An Tóramh or The Wake caught my eye on a friend’s FB page. Maurice Brick, a native of Na Gorta Dubha, Ballyferriter, is now a long-term resident of New Rochelle, New York. Maurice penned a memory from his childhood of local deaths, funerals, wakes in this marvelously evocative piece: The first wake I went to in […]
Lord Ventry’s tenant to NY Governor’s Ma
On Tuesday 17th September, at midnight, Kathy Hochul (born Kathleen Courtney), New York’s first female governor, will take office. Kathy will be moving into the Governor’s Mansion in Albany New York – it has housed governors and their families since 1875. It is at some remove from where the Courtney/Cournane family lived in Ireland in […]
Beara Baronies, Parishes & Townlands
Searching for Kerry ancestors in the Beara Peninsula? The Beara Peninsula is split between Counties Kerry and Cork. It can be problematic tracing ancestor’s vital records in this area – more so than usual. A complication arises that a number of the Beara Catholic Parishes in County Cork are in the Catholic Diocese of Kerry. […]
Dingle, Co. Kerry 1837
An excerpt from Samuel Lewis Dingle – A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837: Dingle is the most westerly town in Ireland; it is situated in lat. 52o 10‘ 30″ and lon. 10o 15′ 45″, on the northern coast of the bay of the same name, an inlet from which forms the harbour; and may be […]
Lord Dunraven, Garnish & Sneem
I got a number of interesting comments on my last blog on Sneem. One, in particular, was most interesting. -It was an explanatory piece from Bob Frewen that he had contributed to a Sneem book titled: ‘Bridging Memories’. that was published at Christmas 2010 , one of over a dozen chapters Bob had contributed. I […]
Sneem Churches (Co. Kerry)
To-day it is Sneem, requested by a reader. A history of the village and church. I am quoting directly here from the 2005 publication The Diocese of Kerry formerly Ardfert: Working in the Fields of God, edited by Fr. Kieran O’Shea: “The Catholic Parish of Sneem comprises the eastern portion of the […]
Ardfert, Cathedral, Church & Friary.
Continuing to bring the history of different Kerry Churchs, as requested by my readers, to-day it is the historic ecclesiastical centre of Ardfert. I am quoting directly here from the 2005 publication The Diocese of Kerry formerly Ardfert: Working in the Fields of God, edited by Fr. Kieran O’Shea, which I understand is […]
St. Michael’s Church, Lixnaw
Readers of last week’s blog on St John’s Church, Tralee, have requested a background or history of a number of other Kerry churches. So today it is St. Michael’s Church, Lixnaw. I am quoting directly here from the 2005 publication The Diocese of Kerry formerly Ardfert: Working in the Fields of God, edited by Fr. […]