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
The late Betty McGrath in one of her most stylish hats for Listowel Races Ladies Day.
Listowel is in mourning this race week for one of its most colourful, most vivacious, most hard working and most relentlessly cheerful business women.
Betty ran a very successful floristry business in Courthouse Road. She was tailor made for her job. Her creativity and innate sense of style knew no bounds.
Betty loved Christmas. She loved creating the window display, the table decorations and many festive flower arrangements and wreaths. She also loved Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter, birthdays and all high days and holidays.
In short, Betty loved life. She loved every day.
Betty with the late Anne Moloney
Meeting Betty in the morning meant you were set up for the day. No matter how busy she was she always made time for a chat.
I love this photo of Betty with my late husband, Jim. Betty was full of fun and she came into her own on occasions like Nunday or the Oskars.
Betty had a big coterie of loved girl friends. She was a loyal friend, supportive, kind and always fun to be with.
But at heart, Betty was a family lady. She loved Denis and adored her children, Grace and Denis. Throughout her life she remained close to her siblings and it was always a joy to meet her on The Island with her very stylish sisters.
Betty was a photographer’s dream. She loved to be photographed. She was always willing to pose and she was invariably appreciative.
To know Betty McGrath was to love her.
Betty had her shop repainted recently and these are two of the last photos I took of her front wall.
The flower that was Betty’s life was plucked far too soon. She has left behind many many loving memories and many friends whose lives are a little less colourful nowadays.
This is an intriuging and fascinating craft, drawing pictures in the sand. The annual festival in Ballybunion on the weekend of Sept 10 to 12th was as brilliant as ever. I took a few photos but Pixie O’Gorman and Wild Atlantic Way posted these much better ones on the internet.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
A Hawney Legacy
This is Hawney Way in Ballybunion. If you walk down this passageway you will come to this lovely little children’s picnic area. It is laid out with tables, in the centre of each is a draughts or chess grid and benches.
Some of the tables are sponsored by local people.
<<<<<<<<<<<
Tidy Town’s Vintage Day
One of the highlights of Listowel Harvest Festival of Racing every year was Tidy Town’s upcycle, recycle vintage day. Below are some of the organising committee.
Every year this competition turned up some fascinating stories. The outfits themselves were often stunning but the accompanying stories never failed to entertain us.
Frances O’Keeffe and her daughter, Edel
Edel is wearing a dress her mother restyled from a dress given to her by her friend, Suzie Moore.
Suzie was a matron in a London hospital. The queen was due to visit and Suzie felt that she needed something special for this meeting with her majesty. She had a dress especially made.
When she retired to Listowel she brought the dress with her and she gave it to her friend Frances. She knew that Frances would appreciate the material she had chosen so carefully and paid so much for. Frances never found an opportunity to use the material over the years . When she heard of this up cycling event she knew that this was just the ticket for Suzie’s dress. She remodelled it to fit Edel. Edel wore it with the pill box hat her mother wore at her own wedding and the pearl encrusted bag she carried.
Mary O’Halloran and Maria Stack are great supporters of Listowel Races. They usually pull out all the stops for Ladies Day and Vintage Day.
One year, Maria carried this vintage bag that she had bought in a charity shop.
When she got the bag home she found inside the original price tag.
And she found a ticket to the Empire State Building. Surely this bag was bought by someone as part of her trousseau and she honeymooned in New York.
<<<<<<<<<<<<
A Listowel Dance in 1960
Philomena Moriarty kept this souvenir of her very first dance and she shared it on Facebook. The Super Ballroom was later rebranded as the Las Vegas.
<<<<<<<<<<<
Listowel Poetry Town 2021
As part of the Poetry Town initiative, Listowel got its very own Poet Laureate, Dairena Ní Chinnéide.
Part of her job was to write a Listowel poem. Dairena was great value for money.. She wrote two.
Friday, Sept 10 2021 was International Suicide Awareness Day. Bridget’s picture above shows a troop of people who ventured into the sea at Ballybunion on that evening to show solidarity with those bereaved by suicide and to highlight the issue of treatable mental illness.
