The Square in May 2025
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Poppies
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Another Business Gone
Quilter’s Veterinary shop closed earlier in the year.
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Nature is Amazing
Photo and text from Mike Louison on David Attenborough fans Facebook page
In the glowing heat of the Kalahari desert in South Africa, you can discover something very amazing on electricity pylons: huge nests, which at first glance look like collapsed straws. But behind it is pure intelligence – built by a small, native bird: the sociable weaving blink (sociable Weaver).
These birds build the biggest bird nests in the world with united forces. A single nest can accommodate more than 100 breeding pairs – like a multi-storey apartment house made of branches and grass.
Even more impressive: some of these nest buildings are inhabited over generations, some for over 100 years. They not only offer protection against predators and weather, but also symbolize cooperation and adaptability in one of the roughest regions on earth.
A silent miracle of nature – high up, built with team spirit
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A Lovely Thank You E Mail
Dear Ms. Cogan,
Good morning from Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
I wanted to thank you for Listowel Connection. It has been so helpful as I endeavor to learn more about north Kerry.
I have family connections to the Cahirsiveen area on my Dad’s side (Griffins and Sheas). On my Mom’s side, my connections are in the greater Listowel area. The first several children of my fourth great grandparents Patrick O’Rielly (Reily in most Irish records) and Mary Scanlan were baptised in the Asdee Catholic church in the 1830s and 1840s. The family–and likely Patrick’s brother William–fled to North America in 1849. Patrick, Mary and family went to Quebec and William likely went to New York, then New Orleans.
Patrick and Mary stayed in Quebec for some 15 years. After having several more children and living in near Smith Falls, Ontario, the couple moved several times in a short number of years–to Franklin, Pennsylvania, in the United States; Jamestown, New York; and Akron, Iowa. By 1873, they and several of their children settled in Union County, then part of Dakota Territory. They helped build the town of Beresford, South Dakota, and are buried in nearby Emmet, South Dakota, now a ghost town. The town of Emmet was named, of course, after the Irish orator and rebel leader.
I was lucky enough to know my great grandmother, who was born Nellie O’Rielly; Nellie was one of Patrick and Mary O’Rielly’s great grandchildren.
My husband and I were in the Listowel area in April. We stayed in Ballylongford, visited Asdee, Ballybunion and Listowel (including Teampall Ban). We have benefited from kind helpers at Ancstry.com, Irelandxo and many others as we search for the Irish roots of our South Dakota relatives and have been poring through John Pierce’s invaluable book on aspects of the famine in north Kerry, which we bought at the Kerry Writers’ Museum.
I write simply to say thank you for what you do. It makes a difference!
With appreciation,
Leah Glasheen
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A Fact
In 1975, Junko Tabei entered the record books as the first woman to conquer Everest.
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