The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Knocknagoshel’s powerful historic message immortalised in a commemorative mural
IN 1891 the people of Knocknagoshel marched the short distance over the county bounds to Newcastle West in a protest at attempts to quell a speech by Irish patriot, Charles Stewart Parnell.
The era was fraught with tension as the land war was escalating and people’s desire to own their own land was paramount. But the rally is made famous for a banner carried by the Knocknagoshel men, it read: ‘Arise Knocknagoshel and take your place among the nations of the earth!’
Although the message was penned in support of the Irish National Land League, its meaning has continued to echo through the centuries, defining the patriotic and communal pride of Knocknagoshel. And, as this year marks the 130th anniversary of the rally, local man Anthony McAuliffe asked artist Mary Leen to produce a mural that would memorialise the event in a lasting way.
Mary’s painting, which now takes pride of place in the village, brilliantly depicts the vibrant image of a 19th Century farmer purposefully stepping forward in a style emblematic of ‘phoenix from the flames’, with messages of defiance and renewal at its core.
Mary says the mural even manages to conjoin the community’s struggle of 1891 with the current ‘struggle’ of facing down Covid in communities everywhere. “The spirit, rising and coming out of the ashes of a difficult place, is what we need now. The mural reactivates that spirit of the fight that is in Irish people,” Mary said.
Mary has also written a powerful proclamation-like message which will be placed alongside the mural once an official unveiling can take place in safer times. Mary’s words are thought-provoking that compare the struggles of the present with the past: “Fast forward 130 years in time to a very different Ireland,” Mary says. “We have home rule in 26 counties and continue to fight for the remaining six counties... People can own their own land now. We can buy and sell our land but we cannot build our homes on our own land...”