Decade of Centenaries

Kerry County Council Decade of Centenaries Programme

Historical Sources on the history of county Kerry during the period 1919 – 1923

Under the Decade of Centenaries programme, Kerry County Council contracted Thomas Dillon as a Historian-in-Residence in January 2020 for a three-month period. One of the main objectives outlined for the residency was to produce a comprehensive list of sources, focusing in particular on the Irish War of Independence.

The holdings of various repositories all over the world in relation to the history of County Kerry during this period - and the years leading up to and after the conflict - have been gathered together in this list. From manuscripts, letters, photographs and museum artefacts to books, folklore, newspapers and the military, pension and compensation records of individuals - the range of sources is diverse and seeks to represent many different perspectives.

Sources are an important link to the past and play a key role in understanding the events of times gone by. It is hoped this resource will be a useful tool for historians and the general public for research purposes and that it will further promote an interest in exploring the events of this important period in the history of Kerry.

Access the complete list of sources here:

Historical Sources on the history of county Kerry during the period 1919 -1923, Part 1.

Historical Sources on the history of county Kerry during the period 1919-1923, Part 2

What it said in the Papers: How the Press reported on the War of Independence in Kerry

Kerry has always been well served by its newspapers. There have been only short periods in the past 200 years when there was just a single provider of published news in the county. In the early twentieth century there were as many as 10 titles serving County Kerry. The War of Independence was a period when many of these were hard-pressed to survive, needing to walk a very thin line – if a paper was too republican in its editorial, it was prey to Auxiliary Police action; too establishment-leaning and it was liable to attack by republicans. By the time the Truce was agreed in July 1921, just 1 title (The Kerry People) was still in publication.

This lecture by Michael Lynch, Archivist with Kerry Library, examines the difficulties of reporting in wartime, and some of the reportage carried in the various Kerry titles during the War of Independence. The lecture was presented by Kerry Writers' Museum as part of it's North Kerry War of Independence Centenary Commemoration Programme. The lecture is kindly supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Art, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for its generous support under the Decade of Centenaries Programme.

National Decade of Centenaries Plan 2021

The national Decade of Centenaries Programme for 2021 was announced Tuesday, 28 April, by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister Martin and Catherine Heaney, Chair of the National Museum. The launch took place in the National Museum, Collins Barracks.

The programme is available to view here.