Download or read book Days of the Blackthorn written by Séan Moraghan and published by Mercier Press Ltd. This book was released on 2020-01-03 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On town streets or in green fields, at fairs, race meetings and saints' patron days, rival gangs of Irishmen used to meet to battle and beat each other with cudgels and sticks. The practice was particularly prevalent in the 1800s, and involved tens, hundreds and even thousands of men and women at a time. Days of the Blackthorn uses eyewitness descriptions, as well as the oral history of local communities, to provide a visceral sense of this exciting and brutal activity in County Kerry. From the Battle of Ballyeagh between the Cooleens and the Lawlors that left eighteen dead, to the savage combats of various strongmen, such as Seón Burns or 'Big Mick' Foley, this is a fascinating account of a wild and violent time in Ireland's history.