KERRY MAGAZINE LAUNCHES TO FANTASTIC RECEPTION

FROM the the legacy of the Reformation in Kerry to the history of the Festival of Kerry and the story of the first 50 years of Siamsa Tíre, this year’s bumper edition of The Kerry Magazine proves a rich font of information on the back story of the Kingdom.

Published each year by the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, the Magazine is today a favourite of the Christmas season – out in time for an ocean of fireside-evening perusals.

Society President Marie O’Sullivan paid tribute to all in the 500-strong group as they came to launch the 2018 edition on Tuesday last at Killarney Library to a great reception.

“I would like to thank each and every one of these individuals for the tremendous contributions, which they have made during the year,” Marie stated in her address on Tuesday.

As ever, it’s full of the most entertaining and insightful fare.

Given the breadth of the subject material, it is impossible to touch on the entire output, but among the many gems, and in no particular order, are the following:

Bryan MacMahon’s piece on the Tralee trial of assitant post mistress Mary O’Reilly – involving novelist Anthony Trollope as prosecution witness and legendary nationalist leader Isaac Butt as senior counsel for the defence – is a model of its kind. It draws to great effect on Butt’s hilarious cross-examination of Trollope, as reported on in The Kerry Evening Post.

John Drummey examines the Rose of Tralee’s global reach and influence since 1959 in the opening feature of the 2018 edition; Caitríona Fallon presents the story of Siamsa Tíre in vivid relief; and Dr Róisín Kennedy looks at the Harry Clarke stained glass in An Díseart, Dingle.

There’s plenty of food for thought for educators in Claudia Kohler’s account of the innovative approach taken by Kerry County Museum in firing the imagination of the young on the subject of the Killaclohane Portal Tomb near Milltown.

Meanwhile Killarney Rector Venerable Simon J Lumby casts a fresh look, if such a thing is possible half a millenium later, at the Reformation split in Christendom and its lasting legacy here and across the world. It’s more essential reading for all history lovers.

Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin Venerable Simon Lumby; Marie O’Sullivan, President; Patricia O’Hare, Muckross Education Officer; and Eamon Browne, a librarian in Killarney, launching the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society’s Annual Kerry Magazine at the Killarney library.