Personal – Page 2 – Listowel Connection

Beauty

By listowelconnection

On January 24, 2023

In History, Listowel, Personal, Poem, Schools

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All Ireland Football Final 1947

The All Ireland Final of 1947 was famously played in The Polo Grounds in New York. Kerry played Cavan and Kerry lost.

Why am I venturing into a realm I know nothing about?

Kathy Reynolds has been in touch and she sent us this letter from her great uncle who actually attended the match.

” The game was attended by 34,500 including my father’s uncle, Mike Fitzmaurice, who had left Moybella South, Lisselton around 1910 for Waterbury, Connecticut. This is his account of the day, written on 6th October 1947 to his brother, Paddy, in Ballybunion.”

Isn’t it great to have a hoarder in the family?

What beautiful writing?

Back to the match;

In 1947 the All Ireland Senior Football Final between Cavan and Kerry was played outside Ireland at the Polo Grounds in New York to mark the centenary of the Great Famine and to acknowledge the large Irish American community.

Pádraig Ó Caoimh (Paddy O’Keeffe) General Secretary of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) oversaw the staging of the unique event and of the radio broadcast back to Ireland. Radio Éireann commentator Michael O’Hehir went to provide commentary for listeners back home in Ireland. For the broadcast, a landline from the Polo Grounds connected to a transatlantic cable which then fed through to transmitters in Dublin, Athlone and Cork.

The lines had to be paid for in New York in advance and were booked up to 5 pm on the day of the game. This would give enough time for the match to be concluded and 30 mins for wrapping up after the match had finished. (Source RTE Archive)

To cut a long story short the match ran over time because RTE forgot to factor in the time spent introducing dignatories and other fal dals before the match. Terrified that he would be cut off before the end of the game, Michael O Hehir appealed on air to be allowed an extra 5 minutes He was given the extra time.

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Celtic Artwork in Scoil Realta na Maidine

This is the beautiful piece of artwork donated by Paddy Fitzgibbon to Scoil Realta na Maidine.

The piece here is hung lower so more accessible than the one in the Credit Union. I took a close up of a few letters so that you can see this absolute gem of Celtic artwork.

This work is executed with copper wire and pins. I am totally in awe.

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Glenflesk

Usually in this weather I don’t venture too far from home.

Certain trips have to be made though.

I travelled to Cork via Tralee and Killarney. My usual route, through my home territory of Rockchapel and Newmarket is a bit more challenging in frosty weather.

The new Macroom bypass is great. We won’t know ourselves when it is completed.

On this road I love to make a pit stop in Glenflesk.

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A Poem and a Tale from Down Under

By listowelconnection

On December 15, 2022

In History, Listowel, Personal, Poem, Schools' Folklore

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Home for Christmas.

Matt Mooney sent us his Christmas poem

Snug in our house at home Christmas Day,

Condensation heavy on the window pane,

Hearing the sudden click of our small gate,

Someone saw him come and said his name.

Mother hovering over the Christmas dinner,

Up on the Stanley range – her engine room,

Looks out in hope and then she saw her son

Walking in again the sloping path to home.

Her heart filled with joy so warm and full,

She emerges as if a wave in a warm ocean

Is carrying her to let him in and greet him,

Her embraces laced with motherly emotion.

He smells roasting goose as he sips soup,

And talks farming talk with his eager father;

Soon he melts into the man he was before

He took the boat to England with his brother.

He was happy he had made the journey west,

He knew that it was not a time to be alone;

Here by the fire he felt it even in his bones –

That at Christmas it was great to be at home.

Matt Mooney.

Taken from ‘The Singing Woods’ (2017).

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It’s a Long Long Way from Clare to Here

Marie Moriarty came across this story on a recent trip to Australia

Fr. John O’Shea was just one of many Irish missionaries who are remembered for their great work in Australia.

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A Few more Photos I took at the Garda Centenary Celebrations

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A Christmas Custom from the National Archives Folklore Collection

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A Story with Neven Maguire in it

Every now and again I get an email from a researcher asking permission to use a photograph that they have found credited to me. Usually its some fabulous picture, well outside the scope of my talents.

Here is the latest email and I’m hoping someone will know this photographer.

My name is Helen and I work at a TV production company called InProduction TV. We are currently producing an RTÉ TV series called ‘Neven’s Greenway Food Trails’ for RTÉ One.
We would like to request permission to use an image from your website in the series if possible please? The image is attributed to Liam Downes, if you might have Liam’s contact details please?
The context of use is that Chef Neven Maguire will be travelling the Limerick Greenway exploring the food producers nearby and learning about the formerrailway and the history of the Greenway.
This is the image we would like to use if you might be able to help please?

