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

Author: listowelconnection Page 57 of 192

Mary Cogan, retired from teaching in Presentation Secondary School, Listowel, Co. Kerry. I am a native of Kanturk, Co. Cork.
I have published two books; Listowel Through a Lens and A minute of your Time

A Poem, a Fisherman and a Parade

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On March 20, 2024

In Listowel, Poem

Main Street and Church Street

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A Poem from One of my Favourite anthologies

One of my favourite poems too

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Spending St. Patrick’s Day in Phuket

Mary Sobieralski spent St Patrick’s day 2024 with Mark and Jacqueline in sunny Phuket.

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Meanwhile in Listowel

St. Patrick was meeting and greeting.

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Corkisms (and probably Kerryisms too)

A fellow Kanturk man, Stephen Twohig, who now lives abroad made a list of some of the many colourful idioms he only hears when he is at home.

” A Birdie··, a kiss.

“A beeor” a girl or lady.

“Belt away”, carry on.

“Break your melt”, to try your patience. “Bubbillah” a shortened version of “Boy will you”

 ” C’mere”, Come here will you.

“Cat” or “Catma]ogen”, something bad or negative.

“A Caffler”, a troublemaker or “Gurrier”. 

“Chalk it down”, I agree with you.

“Cog”, is to copy your homework from someone else.

“Compo” a way of earning money from a bad string of luck and a remarkable

recovery.

“A dawk” is a punch or dig.

“Daycent”, decent.

“A Darby , a small whiskey.

“Deflicks”, the movies

“Doonchie” or “dounchy” means something small and usually smaller than

“twinchey”

“Don’t be codding me”, fooling me.

“A Dote”. a lovely person 

“Ecca”, is homework.

“A feen”, is a boy or man.

“A fifty”, is to be stood up on a date.

” A flah”, is someone very attractive. 

” Flahed out,” exhausted.

“A funt, is a kick.

 “‘Gatch” is a particular way of walking.

To ”Gawk “at something is to stare at it. Usually a “beoor”. 

Grade” and ”spondoolicks” is money.

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A Fisherman Remembered

Story and pictures from Christy Halpin on Facebook

Earlier this month a small ceremony of dedication was held by North Kerry Anglers Association. The ceremony was to dedicate a plaque by the river to a fisherman whose favourite place was this stretch of The Feale.

Tom Galvin passed away two years ago. He is remembered by his fishing friends.

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Another dive into an old Yearbook

These are the girls who put together the yearbook in 1989.

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A Fact

Smoking tobacco was introduced into Europe by a Spanish physician, Francisco Fernandes …in 1558….yes, 1558!

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A Play, A Train, Toast and a Poet’s Muse

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On March 19, 2024

In Asdee, Duagh, Listowel

Bike stand with Listowel Arms in the background

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John Relihan in Kanturk

Duagh’s world famous chef and food entrepreneur was in Jack McCarthy’s world famous butcher’s and food shop in Kanturk on Saturday.

John Relihan with William and Cian Ahern in McCarthy’s on Saturday March 16 2024

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Lartigue Opening at Easter 2024

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From the Archives

Kerryman Friday, April 24, 1987

Tons of Money; comedy

GROUP Theatre Tralee takes the stage in Siamsa Tire Theatre at the end of this month with their 52nd production to date; a three act farce called “Tons of Money” by Will Evans and Valentine.

“It’s the funniest play I’ve read in years and I can recommend it unreservedly,” director Maurice Curtin told The Kerryman this week as work started on the set in Siamsa.

“Tons of Money,” which is currently running at London’s National Theatre, will be performed by the Tralee group from Thursday to Saturday, April 30 to May 2 at 8.30 p.m.

The cast of Group Theatre’s latest production in this, their 18th consecutive season, includes Betty Crowley from Ardfert, Bernie O’Connor from Moyvane and Tralee actors and actresses, Tony Collins (Lisbeg), Miriam O’Regan (Moyderwell), Brian Caball (Ashe Street), Brendan McMahon, Mary Church, Mairead Dowling, Danny O’Leary and Kay Dowling.

Mr. Curtin told The Kerryman that “Tons of Money” was one of the earliest box office blockbuster plays, reaching a record 733 consecutive performances when it was first staged, in London in 1922.

He said he believed it had been performed in Tralee before by the CYMS Drama Group and Denis Hourigan of St. Brendan’s Park, Tralee, could remember playing the part of the butler, Spules, in it.

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Stella

Stella was Dean Swift’s muse. Little is known about her. She was Esther Johnson, an English woman. She is buried beside Swift in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

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St. Patrick’s Day 2024

Kay’s Children’s Shop window

Big crowd of spectators

First sighting of the marchers

Leading the parade in sunny Listowel

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A Fact

French toast has nothing to do with France. It was the brainchild of Joseph French, an innkeeper in New York in 1724. He intended to call it French’s Toast but in his advertisement, he forgot the ‘s.

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Back to School

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On March 15, 2024

In Asdee, Listowel

Daffodils and tulips in Market Street

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A Welcome Back

I was back in my old workplace earlier this week. I was in very prestigious company. Cora Staunton and I were the inspiring guests invited to be part of the school’s celebration of International Women’s Day. We are pictured above in the school’s new library.

