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

Category: Listowel Page 75 of 175

Feeling at Home

By

On August 16, 2023

In Listowel

St. John’s in summer 2023

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O’Brien Street, Kanturk

O’Brien Street is the street you pass through as you head from Listowel to Cork, if you choose the Rockchapel Newmarket road. Notice all the old chimney pots on this lovely old terrace of houses.

Across the road from these houses is the entrance to the charming O’Brien Street Park.

The park is threaded with a steam, little paths and bridges.

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When your dad is your hero

Mary Dowling shared this lovely memory.

Casting my mind back to August 1986. On the 6th of August I was on a journey from Kerry to Wicklow. There was unseasonal thunder and lightening and flooding of Tralee town where many homes and shops were under many feet of water, including Dowling Sports and Shoe shop.

I went to collect flowers that had been dropped there for me and was met by some people who were in canoes and small boats about a km from town. The River Lee had burst it’s banks and the town sirens were ringing loudly.

My father told me to continue on my way to Wicklow and he seemed very worried about his attendance at my event the next day as our business premises was severely damaged.

I continued on my journey not sure if my special day was going ahead. Many hours later I arrived in Glendalough. Dad arrived shortly before midnight with the good news that the Kerins O Rahilly Senior football team had voluntarily taken charge of the clean up of the shops.

The next morning was my wedding day at St. Kevin’s Church in Glendalough. Now 37 years later on the 7th of August I am happily celebrating our wedding anniversary. Dad is no longer with us but I will never forget the kindness of the Kerins O Rahillys Club members who came to our aid.

Mary’s dad, John Dowling, was the legendary captain of the Kerry Football team who beat the Dubs in the All Ireland Final of 1955. He was captain because he had won the County Championship with his club, Kerins ORahillys.

John had a life long association with Kerins ORahillys, including, buying and developing their present pitch in Strand Road and training and supporting teams for years after his own playing career had ended.

His dedication was appreciated by the club members who rolled up their sleeves to help clean up his businesses after the flood, allowing him to be a vital part of his daughter’s wedding.

With the GAA, club is family.

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Revival

I had visitors for the Revival weekend.

The scene in The Square as shared by the official Revival page.

Some of the hard working local publicans who organised the concerts. A great time was had by everyone. The music was top class. Who cares about the weather when you’re having fun.

I was on child minding duties for the lovely Aoife McKenna.

Aoife is too young for Revival but her Baby Shark is as good as any Lyra song.

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A Fact

The song Happy Birthday to You was written by sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill. The lyrics were Good Morning to You but were changed to Happy Birthday to You when it was published in 1935.

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In Kanturk, Cork and Listowel

By

On August 15, 2023

In Listowel, Personal, Schools

An image for today, August 15 2023 , feast of The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven. Photo taken in Teampall Bán in August 2023

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Kanturk Arts Festival

This is the scene in the O’Brien Street Park in Kanturk in summer 2023

This is a lovely way to spend a bit of time. I photographed some of the poems for you so I’ll be sharing them here now for a while.

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End of an Era

Last week I was at two funerals. Both deceased were nuns. Slowly I am witnessing the end of a way of life I thought would continue forever.

Sr. Mary Salmon was the sister of Listowel’s Michael. Her life was one of service to the communities in which she lived. She was a member of a very small order of sisters, The Little Sisters of the Assumption. They live among the people they serve and give witness to God’s love in a practical way.

Sr. Mary was a nurse and though a succession of roles, eventually a director of home care services in the north of Cork city. She had many friends in the neighbourhood and it was lovely to meet her friends from the rosary group she set up 40 years ago and her more recent friends from the active retired group all come to celebrate her life at her funeral mass.

Sr. Mary was active right up to her final few days. She loved her family, her community and her beloved Mayo. May she rest in peace.

Sr. Benedict O’Connor was my colleague in Presentation Secondary School, Listowel.

She passed away after a long life of service to education in Kerry and in the U.S. Sr. Benedict loved books, she loved reading and encouraging others to read. She kept abreast of what was happening in the world by reading the newspaper and she loved to do the crossword.

Many Pres. past pupils will remember her in the school library, where she was in her element. She loved to encourage girls to read the classics and she encouraged many a reluctant reader to take up a book .

In her final years she lived in a silent world, being profoundly deaf. She still attended mass in St. John’s nearby to where she lived in Pres. Tralee and she lived as full a life as she could. She accepted her cross and was resigned to death when it came suddenly at the end.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam uasal.

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An Old Ad.

( shared by Liam OHainnín on Facebook)

Listowel’s first department store?

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Just a Thought

My reflections which were broadcast last week on Radio Kerry are here;

Just a Thought

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A (Mad) Fact

In the 19th century madness was an occupational hazard of hatmakers. Hence the phrase “as mad as a hatter”.

