A Tralee student has been named as this year’s Kerry Young Historian of the Year.
Rory O’Flaherty is a fifth-year student at Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School, and won with his essay about soldiers in Tralee during the War of Independence.
Rory was the winner in the Senior Category, while Áine Newsome, a Transition Year student at Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School won the Junior Category.
The Kerry Young Historian Award is an annual competition open to all young people from Kerry between the ages of 12 and 19 who would like to explore their local history, archaeology and heritage
The Kerry Young Historian Award is hosted by the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, Kerry County Museum, Kerry County Council, the Tralee Education Centre and the Kerry branch of the History Teachers’ Association.
Rory’s winning essay was titled “Tales of the Soldiers in Tralee during the War of Independence.” He was presented with his award at a ceremony at the Kerry County Museum. Rory was also the winner in the Senior Category while the winner in the Junior Category was Áine Newsome, a Transition Year student at Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School who won the award for her essay on Annascaul Post Office.
“The purpose of the award is to encourage participants to research local history topics in a personal, interesting, and critical way with a special focus on some of Kerry’s lesser known or untold stories. The award aims to encourage and produce the historians of the future as well as engaging young people in local history, archaeology and heritage,” said the President of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Association, Tony Bergin.
All the entries in the junior and senior categories were present for the announcement of the winner on Wednesday.
The winning essays in both categories will be published in the Kerry Magazine, an annual publication from the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society.
Each participating school received a voucher from Kerry County Museum for a free visit or outreach visit to the school. Prize-winning schools in the Junior and Senior categories are also presented with a complementary history workshop as part of the Architecture Kerry Festival this month.
The project runs from September to March each year and the 2025 competition is now open. Teachers and young people who would like to express their interest can contact [email protected] at any time for more information.
