The Colour of Kildare: 1913–1923

The Colour of Kildare

The period 1913–1923 was the most turbulent in Irish history, and life in the county of Kildare was shattered by the First World War, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and Civil War. However, most of the population was untouched by the surrounding political and military upheaval; social activities continued despite the deaths and destruction, the curfews, raids and roundups. Dances, sporting events, weddings and funerals were central to everyday life, notwithstanding the ongoing strife. There was hope too, with an All-Ireland football title in 1919, the founding of the County Kildare Board of Health and the opening of the new Naas Racecourse.

With over 150 unique photographs carefully curated and colourised in this book for the first time, we can view life in County Kildare in that seminal decade.

The Colour of Kildare will appeal to all those with an interest in local history.

James Durney is a native of Naas, Co. Kildare. He is an award-winning author of over twenty books on Irish national and local history and works in Kildare Local Studies. His book with Peter Daly, The 100 Kilo Case: The True Story of an Irish ex-NYPD Detective Protected by the Mafia, and One of the Most Infamous Drug Busts in New York City (2016), was on the bestseller list for several weeks.

Mario Corrigan is a librarian with Kildare Library Services. He has written many books on the history of Co. Kildare and his hometown of Kildare, including four children’s books with children in schools in Kildare, Listowel and Roscommon. With David Butler, illustrator, Mario published the graphic novel Michael Collins: Ireland’s Rebel Son (The O’Brien Press, 2022).

John O’Byrne is a professional photographer and best-selling author from Rathangan, Co. Kildare. His previous two titles with Michael Barry, The Irish Civil War in Colour and A Nation Is Born: Ireland in Colour 1923–1938, were both shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards.