Forging a Kingdom: The GAA in Kerry 1884-1934

County identity is fundamental in the GAA. By 1934 Kerry was one of the bastions of the Association. Forging A Kingdom charts the development of the GAA in Kerry and how it became the county’s most popular sporting organisation. Links with cultural and revolutionary movements, the role of the county’s GAA in the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and Civil War, and the effects of political violence on the Kerry GAA are outlined. Civil War atrocities at Knocknagoshel, Cahirciveen and Ballyseedy involved players from both sides of the conflict. After the Civil War the senior Kerry side emerged politically divided yet united in play, the symbol Irish society craved in its search for unity. Some of the first clubs established included Laune Rangers, Dr. Crokes, Tralee Mitchels and Kenmare; hurling featured largely in Kenmare and North Kerry; mass brawls were a regular occurrence; Ballyduff representing Kerry won the 1891 hurling All-Ireland. Names like Stack, Ashe, Brosnan, O'Sullivan, Fitzgerald and Sheehy pepper this history. Kerry remained a political hotbed of Republicanism after the Civil War and this continually manifested itself among the GAA hierarchy. Despite this, by 1934 Kerry’s unique tradition within the GAA had been forged. This is an absorbing insight into the world of the GAA in Kerry from its origins in pre-independence Ireland.