There are four churchyards in the parish of Castleisland. There is one in Kilmurry, one in Churchtown, one in Kilbannivane, and one in Castleisland The townland for Kilbannivane and churchtown is Glounsharoon, Castleisland and the townland of the Castleisland churchyard is Móin Mór Castleisland Each of these are in use yet, but the one in Castleisland is not much in use now Each of them is square in shape and is level. There is no church in the parish of Castleisland in ruins. There are trees growing in three of the graveyards. The graveyard in Churchtown contains many tombs and crosses

in the town of Castleisland was destroyed by Cromwell's soldiers.

down the street and receive ninety nine lakes of the "cat". He asked them to give a hundred but it was against the law to do so.
Shortly after he was begging in front of the church gates, and all he got was thirty shillings. He died on Pound Road Castleisland, Co. Kerry and the blue marks of the lashes were on his body when he was dead.
In or about 1879 when Daniel O'Connell used to pass through Castleisland on his way to Caherciveen, Co. Kerry from Dublin and other places up the country, he used to stay at a hotel in the town now occupied by Mr Patrick Buckley, Sc- National Teacher. The bed in which Daniel O'Connell slept is now in possession of Miss Minnie O'Connor, Nan St, Castleisland, Co. Kerry
Cromwell himself did not pass through Castleisland but Elizabeth's generals Ormonde and Raleigh did. Ormonde marched through Castleisland from King Williamstown, Co. Cork, direction, while Raleigh came on from Killarney side and they joined forces between Castleisland and Gortatlea [?] Co. Kerry. The Castle

There are no Irish speakers in this district and no seanacaide. The following [?] relate in English of olden times and folklore connected with same.John Lynch, Sallinahaum, Castleisland, Co Kerry, 83 yrs.Mrs Green, Church St., Castleisland, Co Kerry. - 89 yrs.Mrs Mary O'Sullivan Anglore, Castleisland, Co Kerry - 78 1/2 yrs.Mrs Ellen Daly, Aheneboy, Castleisland, Co Kerry - 89 yrs.Mrs Mary McGillicuddy, Kelligane, Castleisland, Kerry, 83 yrs.Mrs Lombard, Dulagug, Castleisland, Co Kerry - 95 yrs. - John Suckley, Bund Road, Castleisland, Kerry - 90 yrs.

About seventy or eighty years ago the Castleisland races used to be held at Ballyplymoth, where, regularly every year the people of East Kerry never failed to meet. It used to be a great time for the people of the parishes of Castleisland, Scartaglin, Clogher, Knocknagoshel, and Brosna, for many from Abbeyfeale, and of course hundreds came from Tralee, Killarney, Listowel. They had then three days of racing with stakes as high as twenty pounds. All the business people of Castleisland and even the publichouse owners shut up their shops, and made a bee-line

The local roads are names the Killarney Road, the Listowel Road, the Scartaglia Road, the Brosna Road and the Tralee Road.
The Killarney road leads from Castleisland to Killarney; the Listowel road leads from Castleisland to Listowel, the Tralee road leads from Castleisland to Tralee and the Brosna road from Castleisland to Brosna.
They were made about seventy years ago. The road through Scartaglia was the old road to Cork and it was through this road the old car-men used to carry butter and pigs to Cork in former times.
There are a lot of places marked with crosses along these roads to mark the places where some brave young men gave their lives for Ireland.

This is a reliable version of one of the most-noted Event's in this locality. The capture of the Yoemanry Barrack in Castleisland in 1798 and the subsequent execution of 16 men.
Four of five men around Castleisland planned to raid the Barrack and take away the arms from the Yoemen. One man was named Nolan another Buck O'Grady. And another Lade O'Daly. the names of the others I forget. They came to the Barrack at night and took the arms, and when they were going away Nolan forced the other men to go back again and murder the men, "that dead men tell no tales," They went back and no one could do the deed but Nolan himself.
Next morning there was a terrible uproar, and Captain Meredith who lived at Dicksgrove Farranfore had charge of the English Army in Kerry at the time. He brought them out from Tralee and they paraded the streets of Castleisland several times. Nolan who was in the murder the night before came to Castleisland and Crossed the street before the soldiers, he crossed a second time, and seeing that Captain Meredith did

About 40 years ago Frank Enright died, he was a nailer. He was living in Pound Road, Castleisland and he was evicted. He then lived in moragasheen (maura-casheen), the lower part of the old castle in Killarney Road Castleisland He used to make nails of all kinds. He used to make studs and tips for shoes. He bought the iron from Den Brosnan, main St, Castleisland. The iron he bought was not always round. There were 3 smiths with him, one used to cut the iron and the other used to cut it in the shape of a V. The other used to have a piece of steel about 6 inches long with ahole down the middle. Then he reddened the v. shaped articles, and put the shape on it and hammered it on

Local fairs are held in Killarney, Castleisland and Knocknagree. There is a fair field in Killarney but there is no field in either Castleisland or Knocknagree. There is a special day for cows and calves and another day known as market day for pigs and Bouhams. There is a fair held every month. Long ago there was a fair field in Scartaglin (a village near Castleisland) but it is not held there now. When buyers were taking home them cattle and pigs they usually stayed for a night at Anabla as the journey was too far to walk cattle. At fairs cattle were kept in a place called the "pound" before being put on the train. Fairs were held at crossroads long ago but they are not held there now. When one man sells and animal he gives the buyer "luck penny". When an animal is sold the parties shows their agreement by striking hands.

