This publication was written by David Prendergast and Katie Dee. They were the founders in 2020 of the local history blog: Kilrossanty Remembers. The book has an introduction by well-known historians Sean and Síle Murphy and was made possible with assistance from the Decade of Centenaries Community Projects Funding from Waterford City & County Council.
Many people pass by the simple monument to Pat Keating
and Seán Fitzgerald situated by the side of the N25 beyond the Burgery and are
perhaps unaware of its significance. Keating
and Fitzgerald were killed during the Burgery Ambush which took place in March
1921. Pat Keating is one of the most
familiar republican names of this period in West Waterford. The authors tell us that he was also a
footballer, poet, activist, leader, and revolutionary. He was the author of the poems Comeragh’s
Rugged Hills and The Cross of Old Piltown.
The authors have told Keating’s story in an engaging
way using original documents, witness statements, interviews and many
illustrations, a number supplied from the museum’s image archive. There is a letter from the Keating family on
display in the museum dated May 1922 thanking the Lismore Board of Guardians
for their resolution in relation to Ireland’s martyrs.
The book is very attractively designed and printed and
well-illustrated. The proceeds from sales are going to the mental health
charity Suicide or Survive: www.suicideorsurvive.ie
Copies are selling fast and are available for sale at €10 from Waterford
County Museum.
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| Unveiling of the monument at the Republican Plot, Kilrossanty on Easter Sunday 20th April 1930 |