When the present church which is dedicated to St Michael was being built in Lixnaw one wall of the old church was allowed to stand near the altar rails in the new building. Usually when a person went to confession in Lixnaw, the penance imposed on him was - to go to Kiltomey cemetery and bring from there a skeleton and place it by the old wall in the chapel. The story teller - Mary Brosnan remembers quite well to see a large heap of skeletons there, to her knowledge the people did not take [?] the skeletons, but she does not know what happened them.
Another penance imposed on penitents was to stand near the

I live in the townland of Kiltomey. It is in the parish of Kilcaragh and the barony of Glanmaurice and the County of Kerry. There are about thirteen houses in the townland and the approximate number of people living in it is sixty. The family name most common is Connor. Most of the houses are slated and very few are thatched. There are three old people in the townland. Two of them live with their sons and daughters and the other lives by himself. They do not know any Irish but the can tell stories in English. The names and addresses of these people are:- Patrick Mulcahy, Kiltomey, Lixnaw and James and Mrs Horgan, Kiltomey, Lixnaw.
There is not any ruined house in my district. Most of the land in my townland is good and prosperous but more of it is marshy,

My house is situated in the townland of Irribeg which is about half a mile from Lixnaw. It is situated in the barony of Clanmaurice in the county of Kerry.There are eleven families in Irribeg and sixty-four people live in it. Leninhan is the most common name in Irribeg. There is but one thatched house in Irribeg and two labourer's cottages. There are only two old people in Irribeg and both are getting the old age pension. These old people live with their sons and daughters. None of these people know Irish or they do not speak it. They can tell stories in English but not in Irish. Their names are Tom Lawlor, Irribeg, Lixnaw, Co, Kerry, and Dan Sheehan, Irribeg, Lisnaw, Co, Kerry.There are no ancient buildings in Irribeg or no ruined houses in it

There is a man living in my district named John Healy. He is a retired mason and is now depending on the kindness of the Lixnaw people as he has no house of his own. He is noted for his witty remarks.
He was working in Lixnaw at the Presbytery one day. He was called into his dinner and he went in. The day was Friday and his dinner consisted of fish and potatoes. A small piece of fish was given to him in a large plate which was full to the top of gravy. John sat down and remained looking at the plate in silence for a considerable time. The housekeeper asked him why he was not eating and he said that he was waiting until the tide would go out to catch the fish.

I live in the townland of Ballinageragh which is in the parish of Kilcaragh Lixnaw is in the barony of Clanmaurice and in the County of Kerry. There are twenty-four families in Ballinageragh and in these twenty-four families there are about ninety-four people. The family name most common in Ballinageragh is Dore. There are some very good houses in Ballinageragh, the majority of them being slated. There are some very old people in Ballinageragh and all these old people are very healthy. All of them live very happily for they are getting the Old Age Pension. Any of the old people in Ballinageragh cannot speak Irish. The most of them can tell very interesting and thrilling stories in English of ancient times.
There is one old man in Ballinageragh who is famous for telling famous stories and this man's name and address is Maurice Whelan, Ballinagerah, Lixnaw, County Kerry.
In Ballinageragh there is only one house in ruing and this belonged to

Our Holy Wells.
There is one blessed well in the parish of Lixnaw. It is called Saint Michael's well and it is in the townland of Ballinageragh. It is in Mr. Thomas O'Brien's land and it is about a hundred yards from the public road. The important day for visiting this well is the 29th of September which is Saint Michael's feast day. In years gone by there was a Church near this well but it is no longer there. This old Church was dedicated to Saint Michael. People pay rounds at this well on the 29th September which is Saint Michael's day. They say a number of Rosaries when going around the well and pray for whatever favour they require. They leave some relics after them at the well such as a penny, a piece of cloth or a statue.
There is a beautiful statue of Saint Michael near the well. It was placed there by Mrs. Dan Quilter, Gortinore, Lixnaw, in the year 1923 in return for a favour received by

There are many fairs held in my locality. These fairs are important and good business is done at them.
There are fairs held in Lixnaw, Listowel, Ardfert, Abbeydorney and Causeway. On every second Monday a pig fair is held in Lixnaw. The pigs are sold by weight but sometimes the "jobbers" buy them outside the gate of the weighing yard. Every fortnight a pig fair and a cattle fair are held in Listowel. Three "big fairs" are held there once a year. One is held on the 13th of May, another on the 25th of July and another on the 28th of October. The latter is known as the "November Fair". Horse fairs are held four times in the year in Listowel, on the first Thursday of each quarter.
A fair is held in Ardfert on the 9th of July. This fair is

