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
Carmel Hanrahan returned to her beloved Listowel at the May holiday weekend 2025. She took a stroll in the park and sent us a few photos.
River Feale
Beautiful tree in the park
Macushla was happy to pose for Listowel Connection.
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The National Stud
A highlight of any trip to my Kildare family is time spent in The National Stud.
Princess Aoife enjoyed having two doting grannies for a change.
The National Stud is not just all about horses. The gardens too are absolutely gorgeous.
This is just one of the many artistic interpretations of equine life you will encounter around every corner here.
There are marvellous sculptures dotted around the grounds. This toff has a very colourful history. Our well informed guide filled us in about this former owner of this magnificent estate.
This sculpture commemorates the visit of the Queen Elizabeth. The late queen loved horses and she thoroughly enjoyed her visit here.
It is unusual to have a monument to a living champion. Invincible Spirit is an exception. This most successful horse is now in retirement in the Living Legends Paddock . We saw him in the flesh later on on our guided tour.
I hope I got the right horse here!
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For My Kanturk Friends
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A Fact
The name Venezuela derives from the Italian word Veneziola meaning little Venice.
Serendipity, according to the dictionary, is the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not looked for.
Last week in the Listowel Vincent de Paul shop I found this treasure in a pile of old knitting patterns. It’s from 1963, so a throwback to the magazines of my childhood.
Look at this ad. The popgun, the cap, the tart, the block of hard margarine and the little boy/man in the hand knit jumper…happy days!
My mother didn’t buy Women’s Weekly but her friend, Breege Crowley, did. When we visited her we always came home with a bundle of the magazines to read and savour. I loved Roley and Rowena Robin.
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John Paul II Graveyard
Hard as it is to believe it, it’s a sad fact that people have been removing the watering cans from the cemetery. I met Patsey Kennedy replacing another one and marking it with a polite request to visitors to leave it behind when they leave the graveyard.
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Starting Next Sunday
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A Fact
In 1983 the first 5 horses home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup were trained by Michael Dickinson.
Listowel Pitch and Putt Course Sunday April 13 2025
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Reggie in Ballybunion
Reggie made several trips to Ballybunion while he was on his Kerry holidays. He loved playing with MaCushla
On Saturday morning he befriended a few Dippers. He loves attention.
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Hassle in the Castle
Damien and Joan Stack with Mark Holan
I met Mark in Listowel on Saturday, April 12 2025. Mark is an American Irish journalist and historian. He is a frequent visitor to Ireland. He writes in his Irish American blog about Irish history, politics and current issues. He is a frequent visitor to these parts, visiting both here and Northern Ireland and catching up with relatives in North Kerry.
We had arranged to meet for a quick chat on Saturday. Talk fell to the American Irish Historical Society where Mark was scheduled to give a presentation…
COMING APRIL 21, 2025, “Michael J. O’Brien: Defending Ireland’s Record in America”: US Sen. John Sharp Williams attacked the Irish character in a widely reported October 1919 speech. Michael J. O’Brien of the American Irish Historical Society was drafted to make the reply on behalf of Irish immigrants. Register here for this AIHS online presentation.
This presentation now seens highly unlikely to go ahead as a result of the bitter upheavel taking place at the AIHS.
Listowel’s own Elizabeth Stack was doing an excellent job as CEO at turning around the fortunes of this extremely important but troubled organisation. The board has treated her appallingly badly.
Mark Holan had interviewed Elizabeth Stack and was aware of her passion for Irish American history and her vision for the society whose significance she recognised and was anxious to restore to its rightful place in the history of our Irish emigrants in the U.S. He was shocked to learn of her dismissal. AIHS holds invaluable archival materials.
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Another Popular Old Poem
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Annual Walk
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A Fact
Iceland’s parliament is the oldest active parliament in the world. It is active since AD930.
Sonja will be the first female writer to be featured in Kerry Writers’ Museum celebration of female writers to be unveiled in June 2025. The following are samples of her work from her 2004 anthology, The things you left me with.
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I do not like thee, Dr. Fell
The cast of Fourth Wall Theatre Group, Laois. This group will be in St. John’s Listowel on Saturday April 12 2025 with their latest play, I do not like thee, Dr. Fell which is playing to appreciative audiences in their mini tour of the country.
Playing the part of Rita is a lady with a proud Kerry entertaining pedigree.
This is Maeve’s great grandfather, John J. Foley of Tralee. This dapper gentleman was a popular entertainer in venues in Kerry in the early 20th century.
By day Foley was a master painter. He painted the ceiling in the Balloonagh convent chapel, a thing of beauty.
