The Bulfin Heritage Cycle On Tour.
Tarbert Cuckoo Walking Festival.
A group from the Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally, will visit Tarbert, in Co. Kerry on May 4th, for the Cuckoo Walking Festival.
What we’ll be doing!
The Laois – Kerry Connection
Seven families, who had fiercely resisted English rule, were banished to Co. Kerry, under sentence of death, should they ever return to Laois.
It was Michael Christopher Keane, who recently researched and highlighted the story of the Seven Septs, in his excellent book, From Laois to Kerry., which was first published in 2016. In the book, Keane describes how the families were were handed over to Patrick Crosbie, and were transplanted to lands he had been granted in the Tarbert area of Kerry. The names of the seven clans were O’Moores, Kellys, Dowlings, Lawlors, Dorans, O’Devoys or Deevys or Dees and McEvoys.
The fact that descendants of the seven septs, still reside in the Tarbert area to this very day, was the inspiration behind last year’s Bulfin Cycle, and the battle-cry was, “It’s time to bring them home!”
With the help of the Tarbert Historical Society, who arrived at Dunamase, on August 25th 2018, carrying seven torches, each representing one of the seven families, we succeeded in having a representative of all the exiled clans, present for their long awaited return to County Laois.
Prior to the arrival of the Bulfin cyclists, you really got a sense that something special was happening on the Rock of Dunamase that day. From every vantage point on the Rock, people stood, scanning the roads, and the surrounding countryside, to catch a glimpse of their approach.
And for our cyclists coming from Emo Court, it was amazing to arrive at Dunamase, and see the crowds that had gathered, wanting to be part of, and witness this historical moment. The anticipation was very real, and though the return of the Seven Septs of Laois, was billed as a ceremonial one, it was beginning to feel entirely more real, than it did symbolic!
So we are really looking forward to re-enacting the Return of the Seven Septs Pageant, in Tarbert, for this year’s Cuckoo Walking Festival, and everyone is welcome to join us! We hope to make it as special a performance, as it was at Dunamase last year.
We would also like to acknowledge and extend our sincerest thanks, to our friends at the Tarbert Historical Society, for their co-operation and involvement in our event last year.
Photographs
A few more photographs from last year’s Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally, and the Return Of The Seven Septs Pageant.
The Return of the Seven Septs.
See the full story of Day Two of last year’s Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally, including our visitors from Tarbert, and our Pageant on the Rock of Dunamase, by following the link below.
The Bulfin Heritage Cycle Rally 2018
See the story
