In June this year (2024), Castleisland District Heritage was contacted by Beth O’Leary Anish from Massachusetts, scholar of Irish American literature, who was travelling to Ireland to attend a meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies in Limerick. She was hoping to fit in a visit to Castleisland where her great grandfather, James Leary…… Continue Reading
‘Returning Ghosts’: The Unsolved Murder of James Donovan
‘Was it not the fact that the evicted tenant and the caretaker were on extremely bad terms, the tenant having on one occasion struck the caretaker on the face?’ – Arthur Smith-Barry, 1st Baron Barrymore, House of Commons, 1894[1] Castleisland District Heritage has acquired a copy of the travelogue, Now and in Time to Be…… Continue Reading
Profile of Michael O’Donohoe, Castleisland Historian with Co Clare Roots
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Castleisland District Heritage, an initiative that finds its roots in the research of the late school principal, Michael O’Donohoe. As part of National Heritage Week 17-25 August 2024, a selection of Michael’s work will be on display in St Brigid’s Hall, Castleisland at our Celebration Exhibition on Saturday…… Continue Reading
‘I have never felt terror like it’: The Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier
‘Many of us around here are worried that there is some psychopath at large’ – Sunday World, 29 December 1996 Why boots? Why no lights? These baffling ‘head-scratching’ clues might have bothered the famous TV detective Columbo had he been called to the murder scene of Sophie Toscan du Plantier at Dunmanus, West Cork on…… Continue Reading
Cornwall to Kerry: John Mitchell’s Journey to Kilgarvan
Cornwall to Kerry, an illustrated memoir published in 2021 by John Mitchell of the Kilgarvan Motor Museum, has been added to the archive of Castleisland District Heritage. The book is a journey through John’s life from his birth at Beardon Farm, Devon in 1945 and early life in Cornwall to his family’s move to Wicklow…… Continue Reading
Unwelcome Guest: The Apostle of Kerry in Castleisland
This year marks the bicentennial of the death of Methodist preacher, Charles Graham. His ancestors, of Scottish stock, had settled at Drumahair, near Sligo.[1] However, he became known as The Apostle of Kerry. Charles Graham was born circa 1753, his descent given as follows: The head of the family, being a Scotch laird,…… Continue Reading
A Schoolboy’s Hero: Bob Finn of Castleisland
Bob Finn, Captain Moonlight has been given a new lease of life by 15-year-old Sam Jones, who selected the famous Castleisland agitator for his school project.[1] ‘I chose to do this,’ writes Sam, great great grandson of Bob Finn, ‘because he is probably more important than any other person in my family.’ Sam…… Continue Reading
Rising of 1798 in Castleisland
A thinly disguised fictionalised account of the attack on Castleisland Barracks in 1798 is reproduced below. It was published in The Kerry Magazine in 1856, close enough to the event to take its content from local history.[1] The author was not given. Characters and Facts in 1798 at Castleisland Barrack Daisies had opened their…… Continue Reading
‘Ballad-Maker Supreme’: The Patriotic Songs of Thade Gouran of Duagh
If you are doomed to meet the call, and die for Erin dear, A soldier stand, a soldier fall, like the blacksmith volunteer – ‘The Blacksmith Volunteer’ by Thade Gouran Castleisland District Heritage has acquired a copy of the CD, The Songs of Thade Gouran produced in 2007.[1] Twenty-one ballads are recorded on the CD,…… Continue Reading
Spex On: A Look at the Family of Corkman, John Fergus O’Hea
For more than a quarter of a century, the cartoons of John Fergus O’Hea formed a picturesque and striking record of the second half of the nineteenth century.[1] He signed his work ‘Spex,’ a nickname he inherited in his (bespectacled) schooldays. O’Hea was born in Cork in 1841, son of barrister James O’Hea (1809-1882)…… Continue Reading