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
I was a bit early and the festivities hadn’t started in earnest when I was in the Square. My little visitor had fallen asleep so we were at home before the switching on of the lights which was done this year by Paul Manning. We missed Santa and the school band as well so my photos do not do the event justice.
This is Paul Manning at the festivities in The Square. Unfortunately on the way home, Paul lost the hat he is wearing here. The hat was adorned with 2 badges which are of sentimental value to Paul. If you found it, you could hand it in to John B.s, St. John’s , The Garda Station or Doran’s. Indeed if you hand it in anywhere in town they’ll get it back to Paul.
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Folklore
On Friday I was back in Listowel Library for Tom Dillon’s entertaining talk on folklore. The talk was based on some of the local stories in the national folklore collection.
I was struck that some things that happened during the recent Covid crisis are things that only we know. Not everything is reported in the paper. I resolved to tell my family that Nick and the team at Listowel Garden Centre gave me a present of a plant and a bar of chocolate one day during lockdown. The gift came out of the blue. It meant a lot as did all the other kindnesses I received. I will pass the stories on to the next generation. That’s folklore.
Many stories were collected by schoolchildren in copies like these in the great initiative in 1936/37. Is it time to do it again?
Here is an extract from that great treasure trove;
My great grandfather whose name was Daniel Mangan from Bedford owned a house in William Street but it belongs to a man by the name of Corbet now and he fixes [?] cycles. When the house was owned by my great grandfather it was a latin school and it was taught by a man named Mac Namara My grand father whos name was Pat Mangan was taught Latin there. Mr. Mac Namara aied [?]named man.
They had slates to write on with slate pencils. The black board was a big slate. They had a few stools and planks across two or three boxes.
There was a hedge school in Ballydonohue. It was taught by a man named Relihan. One day they were attacked by English soldiers and Relihan was hanged. Told by Mrs. Keane, Ashe Street, Listowel. Written by W. Keane, Ashe Street, Listowel.
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What an Improvement
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Exemplary Fire Fighters
Photo; The Kerryman online
Proud to see our own John Curtin and John Kelliher rewarded for their long service to the fire service.
Bord na Mona workers Christmas 1944. These turfmen, and they were all men, came from all over Ireland in the 1940s and 50s to harvest turf in the midland bogs. The work was backbreakingly hard, cold, wet and inhospitable. They were accommodated in hostels where they stayed for the season.
“From 1942 to 1944 any men who stayed on for the winter were brought into Edenderry and Newbridge Hostels for special Christmas events. They usually arrived on the 24th and stayed until December 27th. St Stephen’s Day activities were usually football games and other sporting events. In 1945, due to falling numbers the event was confined to Newbridge. This photo comes from Newbridge Hostel in 1944.” Bord na Mona Archive
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All Ireland Winners
Tim Kennelly, Tony McAuliffe and Gary MacMahon
R.I.P. All Ireland Football medal winners from Listowel
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Cold Turkey by Cyril Kelly
Christmas in Church Street in the 1950s
WARNING :
If You are in any way squeamish, DONT read this great Christmas essay by Cyril Kelly.
I warned you. If you read it despite my warning, you may be sorry.
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Happy Times in School
I have no date for this but it is a Staff versus Pupils End of Term Match. These were always great fun. R.I.P. Cliff, in school uniform.
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Listowel , Sound Town
Today fm has declared Listowel Ireland’s Soundest Town 2022. They hit town on Saturday to kick off the start of the Christmas Season in Listowel.
Galvin’s Flats, Listowel Town Square, November 2022
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A Relic of Another Time in Ireland
This is the Royal Cypher of Edward V11. This means that this lovely old Listowel Pillar box is over 100 years old.
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We’re Sound Out
We always knew it. Now the world knows it. Listowel is Ireland’s soundest town. The gang behind the submission to Today fm celebrated the win in Mike the Pies.
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New Kids in Town
Bobby and Carine’s friends, Dulce and Sylvestre have relocated to Kerry. For Dulce it’s a return to The Kingdom, for Sylvestre it’s a first. They are settling in to their new home in Causeway.
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Then and Now
Presentation Secondary School staff, thirty years apart
19922022
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From the RTE Archive
A Christmas edition of Play the Game, Derek Davis, Daniel O’Donnell, John O’Connor? and Joe McCarthy
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Candles at Christmas
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Community Centre Fire
Nov 23 2022
All looks peaceful in this corner of Childers’ Park on Nov 23 2022. But in the darkness of early morning a fire broke out in the roof space of our community centre.
Fire tenders were quickly on the scene but extensive internal damage had been done.
Hasty message on the door tells its own story.
The community will rally round and I have no doubt the centre will be back in action in as short a time as possible.
(from Joe Kennedy’s Country Matters in yesterday’s Independent)
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The Residency @ 74
Isn’t it coming along beautifully?
Martin Chute has added his flourish.
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St. Batt’s Well
From Shannonside Annual 1959
Note the reference to Collopy’s Corner.
