Rattoo Sunset

Photo: Bridget O’Connor

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Ballyduff  and Some Other Placenames

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The Day the For Sale Signs Went Up

I have been looking through some old photos while I am in lockdown. I came across these that I took on the day the auctioneers came to erect the For Sale signs at Presentation Convent Listowel in 2007

Sr. Nuala O’Leary R.I.P and Sr. Consolata Bracken

Preparing to erect the sign

The beautiful front garden, always so well kept and picturesque

The empty grotto

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St. Patrick’s Day Memories

Some photos from around the world from the archive

In Shawnee

In London

In New Jersey

In New York

In New York

in Toronto

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

Photo: Bridget O’Connor (in Abbeydorney)

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When a Poem Comes to Mind 

“Like one who, on a lonely road, 

Doth walk in fear and dread, 
And, having once turned round, walks on, 
And turns no more his head; 
Because he knows a frightful fiend 
Doth close behind him tread. – 

Coleridge’s “Ancient Mariner.”

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 Duagh Placenames and their meanings

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St. Patrick’s Day

God be with the days when we could parade and congregate, go to mass and dance and sing on our saint’s day.

Here are a few old reminders of how March 17 used to be

John Kelliher took this photo of me on a day I used to love, snapping the action on the streets on St. Patrick’s Day.

Young and old used to throng the pavements in days of yore.

River Brick from Ballinagare Bridge

Photo: Bridget O’Connor

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Home Truths

An extract from Dick Carmody’s memoir

Growing up around Clounmacon School, we were scarcely aware of the riches of history, culture, folklore and, indeed, nature that were in abundance all around us.

Our history and geography lessons often focussed on people, places and events far beyond our native shores. Little did we realise that our own country, county and locality contained a virtual repository of all the elements that make for a vibrant and viable community. As we left our homes and town lands we would soon come to realise what it is that moulded us and what would become that invisible thread that draws us back to our roots. 

   All around us we had people who were enterprising and resourceful. Families were relatively self-contained and self-sufficient in material terms while the spirit of comharing and co-operation provided that extra support and re-assurance to allow people to become part of a wider community. Whether working the land, playing our national games or in pursuit of religious duties, we were ever in each other’s shadow.

Despite the passage of time, there remains a strong sense of local identity, a sense and a pride of place that transcends the many changes that have taken place, including the advances in communications and technology.

   The North Kerry landscape is like a tapestry of farms and bogland, separated by a network of roads, pathways, rivers and streams. Individual holdings, in turn, are comprised of fields, haggards, farm and domestic dwellings divided by ditches, dykes, walls and hedging. The quality of land has been greatly improved over the last half-century or so through the public drainage schemes and through land improvement initiatives by landowners themselves.  Mechanisation of most farm work and the advances in farm machinery have greatly facilitated this. Demographic, economic and other changes have contributed to the decline in small farm holdings as a way of life and the resultant consolidation of farm activity among a smaller new generation who choose farming as a viable business and career. 

   Despite all the changes that have taken place in the community and on the land, there remains for us a wonderful and rich legacy that is the range of placenames which adorn our local landscape. These names originate from the Irish language but through political or other influences have become anglicised and diluted over time and yet have not lost their distinctive and descriptive origins. Thankfully, through the work of local historians and scholars, together with the more recent interest in genealogical research both within Ireland and by an increasingly enthusiastic Irish diaspora, local placenames and town lands now have a new and even greater relevance.

