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
Photo: Bridie Murphy in Newcastlewest with an infra red camera
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God be with the Days
I don’t know the year.
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Schooldays in the 1960s and 70s
Carmel Hanrahan remembers.
…My dad and Tom O’Halloran were great friends and worked at the same job of Agricultural Inspector. They golfed together in Ballybunion and later played Pitch and Putt in Listowel. My dad tried to get me interested in Pitch and Putt but, no, I didn’t get it. Couldn’t see the point – apologies to all golfers! Bridge was another thing, again, no…. I imagine his thinking was to have some skills for later social life. Thankfully, my work and social life depended on neither Golf nor Bridge. We spent quite a few Sunday afternoons at the Banna Beach Hotel with the O’Halloran clan and then the fight was on to get into the back of Tom’s VW Beetle for the return journey.
School photos were taken annually. I’m fairly certain that Xavier McAuliffe was the photographer but I’m open to correction here. Heads up parents……. those sweet youngsters are perfectly capable of manipulating events to suit their own end. Generally, class photographs were taken as a group at the railings in the play ground with the relevant nun standing at the side. However, our infant’s class (called Babies Class) and senior infants’ photos were taken individually and only siblings could be in the same photo. Hilda Fitzell and myself, having convinced the photographer that we were sisters had ours taken together. Here’s the proof. You have been warned.
Carmel and Hilda
Carmel with her real sister, Mary, taken around the same time. This occasion was Joanna O’Donnell’s birthday party, circa 1967.
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As January Draws to a Close
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A Fact
Tigers are the only predators who prey on adult bears.
I found this story in a Facebook Group dedicated to old wrought iron gates. It was contributed by Michael Dempsey
Post box at Jamestown Cross Laois. When the key was lost the door was broken open in several pieces. While I was thatching the Cottage beside the box 2003, Ned Boland from the Pub across the road asked me if I could do anything with the box as it looked unsightly. We found 6 or 7 pieces of the cast iron which I brought home and welded. There was no key so I dismantled the lock and made a key. There was layers of red and green paint going back to V R which I stripped and repainted, it will need another coat shortly.
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A Poignant Tribute To people who Keep on Keeping On
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New Kid on the Block
Tattoo Shop in Galvins of William Street
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Native Americans and Us
In 1847 the Choctaw people sent money to Ireland when they learned that Irish people were starving due to the famine. The Choctaw themselves were living in hardship and poverty, having recently endured the Trail of Tears.
Kindred Spirits is a large stainless steel outdoor sculpture in Bailick Park in Midleton, County Cork. The shape of the feathers is intended to represent a bowl of food.
from Brendan ONeill August 2024
A life-size bronze sculpture entitled ‘The Gift’ has been unveiled outside the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park. It commemorates the generous aid provided by the Choctaw Nation to Ireland during the height of the Great Irish Famine.
“Esteemed American sculptor Brendan O’Neill, based in Maryland in the USA, sculpted and donated ‘The Gift’ to the museum. It is a replica of his original piece displayed at the Choctaw Cultural Centre in Oklahoma and is now permanently installed in the courtyard adjacent to the National Famine Museum.
Measuring 29 inches tall and 41 inches wide, this poignant artwork depicts an elderly Choctaw woman and a younger Choctaw man embracing in a gesture of support and protection. They extend a hand of friendship to the Irish people as the woman holds an “ampo,” or eating bowl, symbolising sustenance and nourishment.”
Irish Heritage Trust
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A Fact
The number of days of racing at Listowel Harvest Festival of Racing has increased from 2 in 1858 to 7 in recent years.
Photo; Chris Grayson…stag resting in Killarney National Park
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Predicting the Future
This observer of trends in 1953 was spot on with his predictions.
1953
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Local Success Story
This story (text and photos) came from The Irish Times and Dunnes Stores
A bond has long existed between Ireland and France, and the two countries have cooperated on many ventures over the years. The 1982 TV serial, The Year of The French, for example, was a unique co-production between RTÉ, Channel 4 and the French broadcaster FR3. Over six one-hour episodes, the show depicted the historical events of 1798, when a small flotilla of French troops sailed to Ireland to support a rebellion against Crown forces marshalled under command of Lord Cornwallis.
