Archdeacon Rowland Blennerhassett (b. 1907)

Track 1: The landing of Free State soldiers in Fenit, Co. Kerry in July 1922 and their subsequent arrival in Tralee is recalled. Track 2: Rowland Blennerhassett’s childhood in Caherina, Tralee and a story related by his family concerning World War I are discussed. The occupation of Tralee by the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries is recalled and he further recalls leaving his home to study for his Divinity course in Dublin, and his subsequent appointment to Cobh, Co. Cork. Track 3: His father, George, who was Secretary at McCowan’s Shamrock mills in Tralee is remembered as is an incident in 1920, at the height of The Troubles, when he and his father were travelling by sidecar to Newcastlewest and were intercepted by a local Volunteer. Track 4: Hours of curfew in Tralee and the arrest by the Black and Tans, outside his home in Caherina, of a Republican during these hours are recalled, as is his discovery, some time later, that this man had been executed in Blennerville. The shooting of Major John McKinnon by Republicans in Tralee is also recalled. Track 5: His years of ministry in Cobh during The Emergency and an anecdote relating to the arrest of a rescued German pilot in Waterford are described. Track 6: His time in ministry in Waterford and in Westport, Co. Mayo, where he spent 25 years, is remembered, as are his uncles, Jack and Tom, both of whom served in World War I and fought in Flanders. His brother’s years in the Navy during World War II, travelling back and forth on the Atlantic convoys, are also recalled. Track 7: He retired to Fenit, Co. Kerry, in the 1950s and he gives further details of his childhood in Caherina and of his neighbours at this time.