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Neil Shaughnessy, Michael O’Donnell and Mary O’Donnell at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
TALES of runaway teens, memories of Sam Maguire visits and adventures on the ‘field of dreams’ are recounted in a publication on the history of an Oakpark estate.
Longtime resident, Sinn Féin Kerry Deputy Pa Daly and Maurice Murphy have compiled a short book to mark the 50 years of Derrylea estate, which was launched in the Na Gaeil clubhouse on Wednesday night.
The modestly-titled ‘Derrylea — The Greatest Estate In The World’ contains a history of who lived in the estate over the years with entertaining stories and some wonderful photos from the past half-century, many of which were taken by Pa’s father, Pat.
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Many of the residents attended the launch, no doubt sharing memories of the estate which lies towards the top of Oakpark. But it was not always called Derrylea, as Pa explained.
“Originally it was developed and named by the builder Jerry Fitzmaurice, who came back from Chicago where there was a suburb called ‘Palos Park’ in which he lived. However, after a few years, the residents wanted a name that was more Irish and so they changed it to Derrylea.”
During the summer of this year, there was a Mass held in the estate where Pa appealed to the residents to give him the information necessary to put the book together.
He compiled the details on the residents from each house over the years and sent it on to Maurice Murphy who laid it out to have it ready for print. The result is a publication that many in the greater Oakpark area will find interesting.
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“What was unusual about the estate at the start was that only a few families living there had both parents from Tralee or even Kerry,” said Pa. “An awful lot of the people who lived there were from Cork, Clare and around the country. They worked in the industrial estates in town. We were on the edge of town really.”
“Joe Dunne of AnCO arranged for the field in the middle of the estate to be drained in the summer of 1982 and that became a focal point for the youth of the estate,” he said.
Memories of playing days in that ‘field of dreams’ are in the book, as well as numerous recollections of friends and neighbours in an estate which has held its sense of community for 50 years. Scroll down for photos…
Caroline Flahive with Maurice Murphy and Pa Daly at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
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Shona O’Toole, Fiona Kelly, Mary Quillinan, Eoin Curran and Anne Kelly at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
Kathleen Houlihan, Maria O’Neill, Anne Marie Lucey and Donal Lucey at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
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Ciaran O’Halloran and Finbarr McCann at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
Anne O’Brien and Michelle O’Brien at the launch of ‘Derrylea – The Greatest Estate In The World’ at the Na Gaeil GAA Clubhouse on Wednesday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
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