Fascinating autobiography of Kilkenny farmer published

Billy Moore from Higginstown, Clara is a man of principle. As chairman of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) in Kilkenny, he took on Glanbia (then Avonmore), the politicians and anyone else who stood in the way of farmers and their rights.
And he also stood his ground during internal bickering within IFA.
It came as no surprise that his autobiography, which doubles as a history of Higginstown and Clara is such an honest and enjoyable book.
It should be compulsory reading for every young person in Kilkenny.
The level of detail about his own place, his people, his neighbours and the goings on in Clara is phenomenal and his style, is a breath of fresh air; a welcome relief from the usual, boring, formulated biographies, which are based on newspaper clippings and have no real soul - This book is full of spirit.
A fascinating little snippet revolved around his granny’s cure for burns and blood poisoning.
Billy said that while it is not as important as it was, it was successfully used recently on a horse that had bad cut to its fetlock and had been given up on by the vet.
It contains hog’s lard, beeswax, brown resin and a secret ingredient.
As a young man, he answered an advert in the Farmers Journal and ended up working 14 hours a day for a farmer in Sweden.
What makes this book special is Billy’s memory and the oral history handed down through generations of Moores is finally put down on paper and there for future generations to cherish.
Another major reason the memoir is so enjoyable is his attention to detail and his ability to remember the price of farms 60 years ago and who bought and sold them.
In the foreword to the book, entitled, From Ironmills To Higginstown, Billy thanked the late Michael Doyle of Danesfort and formerly of Coolcullen who filled him in on a lot of his own family’s history.
Incredibly, Billy Moore can trace his family back to the first half of the 17th century.
“According to my grandfather, Bill Moore, the first member of our family here in Clara came after helping a man called Kavanagh from Higginstown who was injured in a faction fight and he ended up marrying his daughter,” Billy recounted in the book.
The ninth generation of Moore is on the farm and another of Billy’s relations was a leader of the White Boys in 1775.
They were a secret, farm organisation that used violent tactics to defend tenant farmer land rights for subsistence farming.
Like many other farms in Kilkenny, each field in the Moore holding has an individual name like An Crúiscín, An Ghleann, An Cill, An Bhalla Bán and An Eascra.
A launch date for the book will be announced shortly.