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Tom Dillon.
LISTOWEL native, Tom Dillon has taken up a position as Historian in Residence with Kerry County Council.
This three-month contract position is funded under the Historian in Residence Grant Scheme 2019 as part of the Kerry County Council Decade of Centenaries programme.
Mr Dillon will be based at Kerry Library Headquarters, Tralee and will work under the direction of Kerry Library staff to co-ordinate research work and timelines; identify themes, events and notable figures; meet community groups and to promote interest and engagement in history among a non-academic audience.
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Initial work will focus on the identification of Kerry material for the period 1919 – 1922 held at Kerry Library and at national institutions such as the National Library and the National Archives.
A graduate of the University of Limerick, Tom completed a Certificate in Local History in 2012 and an MA with first class honours in the History of the Family in 2013.
Over the past six years, he has delivered a series of public lectures around the county about the Kerry men and women who took part in the First World War. He has also written articles on the subject for magazines, journals and newspapers along with speaking on radio and TV.
To coincide with the centenaries of the outbreak of WWI and the 1916 Rising, Tom wrote a hugely successful series of history supplements published by Kerry’s Eye newspaper.
He has also volunteered with Kerry County Museum and the Kerry Writers’ Museum along with giving tours as part of the 2019 Architecture Kerry festival.
“It is a huge honour to serve as the Kerry County Council Historian-in-Residence. On the 100th anniversary of the War of Independence, it is an exciting time to be researching the history of our county and country. So many historical sources have been made available online in recent years and they have opened up a whole new light on the events of a century ago. From military pension records and medal applications to death inquests, they bring the conflict to life in a very personal way,” he said.
Mr Dillon’s work is focused on compiling a detailed list of historical sources to be used as an aid in researching the lead up to and including the War of Independence in Kerry.
As part of the Residency, the Historian will hold a number of engagement sessions with community and historical groups in each of the five Municipal Districts.
The aim of these sessions will be to advise on the historical sources available to support the commemoration of events associated with the Decade of Centenaries throughout county Kerry.
The sessions take place in Tralee Library on Friday, March 20 from 10.30am – 1.00pm, in Killarney Library on Thursday, March 26 from 10.30am – 1.00pm, in Castleisland Library on Friday, March 27 from 10.30am – 1.00pm, in Leabharlann Dhaingean Uí Chúis on Thursday, April 2, 11.00am – 1.30pm, Kenmare Library on Friday, April 3, from 11.00am – 1.30pm and in Listowel Library on Monday, April 6 from 10.00am – 1.00pm.