Lixnaw is noted all over Ireland for its ancient historical ruins. It was not always the unimportant village that it is now. Long ago it was the chief town in the barony of Clanmaurice, being an important town when Listowel was only a collection of a few thatched houses. As long as the year 1320, it was referred to as a flourishing town. There are several old ruins such as the Old Courts, the Monument and the Hermitage. The Old Courts were built on the river Brick. They were built by the Fitzmaurices in the year 1200. This castle is now 738 years old. It is situated in the townland of the Old Courts, in the parish of Kilcaragh and in the barony of Clanmaurice. It is in the count of Kerry and was formerly of great importance. It was built by Thomas Fitzmaurice who was the son of Maurice Fitzgerald and the first baron of Lixnaw. The district was given to Maurice Fitzgerald by Raymond Le Gros as a reward for fighting for him ar the of the Norman

In the year 1577 the Castle underwent a great siege, just a year before the Desmond rebellion. At this time there was a monastery in Abbeydorney and the ruins of of the walls can be still seen. During the siege at Lixnaw Castle the Abbot of Abbeydorney helped Fitzmaurice and he was killed in the fight. Shortly after this, in 1582, Fitzmaurice distroyed that Castle himself so the English would not have the satisfaction of destroying it. It was afterwards repaired and the Fitzmaurices again lived in it. In the year 1599 Charles Wilmot was sent into Kerry to conquer all the Castles but he found Lixnaw Castle empty. It was undermined and was propped with timber, ready to be destroyed. Wilmot left an army in the Castle to defend it. When the Spaniards landed at Kinsale in the year 1601 the Castle was taken by the Irish. It was besieged by Wilmot in 1602. It was taken after a short struggle, Wilmot took it by strategy as he cut off the water supply from the garrison in the Castle and they

There are five forts in my school district. One is situated near the village of Lixnaw in the townland of Lixnaw. Another is in Lisoughtra in William Conway's land. Another is in Ballinagar in George Gilbert's land. Another is in John Pierse's land and another in Thomas McElligott's land at Ballinagar. The fort I know best is the one which is situated in Lisoughtra in Will Conway's land. If you stood in this fort you could see the four other ones in different directions around. People say that a path is leading from each one of these forts to another.
The forts I know of are circular in shape. William Conway's fort has a fence made of trees around it and there is an orchard inside in it. John Mahony and William Conway cut all the trees inside in the fort and dug up the ground and planted apple trees in it. They grew very well and are now producing excellent fruit. The entrance to this fort is a hole in the north side of it. Inside in the middle of the fort is a large

The names of the roads I know best are the Mail road, the Ballinagar road, Muckenaugh road, the New road, Ballinegaragh road and the Monument road. The mail road leads from the Post Office in Lixnaw to Listowel. Ballinagar road leads from Lixnaw Cross to John Shea's house in Ballinagar. Muckenaugh road leads from the Creamery to the end of Muckenaugh. The New Road leads from the end of the Ballinagar road to Rattoo. Ballinegaragh road leads from Ballinegaragh to Tralee. It passes through Abbeydorney and the Monument road leads from the Black Cross to the end of Dysert. Some of these roads are very old such as Ballinagar road and the Mail road. There is not any road in my district which is not in use.
The New Road is only built about forty years ago and an old man

from Lixnaw, which she finally accepted though it did not, as she said, compensate her for the loss of her son.The townland of Kiltomey was afterwards sold and was, up to the time of the Land Purchase Acts, in possession of a different landlord. A large portion of this property of the the earls passed over to Lord Listowel at the time of the confiscations, but the townland of Kiltomey though in the midst of this property remained in different hands, a separate property, thus in some measure proving the truth of the legend of the widow and her son.Another incident is related as having happened in the same orchards. The earls employed a number of workmen in the orchards and gardens. These were principally composed of a tribe of family named Hurley who lived at Ahacoora, not far from Lixnaw. The Hurleys were strong determined men and as the earls steward who supervised their work was very unpopular, being a very harsh and as they considered unjust man, they determined to get rid of him. They came early to their work in the

Feats of StrengthAbout 200 years ago there lived in the parish of Lixnaw a great giant name Michael Pearse generally known as 'Big Mick Pierse.'
Some of his forebears seem to have owned an estate with a mansion - the townland of Cro*** a few miles south of Lixnaw and where once the father of Lord Kitchener lived. The property at this time belonged to a family named Ponsonby. Big Mick Pearse wandered through the demesne one day and was met by the owner Mr Ponsonby. Mick was told that he was trespassing and ordered off the place. As Mr Ponsonby was conveying him to the nearest exit walking along a plantation of young trees Mick selected a young ash tree said to Mr Ponsonby that he would take this as a prop for his old age, caught it with one hand and pulled it up by the roots. The owner was too astonished at the great strength displayed before his eyes that he did not even protest.
On another occassion Mick came across a number of men - about twenty in all who were endeavouring

