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: August 2022 Page 4 of 5

Sunny Days

By

On August 10, 2022

In Personal

Photo of Conor Pass waterfall by Éamon ÓMurchú

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Holidays

You’ve heard the song Follow me Down to Carlow. Well, you’ll have to follow me now to Kanturk and Kildare on my holidays.

Before I could head off myself I had to return my canine visitor to her family. Molly and I had a bit of an adventure. About 5 miles from my brother’s house in Kanturk, where we had made a pit stop, an ominous yellow light started to flash on the dash.

I did the sensible thing. I stopped and consulted the car’s manual. It was about as helpful as an inflatable anchor. It told me that I had an engine malfunction. I made 2 phonecalls. I rang Motor Rescue and I rang my sister in law. Breeda had me sorted in no time.

The kindly Mr. Duggan lived very nearby and he towed me to Paul Buckley’s garage. Paul is a good friend of my Kanturk family. As soon as he got back from holiday (Oh, did I say it was a bank holiday Monday?) he had my car fixed in no time. An injector had gone. The good news was that this is such a common fault in my type of car that the garage actually had the part. The bad news is that the car has three more injectors!

Id like to say that Molly was a model of calm and composure during all this. She wasn’t. Here she is having climbed into the child’s carseat in the car that was driving us back to my brother’s.

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Tech. Teachers

This is the staff of Listowel Vocational School 1981/82. Maria Stack shared it online. Past pupils have had great fun remembering their old teachers and their time in “the tech.”

Not many recognise the lady second from left in front. She was Miss O’Sullivan, later Mrs. O’Connor and she and I lived together and soldiered together in UCC. She only spent a year or two in Listowel before being transferred to Killorglin. Sadly, Noreen passed away in 2018. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

It is sad to see so many of her then colleagues have also passed away. R.I.P.

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Out and About in Listowel on August 9 2022

Lesley and Theresa were hoping for an ice cream from The Square Cone but they were too early.

The MacElligott/ Mulcahy family were enjoying breakfast in Lynch’s in The Small Square. John, John, Gillian and the newest Mulcahy, Robert were enjoying the sunshine.

At Lynchs I met Mary and friends out for a morning coffee.

Roly Chute was out and about with his new dog.

Also exercising her dogs was Liz MacAuliffe.

Community Garden

By

On August 9, 2022

In Ballybunion, Ballylongford, Listowel, Poem

By the River Feale Aug 2022

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The Other Side of the Wall

Our apples are ripening nicely.

This area will be beautiful when the flowers and climbers grow a bit.

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Meeting a Former Pupil in Ballylongford

On my visit to the traditional crafts farina Ballylongford I ran into my friend, Bridget O’Connor and then together we ran into a former pupil, Dora Mulvihill. Dora and I are in a framed picture in Presentation Secondary School Listowel, celebrating Dora’s gold medal for achieving the highest marks in Irish at her Leaving Cert.

Dora’s lovely son took the picture for me.

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From 2015

When browsing through Boards recently I came across a link to these old photos.

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Bet you Didn’t know this

Fourteen years before the Titanic sank, a novelist Morgan Robertson published a novel called Futility. The story was about an ocean liner that struck an iceberg on an April night.

The name of the ship……….Titan

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From Kanturk to Ballybunion

a poem

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Remembering

By

On August 8, 2022

In Listowel, Poem, Schools

Listowel’s Millenium Arch in July 2022
Millenium Arch from the river side

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Listowel Players

This old photo was shared recently on Listowel Memories. There is one correcti0n. That is not Batt O’Keeffe but John Broderick.

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Camden Street, Dublin in 1975

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The Fairy was Laughing too

I was revisiting Boards.ie recently and someone had put up the lyrics of this old song. It is like an ear worm now resounding in my head. I think the voice I hear is Brendan O’Dowda’s.

In a shady nook one moonlight night,

A leprachaun I spied;

With scarlet cap and coat of green;

A cruiskeen by his side.

‘Twas tick tack tick, his hammer went,

Upon a weeny shoe;

And I laughed to think of a purse of gold:

But the fairy was laughing too.

With tip-toe step and beating heart,

Quite softly I drew nigh:

There was mischief in his merry face;-

A twinkle in his eye.

He hammered and sang with tiny voice,

And drank his mountain dew:

And I laughed to think he was caught at last:-

But the fairy was laughing too.

As quick as thought I seized the elf;

‘Your fairy purse!’ I cried;

‘The purse!’ he said – ’tis in her hand –

‘That lady at your side!’

I turned to look: the elf was off!

Then what was I to do?

O, I laughed to think what a fool I’d been;

And the fairy was laughing too.

