Centenary exhibition on early years of the party in Kerry constituency
An exhibition on the early years of Fianna Fáil in County Kerry will go on public display at Kerry library branches during February and March. This year marks the centenary of the foundation of the party and the exhibition, presented by historian, Owen O’Shea, focuses on how the party developed in Kerry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
“Soldiers of Destiny”, which is supported by a Commemorations Bursary from the Royal Irish Academy, tells the story of Fianna Fáil in Kerry from its foundation in 1926 to the general election of 1933 when the party’s vote in the Kerry constituency was the highest in the country.
New research about the establishment of party branches, the results of elections, the role of newspapers and propaganda all feature, as do profiles of the seven Fianna Fáil TDs who represented Kerry between 1926 and 1933.
“The foundation of Fianna Fáil was a transformative moment in Irish politics and represented a new phase of Civil War politics in Ireland. In this, its centenary year, I am presenting the story of the party in Kerry where its organisational and electoral success was without parallel,” said Owen O’Shea.
“Éamon de Valera’s party set about establishing a network of branches in Kerry with enormous speed and the Fianna Fáil vote in the constituency grew rapidly from 33% in 1927 to 68% in 1933.”
The exhibition will be on display at Tralee Library from 16 to 28 February and at Killarney Library from 10 to 31 March and can be viewed during library opening hours.
“The seven TDs who represented Kerry during those years were Denis Daly, Fred Crowley, Tom McEllistrim, William O’Leary, Thomas O’Reilly and Jack Flynn. Their stories are being shared for the first time as are many of the election posters and political material from the time,” said Owen.
“I am very grateful to the Royal Irish Academy for funding this exhibition and I hope it will attract anyone with an interest in Irish history and politics,” he added.
