#OTD in 1873 – Birth of Blasket Island storyteller, Peig Sayers, in Dunquin, Co Kerry.

29/03/2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

Born Máiréad Sayers in the townland of Vicarstown, Dunquinn, Co Kerry, the youngest child of the family. She was called Peig after her mother, Margaret “Peig” Brosnan, from Castleisland. Her father Tomás Sayers was a renowned storyteller who passed on many of his tales to Peig. At age 12, she was taken out of school […]

#OTD in 1920 – Seaman and Antarctic explorer, Tom Crean, from Annascaul, Co Kerry, retired from the Royal Navy, after almost 27 years of service.

24/03/2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

The reasons why history has been unkind to Crean are twofold: first, the politics of post-independence Ireland; and second, what George Bernard Shaw described as the greatest of evils and worst of crimes — poverty. Tom Crean was an Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer from Annascaul, Co Kerry. He was a member of three major […]

Ballyseede Castle, Co Kerry

24/03/2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

The stunning Ballyseede Castle is steeped in a long and bloody history, built back in the 16th Century. Just three miles outside of Tralee. Covering some 30 acres and approached from the road via a sweeping drive, the Castle is now a majestic four-star hotel and favourite wedding venue, however, its current status is far […]

#OTD in Irish History – 24 March:

24/03/2020.Reading time 18 minutes.

In the Liturgical calendar, today is the Feast Day of Saint Mac Cairthinn, also Macartan, a very early generation of saints in Ireland and is recognised as the first Bishop of Clogher. He is known as Saint Patrick’s ‘Strong Man’ for his dedication and faithfulness. 1603 – James VI of Scotland comes to the throne […]

#OTD in 1918 – John Devoy claims Roger Casement to blame for the 1916 Easter Rising’s failure.

23/03/2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

New York-based John Devoy, editor of the recently suppressed Gaelic American has claimed credit for being the key individual behind the ‘German Sinn Féiner’ efforts to launch a revolt in Ireland in 1916. The claim comes in a letter, a copy of which was published last month in the USA. The letter, discovered on the […]

#OTD – Feast Day of Saint Darerca of Ireland, sister of Saint Patrick.

22/03/2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

St Darerca is patroness of Valentia Island, the westernmost point of Co Kerry. Much obscurity is attached to her history, and it is not easy to disentangle the facts of her history from the network of legend which medieval writers interwove with her acts. Her fame, apart from her relationship to Ireland’s national apostle, stands […]

#OTD in Irish History – 22 March:

22/03/2020.Reading time 12 minutes.

Feast Day of Saint Darerca of Ireland, sister of Saint Patrick. 1686 – With the return of a Catholic monarchy – James II – payments to the Catholic hierarchy are authorised; Catholics are appointed to government positions; replacement of Protestant by Catholic soldiers intensifies. 1768 – Birth of writer, Melasina Trench, in Dublin. 1829 – […]

#OTD in 1921 – Irish War of Independence | A number of attacks take place in Co Kerry.

21/03/2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Headford Ambush The Kerry No.2 Brigade Flying Column organised the Headford Ambush who, while billeted in the vicinity of Headford on 21 March 1921, learned that a detachment of British troops were due to return by train from Kenmare to Tralee later that day, and decided to ambush them. The attack was led by Dan […]

#OTD in 2016 – Kerry County Museum paid €10,600 for a Treasure Island-style map drawn by Sir Roger Casement to show where he had buried gold and other valuables after landing at Banna Strand on Good Friday 1916.

21/03/2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

The map, and accompanying notes, kept by an agent in Britain’s MI5, went under the hammer at Chorley’s Auctioneers in Cheltenham, England on Tuesday with a top pre-sale estimate of £2,000 (€2,500). But, after what auctioneer Simon Chorley described as ‘frenzied bidding’, the hammer fell at £7,000 to an unnamed telephone bidder. Kerry County Museum’s […]

Queen Scotia

19/03/2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

Scota appears in the Irish chronicle Book of Leinster (containing a redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn). According to Irish Folklore and Mythology, the battle of Sliabh Mish was fought in this glen above the town of Tralee, where the Celtic Milesians defeated the Tuatha Dé Danann but Scotia, the Queen of the Milesians died […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Tag: Co. Kerry

#OTD in 1873 – Birth of Blasket Island storyteller, Peig Sayers, in Dunquin, Co Kerry.

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#OTD in 1920 – Seaman and Antarctic explorer, Tom Crean, from Annascaul, Co Kerry, retired from the Royal Navy, after almost 27 years of service.

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Ballyseede Castle, Co Kerry

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#OTD in Irish History – 24 March:

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#OTD in 1918 – John Devoy claims Roger Casement to blame for the 1916 Easter Rising’s failure.

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#OTD – Feast Day of Saint Darerca of Ireland, sister of Saint Patrick.

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#OTD in Irish History – 22 March:

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#OTD in 1921 – Irish War of Independence | A number of attacks take place in Co Kerry.

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#OTD in 2016 – Kerry County Museum paid €10,600 for a Treasure Island-style map drawn by Sir Roger Casement to show where he had buried gold and other valuables after landing at Banna Strand on Good Friday 1916.

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Queen Scotia

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