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Changes

By listowelconnection

On December 13, 2022

In Listowel, Personal, Poem, Schools

This is the lovely new Christmas light garland for 2022. It celebrates Listowel’s literary heritage.

Listowel Writers’ Week opens a new chapter in Listowel’s literary history in 2023 as the festival welcomes its new curator.

Stephen Connelly comes with a hugely impressive cv. I wish him all the best in his new role and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us in June.

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New Kid on the Block

My Cork family has a new dog. You may remember that their beloved Helios passed away a while back. They felt it was time to take another dog to their hearts. Reggie is a sweet tempered lurcher. Molly has welcomed him to the extended family.

Reggie had a rough start in life and was homeless for a while before being rescued. Housetraining and lead training are in hand.

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Times Past

Mary Nolan sent us this photo of the cast of Presentation Secondary School’s 1979 operetta, Lilac Time

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Christmas Jumper Day

Our local Vincent’s shop has a great selection of toys, clothes and bric a brac at rock bottom prices. If you are finding it hard to make ends meet this Christmas, drop in on Thursday or Friday and you could have your family decked out and all your presents sorted for next to nothing.

And this shop has the nicest shop volunteers as well.

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Searching for Photos of a Stokes ancestor

Gus Stokes has been in touch. He found the below story on Listowel Connection from 2012.

Back Row L.toR.Tom Costello, Danny Lane, Bill J. Kirby, Sean Stokes, John MacNamara (agri instructor), Chris Goulding, Patsy O’Sullivan, William Stack, Tim Buckley, John Collins, Toddy O’Sullivan
Middle: Paddy Finucane(cut out of photo),_________ James Murray, John Broderick, Paddy Carroll, John O’Keeffe, Dan Molyneaux, Tim MacMahon,Paddy Maher, John Joe Galvin,Tom O’Sullivan, Vincent Brennan,Jerh Galvin, Liam McElligott, Dick Stokes, Maurice Stack
Front: Paddy Drummond, Dan J. Moloney,———–,————, Canon P. O’Sullivan, Jerry Moyles (C.A.O. Kerry) Bob Fitzgerald, ———–, Tom Sheehan
This is a photograph of Vincent’s photograph. He has all the names except 3 and 2 of them are not local and may have been instructors on the course. The photo has both students and teachers in it and was taken in the old VEC school on Church St.

Here is Gus’ email;

Looking for Jack Stokes Dirrha photos and wondering if he could be found in this photo

I am his grandson but sadly I was 10 years too late to find my birth mother or any living relatives with photos of my family and I would be over joyed to see any photos of my mother who was born c1935 and went to Presentation Convent but I was unable to get any joy when I visited the school but I found my mother has a daughter who is delightful but only had Collection photo that came as quite a shock !

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I will continue to search your wonderful website and maybe you were at the Library lecture on local fables?

I hope to get back to Listowel sometime in the next few months

Best wishes for the Holidays

Gus Stokes

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Two Artists, Michael O’Connor and John b. Keane

By listowelconnection

On December 9, 2022

In Listowel, Personal

A view from horseback…photo: Elizabeth Ahern

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Another Chapter of the Michael O’Connor Story

Text and pictures from Vincent Carmody

Frank Sheehy was a great friend of Michael O’Connor. When the committee were putting the beautiful programme together in commemoration of the Listowel pitch reopening in May 1960, Frank got Michael to embellish the cover. This programme is now a collector’s item.

The teams that played on that day, May 15th, were Kerry v Down and Kerry v Glen Rovers (including Christy Ring). There were over 10,000 in attendence, special trains came from Limerick and Tralee. The Artane Boys Band came for the weekend, stayed with host families and played to a packed house at the Super Ballroom on Saturday night.

Years later, May 24th 1980, having completed more improvements, we had a grand reopening, having decided to rename the field, Frank Sheehy Park, our committee replicated the 1960 cover with photo of the great Frank and the wording, Pairc Mhic Shithigh inserted as part of the cover.

Kerry played Offaly in football and Kerry played Limerick in hurling.

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Christmas Shows

This next bit is purely for my family. I was in Ballincollig for a few days for Aisling Darby’s performances.

Monday Dec 5 2022 found me in a long queue for Douglas gym.

That’s Aisling mid tumble in the opening number, The Greatest Showman.

Aisling was a sorority girl in this super TY performance. There were 97 Coláiste Choilm TYs involved in the show in some form or other. I was there on opening night and it ran like clockwork…..the highest of production values. A triumph.

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A John B Christmas Story

The story is from this book.