Mercury was an ingredient in the solution that was used to treat the felt that was used in the making of hats. Mercury poisoning attacked the central nervous system causing trembling, irrationality and confusion. People just thought that all hatters were mad.

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Hurling and Knitting

By

On August 14, 2023

In Listowel

Greenway mural at old Neodata site in August 2023

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I think you can go now

It looks like Listowel’s public toilet has finally got the green (or is it red?) light

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The Crotta O’Neill’s Fairytale

They say GAA is family and nowhere is this more true that in a small rural village like Kilflynn. I watched the game on TG4 by chance and I have been fascinated by the story ever since.

This essay by Noel McGrath from Facebook describes it well.

Glory Glory Crotta

Sometimes words failed to describe a feeling, and in this case words will fail.

What this means to Crotta people and the community cannot be put in to words.

Crotta have had 54 years of pain walking out of Austin Stacks in  preliminary stages, quarter, semi and finals where each year leaves a scar on the heart. Some of us have lived through all of these, while others have lived through some due to age or have moved on to the next world. 

As the great Mick O’Connell said, we play sport for fun and take a break from life for a while. 

We all have a competitive side though and the will for your club to win is always there. Unless you’re from Crotta you won’t understand the hurt and pain each year has been, where you see your club and the players not getting over the line. Some of these players may have been you, your brother, son, nephew, grandson, neighbour and your heart goes out to them.

Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash a major change.

With this current team, I have witnessed the huge amount of work  and commitment put in by the players themselves and mentors along the journey from u6 Coiste na nOg up to senior.

A lot of mentors these players have gone through will be here today, and should give themselves a pat on the back, without your commitment this day would not exist.

The veterans on the team, the likes of Shane and Sean have shown how leadership is done. Shane, top scorer in the championship and a work rate like it was his first year at championship, Sean seamlessly transitioning from a back to a forward with sensational breaking the line plays.

The younger members of the team know what winning is from minor and u21 and have brought this mindset into the team. As an older person looking at them their mindset and drive for success is admirable, they carry no weight of the past, there is only one way forward.

Going through each player would be too much here, but a special mention on our captain Bill Keane as he is the captain. A captain should be among other things a model of excellence to his teammates. I have watched Bill playing for both Crotta and Senans and what a model, sheer hard work and 100% commitment always and no airs and graces. Delighted  for him and his family.

We all have heroes or people we look up to, whether it’s Muhammad Ali, Katie Taylor, Cian Lynch and so on.

But sometimes these heroes are right beside you,  and I am happy to say as a person older than all the players, they are our heroes and people to look up to and admire.

We have waited a long, long time for this day, and we should have in our thoughts those no longer with us, and we wish could be here to witness this historical moment in our club as the “new kids are in town” have arrived.

So with that, I would like to thank this team for giving us a memorable year, sometimes driving our hearts into overdrive but most importantly making our dreams come true.

The scars in the heart have healed instantaneously like magic.

2023 is the new 1968.

Let the celebrations begin.

Crotta abu

Photos from Facebook

Former @crotta.gaa Senior hurlers Pascal Nolan ,Cyril Nolan, John Joe Conway, Mike Hickey and Brendan Twomey keeping a eye on the Crotta Senior training on Wednesday evening before the final.

supporters Shane Herbert, Fr.Gerry Keane, Paddy Weir, Paul Sheehan and Paud Twomey  keeping an eye on the Crotta Senior training on Wednesday evening .

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Learning from Nana

I have taught each of my grandchildren in turn how to knit. Cora is a great student and has mastered the key skills of plain and purl, casting on and casting off after just a few days practice.

Knitting requires patience and perseverance. There are no quick results with knitting. it is a great skill to learn in a world where results are mostly instant.

Killian is a bit old now for the knitting with Nana lark but back in the day….

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Kanturk, My Hometown

I had a small wander in Kanturk last week and I was well impressed.

This is O’Brien Street. Just to the right of this picture is the lovely little riverside park.

The ducks were sheltering on the sunny day I visited. If you are going to break your journey to Cork, I’d advise a little stroll here. I’ll share more pictures tomorrow.

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There is Always a Listowel Connection

My niece took the photo. Her Listowel connection, apart from me, is her husband, sitting to her right ( left in the picture). He is Michael O’Sullivan, formerly of Knockanure.

The lady in blue is Maureen Larkin, formerly of Listowel. All were in a pub on a night out in Dublin in August 2023.

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Teampall Bán

By

On August 11, 2023

In Listowel, Personal, Poem

Beautiful butterflies and moths photographed in Ardgillan by Éamon OMurchú.

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Teampall Bán

Teampall Bán has been undergoing some changes so I was delighted to have an opportunity to visit with my houseguests. It is always an opportunity for a history lesson and a time for reflection on our many blessings in life today.

Killian and Cora are standing at the magnificent new gate sponsored by Beasley Engineering. As you can see the painting isn’t quite finished yet.

The Celtic Cross is beautifully repainted.