Wouldn’t Sr. Benedict be so proud to see reading centralised in her old school?

The new library is colourful, well stocked and inviting. I am honoured that my two humble offerings are now on the shelves here.

The main business of the day took place in the hall. Cora and I were interviewed on stage.

The audience was attentive and appreciative.

A moving poem was delivered by Taylor Lynch. In a day away from Mother’s Day, Taylor’s poem in honour of her late mother was dignified and poignant.

Everything Wasn’t Perfect. 

Everything was perfect. 

Until it wasn’t. 

Your sweet smile, 

And loud laugh. 

Your buoyant nature. 

How birds sang, 

As you walked. 

Your hair danced, 

In the wind. 

You were perfect. 

A mother’s love, 

There’s no compare. 

Imprisoned into darkness. 

A hospital grey. 

Taken from us. 

“Paradise” you said, 

“I’m going there”. 

Four short decades. 

Freed from life, 

like a bird. 

Now your name 

Is a word, 

Carved onto stone. 

Everything was perfect. 

Until it wasn’t. 

Taylor Lynch 

_______

In a break in our interviews we had music, poetry and song from some of the very talented pupils.

A lovely event…thank you girls.

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One for the Diary

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From Pres. Yearbook 1988

Ah, happy days in the tuck shop.

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Water from the Well

This vignette of life in rural Ireland in the 1940s and 50s is from the late Jim Costelloe’s lovely book, Asdee in the 1940s and 50s.

Thanks for the memories, Jim. Rest in peace.

In the days before group water schemes were introduced to rural areas, domestic water was sourced from wells and pumps. If the water supply lasted through the summer and into October it was the sign of a good spring. I well remember trips to the local well with a white enamel bucket and trying to move the green moss on the surface of the well water so that it would not get into the bucket and make the water in the pure white bucket appear dirty.

Getting clear water into the bucket was a skilful job, between trying to avoid the green moss on the surface and the “dirt” at the bottom of the well. How wonderfully cool and refreshing a mug of water was straight from the well. There was always a mug beside the well and we often drank from it during those warm summers that we seemed to get long ago.

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A Fact

In 1999 the founders of Google tried to sell it to Excite for $1 million. The offer was turned down.

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Winners and Losers

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On March 14, 2024

In Listowel

Listowel Town Square in March 2024

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Tennis Winners

Bobby Cogan and his Lakewood Division 2 team who won their Winter League match at the weekend.

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Friendship Celebrated

Make new friends

But keep the old

The new ones are like silver

But the old ones are like gold

Peggy O’Shea, Mary Cogan, Margo Anglim and Assumpta O’Sullivan, friends for 50 years, meeting up for a regular catch up in March 2024 .

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Pres. Yearbook 1988

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An Obituary

I spotted this obituary in this week’s Kerry’s Eye. I never met Jim Costelloe but he is a man I feel I know through his book. He wrote about Asdee in the 1940s and 50s, a world very familiar to me from my own childhood.

I’ve featured many of his stories in his lovely chatty writing style on here in the past. I’ll have to revisit them again now.

Rest in Peace, Jim Costelloe

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A Fact

from Woman’s Weekly

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St. Patrick’s Day cards

By

On March 13, 2024

In Festivals, Listowel

Listowel Fire Station in March 2024

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St. Patrick’s Day Cards from An Post

A Post have come up with a scheme that seemed to me like a great idea when I heard about it on the radio.

You go to the An Post website and you choose to send a St. Patrick’s Day card. You are given a choice of categories and then you will be given an AI generated image for your card. You write your greeting, the name and address of the recipients. Then you pay €4 and An Post will print and deliver the card anywhere in the world.

Brilliant!

I have these lovely friends whom you met here before. They are Wolfgang and Anita Mertens. They live in Germany. They love Ireland. Since I met them for the first time last year they have kept in touch and send me greetings, cards, photos and stuff.

So I set to make my greeting card for them.

Wolfgang is a scholar in the field of Anglo Irish literature. His special field of interest is the work of Listowel’s Bryan MacMahon. So the first category I chose was “literature” and the above card is what AI generated. Not so much literature. Lots of Paddywhackerry…rainbow, pots of gold, four leaved clovers masquerading as shamrocks. It was just short the leprechauns. I was definitely not choosing that one.

So next I chose the category St. Bridget’s Cross. The AI bot who made the above didn’t know too much about Saint Brigid since she numbered a pot of gold, a guitar and tricolour among her assorted artefacts at the foot of her very elaborate high cross. I rejected this one too.

I settled for my third and final choice, green landscape. Not very Irish but very very green. I thought I detected a few camels at the foot of those pyramids but who am I to question AI?

An Post had better up its game or I won’t be going there for my Easter cards.

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I met Two Famous Men

At lunch in Behan’s last Thursday I ran into Billy Keane and Michael Healy Rae having a chat. I disturbed them to bring you this.

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From Pres. Yearbook 1988

1987/88 was a great year for sport in the school. There were many exceptionally talented basketballers and footballers among the pupils.

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A Very Grim Fact

1740 to 1742 was the longest period of extreme cold in modern European history.

With rivers frozen, coal could not be delivered to ports, Animals and fish died. Birds fell dead out of the sky, having been frozen to death in flight. Starvation and hypothermia killed thousands of people.

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