Owen O'Shea's Blog
Occasional meanderings and insights into Kerry’s past with a focus on electioneering, election results, key political figures, political culture, and the dramatic ups and downs of politics in the county over the past century.
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The TD who was too young to vote for herself
The extraordinary and dramatic story of the 1956 by-election in Kerry North and the candidate who was too young to vote for herself When the Clann na Poblachta TD for
“They are all Free State girls”: the shocking killing of a young Kerry woman in September 1923
Twenty-two-year-old Johanna (Hannah) O’Connor had not a care in the world and was in ‘the midst of gaiety’ as she made her way home from a dance in Glenbeigh on
The Kerry plot to assassinate Eoin O’Duffy
The Blueshirts, a quasi-fascist organisation in the 1930s, had a small but active presence in County Kerry during 1933 and 1934. Their bombastic leader, Eoin O’Duffy was the subject of
“A couple of tarts getting a few lashes”
A vicious assault on two sisters in Kenmare a century ago, as the Civil War came to an end, prompted a major political crisis and led to one of the
Looting, kidnap, murder and mayhem
A dramatic and tragic four days in one Kerry village during Ireland’s Civil War Jeremiah Hanifin had no known involvement in politics or any particularly strong views on the Treaty
Civilians killed in Kerry during the Civil War
An estimated 14 civilians were killed during the Civil War in Kerry. A list detailing the names and dates of death is attached at the end of this post. Here
At least 31 Free State soldiers from Kerry died in Civil War
New research by a Kerry historian has identified at least 31 Free State soldiers from Kerry who died during the Irish Civil War. Drawing on information contained in recently published
‘What in God’s holy name am I to do?’
Not many citizens of the Irish Free State were writing to their prime minister in the 1930s. In an age of greater deference to those in high office and when
When the Free State army turned on their own: the murder of Private Daniel Sugrue in 1923
Daniel Sugrue was a man of divided loyalties. Like so many who felt compelled to join the Free State Army, whether through political conviction, military experience or financial necessity, Sugrue
Commemorative concert to mark centenary of the Civil War in Kerry
A special commemorative concert marking the centenary of the Civil War in Kerry will take place at Siamsa Tíre in Tralee next month as part of the programme of events
Unique visual media exhibition to present stories of the Civil War in Kerry
Mise, le Meas’ draws on original material from combatants and their survivors A unique visual media exhibition which is based on original documents and accounts from the people who were
‘Ballyseedy’ to be screened at Kerry Civil War Conference
A unique dramatised account of one of the darkest days of the Civil War in Kerry will be screened at Siamsa Tíre in February as part of the programme of