Pictured with Snámhaí Sásta, June Curtin, are local ladies, Billy Jo and Lelia O’Connor and Bridget McCarthy.
June brought some of her positivity calendars with her on the night. She is selling them in aid of Pieta, the suicide prevention charity.
Aoife Scott was in town for a concert as part of the Ballybunion Arts Festival at The Tinteán. She came and sang a song or two for the delighted swimmers.
<<<<<<<<<<<
Listowel Races in Years Past
This man has been coming to the races and staying with Nora for over twenty years. I hope he got a ticket this year.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Out of This World
This Ballybunion placename never ceases to amaze me.
<<<<<<<<<<
Bringing home the Turf
If I had been asked I would have said that this scene was earlier than the 1970s.
Donkeys and carts were ideal for bog work. The ground underfoot in the bog is soggy and unstable so it calls for a fairly light sure footed animal like this lovely ass.
Look at how the young man leading the donkey was dressed for his day in the bog. In the early years of the 20th century in Ireland there was no such thing as casual clothes. Athleisure is a very recent fashion. We had good clothes and old clothes. this man is in his old clothes, i.e. a suit that used to be his Sunday suit but was now relegated to everyday wear. It kind of looks like a suit he may have inherited from someone bigger than himself. Hand me downs were common too. Suits often were passed down through the family until they were no longer wearable.
I bet his v neck is hand knitted. All jumpers were hand knitted one time, until Ben Dunne brought us cheap clothes and it no longer made sense to knit something you could buy more cheaply. Of course it didn’t last as long but that mattered little when it was so cheap and did not entail hard work.
Along with the turf, this scene will soon be unfamiliar to all but the oldest of us.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Poetry Town
We’ve exchanged our Social distancing stencils for Poetry Town ones.
Photo; Chris Grayson at St. Mary of the Angels, Beaufort
<<<<<<<<<<<
St. Bridgid’s, Duagh
Beautifully detailed colourful window behind the high altar
The windows and stations of the cross were donated by local families and emigrants.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Betty McGrath’s, September 2021
Few people loved race week as much as Betty McGrath. She loved the style, the excitement but most of all the days out with her beloved family and friends. This year, 2021, Betty’s daughter Grace has pulled out all the stops to dress a window that Betty would be proud of.
Sadly, Betty passed away before Raceweek 2021.
May her kind soul rest in peace.
<<<<<<<<<<<<
Clock Home, Mallow
Sept 2021
<<<<<<<<<<<<
Snámhaí Sásta
Friday Sept 10 2021 was International Suicide Awareness Day and this lady, June Curtin, is working hard to raise awareness of the tragedy that is suicide. .
June joined the Ballybunion Dippers sea swimming group in an event to highlight the therapeutic benefits of sea swimming.
The very well supported event was a huge success.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Culture Weekend
Last weekend, Sept 17 to 19 2021 was a great weekend in town for it included an International Storytelling Festival, Poetry Town events and a free concert.
Oh and Listowel Races opened on Sunday too.
Friday evening was the opening night of the storytelling festival. Two very sketchy “nurses” were on hand to make sure Covid regulations were observed.
This storyteller is Colum Sandes and his story was graced with music and mimicry.
Maria Gillen was the bean an tí. She kept the show rolling, singing songs and telling stories.
Maria with Jimmy Deenihan who was dividing his time between the Poetry Town events and the storytelling.
Our own Frances Kennedy was one of the star turns. For me she also had the best line of the night. She said we were all so tired of Covid restrictions that “a straw would pull us out the door now”.
The audience loved Gabriel Fitzmaurice heart-warming anecdotes and poems.
On Sunday morning a crowd regrouped at Kerry Writers’ Museum for some very interesting story walks.
Schiller in The Garden of Europe, Listowel, September 2021
<<<<<<<<<<<<
The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill
…Beneath it a stream gently rippled Around it the birds loved to trill Though now far away Still my thoughts fondly stray To the old rustic bridge by the mill
Thomas Peter Keenan
While I was in Castletownroche for my family wedding I took the opportunity to visit the most famous spot in the village.
