Castleisland
| Castleisland Irish: Oileán Ciarraí | |
| County Kerry | |
|---|---|
 Main Street, Castleisland | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | Q998099 |
| Location: | 52°13’51"N, 9°27’53"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,536 (2022) |
| Local Government | |
Castleisland is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry. The town is known for the width of its main street.
As of the 2022 census, Castleisland had a population of 2,536.
Castleisland was described by one of its citizens, journalist Con Houlihan, as "not so much a town as a street between two fields".[1]
The town is in the east of the county, ten miles east of Tralee and twelve miles north of Killarney, close to the borders of Limerick and close to the Cork. The N21 from Limerick continues on to Tralee while the N22 goes to Killarney and other towns in southern Kerry.
The Glanaruddery Mountains to the north and the Stack's Mountains 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.
History
Castleisland was the centre of Desmond power in Kerry. The village got its name, 'Castle of the Island of Kerry', from a castle built in 1226 by Geoffrey Maurice (or de Marisco). Maurice had been the Lord Justice of Ireland during the reign of King Henry III.[2] The island was created by turning the waters of the River Maine into a moat around the castle.
At some time in the 120 years after its construction, the castle was taken by the forces of the Fitzgerald dynasty. It is known that in 1345 the castle was being held for Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond by Sir Eustace de la Poer and other knights when it was captured by Sir Raoul d'Ufford, Chief governor of Ireland. Sir Eustace and the other knights were captured and executed.[2] 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 8 May 1921, two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) men were shot by the IRA while leaving Castleisland Parish Church; one of the men died.[3][4] Two months later, on 10 July 1921, three IRA men and four British soldiers were killed during a gunfight in the town.[5][6]
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.[7]
A vagrant juvenile bald eagle was captured near Castleisland in November 1987, exhausted after apparently flying across the Atlantic Ocean from North America.[8]
About the town
There are several buildings of note in Castleisland, including the Gothic-styled Church of St. Stephen and St. John which was designed by Doolin and built in 1880. The town's Carnegie Trust Library building was designed by R.M. Butler for Tralee District Council. A tender by James O'Connor, Castleisland, for £1,451.4s.7d. was accepted, subject to the approval of the architect. It was completed by 1915. The library was burnt down in 1920, and replaced by the present structure in 1929 and is located at the eastern end of Castleisland's main street. The function of the town library was moved to new premises in 2008, but the original building is still used as the district court for the area.
Crag Cave, one of the most extensive cave systems in the Republic of Ireland open to the public, is located just outside Castleisland.
Sport
- Football: Castleisland A.F.C.
- Gaelic games: Castleisland Desmonds GAA
- Rugby: Castleisland Rugby Football Club
- Athletics: An Ríocht Athletics Club, established in 1973
- Basketball: St Marys
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Castleisland) |
References
- ↑ "JJ Hanrahan has Leinster in his sights and Ireland in his mind". Irish Times. 8 December 2016. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/european-cup/jj-hanrahan-has-leinster-in-his-sights-and-ireland-in-his-mind-1.2898287.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Information on Castleisland from GENUKI
- ↑ The History of W. H. O'Connor, rhyno.ie Rhyno Mills, http://www.rhyno.ie/wh-history.htm, retrieved 2009-05-01
- ↑ "Murders And Outrages. HC Deb 24 May 1921 Vol 142 cc20-3". Hansard. UK Parliament. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1921/may/24/murders-and-outrages. "give the House any further information as to the murders [..] of Head-constable Storey, when leaving mass on Sunday, 8th May, at Castleisland, County Kerry; [..] Head Constable Storey, of Castleisland, was shot dead on leaving Mass, and Sergeant Butler, a sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary, who was with him, was shot in the back and severely wounded"
- ↑ "Castleisland ambush - 10 Jul 1921". https://www.cairogang.com/soldiers-killed/castleisland/castleisland.html. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ↑ "Double-edged truce: The summer of 1921". 9 July 2021. https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0710/1176216-double-edged-truce-the-summer-of-1921/. Retrieved 17 February 2023. "An army patrol out of Castleisland barracks in Co Kerry was ambushed on the Sunday evening [10 July]. Four soldiers and three volunteers were killed"
- ↑ "Castleisland station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf.
- ↑ "Bald Eagle Lands Exhausted in Ireland". Associated Press News. 15 December 1987. https://apnews.com/fd7744016cc242f2c23ec570762c136a.
- Oileán Ciarraí / Castleisland: Placenames Database of Ireland
