placenamesAstee
Eas Daoi
Astee, commonly called Asdee, has a history shaped by its village street, football across the Shannon and the religious reports that drew attention in 1985.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Eas Daoi · Irish · main form · validated name
- Astee · English · main form
- Asdee · English · main form · local name
Place & story
The village’s old street frontage
Astee, usually written Asdee locally, retains a small group of traditional houses on the north side of the main road. Kerry County Council’s conservation appraisal identifies three single-storey houses with decorative plasterwork and chimney stacks. A group with a similar footprint appears on the 1841–42 Ordnance Survey map. Their survival connects the present village with the modest roadside settlement shown by nineteenth-century surveyors. [2]
Football across the Shannon
The North Kerry Football Board’s local history traces organised football here to the Craughdarrig Emmets in 1905. Players travelled by boat across the Shannon to meet Clare teams, which also made return visits. Later Asdee players joined Ballylongford, before an independent St Mary’s club emerged in 1986. This history links local sporting identity with both neighbouring villages and communities across the estuary. [3]
The reported moving statues of 1985
In February 1985, children reported seeing statues move in St Mary’s Church. Contemporary UPI coverage recorded crowds visiting and clergy investigating the claims while keeping an open mind. An RTÉ report broadcast on 27 March interviewed people who said they had witnessed movement. These reports document a local episode of religious belief and public attention; they do not establish that the statues moved. [4] [5]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Astee. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Asdee: architectural character and historical context, page 94 · Kerry County Council, Draft County Development Plan 2022–2028, Volume 3
- Clubs: Asdee, local football history · North Kerry Football Board
- Phenomenon of Moving Statues, report broadcast 27 March 1985 · Maggie O’Kane, RTÉ News
- Roman Catholic priests were questioning some 30 Irish schoolchildren, 18 February 1985 · United Press International
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.