Listowel Connection

This blog is a personal take on Listowel, Co. Kerry. I am writing for anyone anywhere with a Listowel connection but especially for sons and daughters of Listowel who find themselves far from home. Contact me at listowelconnection@gmail.com

Month: May 2017 Page 2 of 4

Heron, Listowel then, Killarney now and his friends celebrate the life of Fr. Pat Moore R.I.P.

By

On May 17, 2017

In Uncategorized

This heron in flight was photographed by Ita Hannon


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(Text and photo from Seán James Healy on Facebook)

Two great servants of Listowel Emmets GAA Club holding the Sam Maguire in the Square in Listowel in 1979/80…….no greater honour than to see one of our own (Tim Kennelly aka ‘The Horse’) lead Kerry to the ultimate honours the previous September. You can see their pride beaming from their faces as these two great men saw him grow from a boy to a man ….from a young lad playing club football to a leader of the greatest inter county team in the country.

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William Street in the 1940s



Bill Hannon of Beale in town (Photo shared on Facebook by Bill’s grandson Liam O Hainnín)

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in Killarney



Bridie Murphy took this lovely photograph

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Ballybunion May 11 2017


As Mario worked away on his beach picture we gathered for songs, prayers and stories to remember Fr. Pat Moore

Fr. pat’s great friend, Sonny Egan told stories and even sang Fr. Pat’s song, Ballybunion town. A few short months ago Fr. Pat and himself had great fun giving us this as a kind of duet at the launch of Weathering A Storm

Ballybunion Town

Two of his loyal carers, Sr. Kathleen Quinlan and his cousin Debbie.

Donie, Mary and Trish were part of the organising team.


Sr. Kathleen read a poem he loved.

Listowel Boy Scouts in the 1980s, Primary School girls in 1985 and Fr. Pat Moore ceremony in May 2017

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On May 16, 2017

In Uncategorized

The Square 

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Charles St. May 2017

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Listowel Boy Scouts circa 1984


The photo was taken in the hall at Scoil Realta na Maidine.

James Scanlon who gave me the photo supplied names as best he could remember;

Back row: ?  , Frank Greaney, Christy Walsh, ? , a scout leader from Castleisland who came for the ceremony, Gerard MacGuinness, Garda John ?, Don Keane, Kieran ?, Weeshie Diarmaid ?

2nd. Row; Seamus Daly, Mike Greaney, Michael When, John MacAulliffe, Donny O’Connell, Christopher Hennessey R.I.P., Joseph ORegan

Front Row: Ian ?,  ?  John Healy, Stephen Dunne, ?, ?, Frank Quilter, John Galvin, James Scanlon

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1985


Marguerite Wixted found this one.

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The Cuckoo



Following my inclusion last week of an extract by John B. Keane about the cuckoo, many people have told me that they never saw a cuckoo and wondered what he looked like.

Wonder no more.

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Remembering Fr. Pat with song and candles



On May 11 2017 we gathered on the beach in Ballybunion to support one another in our grief and loss for a larger than life priest, Fr. Pat Moore.

As we looked to our right, there was the hard working Mario paying his own tribute in the way he does best, a piece of sand art.

Christine Kennelly got this good picture from the cliff.

Karen Trench sang The Boys of Barr na Sráide, one of Fr. Pat’s favourites.

Listen to it HERE

We held our candles and thought of the man who would so loved to have been there.

His former parishioners, all of whom remembered him with great fondness came from all corners of the county and farther afield.

Trish and Donie were helping to organise the ceremony. They had both offered Fr. Pat  much comfort and healing during his illness.

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RTE Folk indentified




This is a photo from Photos of Dublin on Facebook. I got a few of the names wrong when I posted it before.

Máire Logue tells me  that beside Jerry Ryan is Jimmy Greally at the back and the lady I didn’t know in front beside Fab Vinnie is Flo McSweeney

Debs 1991, Ballybunion and Newmarket

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On May 15, 2017

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Jim MacSweeney’s photo of a sparrow hawk won him a prize at the Rebel Cup photography competition.

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St. Michael’s Debs 1991



This photo was given to me by James Scanlon and he did the best he could do with the names.  James, whose family owned The Spinning Wheel  had left Listowel as his family went to live in Limerick before the Debs but he came back for the night out.

Included in the photo are Liam Kelly, Gerard McGuinness, Don Keane, Evan MacAulliffe, Shane Comerford, Mike Carmody, Seán Pierse, Eddie Bolger, John O’Riordan, Berkie Browne, Frank Quilter, Aidan O’Connor, Shane Hartnett, Michael Mann,Victor Sheehan, Donny O’Connell

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Ballybunion by the Sea


I’m going back to Kerry, From the Land of Liberty, 
To my little Irish home town, Ballybunion by the sea,
To walk along the old Slip Road, Where the breezes softly blow, 
And to get out to the ocean, Where the tides of memory flow.


To walk along the beach, Down below the Castle Green. 

Up to the lovely Cliffs of Doon, The likes you’ve never seen. 

From Listowel to Ballylongford and back into Tralee.
There’s no place else in Ireland like Ballybunion by the sea.


