Kilflynn is a very pretty village, situated one half mile from the main Tralee-Listowel road and perched on a green hillside facing south.  It was known in former times as Stackstown.  It contains an RC church, and curate's residence.  Also protestant church now closed for some years, the latter is in the old graveyard.  There are two public houses and a supermarket.  In the corner of the graveyard lies buried a grand old character, a champion Irish step-dancer and world traveller in his day, Patrick, better known as Putch Wynne.  He designed his own headstone and the inscription thereon reads "Here lies the Putch Wynne R.I.P."

"Putch Wynne was a man cast in classical mould,

Throughout the wide world he travelled we're told,

Now in a graveyard in the heart of Kilflynn,

Rest the mortal remains of our hero, Putch Wynne.

A plain simple gravestone is placed o'er his head,

And on it are words that are easily read

To let all know whose buried in that grave there within

Just a simple inscription "Here lies the Putch Wynne".

Close to the village lives Eddie Hayes.  A progressive farmer who was mainly responsible for the formation of Kerry Co-Op which has been of great benefit to the farmers of the County.  Nearby also was born and reared Denis Brosnan, who from the very beginning and up to the present time has been the Chief Executive of this huge  agribusiness.

A mile to the north of the village stands the ruins of Crotta House it used to be the residence of the landlords whose family name was Julian.  I have heard in my young days from the old people a very good account of these landlords.  There was particular affection and respect for one of them, James Julian, on account of his athletic prowess.  It seems he was very proficient at the weights.  In Crotta House also was raised the man who became known later as Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Kartoum.  From 1870 onwards to the first great war he was involved in all the wars Britain was engaged in, and there were many.  He was drowned in 1916 when the ship, The Hampshire, in which he was travelling to Russia was sunk by a German submarine.

Kilflynn

On a lighter note from 1929 to 1944 the tug-of-war and sheaf-throwing were two athletic pursuits followed closely in the townland of Laccamore.  They had two teams labelled Number 1 and Number 2.  The two teams would be entered for competition.  If team Number 2 - which was the weaker - was drawn against a good team, Number 1 with certain amount of disguise - swapping caps, jumpers, etc, became Number 2 and would duly proceed to defeat their opponents in straight pulls.  The end result more often than not was that Number 1 Laccamore and Number 2 Laccamore would contest the final pull.  This was always a harrowing experience for the unfortunate Number 2s.  Number 1 would win the first pull after a long time then they would allow Number 2 to win the second pull.  This would put foolish notions in the heads of the Number 2s who would get puffed up with the vain idea that maybe if they tried hard enough they would win the third and final pull - which, of course, they never did.  Instead they suffered excruciating torment in being allowed to gain a foot, then losing a foot until they were finally dragged across the line.  However, they got the runners-up prize.  In at least 11 years of competition, the number 1 Laccamore team was never beaten.  I often wonder how they would fare against the Boley team of the present day. In the late 40's another great team emerged in the parish under the name O'Dorney.

Now we come to sheaf-throwing.  In 1939 an All-Ireland Ploughing Match was held in Killarney.  In conjunction with this, the All-Ireland Sheaf-throwing competition was held .  This attracted entries from all over Ireland with Billy Egan of Laccamore winning the competition with a throw of 17 feet, beating his nearest rivals from Galway and Tipperary by 6 inches.  Throwers from 8 to 10 counties came yearly to Knockanure to contest the All-Ireland title and sad to say Kerry has lost the sovereignty.

It was not so in the '30s and '50s when Abbeydorney parish sent forth the best throwers in the country.  Remember the aforementioned Billy Egan, Victor Hayes, Sonny Costelloe, Paddy Fitzgerald, Mick Joe Slattery, Ned Breen, and in later years Derry O'Donovan and several more who differed but little in ability.

Some two miles or thereabouts east of Kilflynn is a steep sided glen called Glenalema - meaning glen of the leaps.  Tradition has it that Fionn MacCumhaill met his death here even though history relates that he was killed at the battle of Gowra in which the Fianna were devastated and defeated by the army of Carbri of the Liffey, son and successor to Cormac McArt.  The story told locally  however, is that Fionn in his travels came to this glen and someone of his followers remarked that it would take a great jumper to clear it.  At this, Fionn, anxious to prove himself before his men, declared his intentions to jump across.  He moved back sufficiently far to get up speed then ran up, jumped and sure enough landed on the other side.  All the Fianna - with one exception - clapped and cheered and shouted their praise of Fionn.  Tradition does not relate who this begrudger was but to my mind it may have been Conan Maol, who never had a good word for anyone or never had any interest in anything only the pleasures of the table.   On the other hand it may have been Goll MacMorna who stood in the same position in regard to Fionn that Dessie does now in relation to Charlie.  This character, at any rate, turned up his nose at Fionn's performance, and said it was no good unless Fionn proved himself by jumping the glen backwards.  Fionn foolishly felt it was up to him to take the dare, seemingly he was that kind of man.  He attempted it but only jumped half-ways and fell down 100 or more feet to the centre of the glen where the imprint of his feet may be seen to the presnt day on a large flat rock.  The shock of his great fall caused his head to jump off his shoulders.  It rolled down the hillside and came to rest in Sullivans field - Rockfield as it is called, where it was buried by his grieving followers.  They raised a pillar stone over it and there it stands to the present day.  The pillar stone may be seen from the road.

shall wear away,

His name at last be only known in Ossian's echoed lay".