A road was made by the cars of Lixnaw from Lixnaw to Ardfert, a distance of about 12 miles. This was a paved road - Quite close to the mansion of the early and about 100 yards or even less up the river from the present bridge was a bridge built by the cars. The road extended from this bridge through the townlands of Gurtenare + Deerpark, but at Deerpark cross, known locally as the Mall Cross" this road seems to have merged into the existing road, or rather the new road was built in the site of the old paved road from this cross on to Ardfert. The portion for some distance west of the new bridge is known as Bohar Nua or the New road. Portions of the site of the old road have been discovered in Gurtenare + Deerpark when cultivating the land, and may still be pointed out.
Note. There was unearthed some years ago near this old road the thigh bone of a man who must have been a giant indeed. The bone when placed on end beside the leg of a man above 6 ft. in height reached to the man's hip bone.

Bishop Moriarty was born at Derrivin. This townland is in the parish of Lixnaw but it is nearer to Abbeydorney village than to Lixnaw village.
Father Maurice Slattery still lives. He is Superior General of the African Missionaries. He now lives in Rome.
Dean O'Leary of Tralee and his brother the late Canon O'Leary both attended the O'Dorney school when children.
Their names are in an old Register still preserved in the school.

The old people say that there was a "hedge school" near where Maurice Allen now lives, this is about a quarter of a mile from the school, on the road to Lixnaw. There is a hill a little bit further on, which is called Clogher. It is supposed that there was a convent there when the Normans, that is the Geraldines, were in Lixnaw. On the same road in a place called "The Rock", it is related that a woman lived there with her only daughter. The daughter died, and the mother told nobody, but remained alone with the corpse, and at midnight a hand was put on her throat and she was put into bed. She died soon after, but she herself told the story. Her house now in ruins, is always avoided at night.

o'clock and the team took refreshments in shops. The train left Dublin about six o'clock in the evening and was back at Lixnaw at three o'clock in the morning, and the team had to walk home from Lixnaw station. About a week after they got gold medals. They got no money but their expenses were freed that day by the Central Board.
This account I got from my grandfather, Michael Sullivan one of the Kerry team, who played that day. He is 71 years now. He sent his medal to a brother in America.

The most remarkable figure in Kerry, two generations ago so far as physical strength was concerned was a man by the name of Shone Burns. He was a native of the parish of Lixnaw and was a man of quiet and gentle disposition and he was as harmless as a child.
Whenever anything happened where man power was required he was there and proved what he was able to do.
There was a member of the R. I. C. stationed in the village of Lixnaw who was always boasting to the other men in the station that there was not a man in Kerry but he was fit to arrest without the assistance of any other one of the force. Being new in the place at this time he knew but very little of Shone. The Sergeant in charge made up a plan with Burns to pretend to be drunk and stagger his way to

gold was hidden there and that two Limerick men came for to dig for it and they came to a flag. They lifted it up and blue lights sprang up from it and the men ran for their lives and very often blue lights are often seen at night by people. It is round and there is a small fence around it.
Fort William in Lixnaw in the Fort field in Sullivan's land Lixnaw, Tralee. It is shaped round and surrounded by trees. It is supposed that fairies upon fairy horses jump the fort.
Trants Fort in Ballyduhig Listowel in Trant's land. There are flags covering

38
Lixnaw Monument
The Monument of Lixnaw was built about the year 1692. It was erected by Fitzmaurice. He got married to a protestant lady called Constance Long and Fitzmaurice preverted after his marriage. Fitzmaurice was the 20th Baron of Lixnaw and the 22nd in descent to Raymond le Gros. When his wife died in 1685 his people who remained Catholics did not want her to be buried in the family tomb in Kiltomey near by. He buried her outside the tomb but this did not satisfy them fully, however she was not disinterred. Fitzmaurice did not want any further trouble so he built this Monument for himself and his successors. He and his son and grandson were buried in this Monument. Fitzmaurice died in 1687. McCarthy Mor owned these lands first and he gave them to Fitzmaurice and they later came into the hands of Lord Listowel who sold them to his tenants under the Wyndham Act of 1903.
Micheal Lynch,
Doon, Ballybunion
19-7-'38
Note_ This Fitzmaurice 21st Baron married Anne, daughter of Sir Wm Petty of Down Survey fame, who had 50,000 acres. Her dowry was the Petty estate in South Kerry. The late Lord Lansdowne was a descendant.