Castleisland
Encyclopedia
Castleisland is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry
in south west Ireland
. The town is renowned for the width of its main street. Castleisland has a population of 2,170.
Castleisland was described by one of its most well-known citizens, journalist Con Houlihan, as "not so much a town as a street between two fields".
built in 1226 by Geoffrey Maurice (or de Marisco), who was the Lord Justice of Ireland during the reign of King Henry III
. The island was created by turning the waters of the River Maine into a moat around the castle.
Sometime in the 120 years after its construction the castle was taken by the forces of the Earl of Desmond
. It is known that in 1345 the castle was being held for the Earl of Desmond by Sir Eustace de la Poer and other knights when it was captured by Sir Ralph Ufford, Lord Justice of Ireland. Sir Eustace and the other knights were captured and executed. Little is known of the further history of the castle and few ruins are left of it today. The main ruin is the de Marisco tower, located behind some private houses at the western end of the town, on the Killarney Road.
The Black and Tans
and the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) were active in Castleisland during the Irish War of Independence
in the 1920s. On 9 May 1921, two Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) men were shot by the IRA outside Castleisland Parish Church; one of the men died. On 10 July in the same year, five IRA men and four British soldiers were killed during a gunfight in the town.
from Limerick
continues on to Tralee while the N22
goes to Killarney
and other towns in Southern Kerry.
The Glenaruddery mountains to the north and the Stacks to the west define the beginning of the 'Vale of Tralee', at the mouth of which Castleisland is situated. Most of the land around Castleisland is pasture for dairy stock, with bogland located at various locations around the town, particularly to the east and south. It is in the barony of Trughanacmy
.
It also caused great inconvenience for local people over many years, and eventually the local community decided that action was needed. In 2007 with a General election
looming, a committee was formed and an organised campaign was formally started, to lobby for a bypass in Castleisland. The campaign was successful and a promise of funding for the new road was obtained from the National Roads Authority
.
After over a year of planning, construction of the new road was started in May 2009 with a projected completion date of December 2010. The project involved creating two major new sections of road and one smaller section. It consists of a 3.4 km dual carriageway
linking the Limerick road roundabout
north of Castleisland to the Tralee road west of the town, and a 1.6 km single carriageway continuing south from the roundabout on the Tralee road to meet the Killarney road roundabout southwest of the town. At the Limerick road end, there is also a smaller section consisting of 0.4 km of single carriageway plus climbing lane. This minor section links the newly constructed Limerick road roundabout to the pre-existing N21 Limerick road.
On the 22nd of October 2010, the bypass was officially opened by the then Minister for Defence
, Tony Killeen
. This was two months ahead of the original target completion date.
with the town of Bannalec
in France
.http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-_29004-avl-20100306_actuLocale.Htm
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
in south west Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The town is renowned for the width of its main street. Castleisland has a population of 2,170.
Castleisland was described by one of its most well-known citizens, journalist Con Houlihan, as "not so much a town as a street between two fields".
History
Castleisland was the centre of Desmond power in Kerry. The village got its name, Castle of the Island of Kerry, from a castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
built in 1226 by Geoffrey Maurice (or de Marisco), who was the Lord Justice of Ireland during the reign of King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. The island was created by turning the waters of the River Maine into a moat around the castle.
Sometime in the 120 years after its construction the castle was taken by the forces of the Earl of Desmond
Earl of Desmond
The title of Earl of Desmond has been held historically by lords in Ireland, first as a title outside of the peerage system and later as part of the Peerage of Ireland....
. It is known that in 1345 the castle was being held for the Earl of Desmond by Sir Eustace de la Poer and other knights when it was captured by Sir Ralph Ufford, Lord Justice of Ireland. Sir Eustace and the other knights were captured and executed. Little is known of the further history of the castle and few ruins are left of it today. The main ruin is the de Marisco tower, located behind some private houses at the western end of the town, on the Killarney Road.
The Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
and the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) were active in Castleisland during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
in the 1920s. On 9 May 1921, two Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) men were shot by the IRA outside Castleisland Parish Church; one of the men died. On 10 July in the same year, five IRA men and four British soldiers were killed during a gunfight in the town.