Last time I visited the gable wall mural was looking a bit shabby. This time it had been painted over. The mural with its dark sky and gaunt crosses added a sombre air to the place and was very much part of the experience for me. Maybe they will be able to get someone to redo it.

The tree of contemplation.

The “scores on the doors” are blood chilling.

The quiet little chapel is perfect for prayer and reflection.

It’s hard to call a place of such awful sorrow a visitor attraction. In the manner of war cemeteries and and holocaust museums it is a reminder to us all of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. I believe we should market it more. It’s a truly hauntingly beautiful place. Credit for its upkeep goes to Listowel Tidy Towns and friends.

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Flocks of Birds

Thank you, Rose McGinty for sharing this

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R.I.P. Sinead O’Connor

A verse of a traditional song in tribute to the sweetest singer of them all

I’ve seen the lark soar high at morn,
Heard his song up in the blue.
I have heard the blackbird pipe his note,
The thrush and the linnet too.
But there’s none of them can sing so sweet,
My singing bird, as you,
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
My singing bird, as you

Below is the poem Sinead’s brother, Joseph, said at her funeral ceremony. Sinead, in her internet rants, was wont to refer to her f…ing family. There is no doubt her family loved her dearly, if she could only have believed that.

There’s a blackbird in Dun Laoghaire

When I’m walking with my sons

Through the laneways 

Called ‘The Metals’

By the train-tracks. 

And he sings among the dandelions 

And bottle-tops and stones, 

Serenading purple ivy, 

Weary tree-trunks. 

And I have it in my head 

That I can recognise his song, 

Pick him out, 

I mean distinct 

From all his flock-mates.

Impossible, I know. 

Heard one blackbird, heard them all. 

But there are times 

He whistles up a recollection. 

There’s a blackbird in Dun Laoghaire – 

And I’m suddenly a kid, 

Asking where from here to Sandycove 

My youngest sister hid. 

I’m fourteen this Easter. 

My job to mind her. 

Good Friday on the pier – 

And I suddenly can’t find her. 

The sky like a bruise 

By the lighthouse wall. 

We were playing hide-and-seek. 

Is she lost? Did she fall? 

There’s a blackbird in Dun Laoghaire 

And the terror’s like a wave 

Breaking hard on a hull, 

And the peoples’ faces grave 

As Yeats on a banknote. 

Stern as the mansions 

Of Killiney in the distance, 

As the pier’s granite stanchions, 

And Howth is a drowned child 

Slumped in Dublin Bay, 

And my heart is a drum 

And the breakers gull-grey. 

The baths. It starts raining. 

The People’s Park. 

And my tears and the terns, 

And the dogs’ bitter bark. 

There’s a blackbird in Dun Laoghaire, 

And I pray to him, then, 

For God isn’t here, 

In a sobbed Amen. 

And she waves from the bandstand, 

Her hair in damp strings, 

And the blackbird arises 

With a clatter of wings 

From the shrubs by the teahouse,

 

Where old ladies dream 

Of sailors and Kingstown 

And Teddy’s ice-cream. 

And we don’t say a word 

But cling in the mizzle, 

And the whistle of the bird 

Getting lost in the drizzle. 

Mercy weaves her nest 

In the wildflowers and the leaves, 

There are stranger things in heaven 

Than a blackbird believes. 

– Joseph O’Connor, 2010 

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Young Houseguests

By

On August 10, 2023

In Listowel

Market Street in August 2023

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Recipe for Failure from Mattie Lennon

Have you ever asked yourself the question “What kind of people will not succeed in Life?”

If so, here is the answer from a Harvard Professor.

b

Have you ever asked yourself the question “What kind of people will not succeed in Life?”

If so, here is the answer from a Harvard Professor.

  1. People who don’t have social connections.
  2. People who are academically smart, but have low emotional intelligence.
  3. People who are not willing to fail.
  4. People who won’t let go of their ego.
  5. People who are not willing to leave the past behind, cut it off, and move on.
  6. People who are friends with negative people that constantly bring them down because “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
  7. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
  8. “Those who have a why to live, can bear with almost any how.” If you don’t have a why, game over.

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August Visitors

My latest visitors had to sing for their supper. Killian and Cora came to help me clear out my shed. Their sisters and brother were otherwise occupied and couldn’t come this time. The first picture is in Lizzie’s.

I fed them well as they were working hard.

Killian filling the skip bag

Cora doing a spot of painting

It wasn’t all work and no play… There were lots of card games.

I like Phase 10. I didn’t win though.

Gin Rummy

Cora is a dinger at pelmanism

We visited the Kanturk cousins.

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A Night Out

Guess where we were for our family night out on August Bank Holiday Weekend.

We were at the dogs, but not in The Kingdom this time but in Curaheen because that is where Killian has his summer job.

His brother and cousins got a great kick out of being served by him. He was thoroughly professional, no favours!

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