I’ll take a walk down Main Street, And see my friends from home, 
Go tell my own true sweetheart, I never more will roam,
Go tell the lads I’m coming back, That’s where I want to be,

 In my little Irish home town, Ballybunion by the sea.

In my little Irish home town, Ballybunion by the sea.


This song was written by Pecker Dunne and recorded by Larry Cunningham  Here

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Newmarket, Co. Cork


Newmarket is one of the small towns you pass through if you take the Rockchapel road to Cork. Let me tell you an interesting fact about Newmarket. It has three public statues and they are all women.

Alice Taylor is a very successful writer of novels, short stories and memoir. Her first runaway success was a memoir of growing up in Newmarket called To School Through The Fields. Her gift for nostalgia and vivid descriptions of a way of life that was dying caught the mood of the time and following their first success she has gone on the write numerous books describing village and parish life in her adopted Inishannon. She is a frequent visitor to Listowel Writers’ Week.

 Sarah Curran is a less down to earth heroine. She defied her family to allow Robert Emmett to court her and is seen by history as a tragic romantic figure.

 This doorway beside the statue of Curran struck me as a little odd. Did you ever see a padlocked door leading to a Main Street?

The third lady commemorated with a statue is Our Lady of Lourdes whose grotto stands at the east end of the town.

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“The French are on the sea and old Ireland will be free”




Ita Hannon photographed this French Navy training ship in the Shannon estuary last week.

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Circle of Friends




Lyreacrompane Development Association posted this photo to Facebook. It shows friends of  the late Fr. Pat Moore  circled around Mario Perez sand art tribute in Ballybunion on May 11 2017.

Mountcollins, The Spinning Wheel and Sex education on the farm.

By

On May 12, 2017

In Uncategorized

Jonathan Fleury of Carrigaline for The Rebel Cup Photographic competition.

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Ballybunion May 11 2017


Photo: Catherine Moylan

Mario Perez did a sand art tribute and we all gathered round to say another farewell to our friend Fr. Pat Moore. I’ll post more photos next week

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Artist at Work in Listowel Town Square




Monday May 8 2017

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The Church at Mountcollins


Here are a few more photos from my recent visit to this chapel on the hill.



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Do You Remember The Spinning Wheel?


Where Footprints now stands there once was a successful restaurant called The Spinning Wheel. James Scanlon, whose family owned this business shared with us some photographs from the 70s and 80s.

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Learning about the birds and the bees in the fifties



( from Jim Costelloe’s Asdee)

Taking a hen turkey for service was a job
for women, but, unfortunately, in our house the males had to do it. The bird
was put into a canvas bag a hole was cut in the bag so that she could stick her
head out in case she smothered. Dedending on the distance away to the cock, she
was transported either by hand, on one’s back or on one’s arm, or taken by
donkey and cart. Either way, it was a very embarrassing situation for us as
boys to be seen by our school pals taking a hen turkey to the cock. We often
went through the fields, which was a much harder journey, rather than meet one
of the school peers. Being seen taking a hen turkey to the cock was nearly as
bad as being accused of ‘trying” hens for eggs.

In general, the service did not take very
long, but sometimes the cock would be slow, especially if it was a busy time
and business was brisk. A cock turkey has very long claws and all breeddoing
cocks have their claws trimmed, otherwise they would damage the hen turkey’s
back during service. A well feathered hen would have some protection, but
breeding hens are inclined to lose some of their feathers during the laying season.
To protect them, a piece of a man’s jumper was often tied on their backs during
mating. The male turkey, always referred to as a cock and not a cockerel often did
a lot of prancing on the female during service so protection on her back during
service was essential.

As a hen turkey generally laid fifteen to
twenty eggs, she would have to be serviced three or four times to make sure all
the eggs were fertilized. This meant more embarrassing trips for us. It
happened that an odd young turkey, in her first breeding season, would not lie
first but would lay without lying and consequently the egg would not be fertilized.
That egg would be eaten by the man of the house. Turkey eggs are larger than
duck or hen eggs, though smaller than goose eggs and they are speckled.

Little Lilac Studio, Mountcollins and boys from O’Connell’s Avenue

By

On May 11, 2017

In Uncategorized

Bill Power, Cork Camera Club for The Rebel Cup competition.

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Little Lilac Studio


My girls love a trip to The Little Lilac Studio. This visit they decided to paint some unicorns.

Aisling did a foam creation, which is very different from painting. She loved working with the foam and she was thrilled to hear that it didn’t have to be fired in the kiln so she was able to take it home.

Little Cora at work on her work of art.

 Róisín decided to paint in the eyes first.

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Mountcollins


If you ever travel to Cork on the Rockchapel road you will notice this church just off the road on your left. It is the chapel at Mouncollins. One day recently I decided to take a slight detour and have a look inside.


This headstone was very unusual and very sad.


The church is small and very well kept. As with many rural churches some of the money for construction and furnishing came from the U.S. The windows are simple with just a smattering of stained glass.

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Robert Halkett of Listowel



This picture has appeared on the internet of Robert Halkett, looking every inch the rock star.

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O’Connell’s Avenue Boys



Noel Roche posted this old one on Facebook.  Sorry, no names

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