Information from Kerry T O Connor

A very special day is held every year in Knocknagoshel on the 15th day of Lughnasa, a great day for the people of the village. In the old days, the pattern was not held in the village itself, but at Tuirín a Coic, a townland halfway between Cnoc na Caiseal and Brosna. Mass was read under the open sky on the top of that hill, in honour of Saint Mainchin. Both communities from Cashel Hill and Brosna came together, and the gathering was an impressive sight. After Mass, there were all sorts of tricks, sports, and recreation on the road throughout the day, with dance and song filling the air. A booth sold all kinds of food and drink, and the poitín was plentiful and free. It wasn't long before quarrels broke out among the drinkers, thorn sticks were raised and blood was shed.

Today, the pattern is run by the local GAA Club, with many events held over the course of a week, including a Bonny Baby competition, Fancy Dress, Tiny Tots Races, and a Donkey Derby. In 2025, the GAA commemorated its 50th anniversary, hosting many events in a marquee at the football field, a great success by all accounts.

Knocknagoshel GAA Club was formally founded in 1932 when Fr. Bob Walsh came to Knock as curate. Although it is difficult to trace the origins of Gaelic Football in Knocknagoshel, football was played in the parish long before the GAA was founded in 1884, with parish leagues and matches against neighbouring parishes Brosna, Duagh and Abbeyfeale. The first mention of the club was when four members presented an address of welcome to Charles Stewart Parnell when he visited Listowel in 1891, though there is no record of it being formally registered until 1932. In 1916, following a petition by 440 householders to the Bishop of Kerry, Knocknagoshel became its own parish, and when Fr. Bob Walsh registered the club in 1932, it affiliated to the Tralee District Board. A historic milestone came in 1910, when Jack McElligott of Knockbrack became the first player from the parish to play for Kerry, winning an All-Ireland senior medal as a substitute in 1913.

Knocknagoshel joined the Castleisland District League in 1939, winning it that year, again in 1944, and three in a row from 1946 to 1948. Many players represented North Kerry and Castleisland District in the county championship during this era. In 1969, Knocknagoshel won their first ever county title, the Novice Championship, defeating Laune Rangers in the final with Joe Thompson as captain. They went on to win the County Novice Championship twice more, in 1987 and 1997. The 1987 victory came after a replay against a fancied Gaeltacht side, with the team backboned by four Kerry players — Mikey Brosnan, Jack O'Connell, Sean McElligott and Eamon Walsh. Remarkably, when Kerry played Down on 23rd October 1988, the full back line of Eamon Walsh, Mikey Brosnan and Jack O'Connell were all Knocknagoshel men. Ten years later, they lifted the Novice trophy again, beating St. Michaels/Foilmore in a final played at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney.

Having played together through much of the sixties and early seventies, Brosna and Knocknagoshel fielded separate teams from 1975 onwards. Knocknagoshel defeated Ballydonoghue in the North Kerry Junior Championship of 1975 and captured the North Kerry League Division 2 title in 1978. Further North Kerry League titles followed in 1983 and 1997. At youth level, the two clubs combined very successfully, winning a North Kerry Minor Championship in 2002, County Minor Leagues in 2008 and 2013, and three North Kerry Under 21 titles in four years from 2010. In 1999, local man Richie Walsh generously donated the site for a new playing pitch and clubhouse, officially opened in May 2004 by former politician Dan Kiely and Eddie Walsh. The grounds were named in honour of Richie's late brother Willie, a fine footballer who played with the New York Kerry team.

Knocknagoshel has produced many Kerry representatives over the years. At Minor level: Mossie Walsh, Bertie Murphy, Sean O'Connor, Eamonn Walsh, Jack O'Connell, Padraig Reidy and James Walsh, who captained the Kerry Minor team in 2009. At Senior level: Jack McElligott (1 All-Ireland medal), Eddie Walsh (5 All-Ireland medals), Ned Roche (2 All-Ireland medals), Sean McCarthy, Sean O'Connor, Sean McElligott, Jack O'Connell, Eamonn Walsh, Mikey Brosnan and James Walsh. Club players have also represented Dublin, Kildare, Wexford and Tipperary. In 2023, when New York defeated Leitrim in the championship, Knocknagoshel connections featured through New York-born brothers Mikey and Shane Brosnan, whose father played for both Knocknagoshel and Kerry. On the ladies side, Noreen Long (nee Thompson) and Mary Scanlon (nee Lane) have both won All-Ireland medals with Kerry. Mary's collection is particularly impressive — five All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and five National Leagues among many other honours. Her daughter Lorraine is also a highly accomplished footballer and basketballer and a key member of the present-day Kerry ladies team.

