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
Margo Spillane loves to return from her home in Castlelyons to Listowel for a visit. She thought the town was looking as good as ever.
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A Town that loves Trees
This beautiful line of trees is at the entrance to Willow Grove. Have you ever noticed how trees and woods occur often in placenames in Listowel?
We have Woodford, Wood view, Hawthorn Drive, Hollytree Drive, Cherrytree Drive, Ashgrove, Ashfield, Ferndene and lots more that I can’t remember just now.
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Graffiti as Art
I spotted this wall at the boys’ school
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A Blast from the Past
This is a story from an old school magazine. The five pence piece is no more. Many of the shops are gone. In those days you could set up a toll in William Street and collect for charity… Happy days!
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At Lynch’s Corner
The words of the Master are commemorated in Lynch’s wall.
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An Apology
Last week I featured the anomoly that is The Convent Street Clinic on Market Street, I also wrote about the difficulty of changing a street name for people who were conducting business on that street.
I was reminded by Maureen that Convent Street Clinic used to be on Convent Street. When they relocated to Market Street they kept the name as it would have caused untold hassle to change it.
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A Fact
Walking under a ladder is said to bring bad luck. Superstitions about ladders go back to the bad old days when criminals had to climh a ladder to the gallows.
The prestigious Listowel Writers’ Week 2025, had one of its outstanding events on May 30. It was, “ Poetry: Celebrating the Poetry of Paul Durkan-An Evening of Music and Poems to mark Paul’s eightieth birthday and the publication of Paul Durcan 80 at 80.” Unfortunately Paul didn’t live to see it, he died on May 17th
There is a tradition, among the good people of Ringsend, of gathering at a funeral procession to carry the coffin over the hump-backed bridge over the River Dodder just before the village. Needless to say at the funeral of one of our greatest poets the Ringsend people turned out in their droves to help the bereaved to, “carry Paul over the bridge.”
Prolific Irish Times journalist Frank McNally treated his readers to a story from some years ago. The volunteers overdid their enthusiasm for the tradition. They stopped a hearse, with three limousines behind it, at the bottom of the bridge and immediately launched into the routine of organising each other to carry the coffin into Ringsend until the driver of the hearse intervened. “Lads, lads stop,” he said, “This funeral is going to F…ing Bray.”
What did Paul think of the afterlife? I’m sure we can glean something from one of his poems.
Staring Out the Window Three Weeks After His Death.
Staring Out the Window Three Weeks After His Death
On the last day of his life as he lay comatose in the hospital bed
I saw that his soul was a hare which was poised In the long grass of his body, ears pricked
It sprang toward me and halted and I wondered if it
Could hear me breathing
Or if it could smell my own fear which was,
Could he but have known it, greater than his
For plainly he was a just and playful man
And just and playful men are as brave as they are rare.
Then his cancer-eroded body appeared to shudder
As if a gust of wind blew through the long grass
And the hare of his soul made a U-turn
And began bounding away from me
Until it disappeared from sight into a dark wood
And I thought – that is the end of that, I will not be seeing him again.
He died in front of me; no one else was in the room.
My eyes teemed with tears; I could not damp them down.
I stood up to walk around his bed
Only to catch sight again of the hare of his soul
Springing out of the wood into a beachy cove of sunlight
And I thought – yes, that’s how it is going to be from now on:
The hare of his soul always there, when I least expect it;
Popping up out of nowhere, sitting still.
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Blessing the Herd
Photo by Elizabeth Ahern
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Kerry Women in Literature
Here are three of the writers featured in KWM’s new exhibition.
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Shared On Line
An old photo of The Castle Hotel Ballybunion
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KDYS
The ramped entrance to KDYS Listowel
It’s Pride month.
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A Fact
Black cats are considered lucky in Ireland and the U.K but in the U.S.A. it’s white cats that are the lucky ones.
Those who don’t learn from the mistakes of history are destined to repeat them.
The debate in Castleisland was short lived. They didn’t even have to resort to the Listowel solution to a Listowel problem. They are going to leave well enough alone. This time the people spoke in today’s forum for people who are unhappy with a proposal to let rip. Let rip they did. Some people wanted no change. Some people were okay with change but not to O’Connell. Various names were suggested until the whole debate descended into chaos. So Main Street Castleisland will remain Main Street for the foreseeable future. In Irish it is simply An Phríomhshráid, a direct translation.
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Kerry Women in Literature at Kerry Writers’ Museum
There was a big imbalance in the representation of Kerry writers in the KWM. The exhibition which opened on May 28 2025 set out to right that wrong.
On opening night Owen MacMahon told me of a conversation he heard reported when the question of gender balance was being debated in the golf club. The wise man in this conversation said that any lady who sought equality with men lacked ambition.
I don’t think many would argue that the women in this exhibition were the equal or superior to household names in Irish writing such as Bryan MacMahon, John B. Keane or Brendan Kennelly. They still deserve some recognition.
Maureen Beasley’s daughter reads what the museum has to say about her mother.
The Beasley family with the Chair of KWM, David Browne
Artist and model…The work of the writers is “reimagined through contemporary art.” Artist, Damien Daly, chose Beatrice Mannix to represent the themes in Sonja Broderick’s poem, The Best of Times.