Geography
Castleisland is often considered the Gateway to Kerry, as the main road to all towns in Western and Southern Kerry passes through here. The N21N21 road
The N21 road is a national primary road in Ireland. The route runs from the M20 outside Limerick to Tralee with connecting roads to other parts of County Kerry. It is in length. It runs through the towns of Abbeyfeale, Newcastlewest, Adare and the village of Templeglantine. Prior to October 2010...
from Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
continues on to Tralee while the N22
N22 road
The N22 road is a national primary road in Ireland which goes through counties Kerry and Cork, from Tralee in the west through Killarney, Macroom and Ballincollig to Cork City in the east....
goes to Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
and other towns in Southern Kerry.
The Glenaruddery mountains to the north and the Stacks to the west define the beginning of the 'Vale of Tralee', at the mouth of which Castleisland is situated. Most of the land around Castleisland is pasture for dairy stock, with bogland located at various locations around the town, particularly to the east and south. It is in the barony of Trughanacmy
Trughanacmy
Trughanacmy is a barony in County Kerry, Ireland. The barony is an obsolescent administrative area, having ceased to have any government function since the enactment of the Local Government Act 1898.In 1881 the barony had an area of .-Name:...
.
Buildings of note
- The Gothic styled Church of St. Stephen and St. John was designed by Doolin.
- The Carnegie Trust Library Building which was designed by R.M. Butler in 1920 was located at the eastern end of Castleisland's main street and burned to the ground in the same year. It was subsequently rebuilt on the same site. The function of town library was moved to new premises in the late Summer 2008, but the building is still used as the district court for the area.
Places of interest
- Crag CaveCrag CaveCrag Cave is a cave in Ireland, located just outside Castleisland, County Kerry.Formed in elevated limestone rock, the system extends to of surveyed passage, on two levels...
, one of the most extensive cave systems in IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
open to the public, is located just outside Castleisland.
Transport
Castleisland railway station opened on 30 August 1875. It closed for passenger traffic on 24 February 1947 and for goods traffic on 3 November 1975, finally closing altogether on 10 January 1977.Castleisland Bypass
Since the 1990s traffic congestion had been an issue of great concern to the people of Castleisland and its hinterland. This was because the main road linking most of Co. Kerry with large urban centres, such as Limerick and Dublin, passed through the centre of the town. As a result, the main street through Castleisland dealt not only with local traffic and commercial traffic for the Castleisland area, but also with traffic destined for other Kerry towns such as Tralee and Killarney. Likewise traffic originating in other parts of Kerry was forced to pass through the centre of Castleisland. This resulted in chronic traffic congestion in Castleisland, and on most of its approach roads. During peak traffic times, and particularly at bank holiday weekends, delays of over half an hour were common for traffic passing through Castleisland.It also caused great inconvenience for local people over many years, and eventually the local community decided that action was needed. In 2007 with a General election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
looming, a committee was formed and an organised campaign was formally started, to lobby for a bypass in Castleisland. The campaign was successful and a promise of funding for the new road was obtained from the National Roads Authority
National Roads Authority
The National Roads Authority is a state body in the Republic of Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December 1993 in accordance with S.I. 407 of 1993.County councils remain responsible for local...
.
After over a year of planning, construction of the new road was started in May 2009 with a projected completion date of December 2010. The project involved creating two major new sections of road and one smaller section. It consists of a 3.4 km dual carriageway
Carriageway
A carriageway consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally...
linking the Limerick road roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
north of Castleisland to the Tralee road west of the town, and a 1.6 km single carriageway continuing south from the roundabout on the Tralee road to meet the Killarney road roundabout southwest of the town. At the Limerick road end, there is also a smaller section consisting of 0.4 km of single carriageway plus climbing lane. This minor section links the newly constructed Limerick road roundabout to the pre-existing N21 Limerick road.
On the 22nd of October 2010, the bypass was officially opened by the then Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Ireland)
The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....
, Tony Killeen
Tony Killeen
Tony Killeen is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Clare constituency from 1992 to 2011, and also served as Minister of Defence from 2010–11.-Early and personal life:...
. This was two months ahead of the original target completion date.
