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

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

‘Round the Houses’: In Search of the Queen’s Arms, Cahersiveen

Cahirciveen is a pretty town … the appearance of comfort which pervades it at once evinces the power of resident proprietorship   In January 1866, a harrowing scene of people preparing to leave Cahersiveen appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper published in New York.[1]  The image was captioned ‘Irish Emigrants leaving their home for America…Continue Reading