Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [c. 1970s-1980s] (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
14 items
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Timothy Looney, a native of Cahir, county Tipperary, was born in 1914. A well-known local historian, he could regularly be found exploring local castles, churches, graveyards and sites of archaeological interest. He was known to challenge established beliefs and traditions and to use the evidence of cross-disciplinary elements such as documents and landscapes to offer alternative interpretations. His house on Pearse Street, a treasure trove of maps, books, documents and photographs, was a popular port of call for genealogists tracing their ancestors and for scholars researching historical topics. Looney’s collecting activities culminated in a remarkable salvage operation to recover papers from Shanbally Castle, county Tipperary prior to its destruction by a controlled explosion in March 1960.
In addition to his historical pursuits, Looney was an active member of his local community. He had a lifelong interest in the GAA, and was influential in the development of Gaelic games in Cahir. He was a tireless charity worker and fundraiser. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he organised volunteers to travel around the country to collect money for the Central Remedial Clinic, known as the Little Willie Fund, to aid the plight of polio victims. A supporter of the trade union movement, he was also active in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union. He had a great fondness for Cahir, and campaigned prominently to save its historical railway station. Timothy Looney died in his native town in 1990.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Assorted material relating to Cahir, including a photocopy of a document entitled ‘Parish of Cahir’; photocopy of a letter in Latin dated 1649 nominating Father Constantine Danielli for the office of Parish Priest of Cahir; information sheet relating to St Paul’s Church; photocopy of a press cutting from 1810 relating to the construction of a cavalry barrack in Cahir; typescript account of celebrations in Cahir over Wellington’s victory at Vittoria in July 1813; note on a cholera fever in Cahir in 1849; photocopy of a photograph of IRA soldiers taking over the military barracks in Cahir in 1921; list of members of Cahir Slashers Football and Hurling Club junior hurling team in 1944; photocopy of a press cutting relating to the sale of Cahir Park House in 1967 and related accounts; photocopy of a plan of the first and second floors of Cahir House by Rae & Fitzgerald of Dublin; index of surnames in the old parish churchyard; article entitled ‘The Cahir Accident’ photocopied from the Journal of the Irish Railway Record Society vol. 15, no. 96 (June 1985); and a schedule of creditors of the Central Bakery Limited as of 3 March 1989.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- Béarla