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Scoil Realta na Maidine in Summer 2022

First Communion Class of 1956

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A Pig Fair

This is Kanturk but it could be any town in rural Ireland in the 1950s. The building is now the AIB bank, recently among the branches earmarked to become cashless.

One seller, standing by the signpost, has obviously reached town early on Pig Market day as he has a prime location. It’s early in the morning as farmers are coming and going from the creamery with their milk churns.

Just over the bridge you can see the BP sign. This is Fitzpatricks petrol pumps on O’Brien Street. There were no diesel cars in the 1950s.

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Memories

By

On August 8, 2022

In Ballylongford, Listowel

Cluain Doire, Listowel in August 2022

The residents of Cluain Doire have the loveliest entrance to any estate.

They are showing their support for Kerry Rose, Edaein.

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Ballylongford Traditional Craft Fair

The fair promised more that it delivered. I was disappointed not to get a tour of the old mill and a few of the promised crafters that I had been looking forward to weren’t there when I went on the Sunday.

I missed the Black Irish Band as well.

However the crafters that were there gave us a great insight into how things were done long ago. My great grandfather was a weaver. There weren’t any weavers at the fair but there were spinners and felters.

The felters were from Cork. They had some lovely colourful stuff and they were teaching the children how felting is done.

This crafter was making jugs and vases out of leather.

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Seán MacCarthy Remembers

I was looking through an old book, Streets of Listowel when I came across this great essay from the late great Seán MacCarthy.

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Remembering Boards.ie Friends

By

On August 5, 2022

In Ballybunion, Listowel

Molly Madra at the River in July 2022

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Commemorative Seats

I may have said this before but its worth saying again. Someone should photograph the commemorative seats and trees in town, should write up a little bit about the people they commemorate and put it into a booklet or online. Many of these people will be forgotten if we dont make an effort to remember them.

I’m including this one especially for Mossie’s brother, Derry. Derry and Nancy were due home for a holiday this year but due to ill health will have to postpone til next year.

This seat in the corner of the park commemorates an extraordinary Listowel family. Three of the Sheehy brothers are remembered on the seat.

Martin, Michael and John Sheehy were the three of the five Sheehy brothers who emigrated to the U.S. They all did well in their adopted homes but their hearts never left Listowel. Martin and Michael came back more often than John and I met both men more than once. Yet John Sheehy is the Sheehy I knew best,

If it were not for John Sheehy there would be no Listowel Connection. He encouraged me and defended me against trolls when we didnt even know what they were. We were on Boards.ie back then. I checked just now (In truth about an hour ago) to see if the Listowel Thread was still there. It is and if you have an hour or two to spare and you love Listowel I’d highly recommend it

I’m now going to perform an act laced with the sweetest irony. I’m going to post a link to the Listowel thread on Boards.ie When I started my blog I used to post a link to it on Boards. The administrator threw me off because I was driving traffic away from Boards. So here I go driving traffic back to Boards. All is forgiven.

Listowel

Most of the photos are gone and some of the links are broken. Many of the contributors, including all three Sheehys and my own husband, Jim, have passed away. May they rest in peace.

We all had pen names on Boards. John Sheehy was Sandhill Road.

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Turas Nua

This lovely premises on Church Street is the home of Turas Nua. I think it is the new Intreo.

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Traffic Disruption

If you feel that there are always roadworks somewhere or other in Listowel, you’ll be sad to hear that the situation is only going to get worse. Here is what is planned.

Information from the Kerry County Council website

N69 Listowel Bypass Proposed Road Development

Works scheduled between July 2022 and Christmas are as below:

Proposed Traffic Management on JBK Road

Phase 1. Works on John B Keane Road between McKennas and Clieveragh Roundabout.

One way traffic E-W between Mckennas and Clieveragh Roundabout.  Ballybunnion traffic diverted down Market St (No left turn onto John B Keane Road).   Works to commence on the 25th July with this phase being completed for the Races on the 16th September 2022.

Phase 2 – Works on Ballybunnion Road/Market St junction

Phase 2 will commence after the races. Two way traffic between McKennas and Clieveragh Roundabout.  One way Traffic in Market St. (N-S).  The Contractor has requested Road Closures at the Ballybunion junction in late November to allow surfacing to be completed.

Phase 3 – Works on Ballygologue Junction

At the same time works will be happening on Ballygologue Junction. One way traffic W-E between Clieveragh Roundabout and Ballygologue. The south side of Ballygologue Rd will be closed, with a closure sought from end September to mid – November.  The Contractor’s programme has this work scheduled for completion by the end of November.

January 2023 through to June 2023 will see works progress for the remainder of the John B Keane Road.   Traffic management for these sections will be finalised in the coming months and having regard to the experience of the works in 2022. 

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