Church Street Upper

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Another Business Closes

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Extracts from the 1942 Tourism Survey of Listowel

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A Book that Connects Kanturk and Glenflesk

The old courthouse in Kanturk is still standing. A few years ago when some of the plasterwork fell off, in the holding cells there was revealed an old cell wall where Republican prisoners had written their names. A committee of Kanturk historians is campaigning to have the names preserved.

A Killarney woman has undertaken to find out more about one of the prisoners. She has just published her book.

The title of the book comes from Fred’s nickname.

Some members of the Kanturk Courthouse restoration committee who attended the book launch in Killarney

Dan Dennehy, Sheila OKeeffe, Mary O’Donoghgue (author) John Bradley, Jack Joy (journalist) and Michasel Moynihan, T.D.

John Bradley told me the story of how the book came about.


Mary O’Donoghue was watching Nationwide on the 13th March 2024 which featured an article about our efforts to save the precious graffiti on the walls of    The Bridewell jail at the back of kanturk courthouse.Some photos were shown of the names and messages on the walls and one was Fred Healy, Glenflesk, Killarney.. Mary who was going through cancer treatment at the time immediately became curious as did the whole of Glenflesk asking Who the hell was this Fred Healy?

Tim Horgan who is a well known Kerry historian found that Fred was buried in an unmarked grave..Mary started researching and as she says herself,it gave her something to do to take her mind off cancer issues.. Fred and his brother Patrick joined the Royal Munster Fusiliers in Oct 1914.He lost his eye in September 1916 and was transferred to non combatant duties in England.

Fred was discharged in January 1919 to come home to a different Ireland to the one he left 5 years earlier. It was not long before Fred joined the local Irish freedom fighters and was it seems a valued asset with his training and experience…

How Fred finished up in a Kanturk jail we may never know but for him to be rediscovered over 100 years later is an amazing story..
Just a synopsis Mary but the book has more information obviously.

Mary is donating profits from her book to Recovery Haven.

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St. Patrick’s Day in Listowel 2025

I positioned myself on William Street, across from Jumbos. It’s a goos spot to catch the parade coming up the hill. I later went across to Church Street to try to catch a few I had missed.

A family selfie to remember the day. Good way to pass the time while we were waiting for the show to start.

The first indication that the parade was on its way was Garda Dave, the first of the Garda escort.

Crowd control wasn’t an issue. The good crowd was well behaved, enjoying Jumbos speciality green cones, applauding and bantering with the participants,

Where would we be without the Convent School marching band.

They were, as always, a credit to their school. The music and the marching was perfect. Well done, Mrs Brosnan and all who made it such a success.

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A fact

Facebook is primarily blue because Mark Zuckerberg has colour vision deficiency….that’s the new term for the conditin we used to inaccurately call colour blindness. There is no blindness involved.

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