‘How are you at Climbing Fences?’ Beth O’Leary Anish finds her Castleisland Roots
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 […]
Jack Dempsey Cup: Memories of the Kerry Team in America
In April 1924, legislation was passed by the Dáil to establish the new court system for the Irish Free State.[1] At this historic juncture, amid a sea of change, Kerrymen in New York subscribed £58 towards a fund for the training of the Kerry football team.[2] A great effort followed to popularise Gaelic football in […]
Ireland on My Mind: Recollections of Castleisland Descendant, Michael Murray
Big boys do cry, I’m pleased to say, Sometimes occasionally, Sometimes all day. – Michael Murray An illustrated memoir, 87 Years of Michael’s Miscellaneous Memories, was the gift of Michael Murray, a native of Brookland, USA, to Castleisland District Heritage during a visit to the town last month (April 2024). Michael was in Kerry to […]
Analyse This: The Persecution of De Niro’s Tipperary Ancestors
‘Rack-rents, insecurity of tenure, ejectment and extermination, these are the master-grievances of unhappy Ireland’ – Rev P O’B Davern Iconic actor, Robert De Niro, who is currently researching his Irish roots, might well be interested in The Young Irelanders, a rare book recently acquired by Castleisland District Heritage. It was written by the Kerry-educated journalist, […]