Long ago there were many industries carried on in Castleisland and around the town:- tannnery and basket making were the chief industries carried on there. There was a tannery in the town, and the hides of animals were turned into leather. Every day there was about one hundred baskets made in Castleisland, and on each market day, all these used to be sold to the

Long ago there lived in Castleisland a man who was very poor. He was married. He was very poor for some years and after a while he got very rich. It was said why he got so rich was that he caught a leprechan and took his purse off him. This man was grandfather of Terrence Brosnan Castleisland. It is said if you caught a leprechan and took his purse off him every time you would open the purse there would be a shilling in it.

Page 193
A Local Take Of The Parnellite Split 14-12-37

There was an ante Parnellite meeting held in Castleisland in 1890. The speakers were Justin McCarthy, T.D. OSullivan and Thomas Sexton who addressed the people from the brown hotel. The morning of the meeting there did a contingent of fifty men leave Knocknagoshel lead by John Daly, David OConnell and Denis D. OConnor. After turning Headley’s Bridge they met a long car drawn by two horses with Fr. Casey’s band and supporters. Fr. Casey who was an ante Parnellite rode after the car. As they were passing each other John Daly asked for three cheers for Fr. Casey and this crowd responded. Immediately Fr. Caseys crowd booed Parnell and they were surrounded by the Kerrymen and the traces of the car were cut. One man Daniel Grady asked to spare their land as it played for every national cause. His request was granted. The Knocknagoshel men went on to Castleisland and they were met at Boherbawn cross by thirty men led by Thade Doody. When they arrived at Castleisland they were met by the Cordal men and they marched in front of the hotel where the speakers were. With the cheering of the Parnellites no word could be heard from the speakers and they had to hold their meeting inside closed doors and that was the last ante Parnetllite meeting held in Castleisland. On the following Sunday there was a Parnell meeting in Newcastlewest addressed by Parnell, Tim Harrington and Pierce Mahony. The Knocknagoshel men were invited there. They had two choices either to go strong

The famine spread throughout Ireland in 1847. It was called black '47 because people fell before the black death in thousands. There was a poorhouse i Castleisland in 1847 and it is believed that seven-eight of the whole population of Castleisland was reduced to about a half of a thousand. Once a woman was making soup in Castleisland for the people and she fell into the boiling soup and she was burned to atoms before the Chief man found her. They took her out and all the people drank the soup. It was the English who build the poorhouses so as the Irish Catholics would turn Protestants and anyone who drank the soup would be called soupers. Gos Horan one day gave yellow meal to a man that was poor. But that man was an English spy and the next day the soldiers came a dragged the man out and tied him to the car in the backyard with his own reins and then they got his own whip and lashed him until he was bleeding profusely. Then they threw him into his home and shut the gate after them and fired volleys at his home to frighten him. After about a week the man was better again. He had a great friend and the enemy wanted to kill his friend and one day he came in and tried to get Andy who was the other Irishman's friend. Andy ran under the bed and the English officer when

An Englishman and an American were one day disputing as to where the oldest man in the world lived.The englishman maintained that he lives in the Brithish Isles while the American held that he lives in America. An Irishman came along & said that the oldest man lives in Ireland. They finally decidedto visit each country to decide the bet.They found the oldest man in America to be aged 84 and when they searched the British Isles they found the oldest man there was 89. Then they set out for Ireland near Castleisland Co. Kerry they met an old man with a long white beard crying,They asked him his age & the reason why he was crying. The old man replied that he 94 years of age and he was crying because his father was after beating him for throwing stones at his grandfather.
Collected by Nelly Knight, Main St. Castleisland, Co. Kerry
from Francis J. Costello Main St. Castleisland , Co. Kerry age 65