Knocknagoshel were promoted from Division 5 in 2019 and from Division 4 in 2022. With great work being put into underage development in partnership with Brosna, the future remains bright, and the present crop of players have every chance of emulating and surpassing the achievements of those who came before them.

Knocknagoshel has a layered and sometimes tragic history. In 1923, during the Irish Civil War, five Irish Free State soldiers were killed by a booby-trap mine in Baranarigh Wood just outside the village. The incident led to a series of reprisals in Kerry, including the notorious Ballyseedy killings.

Dan Murphy, widely known as "The Blacksmith Volunteer," was an Irish republican and member of the IRA during the Irish Civil War. A blacksmith by trade, he operated a forge in the village of Knocknagoshel, and his trade and local standing were central to his identity, earning him his enduring nickname. On 24th March 1923, during the final months of the Civil War, Murphy was taken from his forge by Free State Army troops, brought to Baranarig Wood and executed. Contemporary reports state he was shot 20 times.

His mother Katie Murphy nee Hickey sent a pony and trap to collect his lifeless body, and drove him the short distance from the woods to his home ‘the forge house’ where they laid him out in the kitchen.  The entire parish was in shock and saddened.  The great irony of this tragedy was that it was not Dan but his brother John, known locally as Coffey, who built the casing for the mine.  Both brothers were tortured and interrogated but neither would give any information. The Dublin Guard decided that Dan was responsible and took him to Barnarig Woods and shot him.  Today there stands a beautiful monument in memory of Dan.

Each November, Knocknagoshel comes alive with the Neilus O'Connor Traditional Music Festival, a celebration of Irish traditional music, song and storytelling that honours a beloved local musician and the area's cultural heritage. The festival was first organised in 2004 by friends and neighbours of Neilus O'Connor, a talented traditional musician from Knocknagoshel whose music and community spirit left a lasting mark on the village. The weekend event was created to celebrate his legacy and his contribution to the cultural life of the parish and wider North Kerry region.

Over the festival weekend, musicians, singers and storytellers gather from near and far to share their art. Live performances of traditional Irish music fill the village, with sessions featuring fiddles, accordions, flutes and more, alongside storytelling and cultural exchange. Musical colleagues and friends of Neilus O'Connor take part in celebrating both his memory and the living tradition of Irish music, all within a warm, welcoming atmosphere rooted in community spirit.

The Neilus O'Connor Festival is more than just a music event. It is a tribute to the strong musical traditions of Knocknagoshel and the enduring influence of those who keep those traditions alive. Whether you are a musician, a music lover, or simply visiting the area, the festival offers a joyful, cultural experience in the heart of rural Kerry.

St Mary's Church is the Roman Catholic parish church serving the village of Knocknagoshel in northeast County Kerry. The parish was formally established in 1916, when it separated from the larger Brosna parish to serve a growing local community, marking an important milestone in the village's development. For generations, the church has stood at the heart of parish life, witnessing the key moments that shape a community — baptisms welcoming new generations, weddings uniting families, and funerals honouring loved ones. One of its most striking features is its stained glass windows, which add colour, beauty and symbolism to the interior, telling sacred stories through light and craftsmanship and serving as a lasting artistic and spiritual legacy for the parish.

Regular Mass and sacramental celebrations take place throughout the year, bringing parishioners together in prayer and fellowship. Seasonal observances and feast-day traditions remain an important part of parish life, helping to maintain connections between past and present generations. Beyond its religious role, St Mary's is a focal point of village life, a welcoming space where friendships are strengthened and shared traditions continue, remaining central to the identity of Knocknagoshel and the surrounding area.

Knocknagoshel's longest serving resident priest was Fr. Robert Walsh, fondly known as Fr. Bob. The parish has had a number of clergy since then, including Fr. Pat Ahern, Fr. Kieran O'Shea and Canon Eoin Mangan. Since 2017 the parish has had no resident priest, and has been served by priests from the neighbouring parishes of Currow/Killeentierna, Castleisland, Brosna and Ballymacelligott. The parish office has been in operation since July 2017 and is run by parish secretary Deirdre Bell.