The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Historian couple publish 2016 heritage collection
FROM Bertie Ahern’s account of his own significant role in securing the Good Friday Agreement through the pioneering days of women’s horse racing, RIC activity in Kerry during the War of Independence, life in the Presentation Convent in Milltown and so much more, the latest offering of the Irish Life and Lore series has surely be said to have something for everyone.
Tralee historian couple Maurice and Jane O’Keeffe are delighted to release their latest collection of interviews this week in the 2016 Heritage Oral History Collection in a publication full of hours of fascinating conversations –much of it of great interest to this county.
“The 2016 Heritage Collection comprises 29 recordings on a wide variety of topics from science and technology to business, sport, art, history, the Gardaí, education, farming traditions and so much more,” Maurice told The Kerryman this week.
The couple have unearthed priceless firsthand information over the years from hundreds who were on the frontline of history - most notably with the work they published earlier this year on 1916. This latest collection differs slightly from previous Irish Life and Lore outings in not clinging to a single theme, but there’s value in this too as it offers something different in each interview.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern leads the collection in an interview of over 50 minutes Maurice recorded at his Drumcondra home surely of interest to everyone on the island for what it reveals of the Good Friday negotiations.
“There’s a lot of great interest in this collection from a Kerry point of view. For instance Heather Callaghan recounts her pioneering days as one of the first professional women jockeys in the country, and recalls her first win which occurred in Tralee in 1972!” Maurice said.
Also of great Kerry note in the collection are Lispole farmer Séamus Devane - who talks about everything from the Economic War of the 1930s to the formation of Kerry Co-Op; Dingle taxi driver Seán Moran who recalls his days driving Robert Mitchum to and from the Ryan’s Daughter set; Killorglin native and Professor Emeritus of Medieval Irish History at UCC Donncha Ó Curráin; Listowel native Sr Martina Relihan who spent her life in Milltown’s Presentation Convent and much, much more. Visit www. irishlifeandlore.com. to obtain recordings.