Around the time that the show first aired, a fresh-faced young Irishman John O’Connor (now of Prestige Foods) had just graduated from culinary college and was planning on setting off on an epic journey to France from his home in Listowel, Co Kerry.
I had written to around 10 top hotels in France, looking for work. One of them wrote back offering me a job and, of course, I was delighted. The brother Tom, thanks be to God, decided to go along with me,” John says.
In anticipation of their big trip, the brothers’ heads were filled with visions of sipping vin rouge in sophisticated French cafés, when disaster struck. John received a telegram with disturbing news.
“There were no phones in those days. The only phone was in the village three miles away. A telegram arrived cancelling my job, three days before I was due to leave.”
Faced with the prospect of abandoning his dream trip, John made a quick executive decision.
“I was home alone at the time. I picked up the telegram and threw it into the fire. I didn’t tell the mother and father but I told Tom. The two of us went over to France anyway, and I went up to the hotel and said ‘I’m John O’Connor and I’m here to start my job.’”
The somewhat bemused French hoteliers replied that they had sent a telegram informing John that the position was sadly no longer available, to which he simply replied that, “there are no telegrams in Ireland”.
The hotel in question didn’t give him a job, but — either out of guilt about their last-minute cancellation or admiration for the brothers’ get-up-and-go attitude — they gave the pair free room and board for a week. Within three weeks, the enterprising duo had found jobs.
“It was either go home or stay and take our chances. Tom was a qualified baker and I had trained as a chef,” John says.
And so they stayed, honing their respective crafts and picking up tips about how the French do things. By the end of their sojourn, John would “go down into Paris as if I was strolling into Listowel town — you got so used to it. I enjoyed every minute of it,” he says.
Having accumulated experience working in a high-end French kitchen, John eventually returned to his native Listowel and, with a small loan, set up a delicatessen where he could bring that knowledge to bear for his local community. He was known locally as ‘John the deli’ for “18 or 19 years” and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Eventually, however, he decided to take the plunge into food production.
“I went to a local man, Xavier McAuliffe, and asked him for some money to invest in a business. That day, we shook hands on a deal and we have spent 21 years working in partnership since.”
The business in question, Prestige Foods, has built up a reputation for its delicious desserts, made in-house with locally sourced ingredients.
Previously, when running the deli, John would be waiting for suppliers to deliver goods for his customers. Now, as a supplier, he was suddenly the one people were relying on to arrive on time with their food. It was a shift of focus and a steep learning curve.
“My goodness me, it was a different journey, totally. The first year was tough enough. We had about eight employees. Today, we have 65,” John says.
It’s a group effort at Prestige. “The team members are all equally important, each one of them, no matter what they do here, in production or in management. There’s no one above the other or below.”
The success of the business has meant that products by Prestige Foods have been enjoyed far beyond the company’s roots in its native Listowel. “We export to the UK, France and Switzerland and, of course, we serve our own home market in both food service and retail, with people such as the team at Simply Better for Dunnes Stores,” John adds.
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A Poem to Ponder
A loyal fan, Sue, enjoys the poems I share here. She sent us this one.
The Facts of Life
BY PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA
That you were born
and you will die.
That you will sometimes love enough
and sometimes not.
That you will lie
if only to yourself.
That you will get tired.
That you will learn most from the situations
you did not choose.
That there will be some things that move you
more than you can say.
That you will live
that you must be loved.
That you will avoid questions most urgently in need of
your attention.
That you began as the fusion of a sperm and an egg
of two people who once were strangers
and may well still be.
That life isn’t fair.
That life is sometimes good
and sometimes better than good.
That life is often not so good.
That life is real
and if you can survive it, well,
survive it well
with love
and art
and meaning given
where meaning’s scarce.
That you will learn to live with regret.
That you will learn to live with respect.
That the structures that constrict you
may not be permanently constraining.
That you will probably be okay.
That you must accept change
before you die
but you will die anyway.
So you might as well live
and you might as well love.
You might as well love.
You might as well love.
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From 2014 to 2019, Ó Tuama was the leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization, which works with over ten thousand people a year to transform division through human encounters, with focuses on sectarianism, marginalization, public theology, and the legacies of conflict.