They posed for me by the artwork. My picture does not do the piece justice.
Eamon ÓMurchú, Seán MacCarthy and Gabriel Fitzmaurice at the opening.
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Listowel Literary Festival 2025
Old friends, Ned O’Sullivan, Chair of Listowel Writers’ Week and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Patrick O’Donovan. The minister endowed Listowel Writers’ Week with a grant of €25k.
(Photo: Dominick Walsh)
Some of the widespread coverage in the media. Listowel Literary Festival 2025 was a welcome PR boost for tourism in Listowel.
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A Poem
This Pat Boran poem was the unseen poem in this year’s Leaving Cert .English paper.
As Far as Turn Back
After we’ve walked for long enough
the conversation peters out,
and grunts, sniffs and the occasional cough
are all that punctuate the quiet.
Now and then, there’s a heel-burst
slipstream of shingle; a see-saw
slate-flat rock taps and trembles
its morse code underfoot;
a crow caws, a sheep responds
from a clump of grass a field away.
But that’s about the size of it.
No path agreed in advance,
we’re just out walking on this lockdown day,
taking the air and, taken by it,
leaving the road for animal tracks,
heading, as my father’s phrase would have it,
‘as far as turn back’.
And who knew that not knowing
where that turn would turn out to be
would turn out to be
the thing we’d miss the most.
Pat Boran
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Sunday Market
Every Sunday from now ’til October from 11.00a.m. to 3.00p.m. you can buy crafts, baked goods, vegetables, strawberries, knick knacks and more. Brew and Banter had a previous commitment last Sunday but they’ll be back.
The school principal was on hand to support the stall holders.
Lovely hand made toys and gifts
These are to lads I told you about yesterday. From their base in Tralee they are selling popular 3D printer made items.
A new permanent exhibition honouring 13 Kerry women writers was opened on May 28 2025 in Kerry Writers’ Museum. The exbibition was officially opened by Dr. Fiona Brennan who told us a bit about some of the artists.
Some are well known to us from our school days e.g. Peig Sayers and Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. Four of the writers are Listowel women, Cecile O’Rahilly, Bertha Beatty and grandmother and granddaughter, Maureen Beasley and Sonja Broderick.
The others are Siobhán Ní Shuilleabháin, Pauline Maguire, Mary Dowling, Anne Margaret Rowan, Alice Curtayne, Sr. Margaret Cusack and Máirín Cregan.
Owen MacMahon, Jimmy Deenihan, Kay and Arthur Caball and Mayor of Listowel Municipal District, Jimmy Moloney at the launch.
Boards like this tell us a bit about the writer.
Relatives of Alice Curtayne were there to honour their illustrious ancestor.
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Historic Photographs Facebook Page
The grave of legendary ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, known for his electrifying stage presence and groundbreaking defection from the Soviet Union in 1961. The grave appears to be draped in a richly patterned carpet, but it is actually a meticulously crafted mosaic tombstone. Designed by Ezio Frogerio Italian artist.
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Did you wear one of these?
They were actually a great idea.
Speaking of skirts, I was at Lakewood Tennis Club’s open competitions recently.
The competition here is as keen as Wimbledon but the dress code is relaxed, any sports clothes will do.
In a competition where ladies could wear anything many of them chose to wear skorts.
Family support, Killian, Aisling, Anne, Bobby and Colm all in Lakewood supporting Carine on Friday evening for the semi finals and the barbecue. Anne lost both of her semi finals. The food was delicious.
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Scoil Realta na Maidine Market
I was back in the schoolyard yesterday for the Sunday market. This week there were a few very welcome new stalls.
I met Carmel Hanrahan, great friend of Listowel Connection. It was lovely to finally meet in person.
I bought this from some lovely enterprising young men. They made it using a 3D printer. It’s a fidget spinner, very popular with young and old. Their company is called
Peppa Pig, the sassy two dimensional cartoon pig who talks and walks on two legs was originally conceived as an antidote to the pretty palace dwelling princesses of so many children’s stories.
At the great exhibition of old photos from the 1950s and 60s in Kanturk library, people had a great time, seeing themselves, their parents and friends and so many people no longer with us.
I am beside the picture of my Uncle and his friends and their famous combine harvester.
Marguerite and Derry O’Mahoney are looking at photographs of their father, Miah who was always one of the highlights of the Fancy Dress Parade.
Local people putting names to faces.
James Twohig is the chair of Duhallow Heritage Society, who presented the exhibtion to us. The two girls on my right are Caroline and Mary O’Sullivan, relatives of Danny O’Sullivan, the photographer.
Mary, Marguerite and I were in school together many moons ago.
One of the many school groups on display.
If only every town had a Danny O’Sullivan and a generous family to share all the images with us.
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Quality before Quantity Every time
Help Needed
Hi im trying to contact Deidre Finucane to do with my family tree. Was her father James Finucane born 1924 Cappamore and mother Bridie. Regards Guy.
If you can help, email me. I have an email address for Guy.
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A Fact
Thw last public execution in Britain took place outside Newgate Prison in 1868.
