Days of the Blackthorn

On town streets or in green fields, at fairs, race meetings andsaints’ patron days, rival gangs of Irishmen used to meet to battle and beateach other with cudgels and sticks. The practice was particularly prevalent in the 1800s, and involvedtens, hundreds and even thousands of men and women at a time.

Days of the Blackthorn uses eyewitness descriptions, as well as theoral history of local communities, to provide a visceral sense of this excitingand brutal activity in County Kerry. From the Battle of Ballyeagh between theCooleens and the Lawlors that left eighteen dead, to the savage combats ofvarious strongmen, such as Seón Burns or ‘Big Mick’ Foley, this is afascinating account of a wild and violent time in Ireland’s history.