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A Fact
The vicious faction fight at Ballyeigh in 1834 caused the deaths of 20 people. Some were killed in the fighting and some drowned trying to make their escape.
Red Deer in Killarney National Park photographed by Chris Grayson
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Listowel Rower and Pilot
During my Christmas break from blogging I received this letter and the following story.
Hi Mary,
I saw your piece about Jimmy mcElligott in your blog. He was a school friend of my father in Rockwell College and was part of the first crew that rowed for Rockwell, when the Rowing Club was set up. I have attached the story of the club. My father always spoke about Jimmy and how he had managed to crash-land the plane and save the crew’s lives before he died.
Regards,
Dermot Mangan.
The following letter is what I had published previously. Ita Hannon found the below letter in a box of memorabilia but she had no idea who he was or if he had anyone left.
Below is some of the long article from the Rockwell Rowing archive. Dermot sent the full article which has photographs of the rowing teams. If anyone is interested, drop me an email.
Rockwell College Rowing Club
Rockwell College has a strong sports tradition participating in a number of sports. It is for
however rugby that the school is best known, having won the Munster Schools Senior Cup 26
time and the junior title on 20 occasions. Most of those involved in rowing today are unlikely
to realise that in the 1930s and 1940s, rowing was a sport in which the school was not alone
a participant, but a leader.
The story begins in 1932 when Colman Mangan from Dublin arrived as a boarder in Rockwell
College which is located a few kilometres from Cashel in Co. Tipperary. Exploring the grounds
he quickly discovered the 23-acre lake and boathouse which contained a number of boats
used by the students during their leisure time. During the summer of 1933 he told his elder
brother Kevin of the facilities and the elder sibling, who was at the time captain of Dolphin
Rowing Club in Ringsend, Dublin, suggested that the school should form a schools crew to
compete at Dublin Metropolitan Regatta in 1934. As the regatta was to take place in Ringsend,
he offered the use of a boat and the club facilities.
On his return to Rockwell in the autumn, Colman put this proposal to Fr. Pat Walsh who was
most enthusiastic. Training commenced that autumn and a set of new oars were purchased.
It would appear that the boats had fixed seats as there is a note to the effect that one boat
was to be converted to sliding seats. After Easter, trials were held and the crew for
Metropolitan Regatta was finalised. Colman’s brother Kevin was a barrister, and when
appearing on the Munster Circuit, he helped coach the crews They were also assisted by John
Scully of Carrick-on-Suir Boat Club who became a regular coach. All were not as supportive
and Fr. White, Dean of Discipline reluctantly signed the entry form with the boys paying their
own entry fees.
At this point it is worth explaining the schoolboy rowing scene in Ireland at the time. Despite
the IARU passing rules permitting schoolboy rowing in 1910, development was slow and there
was only one race at Trinity regatta until Metropolitan also added an event for schools fours
in 1930. The crews had to be full-time students representing a school which meant that clubs
could not enter crews of their own. Since its inauguration, the Metropolitan event had never
attracted more than three entries in any year. With the crew confirmed as Teddy O’Sullivan (bow), Jimmy McElligott, Jim O’Sullivan, Coley
Mangan (stk), Phil Brennan (cox), they were ready for action. As the regatta was in July and
the school had broken up for the year, the boys assembled in Dublin a week before the race.
Two of them stayed in the Coley family home while the O’Sullivan brothers were
accommodated in Blackrock College. The crew were provided with a boat by Dolphin Rowing
Club and were coached early each morning by Kevin Mangan and again after work. There
was great disappointment when the crew learned that Belvedere College, the most consistent
school in the event were not entering a crew that year leaving them without opposition. On
regatta day, they rowed over the course to claim the title and trophy but alas no medals.
Despite their frustration and not having a crew to race, the seed had been sown and the boys
were determined that rowing would continue at Rockwell. During the summer they were
buoyed by an encounter with some of the Belvedere boys who assured them they would be
competing the following year. Back at school, the sight of a trophy on the sideboard together
with the good publicity they had earned resulted in a change of heart regarding aquatics by
the most reluctant of the school authorities.
