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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‘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
Three-day conference to mark centenary of Civil War in Kerry and Ireland
Local, national and international experts to discuss Civil War and its legacy Part of the State’s Decade of Centenaries Programme for 2023 A three-day conference in Tralee in February will
Dates announced for a new run of Ballymacandy following sell-out success
Due to phenomenal interest in the theatrical portrayal of a War of Independence ambush which happened in mid-Kerry in 1921, a series of new dates for a highly acclaimed stage
The Kerry postal clerk suspended for having the wrong surname
Rosalie Rice worked as a sorting clerk and telegraphist at Kenmare Post Office when the Civil War began. She was a member of a family which was immersed in Irish
NEW BOOK CATALOGUES TRAGEDY AND SUFFERING OF CIVIL WAR IN KERRY
The violence and divisions of the Civil War in County Kerry were more vicious, bitter and prolonged than anywhere else in Ireland. For generations, the fratricide, murder and executions, and
The murder of 17-year-old Bertie Murphy
One of the saddest and most shocking aspects of the Civil War in County Kerry is the very young age at which many combatants and civilians met their deaths. Several
Ballymacandy: a new play by Owen O’Shea this November
The dramatic story of the IRA ambush of members of the Crown Forces near Milltown, County Kerry in 1921 is being presented as a new play in Milltown Community Hall
“They reeled back dead” – the killing of two soldiers on Inisfallen Island in Killarney in 1922
As the boat approached the shore of Innisfallen, the largest island on Killarney’s Lough Leane, Robert Roberts’ oars sliced through the still waters with ease. An experienced boatman from Clovers
