Kilteely-Dromkeen
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The combined parish of Kilteely and Dromkeen lies in East County Limerick in the province of Munster, Ireland, near the border of County Tipperary The landscape in this parish is subtly unusual, different from the predominantly flat County Limerick This is due to the fact that Kilteely-Dromkeen is situated in one of the most important Carboniferous Volcanic districts in either Britain or Ireland. A wide variety of igneous rocks from two volcanic phases of about 300 million years ago can be found here. The volcanic plugs of Knockderk 220m (782ft) and Kilteely Hill 176m (580ft) are both conical in appearance, while in the neighbouring parish of Pallasgreen stands the Hill of Nicker, where hardened lavas have formed a cliff of basalt hexagons, similar to those found at the Giant's Causeway.
The village of Kilteely or in Irish Cill Tíle(The Church of Tidel) stands below the Hill of Kilteely, about 14 miles south-east of Limerick City. The land in this area is good, and is chiefly used in tillage.
Dromkeen or in Irish Drom Caoin (The Smooth Ridge) is little more than a crossroads on the N24 Limerick- Waterford Road, halfway between Limerick City and Tipperary Town, but the place has its name assured in history due to the Dromkeen Ambush, an attack on Black and Tan police forces during the Irish War of Independence in 1921, which was carried out near the site of the old Church of Ireland church. A joint operation between the East Limerick and West Limerick Brigades of the IRA Flying Columns, the force of about 40 ambushed two lorrys carrying between them 13 Black and Tan policemen. Two of the these managed to escape, however the other 11 were killed. It was one of the larger operations carried out by the IRA during the War of Independence, the IRA had been expecting a larger police force.
In modern times, Dromkeen was well-known for its ballroom of romance, "The Oyster Ballroom", owned by the Hayes family which in the 1950s and 60s attracted large crowds, sometimes up to 2,000 dancers from counties Limerick and Tipperary for the weekly Sunday night dance where the leading showbands of the day played on a regular basis.