In 1935 training started earlier and there was a larger group of boys interested in trying out for
the crew. The new line-up was Frank Mulcahy (bow), Jimmy McElligott, Jack Deasy, Colman
Mangan (stk), P. Morrissey (cox). They competed at Galway Regatta where they were beaten
by Colaiste Iognaid but were pleased to have finished ahead of St Josephs. At Metropolitan Regatta, which was that year held in Islandbridge, Belvedere kept their word and entered a
crew which Rockwell beat easily thus retaining the trophy.
The win by this provincial school was popular and the publicity generated resulted in a number
of other schools becoming interested in competing at Metropolitan. Within a few years they
were competing against Methodist College, Colaiste Iognaid, Presentation College, Coleraine
Academical Institution and Portora who were always strong contenders. Relations with the
others schools was excellent which is illustrated by an incident during a race with Methodist
College at Trinity Regatta. Rockwell infringed on one of the bends and as a result Methodist
were advised by the umpire that they could claim a foul and win the race. The Methodist
response was that Rockwell were ahead of them at the time and as they considered they were
unlikely to have caught them, refused to claim the race.
Resulting from the increased competition, Rockwell were dethroned as Metropolitan
Champions in 1936 and were also unsuccessful in 1937. They did take some solace from
winning the Under Age Fours in Cork in 1936 and Cork Regatta Schools Fours in 1937. The
school did not participate at Metropolitan in 1938 or 1939 but came back with a bang the
following year to start a dominant winning streak in the Metropolitan Schools Cup which
involved success in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1944. This was widely considered the
unofficial Irish schoolboy championship at the time. Part of the reason for this unprecedented
success may be explained by the rigorous training regime undertaken by the Rockwell boys.
Such was the impact on the boys that the collage power granted them an extra meal and an additional hours sleep.
(apologies for the poor formatting)
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Freeman of The City of London
“(He) took the road less travelled
And that has made all the difference.”
After over 50 years ministering to and campaigning for LGBT people, Bernárd Lynch has been honoured with the Freedom of the City of London in a ceremony on January 17 2025. He joined a roll of honour, beside approximately 2,000 other people of worth and significance. The Freedom of the City of London was first bestowed in 1237.
Has Bernárd a Listowel connection?
Yes….me
Jim Cogan and Bernárd Lynch entered the SMA seminary to study for the priesthood in the same year. They became firm friends and, because loyalty is a characteristic of both men, they remained friends for life.
Since Jim’s death, Bernárd has remained in touch and I am very proud to call him my friend.
Bernárd has ploughed a tough furrow, at times isolated and vilified. He was even falsely accused and had to stand trial. Through it all he has never feared to speak truth to power and to lead by example. Again and again he has stayed the course when it would have been easier to run away.
His native Clare is proud of Bernárd. He has already received Ennis’ highest honour. Ireland is proud of him. He was honoured by President Michael D. Higgins in 2019.
No one is more proud than Billy Desmond.
Bernárd with his husband, Billy, in London on January 17 2025.
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Remember this?
This is a gas cooker. Wouldn’t this have been a godsend in so many homes during the recent cold snap?
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Something to Ponder
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Explanation for Last Week’s Glitch
If you are reading this in an email you will probably be aware that for a few days last week the email service was disabled. Very unfortunately this glitch co incided with Carmel Hanrahan’s reminiscences in which so many people are interested.
In case you didn’t know, every blogpost that I have written for the last 12 years is available at
So, even if the email doesn’t drop, you need never miss a post.
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A Fact
Horse racing in North Kerry once centred on Ballyeigh at the mouth of the Cashen river. A vicious faction fight broke out at the meeting in 1834 and that was the beginning of the end of racing in Ballyeigh.
(This fact is verified by John OFlahery who is an expert of the history of Listowel Races.)
One of the most disastrous impacts that the snowfall had on life in Kerry was the collapse of the roof of the Tralee Sports Complex. Thankfully it happened at nighttime and there was no loss of life of injury to anyone. The Complex is a very very busy place and many many North Kerry clubs and groups depend on it.
