placenamesKnocknagashel
Cnoc na gCaiseal
Knocknagashel’s public history includes a memorable political banner, successive church-building campaigns, Civil War remembrance and a long football tradition.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Cnoc na gCaiseal · Irish · main form · validated name
- Knocknagashel · English · main form
- Knocknagoshel · English · main form · local name
Place & story
The call to arise
The banner carried by local supporters of Charles Stewart Parnell at Newcastle West in 1891 gave Knocknagoshel an enduring public motto, calling on it to take its place among the nations of the earth. The words have remained part of the village’s identity. A 2022 report on opposition to a proposed telecommunications mast deliberately recalled the earlier march from the Mall and reused its rallying call. [2]
Building a place of worship
Research published by Castleisland District Heritage traces an earlier chapel to a building campaign begun in 1832 and completed in 1834. A 1903 account described a simple slated structure with a cross on its eastern gable. Later in the century, Father James Neligan promoted a replacement church, contributing £100 a year from his own income while raising a parish levy. His building programme also included schools in the wider parish. [3]
Remembering the Civil War
A memorial at Talbot’s Bridge south of the village recalls five National Army soldiers killed by a trap mine at Baranarig on 6 March 1923, and another who was seriously injured. Unveiled inNovember 2013, the stone was subsequently damaged and replaced. Edward Bourke’s 2021 inventory records the replacement’s broader dedication to those who died on both sides of the Civil War, alongside the soldiers’ names. [4]
Football and local gifts
The present football club was formally founded in 1932 when Father Bob Walsh arrived as curate, although local matches and an earlier club were already recorded. Walsh bought the Inch in 1960 and gave it to the club. A further gift of land by Richie Walsh in 1999 enabled a new pitch and clubhouse, with a gymnasium added before the facilities opened inMay 2004. County Novice titles in 1987 and 1997 form part of its sporting record. [5]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Kerry
- Barony
- Trughanacmy
- Civil parish
- Castleisland
- Within
- Knocknagashel West
- Coordinates
- 52.33266, -9.37912 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 24672 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Knocknagashel. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Nineteenth Century Church and School Building in Brosna and Knocknagoshel · Castleisland District Heritage
- Knocknagashel Civil War Memorial, inventory 1362,23 June 2021 · Edward Bourke, Irish War Memorials
- Clubs: Knocknagoshel, club history · North Kerry Football Board
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.