History of the Blackstairs explored in new book

THE rich local history of communities in the shadow of the beautiful Blackstairs Mountain is the topic of a brand new book which was officially launched at Killanne Hall. ‘Blackstairs Mountain, Springmount and Surroundings’ by Myles Kavanagh takes a look at the history and folklore of the area, taking in villages such as Rathnure, Killanne, Templeudigan, Springmount, Kiltealy, Templeshanbo and the Blackstairs Mountain commons area.

The book was officially launched by Bishop Denis Brennan, a native of the area himself, who found the book to be a fascinating explanation of what he said Fr Fintan Morris used to call ‘ the high country’.

Known as a school teacher at Clohamon National School, Tomnalossett native Myles later worked at Garryhilll and Ballinabranna schools in Carlow before settling in Bagenalstown with his wife Philomena. He was delighted to see such a strong attendance and interest in the topic at the official launch in Killanne Hall and stated that it had been a real labour of love with quite a bit of time and research being invested to arrive at the finished product. He thanked family and friends for their support in getting the project to this point and also thanked Bishop Denis Brennan for performing the launch.

Copies of ‘Blackstairs Mountain, Springmount and Surroundings’ are available at local outlets for the price of €10.

Marie Nolan, Myles Kavanagh, Ann Murphy and Breda Kavanagh at Myles Kavanagh’s Book Launch in Killanne Hall.

Carmel Crean, Ella Kavanagh, Mark Kavanagh and Gill Kavanagh.