Flowers at Listowel Arms in June 2025
<<<<<<<
People at the Forge
Jim Dunn is a genius at capturing likenesses. These men come to life in his Athea forge mural.
The horse is brilliantly captured as well.
Don’t we all know men like these?
<<<<<<<<
+ Sally O’Neill R.I.P. +
”Tis hard to part when friends are dear
Perhaps ’twill cost a sigh, a tear,
So steal away, give little warning
Choose your own time.”
(Anna Barbauld)
Sally O’Neill gave no warning. So many people have said since hearing of her passing, “ I was talking to her only last week.” or “I saw her on the street on Sunday.”
Sally stole away in her own time. She was always her own woman. She did things her way, with great gentleness and courtesy, but on her terms. There is a list as long as my arm of people who offered her lifts and she chose to walk. She walked every day for years from her home in Cahirdown to the other side of town to visit her beloved Oliver. Enduring devotion and loyalty were Sally’s hallmark.
Barbara Walsh told me that Sally and Barbara’s late mother used to be good pals in the St. Vincent de Paul. Barbara recalls many a time offering her a lift on a bad rainy day. Sally insisted on walking.
She did on occasion, accept lifts. I read this on R.I.P. ie. Some people’s powers of persuasion must have been strong indeed.
Sally with one of her many friends and neighbours, Robert Pierse. Sally was a great favourite with all the Pierse family and with all her neighbours in Cahirdown.,
When Sally lost her beloved Oliver, her life changed utterly. She was alone in the house, unable to drive and with no family nearby to help her. But she had great neighbours and friends. Through her involvement with local organisations and her unstinted support of local charities and cultural events Sally had friends throughout the community. Everyone looked out for her. She was never alone. Sally O’Neill was Listowel’s favourite adopted daughter.
Oliver O’Neill and his friend, Pat Brodbin. Pat and his family continued the friendship with Sally up to her death and beyond by helping her family in the organisation of her funeral.
Every day Sally got up, dressed up and showed up. She never wallowed in her grief. She knew she had to carry on. She went to mass, attended plays and readings and dined in The Listowel Arms or other local eateries.
Oliver and Sally O’Neill at Listowel Races.
“The apparel oft proclaims the man” was a motto that defined Oliver and Sally. Sally loved to get her hair done and to dress up. She had her own unique sense of style. Oliver and Sally always cut a dash as a handsome couple and Sally wore her stylish outfits right to the end.
Sally O’Neill did not have an enemy in the world. Her smiling presence will be greatly missed from our town. It was a privilege to have known her.
I consider it an honour to have taken what turned out to be the last picture of Sally. Many people have told me that that is how they will remember her, happy and smiling as she attended Listowel Writers Week opening event in her beloved Listowel.
Thornton Wilder said, “ The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.”
Thank you, Sally, for enriching all our lives.
<<<<<<<<
A Fact
Tucked inside Harvard is a library unlike any other, one that protects some of the world’s rarest colors. We’re talking pigments made from extinct insects, crushed gemstones, rare metals, and even ancient Egyptian mummies. It’s called the Forbes Pigment Collection, and it holds over 2,500 samples that capture the history of color like a secret rainbow museum.
These aren’t just pretty powders, they’re stories in a jar. Each pigment tells a tale of science, culture, and even controversy. Some are so rare or toxic they can never be recreated. From the vibrant blues of lapis lazuli to the eerie red of mummy brown, this hidden archive preserves the shades that once painted the world… and may never exist again.
<<<<<<<<
