The O’Mahony family papers and artifacts from Kilmorna House near Listowel in North Kerry were presented to Kerry Co. Museum in October 2021. Included among the collection is a hand-written letter dated 13 April 1829, written by Pierce Mahony who was working solicitor to Daniel O’Connell, at the House of Lords at Westminster, just as […]
In 2011, while working on the Trinity College Dublin Oral History Collection, I met and recorded Brendan Kennelly. This was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with him and get to know him better. I recorded his life story at length in the Long Room in the old library at Trinity College. May he […]
In 1951 the first Wexford Opera Festival was staged in the Theatre Royal in Wexford town. It began as an informal gathering of friends listening to gramophone music developed into one of Europe’s leading classical music events. In 2008, funded by Wexford Co. Council, we recorded those instrumental in the foundation of an Opera Study […]
‘The Big House in Kerry: A Social History’, edited by Jane O’Hea O’Keeffe, draws together the latest research by some of Kerry’s finest historians into a wide-ranging and detailed account of the lives of a selection the county’s gentry families and their contributions to Kerry’s social, political and physical landscapes. Contents: The Burning of Kerry’s […]
I compiled this recording with Reggie Goodbody in 2007, on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Clare. The recording begins with a description of the background to the flour milling business by the Quakers in Ireland, and details on the Goodbody family line. Reggie’s own career as manager of Legge Bros of O’Connell Street, […]
Last week, I took a trip to The Burren in Co. Clare to revisit people I had recorded 20 years ago for Irish Life and Lore. That visit inspired this week’s podcast, using clips from those earlier recordings. My first destination was Lisdoonvarna to meet Mary Angela Keane, one of the experts on the flora […]
In the 1960s, Vatican 11 resulted in the introduction of great change in the Catholic Church, which included the dismantling and disappearance of many fine eclesiastical artifacts. Major structural work was carried out on the interior of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney in order to adapt the building for the renewal liturgy, and decorative brass work […]
This podcast features many voices from our oral history archive, taken from recordings we compiled over the years with staff members of The Kerryman newspaper and contains some fascinating stories and memories of working with the newspaper. It provides a great insight into how deeply embedded The Kerryman really is in the local community, and […]
Over the years, we at Irish Life and Lore have recorded people involved in the discovery of prehistoric artifacts and structures which have remained hidden for thousands of years in Ireland. These include a cutaway bog in a valley on the Beara Peninsula, close to Castletownbere, Co. Cork; a crannog (prehistoric dwelling) found in a […]
This podcast captures a moment of discovery when a treasure trove of old family letters dating back to the late 18th century, military uniforms and swords from the same period, old books, paintings and photographs is discovered. The records were very recently found in a trunk in one of the attic rooms at Drummin House, […]
