Thursday, November 8, 2018

Great War Monument in Dublin City Centre




The above sculpture by Slovak artist Martin Galbavy was created at the Dorset Forge and Fabrication, Britain. It is entitled "The Hauntings Soldier" and depicts  a war weary soldier. It is perhaps apt that it is comprised of bits and pieces for that is how many Irish men returned from the war. It is on display in St Stephen's Green, beside the Royal Dublin Fusilier's Arch, for the month of November.

Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry availability



I am proud to announce that my latest title is now on sale in Killorglin in The Crystal Cave bookshop and Listowel. Fadó Fadó is now being stocked in Black Abbey Crafts Adare, County Limerick.
It has sold out and been restocked in the following shops in Kerry:
Woulfes, Listowel
Flavins, Listowel
Polymath Books, Tralee
O'Mahonys, Tralee
The Kerry Bookshop, Tralee
The Dingle Bookshop
Caife Liteartha, Daingean
The Kenmare Bookshop


Outside of Kerry, the book is still available at Charlie Byrnes in Galway City, Kennys.ie, Alan Hanna of Rathmines, Dublin and Hodges Figgis.

All of these places are independent bookshops, staffed by people who know and love books. It is they who make it possible for me to sell my book and I am indebted to them.





Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Dublinia

Above: a Viking warrior. Below: Irish warriors.
The meals that would have been eaten in a medieval merchant's house.
Just back from a visit to Dublinia, a private museum dedicated to the early history of Dublin. Located beside Christchurch in the heart of medieval Dublin, it is well worth a visit. The best part is that it is suited to young children and really helps bring history alive.

Remains of an Irish Cross in Dublin City


The above photo shows the remains of an Irish High Cross. Most of these crosses are between 800 and a thousand years old. It was more than likely destroyed when the grave markers were leveled by British soldiers in the late 18th century. This example is at Bully's Acre in Kilmainham.

Monday, October 22, 2018

The grave of Christopher Miller RIC

The grave of Christopher Miller RIC is located at Bully's Acre in Kilmainham, Dublin. Miller was from Pallaskenry in County Limerick and was killed in action, during the Easter Rising  on 27 April 1916. He was killed when he led a party of British soldiers to the rebels at the South Dublin Union.

Monday, August 27, 2018

RIC regulations



The British Army in Waterford

A distribution of the British Army Barracks in Britain and Ireland. Apparently Ireland was the first country in Europe to have an army barracks. The exhibition can be viewed at Dungarvan Castle, County Waterford. The picture below shows the living conditions of a British soldier in the early 19th century.

Monday, August 13, 2018

The RIC at Dungarvan Castle

The RIC were an armed colonial police force which existed from the mid 19th century until the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. They were very much the eyes and ears of the British Administration. Catholics served in the other ranks while the officers were almost exclusively Protestant. It was forbidden to serve in one's native county.  The above images were taken at Dungarvan Castle in County Waterford. It is run by the OPW  and admission to the exhibition is free.
The above picture shows the RIC leaving their depot in Dublin for the last time.

Friday, July 13, 2018

Gone But Not Forgotten online Availability

Happy to see that books.ie have made my book available online.

http://www.books.ie/gone-but-not-forgotten-historic-graves-of-kerry



It will also be available online from Kennys.ie (free shipping) within the next week or so.
Just back from my wanderings in Kerry and great to see my latest book is selling. Its  a niche market and will hardly a massive amount but I believe worth pursuing. I still have to convince people that a study of graveyards is a study of local history and heritage, a celebration of the artistic abilities of local stone masons and not connected to morbidity. The Kenmare Bookshop,  http://www.kenmare.ie/members/kenmare-book-shop/, is great little bookshop which is a treasure trove for books on the locality, many of them like my own, of  a small print run but interesting and valuable documents for anyone interested in local history. Its also great when you go into a bookshop run by people who know and love books. My apologies to the Kerry people of Beara for not mentioning them in my book. A great book on the area is "Tuosist 6000 Turas Staire go Tuath Ó Siosta" available in this bookshop as well as Kenmare Library.