Sport
- Castleisland DesmondsCastleisland DesmondsCastleisland Desmonds are a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Castleisland, County Kerry, Ireland. The club won its first County Championship in 1950. They won others in 1981 , 1982 and 1984...
is the local GAAGaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
club. They won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipAll-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipThe All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
in 1985 beating St. Vincents of Dublin in the final. The team was captained by William(Billy) Lyons. The club were also the winners of the RTERaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
reality television show Celebrity BainisteoirCelebrity BainisteoirCelebrity Bainisteoir is a prime-time reality programme produced for Radio Telefís Éireann, which was produced by Animo Television/Kite Entertainment...
in 2010, while managed by singer Derek Burke of Crystal SwingCrystal SwingCrystal Swing is a new wave Country and Western and Country and Irish musical group, from Lisgoold, Cork, Ireland. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her teenage children Dervla and Derek Burke....
. - Castleisland Rugby Football Club U16s was the second rugby club in Kerry, under all age groups, to win a Munster League title in 2008. It was captained by William Casey. Tralee under 18s were the first, winning the Munster under 18 League in 2006. Captained by current Munster academy player Patrick O' Regan.
- An Ríocht Athletics Club, established in 1973, is located at Crageens in Castleisland. Its facilities include an international standard 400-metre tartan athletics track and a soccer pitch.
People
- Mick Galway, Irish rugby internationalIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
player and coach. He hails from Currow. - Con HoulihanCon HoulihanCon Houlihan is considered one of Ireland's finest sportswriters. Over a lengthy career, he has covered many of the greatest Irish and international sporting events, from classic Gaelic football and hurling finals, to soccer and rugby World Cups, the Olympics and numberless race meetings inside...
, Irish sports journalist and columnist for the Evening HeraldEvening HeraldThe Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
. - Charlie NelliganCharlie NelliganCharlie Nelligan is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Castleisland Desmonds and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1976 until 1991.-Club:...
, who was the Kerry GAA goalkeeper for many years during the 1970s and 1980s. He won All-Ireland football medals playing with Kerry and has also trained the Kerry Minor Footballers in recent years. Charlie played his club football with the Castleisland DesmondsCastleisland DesmondsCastleisland Desmonds are a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Castleisland, County Kerry, Ireland. The club won its first County Championship in 1950. They won others in 1981 , 1982 and 1984...
, who won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1985. Charlie now runs coffee shops in Tralee and Castleisland. - Mick Doyle (rugby player)Mick Doyle (rugby player)Mick Doyle was an Irish rugby union international player and coach.Doyle was born in Castleisland, County Kerry, and began playing rugby union at Newbridge College, County Kildare. He went on to study veterinary science at University College Dublin, who he also represented at rugby...
, (October 13, 1941 - May 11, 2004) was an Irish rugby union internationalIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
player and coach. While Doyle was coach, Ireland won the Five Nations Championship1985 Five Nations ChampionshipThe 1985 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-sixth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-first series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played...
and subsequent Triple CrownTriple Crown (Rugby Union)In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
. He also hails from Currow. - The British actress Katherine KellyKatherine Kelly (actress)Katherine Kelly, is a British actress and recording artist who is most well known for playing Becky McDonald in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She has also starred in the film Mischief Night.-Early life and career:...
, best known for her role as Becky McDonaldBecky McDonaldRebecca "Becky" McDonald is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional town of Weatherfield. She is played by actress Katherine Kelly. Becky was created by producer Steve Frost as a recurring...
in the ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, is the daughter of John Kelly, who originally hails from Castleisland. - Denis Mary BradleyDenis Mary BradleyDenis Mary Bradley was an American Catholic priest, who became the first Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire...
(b. 25 February 1846 - 13 December 1903) CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priestPriestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, who became the first BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Manchester, New HampshireManchester, New HampshireManchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
and co-founded Saint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
. He was the first alumnus of St. Joseph's Seminary of TroyTroyTroy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(now in Yonkers, NY) to be consecrated a bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Castleisland is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with the town of Bannalec
Bannalec
Bannalec is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Bannalec are called Bannalécois.-References:** ;* -External links:* * *...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-_29004-avl-20100306_actuLocale.Htm
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in IrelandMarket Houses in the Republic of IrelandMarket houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...