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A Poem for Parents
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Kanturk looked Beautiful in the Snow
Photos by Adrian Angelina on Facebook
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Growing up in Listowel in the 1960s and 1970s
Concluding part of Carmel Hanrahan’s reminiscences…
The Races – a week off school, what bliss. Returning from Summer holidays a week early seemed a small price to pay. We went to The Market where the amusements were. It was never going to the amusements but going to “The Market”. We saved whatever money we got through the year –my savings were in a Band-Aid Tin – white with a picture of a plaster on it. I remember once having a Ten Shilling note in it which seemed like a fortune. I’m wondering if it was possibly the year I made my First Communion. On our way from Cahirdown to town there was a small shop quite close to the boys’ National School – I can’t remember the name of the owner, where we regularly bought Slab Toffee – Cleeve’s – and which you would then break on the edge of the path. Speaking around the lump of toffee was a skill in its own right. She also sold sweets in paper cones.
Burning question here!! Does anyone, apart from me that is, remember Penny Cakes? –. My sister also remembers them so I know I haven’t imagined them. The closest I can come to describing them is that they were like a rusk and I adored them I think there was also a variation with fruit. You could buy them out of big boxes which were placed just inside the door of Miss Molyneaux’s shop, (pronounced Munnix), across the street from Michael and Delia Kearney. Biscuits in large tins with glass panel on top sold loosely resided just at the door. Nobody I’ve ever spoken to from anywhere else knows what I’m speaking about when I mention them. Tile loaves are another mystery to people – I learned that in Dublin they are called Turn-overs but will always be a Tile loaf to me. Lynch’s bakery used to sell them and I would pick my way through one on the way home from the Square. I often thought I should have bought two, one to hand over at home and the other for me. My greatest regret about Listowel is that Lawlor’s Cake Shop closed. Oh, my goodness, what cakes, never since matched or beaten. The coffee cake in particular – there’s a surprise!
The Convent Primary school was where the girls all started off. Some boys attended until senior infants when they then transferred to the Boy’s National School where Brian McMahon was Principal. We learned to knit and sew in Primary School and the highlight of the whole enterprise was the visit of the Sewing Inspector. There were two maybe three weeks with minimal schoolwork done as we were preparing for “The Visit”, getting our various projects completed. Playing in the Schoolyard seemed to have a Seasonality to it. There was a time for chasing games, then Hopscotch and Piggy (??) were de rigueur, Skipping and then Conkers. Our Skipping Ropes generally came from Carrolls in the Square – a length of rope with a knot tied at either end.
Then came Secondary School when we strolled from one building to another without another thought. How lucky we were – none of today’s angst trying to ensure a place and wondering if you qualify for the school of choice. Everyone transitioned together with a few exceptions, and some new classmates joined us. We had some interesting teachers in Secondary. Tony Behan who was our history teacher and approached the curriculum in his own inimitable way, and who gave us the time and space to think things out for ourselves and draw our own conclusions. But the best by far was Sr Carmelita who lived on a reputation for being very fierce and indeed, she presented as such. However, once you engaged with her and got into conversation, she turned out to be an incredibly inspiring person. Indeed, I met her a few times in Cork when she was visiting and went to tea with her in the Imperial Hotel where we continued our long and rambling conversations. It is she I must thank for my love of English and language in general.
There were some Characters in Listowel as we grew up. One of these being Babe Jo Wilmot. What a larger-than-life personality. She always struck me as being a very warm person, and had I been old enough at the time, I suspect she would have been great fun to socialise with. We, of course, had the aforementioned Bryan McMahon whom I occasionally engaged in conversation with on my walk home from school and John B Keane. John B used to walk up our road many evenings setting a ferocious pace with one of his sons struggling to keep up. Billy told me recently that he was the walking companion in question. Dr McGuire also walked up Cahirdown for his constitutional. Many a fright he got when “Mac” (the Weimaraner) came bounding down the road to land with his front paws on my shoulders. He hadn’t realised that Mac and I were ice-cream sharing partners on the occasions when Mike (his son) brought him to hang out. What a handsome dog.
So, with my rosy glasses removed I am still firmly of the belief we were blessed to grow up in Listowel. When I’m there now I can see so many changes to the place and yet, there is an underlying familiarity. When I think of Listowel my immediate image is of standing on the river bank looking at the bridge. I’m not sure why the bridge made such an impression but there you are.
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A Few Food Related Brehon Laws
Couldn’t find any meaning for withe on the internet but looking at the illustration, it looks like a spancel.
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A Fact
Bloomsbury, the publishers offered £2000 in advance for the first Harry Potter book, The Philosopher’s Stone