I also stopped in at The Red Fox, near Killorglin, whom I can announce is now an official stockist of "Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry".  While there I picked up a copy of "The Truth Behind the Irish Famine"  by local man Jerry Mulvihill.
https://www.jerrymulvihill.com/


Characters of Galway video



Great short video here on the characters of Galway, the people who make and made it a special place.


https://vimeo.com/95960177/description

Monday, July 2, 2018

Gone But Not Forgotten reviewed in The Kerryman



Exploring Kerry's link to past - one grave at a time

Book explores stories from all over the county




Fergus Dennehy
They say that you only truly die when the last person visits your grave.  If so, then Galway native Rónán Gearóid Ó'Domhnaill has certainly done his part in helping to keep hundreds of forgotten stories alive here in Kerry.
Now living and teaching in Dublin, Rónán has spent a few weeks of each summer over the past two years travelling around to almost every graveyard in Kerry and recording the graves and stories he finds there. 
He has since published a book on the subject called 'Gone But Not Forgotten: Historic Graves of Kerry', which is now on sale in all good bookshops around the county. "I like to look at old graves and monuments, and through these, I examined the history of Kerry," said Rónán.
"I think that graveyards are under-explored parts of our heritage. They are an important part of our culture and traditions and a great link to the past. They are full of forgotten histories." Some of the graveyards which he visited over the course of his research included Rathass in Tralee; Muckross Abbey and Killegy graveyard in Killarney; and Sneem cemetery.
Among the stories that Rónán touches on in his book is the Tarbert drowning, which claimed the lives of 17 young people in August 1893. Another graveyard he writes about is Dromavalley, which contains the graves of the first casualties of the Easter Rising. In Cahersiveen, Rónán discovered the grave of Killarney native and Vatican Pimpernel, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who helped thousands escape from the Germans during the Second World War. "Kerry people of all hues are represented in this book. I leave no judgment in this book; I am only seeking to tell the stories of those who made Kerry."
Kerryman

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry a review

My first review from the Irish Central , Based in New York.

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/irish-history-graves-kerry

Studying an underappreciated part of Ireland’s heritage, a direct portal into the past, the graveyards of those “Gone But Not Forgotten.”


Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry
Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill

A study of graveyards may seem morbid to some, but graveyards, underappreciated parts of our heritage, are full of forgotten histories.  It is these forgotten histories that appeal to me and I travel the country seeking out lesser known tales which led to me write two books on a variety of characters and episodes from Irish history in Fadó and its sequel Fadó Fadó. Graveyards are a direct portal to the past and visiting old underexplored graveyards became a hobby which resulted in Gone the Way of Truth, a study of the graves of the great and the unknown of my native Galway. Two years ago I turned my attention of Kerry, a county in which I spend a great deal of time, both as a tour guide and as a place where I bring my young family on holiday. Gone But Not Forgotten is the fruit of several trips I made to Kerry and several hours spent in research libraries.
Nowhere is the history of Kerry so concentrated than at Ratass Cemetery, where more than thousand years of the Kerry story is represented and though I mention a broad variety of people buried there, only the surface is scratched. Some graveyards have an eerie but beautiful feeling about them. Killegy, just outside Killarney is one such place and a massive Celtic cross looking onto the mountains commemorates the Herbert family interred underneath it while a ruined mort chapel there has a plaque informing the visitor of a strange nocturnal burial there in 1714. Another Herbert, assassinated during the Land war in Currans, has a more humble grave. Muckross Abbey has a plaster sculpture of a lady in Roman dress dating from 1829. It is the work of Waterford born John Edward Carew whose work is also to be seen on Nelson’s Column in London. Dromavally contains the grave of the first casualties of the Easter Rising. Cahersiveen has the simple grave of the Vatican Pimpernel, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who achieved international fame for helping Allied prisoners escape from the Germans during the Second World War. Unfortunately fellow Killarney native Jane McCarty, buried in France and who did similar work is not commemorated with even a gravestone as it was destroyed when the lease on her plot ran out.
Graveyards are often located beside water as it provides a barrier between this life and the next. Some have incredible tales attached. The graveyard at Dromulton for example moved itself to Kilsarcon when an unpopular person was buried there. When grave robbers broke open the tomb of the Lady Dowager several decades after her passing at Ardfert, they were petrified to find her corpse very much intact which ensured her a place in local lore.  The county had several hundred graveyards for unbaptised children known as a cillín or ceallúrach, though many have been destroyed or reclaimed by nature when they went out of use in the 1960s. It was not just unbaptized children who were buried here but also baptised ones, vagrants, strangers, suicide victims and women who had died after childbirth but who had not been churched. 
The wake customs of Kerry are also described here in depth. Some of the older rituals surrounding funerals seem to the modern mind quite bizarre. Eibhlín Ní Chonaill, aunt of the famous Daniel O’Connell, drank her husband’s blood after he was murdered by redcoats in 1773. The lament she composed at his wake became the most famous in the Irish language.  During the 18th century when the penal Laws were enforced, gravestones were the only place where religious icons could be displayed for Catholics and the surviving gravestones merit attention. So too does the deep hand chiselled inscriptions as crisp today as the day they were carved. It doesn’t matter that many of the words were misspelt as most of the population was illiterate anyway. In a nod to the massive Kerry Diaspora, the book features a chapter on Kerry people who made a name for themselves beyond the county, people such As Daniel O’Connell, writers such as Maurice Walsh and Muiris Ó Suilleabháin and winner of the Victoria Cross Richard Kelliher to name but a few.
Kerry people of all hues are represented in this book, richly illustrated with black and white photos. While not shying away from controversial topics, I leave judgement of character to the reader for I seek neither to extol nor condemn, just to tell the story of those who made Kerry.
Gone But Not Forgotten by Rónán Gearóíd Ó Domhnaill is published by Lettertec.

Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry - Availability

I have just returned from a short holiday in Ballyheigue and had the chance to visit a few bookshops in Kerry. After all, if I don't approach people, nobody will know if the book exists or not. I must say, the people of Kerry were very receptive and people who owe me nothing, could not have been more helpful.

Gone but Not Forgotten is now available in the following bookshop in County Kerry:

Kenmare Bookshop
O'Mahonys, Tralee
Polymath, Tralee
The Kerry Bookshop, Tralee
Easons Tralee
Flavin's Newsagent, Listowel
The Dingle Bookshop
An Cafe Liteartha, Daingean
The Red Fox, Kilorglin

Outside of Kerry it is available at:
Alan Hanna of Dublin
Hodges Figgis of Dublin
Waterstones of Cork
books.ie
Kennys.ie
Charlie Byrnes of Galway
easons (awaiting delivery)
Argosy (sample copy sent, pending approval)


A number of copies have also been ordered for libraries so your local library can also get a copy.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

 
An rud is annamh is iontach, a seldom thing is wonderful, is a proverb we say in Irish and apt to my self-published books. As they are a small print run, financed out of my own pocket, they can't be everywhere and I am grateful to the book stores who stock them. There are seen here in The Village Bookshop in Moycullen. They are also available in Charlie Byrnes, Hodges Figgis, Waterstones and online at books.ie and Kennys.ie. The latter does not charge postage and delivers worldwide.  

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry


I am currently in the process of marketing my humble offering on historic graves of County Kerry, published in May of this year. It is essentially the story behind who is buried in the county and their contribution to the heritage of Kerry. It is an eclectic mix and the contribution of Kerry people on a national and international level to politics and literature, among others, is also acknowledged. As my book is self-published, I have to market it myself which is both an exciting and daunting task. It is great to meet book sellers with a passion for books and the invaluable tips they give me are much appreciated. 
Copies will soon be available for sale on line but as I myself prefer to look at a book first, it will be also be available in select shops. 
It is currently available in Charlie Byrnes of Galway, Alan Hanna of Rathmines, Hodges Figgis of Dawson Street, Dublin. I march on the Kingdom of Kerry next week so check this site for availability.



http://www.alanhannas.com/Search.asp?SearchTerm=Ronan%20Gearoid%20O%20domhnaill

It can also be bought from me directly for the reasonable sum of 15 Euro plus 5 euro postage and packaging (anywhere in the world).

Graveyard Symbols of County Kerry




Find out more about these symbols and where to find them in my book " Gone But Not Forgotten Historics Graves of Kerry", available through this site.

Great War Memorial, Glasnevin, Dublin




Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Ireland's Smallest Chapel


The Costello Memorial Chapel is the smallest chapel in Ireland. It was built by Edward Costello on the death of his wife Mary Josephine in 1877. It is located in the heart of Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. More information is available here:

http://www.carrickonshannonparish.com/costello.htm







Ballymullen Barracks, Tralee

 Very little remains today of Ballymullen Barracks, built around 1819.  The area was the sight of several execution with most victims still buried in unmarked graves as was British policy from the 19th century on. The plaque below commemorates three Republicans, one of whom was  a deserter from the British army, executed by Free State forces at Ballymullen following a firefight at Clashmelcon Caves in the final stages of the Irish Civil War.

Monday, May 28, 2018

When the war came to Kerry



Industrial School in Tralee

 Victims of the Industrial School in Tralee.
 Usually, I would not touch or read such a card on a grave, but the author bade the passerby to read it.

Graveyard Symbols




For an explanation of their meaning see pages 16-18 of Gone But Not Forgotten Historic Graves of Kerry.

Kerry

 For many poor Kerry people an iron cross or a low uncut fieldstone was their grave marker.

   A gravestone to a Kerry man who served with the US Navy.

Some pictures from the Graveyards of County Kerry

                                 a cherub

 Kerry man who served in the US army.
 Waterville
 OLD IRA grave at Muckross