Arms Hotel, Castle View Hotel (or Scannell’s/Hartnett’s Hotel), Coffey’s Commercial Hotel, Brosnan’s Temperance Hotel, Fitzgerald’s Imperial Hotel, McCrehan’s Star…… Continue Reading
Castleisland and the Herbert family
Michael O’Donohoe created a useful reference to names and places of local interest found in the 1963 edition of Herbert Correspondence (edited by W J Smith).1 Smith’s introduction to the Correspondence explains its relevance to the Castleisland collection: The letters printed in this volume constitute all the sixteenth and the greater part of the seventeenth…… Continue Reading
Sir Richard Griffith in Castleisland
In the year 1822, the town of Castle Island, in the county of Kerry … bore the most unequivocal signs of poverty in its inhabitants … the street presented a mass of uneven rock, resembling a quarry rather than a road – Richard Griffith, Civil Engineer1 It is clear from material in the collection…… Continue Reading
GAA in Castleisland
Energetic efforts are now being made to reorganise the erstwhile famous Castleisland Desmond Football Club … some few years ago it was a household word in almost every district in Kerry – Kerry Weekly Reporter, 9 May 1903 An essay following the history of the GAA in the Castleisland district from 1878 to 1892…… Continue Reading
Castleisland Fever Hospital & Dispensaries
A fever hospital operated in Castleisland during the Famine. At a meeting of the Tralee Union in December 1847, Captain Fairfield of Mount Eagle raised concerns about its management.1 Research material in the collection relates to the fever hospital at a later period, 1878 (in which year a temporary hospital was erected) to 1894,…… Continue Reading
The Moonlighters in Castleisland
A number of pithy essays by Michael O’Donohoe sit among the vast quantity of papers in the collection. Topics covered are wide in variety, for example, the GAA, Lord Headley, local streets and lanes, Sir Richard Griffith and the Moonlighters. The Moonlighters, transcribed below, provides an informative sketch of the organisation from…… Continue Reading
Creamery Lane, Castleisland
A number of pithy essays by Michael O’Donohoe sit among the vast quantity of papers in the collection. Topics covered are wide in variety, for example, the GAA, Lord Headley, the Moonlighters, the House of Progress, Sir Richard Griffith and Creamery Lane.1 Creamery Lane, transcribed below, is an affectionate reminder of times…… Continue Reading
Evictions in Castleisland
Material relating to nineteenth century eviction in Kerry forms a large part of the O’Donohoe archive. Much of it relates to the period of the Irish National Land League, gathered during Michael’s study of the Kerry Sentinel newspaper. One document, entitled simply Evictions, reads like a roll call of the period 1878 to 1887,…… Continue Reading
Dooneen Water Supply
The great public protest of recent years over Uisce Éireann would have been water off a duck’s back to Michael O’Donohoe. His archive included a study of the supply of water to Castleisland. As far back as 1874, the public was far from content with the idea of paying for the utility. At…… Continue Reading
Church of St Stephen and St John, Castleisland
The Michael O’Donohoe archive contains a study of Castleisland parish church, Church of St Stephen and St John. In 1878, Most Rev Dr M’Carthy, Bishop of Kerry, spoke of the ‘great want’ of a parochial church in Castleisland during a visitation there.1 The church that then existed was described as ‘very seedy looking’…… Continue Reading