Kerry history imprint Cló Staire Chiarraí has announced that the History of the Parishes of BallymacElligott,Ballyseedy,O’Brennan and Nohoval written by Fr William Ferris in 1932 is finally to be published after 85 years.
After five years work on the original manuscript by Editor Brendan McCarthy ,the book will finally see the light of day in May of this year.
The History of the Parishes of BallymacElligott,Ballyseedy,O’Brennan and Nohoval is a rare chronicle of the political, economic and social history of these four parishes located between Tralee and Castleisland in County Kerry as collected by Fr Ferris at the time from the local people.
With its substantial Protestant population, the book records not just the history and development of the Protestant community in this part of North Kerry but also comprises a substantial genealogical archive with information on all the leading Protestant families of the parishes , a census of landowners at the time, an account of the Protestant schools in the area with lists of teachers , an inventory of gravestone inscriptions ,some going back as far as the late 1700s, and much more besides.
So if any of the following names referred to in the book are those of your family or your forebears , then this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Alexander Cureton Gloucester Lauder Nash Leahy Seeler
Armstrong Curran Glouster Ledmond Newton Sealy
Averie Cussen Godfrey Leemy Norris Seely
Babington Cuthbert Goodman Linden Nurse Shellfield
Barkman Dagg Gorham Liston O’Brien Sheridan
Barnet Dawson Graves MacCorneill O’Neill Simms
Bastible Day Groves Mansfield Oliver Stanley
Bateman Dease Haire Markby Osborne Stapleton
Benner Denny Harold Marshall Parnell Stephens
Bennett Disney Hassett Martin Peet Stewart
Bernard Doherty Haughton Mason Peevers Stokes
Blennerhassett Eager Hawey Matson Perry Stretton
Boyle Edgeworth Henue Maxwell Phillips Talbot
Bradshaw Egar Herbert Maybury Pickett Twiss
Brereton Emmet Hick McCarron Poff Vanston
Busteed Farmer Hickson McCowen Pollard Verdon
Carter Faughton Hill McHenry Powell Walker
Casement Ferguson Hilliard McIntosh Quill Walker Mason
Challoner Fitzcar Hoffman Meade Quinnell Warren
Charity Chute Fitzgerald-Day Huggard Mellifont Rael Watson
Cherry Mason Fitzpatrick Hussey Meyler Randall West
Chism/Chisholm Follis James Millar Revington Wharton
Chute Foster Jeffcott Millward Reynolds Whateley
Conway Hickson Franks Jeffrey Molyneaux Rooney Whiston
Conway Hurley Freeman Jones Moore Rowan Whitston
Cronesbury Frizzel Kearney Morphy Russell Williams
Crosbie Gaine Langdon Murray Ryeves Wright
Crump Gilbert Langford Nash Saunders Yielding
This fully-indexed book will be an indispensable addition to the genealogy of the Protestant community in Kerry and ,with a limited print-run ,is likely to become a collector’s item.
Fr William Ferris (1881-1971) was a priest of the Kerry Diocese and served during his career in Listowel (1914-15), Firies (1915-18), Tralee (1918-22) , Rathmore (1922-29) , BallymacElligott (1929-34) , Millstreet (1934-35) ,Allihies (1935-38) , Glenflesk (1938-43) and Ballylongford (1943-69). He died in 1971 aged 90 years and is buried in the church grounds in Ballylongford.
During his life, Fr Ferris published six books , including his major political work The Gaelic Commonwealth (1923) and The Story of Man (1948),a book that proved very controversial. He wrote five parish histories of which his History of the Parishes of BallymacElligott,Ballyseedy,O’Brennan and Nohoval is the first to be published in full.
Fr Ferris’s Parish Histories : BallymacElligott, Ballyseedy, O’Brennan and Nohoval ( Cló Staire Chiarraí) pp.304 ISBN: 978-1-9999070-0-6 Price: tbc Published : May 2018
Contact details:
E : ballymacbook@gmail.com
W : www.ballymacelligott.com
Biographical Note on the Editor :
Brendan McCarthy , a native of Tralee ,Co. Kerry , is a graduate of University College Dublin and a solicitor by profession. After a twenty five year legal career in the City of London, he now pursues his interest as a local historian ,his current area of research being Fr William Ferris’s unpublished histories of Kerry parishes.