Tipperary parish initiative chronicles its past

The Tipperary parish of Moyne-Templetuohy may not be one of the largest in the country, but that has not stopped it producing what is probably the most comprehensive local history of any parish in Ireland.

A Life Of Its Own - The Story Of A Tipperary Parish is a 1,600-page chronicle of life in Moyne-Templetuohy from the mid-19th century to the present day.

The three-volume work is the culmination of nearly 10 years of research by a team of 30 locals, all of whom gave their time voluntarily. They trawled virtually every archive in Ireland for any mention of their parish and have brought their findings together with photographs, paintings and other illustrations in a three-volume hardback series.

The project's general editor, Mr Willie Hayes, said records from the National Library, National Archives and local newspapers proved invaluable.

The massive undertaking was boosted further by information from an archaeological dig conducted in the parish in the mid-1990s by the operators of the local Lisheen zinc and lead mine.

"It just goes to show what is available out there by way of historical information, not only on our own parish but on any part of the country," Mr Hayes said.

The motivation behind the three-volume history came from local people themselves, he said.

"When we asked ourselves a while back what we really knew about our parish we found that we didn't know a huge amount. So we decided to simply go and find out what we could".

The finished product chronicles in near-forensic detail the formation of the parish, which dates to the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion around AD1200.

Most of the subject matter deals with life in the parish from the time of the Famine.

Every issue affecting Ireland from that time is dealt with in terms of its impact on Moyne-Templetuohy.

The story of a local priest, Father Andrew Meagher, would have been one of the most controversial of its day.

In the late 18th century he did the unthinkable and converted to the Protestant faith.

Hundreds of pages are dedicated to the Fenian period. A section on "Church, Land and Politics at the end of the 19th Century" deals with local evictions, boycotting, land-grabbing, the Ladies' League, the labour movement and the National League.

One chapter entitled "The New Century" details the cultural nationalism of the Gaelic League, the politics of Home Rule as well as the War of Independence and the Civil War.

A section given over to a century of sport offers light relief from the serious events of the day. The work is completed by a final chapter on the closing decades of the 20th century, which includes sections on the changing role of women, widening educational opportunities and celebrations which marked the new millennium.