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In Cork Regional Park, Ballincollig
There are lots of things you are forbidden to do in the regional park, but you are free to stroll and admire the magnificent new Will Fogarty artworks.
Reynard keeping an eye on the queue waiting to buy coffee or a snack
Isn’t he superb?
The birds and animals featured are all to be found among the wildlife in the park.
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Sad Story of a Poor Kerry Woman
Chapter 7: In and Out of the Lunatic Asylum New Norfolk
Mary Fitzgibbon was convicted of the theft of candlesticks in Killarney, County Kerry in September 1842. Although she said she was 40, the Irish prison records had her age as 44 years old. She was a widow and worked as a needlewoman. She had six grown up children in Ireland and her native place was Tipperary. Mary remained in her county jail until transferred to Grange Gorman two weeks before embarkation.
On board the East London she shared a mess with another woman tried in Kerry, three women from County Down and two from Cork. Mary was a Catholic, as were all but one of her mess. There were four children. One woman, Mary Cowan, died and her very young baby also, which left a seven year old to be cared for by the mess mates. The group completed the voyage without serious problems and were disembarked in Hobart and sent to the probation stations. The children from the group who survived were well enough to go to the Orphan School as soon as arrangements were made.
Mary Fitzgibbon had little information on her conduct record; no charges or punishments. There was a note of an illegitimate child, John, born about 1844 or 1845. No further records of that child and no evidence that he was ever in the Orphan School. He may not have lived.
Mary was admitted into the New Norfolk Asylum in April 1845, perhaps following the events around the birth of her child. She remained there for a considerable time. Notes from her record, October 1847, said that she ‘talks in a wild incoherent manner’ and that she attributed her illness to ‘evil influence and position’. She refused to take any medication. In November 1848 she was doing needlework and her health was tolerable but she was, ‘very irritable and somewhat incoherent manner and expression highly indicates mental disease’. The report on 1 January 1851 said she was in good health, but noted the, ‘same incoherent maniac’. July 1854 and April 1857 reports simply said ‘the same’. She must have been discharged after the last date, but was readmitted 3 March 1862.
Mary Fitzgibbon died at the New Norfolk Asylum on 31 August 1863. The death was registered by the Surgeon superintendent of the Asylum. She was a female pauper and the cause of death was lung disease, a low fever and disease of the brain. She had spent the greater part of eighteen years at the lunatic asylum.
Sources
Medical Journal of the East London AJCP ADM 101/22 Reel 3139
Female Convicts Research Centre; Patients at the New Norfolk Asylum
TAHO CON 40/1/4 image 155, position1, Mary Fitzgibbon
TAHO CON 15/1/2 image 190/191 position 8, Mary Fitzgibbon
Tasmanian death record, New Norfolk, 1863, Registered number 359
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A Fact
Cappuccino is named after the Franciscan order of monks, often called Capuchins. The colours of the beverage are similar to the cape and cowl worn by the priests.
The people of Ballincollig are very lucky to have the magnificent Cork Regional Park on their doorstep. This beautiful spot is even more beautiful these days.
This man, chainsaw artist, Will Fogarty has been transforming the stumps of dead trees into art installations.
These are the two sculptures on the day after they were finished. That’s why there is all that sawdust about.
Here are few details of the carvings;
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Glenflesk’s St. Agatha’s Catholic Chapel
A welcoming church in a picturesque location.
St. Agatha’s church in Glenflesk.
A few details from the NHBS site
Full-height interior open into roof with central aisle between timber pews, pointed-arch arcade (north) on cut-limestone pillars, exposed scissor truss timber roof construction on cut-limestone beaded corbels with timber boarded ceiling on carved timber cornice, and pointed-arch chancel arch framing stepped dais to sanctuary (east) reordered, 1974, with replacement mosaic tiled reredos below stained glass “East Window” in glazed ceramic tiled surround. Set back from line of road in relandscaped grounds. NOTE: Designed by James Joseph McCarthy (1817-82) of Great Brunswick Street [Pearse Street], Dublin (The Dublin Builder 1st April 1862, 85). Stained glass (1932) by Richard King (1907-74) reclaimed (1974) from Collis-Sandes House (see 21302907).
Because the blue windows are very dark, they have placed them side by side with panes that allow the light in. The church interior is still dark and cool, a welcome sanctuary on a sunny day.
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My Verdict on Dubai Chocolate
This is one version of the chocolate everyone in raving about. In my opinion and as someone who for health reasons should not be eating chocolate at all, it’s nice but over rated.
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An Old Favourite
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A Fact
President Millard Fillmore of the U.S. in 1850 was the first president to take a bath in the White House.
