Knocknagoshel

Infobox Irish Place
name = Knocknagoshel
gaeilge = Cnoc na gCaiseal
crest

motto =
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pin coords = left: 100px; top: 45px
north coord = 52.331138
west coord = 9.386407
irish grid = R055208
area =
elevation =
province = Munster
county = County Kerry
town pop = 721
rural pop =
census yr = 2006
web =
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Knocknagoshel or Knocknagashel ("Cnoc na gCaiseal", meaning "castle hill", is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. According to the 2006 census, the population of the village was 721. [cite web | title=Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area | work=Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports | publisher=Central Statistics Office Ireland | year=2007 |month=April | url=http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_volume_1_pop_classified_by_area.pdf | accessdate=2007-08-18]

History

Knocknagoshel is a place remembered in Irish history for the extraordinary banner carried aloft by local men at a rally addressed by Irish politician, Charles Stuart Parnell, in Newcastle West in 1891.

"Rise up Knocknagoshel, and take your place among the nations of the earth!"

The banner bearing of 1891 is today commemorated with a plaque on the gable end of a house in the centre of Knocknagoshel village.

Just outside the village in a steeply inclined field, which in 1923 was part of Baranarigh Wood, where five soldiers of the Irish Free State National Army were killed by a booby trap mine on 6 March of that year during the Irish Civil War. The men killed at Knocknagoshel included three officers and two privates, one of whom was a local man. Lieutenant Pat O’Connor was targeted by the Anti-Treaty IRA because of his knowledge of the local I.R.A. organisation and the men involved in it and because of the energetic manner in which he pursued the Anti-Treaty guerrillas. The soldiers were lured into the trap by false information about a republican dug out in the area. The atrocity was to lead to a series of reprisals against the anti-treaty side and the Free State troops killed 19 republican prisoners in county Kerry over the following two weeks (see Executions during the Irish Civil War).

The Gaelic footballer Eddie Walsh, who played at half-back with Kerry GAA, was from Knocknagoshel.

Festivals, Arts and Culture

Knocknagoshel hosts many festivals throughout the year with the Mindana Halloween Festival being one of the major ones. Mindana is a local street theater group.

The annual Pattern Festival, known locally as "The Pattern" is held on the 15th August. The word pattern comes from the Irish "Patrun" or English "Patron" and in the old days, most Irish parishes had a patron saint. On the saint's feast day, the parishioners celebrated what was known as a Pattern Day with Mass and a visit to the Holy Well. In the evening the families of Knocknagoshel compete in a ribbon twirling competition. One member of each of the competing families twirl their family ribbons in tune to traditional music. The winners get to tie their family ribbon to the King of the Sheep and take it home [http://www.abbeyfealeonline.com/2006/08/15/knocknagoshel-pattern-day/] . The custom has been carried out since the early days of the festival and can become very competitive.

Notes

ee also

* List of towns in the Republic of Ireland