Clounmacon Cluain Meacan The meadow of the root or tuber

Clounprohus Cluain Pruis Meadow of the fox’s lair

Clountubrid Cluain Tiobrad The meadow of the well

Coilagurteen Coill na Goirtin Wood of the little gardens

Coolatoosane Cuil an tSuasain The corner of the long grass

Coolaclarig Cuil an Chlaraigh The corner of the wooden bridge or structure

Derry Doire An oak wood

Dromin An Dromainn The little ridge

Ballahadigue Bealach an Daibigh The route of the tub or vat

Ballygologue Baile Gabhloige Townland of the fork

Bunaghara Bun an Ghearrtha The bottom of the cutting

Knockane Cnocan na Croise Hillock of the cross

Kylebwee An Choill Bhuí The yellow wood

Meen An Mhín Smooth green patch of land

Pollagh Pollach Place full of holes

Skeherenerin Sceiche an Iarainn The Bush of the iron

Placename translations and interpretations courtesy of ‘Logainmneacha – Placenames of North Kerry including Tralee and Ballymacelligott’ by Dan Keane, 2004.

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January 2 2013

On the evening of January 2 2013, we had a spot of unwelcome excitement at Craftshop na Méar in Church Street. We had a chimney fire.

Because it was a three storey building, putting out the fire was a big operation. I took some photos of some of our saviours on the night.

Meanwhile down the road people were queueing for the pantomime unaware of the drama going on a short distance away.

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Tracing his Listowel  Connection

Every so often I get an email from someone who is anxious to trace his Listowel roots. I’m printing Paul O’Connor’s email in the hope that someone will know something about his Charles’ Street family.

Hi There 

I came across your page while looking for information on Listowel. I’m doing up some family history and tracing the roots. My great grandfather Daniel Connor was born on 27th November 1881 and the address was given as Charles St Listowel. In 1896 his grandfather also Daniel Connor died and the address is given as Charles St. 

I was wondering was it a house or was there a kind of workhouse there. 

Any information would be greatly appreciated 

Thanks 

Paul 

Tralee Wetlands

Photo: Bridget O’Connor

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Words we rarely hear anymore

From Dick Carmody

Gabhlóg sticks were cut small to make catapults while larger ones could be used to support hay or straw stacks. A hazel gabhlóg would be used to source water springs. Hay súgán ropes were sometimes used to secure the hay winds and stacks. Clumps of rough grass or heather around cut-away bogs were called dosógs or triopalls. Water from bog holes overflowed into glaises which drained into the nearby River Galey. Bushes would sometimes be referred to as tors or sceachs.

   Nóiníns were gathered by children to make daisy chains. Wicker púicíns were made from sally sticks and placed on a calf’s head to prevent it from drinking from its mother or sucking other calves. Sally was also used as a scolb, split, pointed and bent u-shaped to secure the straw on thatched roofs. If a house fell into disrepair it might soon be described as a bit of a bothán. Dirty or stagnant water was described as súrach on which snas would soon grow.

   One was usually inclined to drain the last dríodar from a bucket of milk or a glass of porter. A taoscán of water or, indeed, whiskey were familiar liquid measurement terms in everyday conversation. However, I can’t ever remember seeing poitín around the house. In our favourite sweet shop we watched in wonder as tomhaisíns were magically created from a piece of brown paper to wrap ‘bulls eyes’, bon-bons or other sweet treats. Praties might have sounded less sophisticated than potatoes but may have tasted better. A feed of crúibíns or a plate of drisín would be a great antidote for a hard day’s work. A plate of peaindí, made from mashed potatoes, milk and butter made the ideal accompaniment. A slog of new milk or buttermilk would complete the hearty meal.

   Our first expedition to the River Galey was to collect ciseáníns in jam jars which might end up in smidiríns before we got back home. Cats delivered regular litters of puisíns while day-old chicks often succumbed to the pioc, a small parasite or worm that lodged in their throats. A bradaí described a heifer or cow tending to wander into a neighbour’s property. The farmer would sometimes have to improvise as a vet when called upon to put back in a bonham’s bundún with a darning needle and woollen thread.

   There would be a great tóir or excitement about when something drastic or unexpected happened while somebody struggling with life might be, at best, ag strácháil. A person could end up in a lúbán through hard work or injury. Marla provided us with our first opportunity to display our creative and artistic skills in school. Around the house, we packed tea leaves into the last of the clay dúidíns with our lúidíns to mimic our elders as they smoked their pipes. 