The MillThe rustic bridge
<<<<<<<<<<
A President of St. Michael’s (1902)
Death of a Priest. Much regret will he felt by Kerry priests and Kerry men all over the world at the death of the Very Rev. Father Timothy Crowley, lately president of St Michael’s College, Listowel. Father Crowley was a native of Kilsarken, and received his earlier education at St. Brendan’s Seminary, Killarney. Going thence to Maynooth, he had a distinguished career, and was made on his ordination president of the Kerry Diocesan Seminary. Subsequently he made a tour in America collecting for the O’Connell Memorial Church, and on his return was appointed to the presidency of St. Michael’s College, Listowel. Failing health overtook him, and he passed away in his 54th year, to the great regret of his confreres in the diocese, who deplore the loss of so able a colleague.
New Zealand Tablet, 14 August 1902
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Carroll’s Hardware, The Square, Listowel
Martin Chute is doing an excellent job of signwriting on this iconic building in Listowel’s picturesque Square.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
A Poem for Poetry Week
This poem by Delia O’Sullivan from her great book It’s Now or Never will give you food for thought.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michael O’Connor Remembered
Plans are afoot to bring some of the works of this extraordinary but under appreciated Listowel born artist back to his family home at 24 The Square, now Kerry Writers’ Museum.
On today, September 17, the anniversary of Michael’s death, his son, Fr. Brendan O’Connor shares memories of his father with us.
Michael Anthony O’Connor (1913-1969) Although it is over 50 years since the passing of my late father, on 17th September 1969, I still have fond memories of seeing him stooped over his drawing board in the evenings, with paints, brushes, pens and quills arranged on the table beside him. He would work patiently for hours on end, usually after we had all gone to bed when he would have less distractions.
His concentrated and painstaking artistic work reflected his good-humored and patient manner. He never had to raise his voice.
“What did your mother tell you?” was enough to convey that it was time to obey.
We looked forward to his return from the office every day – his professional work was as an assistant architect in the Department of Transport and Power – but especially on Fridays when he would bring some chocolates for us and a treat for my mother.
We were so accustomed to his artistic creations that we didn’t fully appreciate the originality, skill and dedication he brought to his art. He had the humility to continue working at a very high level of achievement without seeking to be known or appreciated. The completed work was its own reward.
This is shown in particular in the “Breastplate of St Patrick” – a family heirloom which he produced for his own enjoyment in 1961 to celebrate 1,500th anniversary of the national saint.
He responded generously to requests for illuminated commemorative scrolls and the like. He also completed a number of commissions for official government purposes, but of all of these we have little data.
Although original illuminated artwork and calligraphy in the Celtic style was not much appreciated at the time, a small circle of friends and acquaintances were aware of the quality of his achievements. Prof. Etienne Rynne and Maurice Fridberg have left written testimonies of their appreciation. Mr Fridberg, an Art Collector, wrote in a letter to the President of Ireland in 1972 –
“Michael O’Connor was in my opinion the greatest artist of modern Celtic Illumination in this century. “
Although obviously influenced by the Book of Kells, his own individuality comes through every letter.” Prof. Rynne, wrote an article on the revival of Irish Art in an American journal, also in 1972, in which he said “O’Connor, however, produced much excellent work, notably in the form of beautifully illuminated letters. Although a master-craftsman and an original worker he depended somewhat more on the ancient models and on neat symmetry than did O’Murnaghan. … With the death in 1969 of O’Connor, the ranks of first-class artists working in the ‘Celtic’ style were seriously bereft.”
Michael O’Connor was born in No. 24, The Square, Listowel in 1913. He married Margaret Walsh in 1950 and they had four children, Michael, Brendan, Gerardine and Aidan. We used to enjoy memorable visits to the family home on the Square when we were children and were especially proud of the Castle in the garden! It would indeed be a very fitting if belated tribute to his contribution to the ancient Irish artistic heritage and culture to have his available works displayed in his ancestral home in Listowel. Brendan O’Connor (Rev.)
