History & Folklore - West Cork People

History & Folklore

Teachers matter

Dr Michael Crowley February, 2024

Looking to the past, Michael Crowley reminds us of the important role that the teachers of today play in the future. Once the National School system had been set up in Ireland in 1831, the question of finding teachers very quickly became an issue. Many teachers were untrained in the […]

Bonaparte movie fails to capture the true Napoleon

Kieran Doyle February, 2024

The opening line in Charles Dickens’ much-loved novel, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ is the often quoted one – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. Has it ever been any other way? The narrative of the book spanned the run-up to the French Revolution, […]

History & Folklore

Páirc Uí Chaoimh: The history behind the name

WCP Staff February, 2024

Before there was Páirc Uí Chaoimh there was The Athletic Grounds, and before that there was Cork Park. In light of the current controversy around the re-naming of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Pauline Murphy looks back on the history of the stadium, its namesake and some memorable games that took place […]

The prominent role of cats in folklore: Part 2

Eugene Daly February, 2024

Following on from last month, Eugene Daly continues sharing some of the legends and sayings around cats in Ireland and other countries. There are many legends of cats in other countries. In Brittany a silver or ‘money’ cat (chat d’argent) could serve nine masters and make them all rich. In […]

Is Paul Lynch’s novel ‘Prophet Song’ a tale of things to come?

Kieran Doyle January, 2024

On November 23, 2023, Dublin bordered on the brink of anarchy. The riots fuelled by far-right propagandists and lit by criminal opportunists, racists and anarchists engulfed Dublin for a few scary hours. Scary, not by virtue of scale or duration, but because something like this, was happening in Ireland. Three […]

The prominent role of cats in folklore: Part I

Eugene Daly January, 2024

In part one of two-part article, Eugene Daly shares the many superstitions and stories connected with the cat in Irish folklore. A traditional Irish greeting on entering a house was; ‘God save all here, except the cat’, on account of its association with the devil. Despite this, it was believed to […]

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