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People at Listowel Horsefair in January 2013

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In Journey’s End

Mary McElligott sent us this photo from her family album. It shows the family of her grandaunt and friends in their bar, Journey’s End, in Church Street, Listowel, during a race week in the 1950s.

Mary didn’t have names for these people, who were before her time, so I asked Miriam Kiely’s help. Miriam grew up across the road from the O’Grady’s of Journey’s End.

Miriam identifies Rosie O’Grady and Patsy O’Grady or Margaret at either end in front.

 Front 2nd from right  is Peggy Leahy of Leahy’s Corner.

She thinks the older lady may be Minnie who used to be in O’Grady’s.

In Ballyeagh on New Year’s Day 2021

Photo: Bridget O’Connor

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Irishisms in Clounmacon

Today I have for you some more of Dick Carmody’s account of Irish words in everyday use in the Clounmacon of his childhood. They will bring back fond memories to many people. Some of these words are still in use here. Maybe we should all make an effort to keep some of these gems in use. If we don’t use them we’ll lose them.

  Often sighs and exclamations such as muise, ochón and fada- fada, rather than conversation, conveyed a person’s true feelings and emotions.  If someone had a great meas for somebody else, it meant they held them in high esteem and deserving of respect.  A generous person would be described as flaithiúlach while somebody’s flattery might be dismissed as mere plámás. A bladairer would describe someone prone to nonsensical talk. Ochón would often be uttered on feeling or hearing of a great tragedy, while h’anam on diabhail was an exclamation used in similar situations or to guard against impending danger or bad news.

   Many superstitions existed in the community and piseógs, such as placing of eggs or glugars in a neighbour’s crop to bring them bad luck, was not unheard of. In our youth we often listened to our elders talk about the curse and cry of the bean sí as a foreboding or sign of impending tragedy.

   On a more positive note, local people gathered together as a meitheal to help each other out with a range of farm chores and this generous practice was known locally as comharing. Farmers in their endeavour to maximise grazing returns would seek to limit the spread of feileastrams or geosadáns and to comply with the legal requirement to eliminate the poisonous yellow buachalán weed from fields and meadows. Fionnán together with heather and bog cotton added to the beauty of the bogland, though sitting around on either for too long could result in a sore and embarrassing infestation by sciortáns. Having laboured with sleán and pike to provide a year-round supply of turf, every effort would be made to prevent any of the valuable fuel from becoming spairt through lack of proper saving or storage in poor weather conditions. Cipíns alone, gathered from hedges and ditches along boithríns, would not suffice to keep a family warm, especially if the cold dry wind of the scairbhín arrived as late as early May.

   A farmer could be seen in the depths of winter carrying bearts of hay tied with ropes over his shoulder to cattle still out in the fields. He might hold a single sop of hay between his teeth as he contemplated the day’s weather prospects or feed a sop, as a small bundle of hay, to cattle in response to their hungry bellowing. Gabháls of hay were fed to housed farm animals while gabháls of turf were carried in to keep open fires and ranges fuelled up.  Small caoráns or claids of turf were ideal to get the fires started.

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In the Window at Craftshop na Méar in 2013

We held a competition to name the pig mascot which used to adorn the window of Craftshop na Méar. The name which won was Crubeen. The name was submitted by the late Dan Green.

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Would you know a Newt?

I wouldn’t know a newt if one came up and bit me. This is a highly unlikely occurrence.

Paddy Fitzgibbon encountered this one in Dromin last week and he got a photo.

I had to content myself with looking him up in Wikipedia.

The Smooth or Common newt is Ireland’s only tailed amphibian. Although a native member of our fauna, it is rarely seen and relatively under-recorded. … Newts spend up to four months of the year in water. The male has large black belly spots, whereas the female has a speckled belly.