In Castleisland there lives a humorous character named Francis Costello. He pretends to be very wise and intelligent, and when anybody tells a good yarn or recount the great deeds of someone in days gone by, Frank must always have one better. Number of the town lads gather at Frank's Corner each time to pass the time listening to Frank telling stories or arguing on some point. One night when all the boys were together somebody remarked, to start off the conversation, on the great feats of the Casey brothers of Sneem, Kerry, as boatmen, boxers, wrestlers, etc.
Frank who was listening on remarked after a while that he could see nothing wonderful in any thing they did, as he saw more wonderful feats being performed nearer home without going to Sneem at all. Somebody in the crews asked him to give one example or to tell them of any great feat performed by anybody about Castleisland. Well says Frank when I was a young fellow I had a terrible temper and would not allow anybody to insult me a second time without having satisfaction. My brothers were wicked and hardy lads but cooler than I was. My father then always kept a good store of sticks well seasoned over the smoke of the fire to be used by us to defend ourselves in our fights with others. In the village of Currans about 3 ms. from Castleisland there was a fair held once a year on 6th May and that fire is

There are 4 or 5 tombs dated up to 1700. The crosses are made of iron. In the olden times the unbaptised people used to be buried at cross-roads and in the sides of graveyards, that is between the pathway all round and the wall, as this is not consecrated ground (supposed), and the unbaptised are still buried by the sides of graveyards. There is a woman named Mrs Mary Lombard buried in Old Kilbanninvane since 1600. I could not get the address as the tomb is so old. There is a woman named Mrs Murphy of Marketplace, Castleisland buried in the Castleisland graveyard since 1775.The present Protestant church in the Castleisland graveyard was once a Catholic church. Now protestant service is carried on there each Sunday. This called St Stephens church. Many graves have been neglected and trampled on by people. The local families still use the same tombs. In the olden times when a protestant would die he would be buried in a hole in the wall, then the present protestants covered them with flagstones.

reign of Queen Elizabeth the then Earl of Desmond was an outlaw with a price on his head, and he took refuge in a wood near Castleisland, Co Kerry. The wood was in a glen called Gleannaneenta (Gleenn na ndíngre) in Ballymocelligott parish Tralee, Co Kerry. He was accompanied by his wife and a kerne.One night they were sitting in the hut when 3 men rushed in with drawn swords. The Earl cried "Stop" "Don't kill me I am the Earl of Desmond", but they killed him and sent his head to the tower, where it was placed on a spike on the ramparts.During the land league campaign the moonlighters under the captaincy of Mr Bob Finn (R.I.P.) Main St., Castleisland Co, Kerry, were very active, and they were famous for their daring exploits. In passing it may be remarked that Castleisland was called the home of the moonlighters. One night while stealthily going on one of their expeditions along the Tralee - 5 or 6 of them together and having but one revolver - the soldiers or police came upon them. Nothing daunted

not notice him he crossed a third time, Captain Meredith was a very good man and did not want to get anyone into trouble. but in order to save himself from the English soldiers he said, "We must see what this man has to say, he has come before us three time," They asked Nolan why his pants was stained with blood, he said, it was only the blood of calf that he had just killed, they took him to the Barrack and he informed in his companious and every man whom he had any personal spite against, Sixteen men were arrested around the parish of Castleisland Some of them not knowing anything about the raid. They were hanged in Castleisland Barrack and then their heads were cut off and put on spikes on the market place They were left there until the hair from the heads was falling on the butter that used to be weighed underneath.
The soldiers failed to arrest Grady and Daly. They lived at Cordal a few miles to the east of Castleisland. Grady had a wife and three children and had the grass of 70 cows there. They had numerous friends and they sheltered and watched for them at night. They got tired of this and after

into a white swan, departed, and was never seen since.
Castleisland was once the capital of (-) Kerry. Round outside the town three rivers almost meet hence the name Castleisland. (The Castle is built in the town)Others say that one of the Fitzgearlds who lived in the castle in Castleisland had a canal built all around it as a protection from his enemies, hence the name Castleisland. This too was possible as the castle is built some two or three hundred yards south west of the town. The intervening space however is now being rapidly built.All the utensils used in the dairy including the buckets into which the cows were milked were left in a certain room in the castle. The spancel for the cross cows was also left there. Every morning for some time the iron was filled with gold.This night the old woman forgot to bring in the spancel. Next morning she found, instead of gold a room full of spancels. She searched everywhere for her spancel but could not find it. The gold

The local fairs around this part of the county are KNOCKNAGREE NEWMARKET CASTLEISLAND and KANTURK. The KNOCKNAGREE Fair is held in the fair field. It was on the east side of the village the Eoghan Ruadh O Súilleábaín the famous poet had his hut and there he died also. The fairs are held on the streets at KANTURK KNOCKNAGREE and CASTLEISLAND but the other fairs are held in fields near the towns. "CUSTOM is given in every place so much on every head of cattle. LUCK MONEY is given with the animal. Some jobbers spit on the LUCK MONEY. When a bargain is made the jobber enters the price of the animal on a ticket and gives it to the owner. The animals are marked with paint or with a scissors. Every buyer has