Public transport has improved since those days. Here is a recent post from Tarbert.ie
“There are now buses running 4 times daily to Listowel and back to Tarbert. The 1st bus leaves Tarbert at 7.55am. There is also buses running to Limerick 4 times daily and back. The 1st bus leaves at 6.45am.”
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Listowel Food Fair 2022 Opening Banquet
I was lucky enough to be invited to this feast in the Listowel Arms on October 27 2022
The evening was a celebration of delicious Listowel food and was in tribute to Kerry Group which has sponsored the food fair from the beginning. Kerry Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. We were honoured to have at our table, Eddie Moylan who was one of the founding members of what is now an 8 billion euro global industry.
We heard great tales of soggy boggy fields and employees in caravans. From a little acorn in the Canon’s field, Listowel, a mighty oak has surely grown.
Liz and Jim Dunn, Mary Cogan, Helen and Eddie Moylan, Martin Moore and Simone Langemann
Here is the menu for the meal
Because of Kerry’s sponsorship of Kerry football, Jason Foley, newly announced as Ballydonoghue’s first All Star was a guest of honour.
Jason Foley and Jimmy Deenihan……… photo shared by Jimmy
We got to pose with another guest of honour, who has become a bit like Banquo’s ghost, turning up at every feast.
Eamonn Dillon, Sam, Mary Cogan, Eddie and Helen Moylan
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A Reunion Photo
When this class from the early sixties reunited, they brought a few old photos with them. Here is one of the girls from a good few years ago.
I happened to walk by the clubhouse on Sunday last and I enquired what sort of competition was in progress. It was a three club invitational. The day was sunny and warm and the course was in tip top condition as usual.
These friendly gentlemen were minding the house. I asked them is they had a photo of the founding fathers. The club is 50 this year and I have so much respect for those early pioneers who gave us this beautiful amenity, that I’d love to post a picture of them.
They told me that a photo collage is in the making to mark the 50th. All the photographs are with Billy Moloney who is looking after this project. I look forward to seeing the finished picture.
I subsequently met Billy and he says that there is non picture among the ones he has of the men who set up the club. So if you have such a picture, will you give it into the clubhouse or to Billy, These men deserve recognition in this the 50th anniversary year.
Billy told me that the delay with the collage is the difficulty in getting a frame big enough, but he’s on it.
Watch this space!
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St. Michael’s Class of 1972 Reunion
When these men got together to reminisce, much of the talk centred around football, a big part of their St. Mick’s days. (Essay on the way from David Kissane)
Christy Walsh and Jason Foley got together to crown their night with a visit from Sam Maguire.
Jim Fitzmaurice sent us Gerard Hussey’s great essay capturing life in St. Michael’s in the early days of “free education”.
“Donagh O’Malley’s Boys” by Gerard Hussey
They came in those first yellow school buses in 1967 from Listowel’s hinterland, from Dromerin, Clounmacon, Lisselton , Bunagara and Bunglaise in Duagh, and mixed with the Borough Boys of the Town.
Donagh O’Malley’s inspired free education policy spawned a rake of the newly educated that met again on Sat. Sept 17th after fifty years (fifty five if you count the lost years!). Those fellas from the country taught us townies a thing or three.
Their compositions stood out, descriptions of the bog went deeper than a sleán. They knew a thing or two about sciortáns and ciaráns – “lá breá brothallach” how are you?
And they could field a ball for you – Paddy Quilter and Tim Kennelly, the Horse with his trademark drive out from the square and a drop-kick from the lawn end that went into Captain Shanahan’s yard. That’s two hundred yards, by the way, and speaking of which – wasn’t Eamonn Carroll (RIP) the champion sprinter in our day. I once teamed up with him and Conor Heaphy in a relay ….. a few Pilates are all I can manage now! I still pine for a two-hundred yarder with a Callaway driver!
I remember Old John ‘volunteering’ me one Friday for a week-end cross-country event and coming along to Neilius Brosnan only to be told… “No thanks, Sir”. Courage a plenty, Neilius – fair dues. Sure it was no pleasure to be lapped by Gerry Kiernan or Dave Kissane and John Hartnett .
Despite the regime, we learned a lot to prepare us for life during our five years. Sure, didn’t Rocky’s “Sets” stand to us …… back in the Gaeltacht and Ballai Luimnigh! And Greek and Roman history ….useful when perusing Budget Travel brochures! And, Miss Murphy telling us that a triangle was the finest form in the natural world, and I, innocently thinking it was 36-26-36 !
Funny incidents, mixed with humiliations , were the order of the day for many of us. One day Danny Kelliher, a Butcher’s Lad was driving sheep down Cahirdown ….. and they darted into St. Michael’s. Mad for classical learning – no doubt. “Ye can’t goin thare”, roared Danny, so we helped unround the sheep – which gave us fifteen minutes of distraction from the regime.
We all recall the unhelpful refrain…. “ and what colour chalk shall we use?” when someone lost their way trying to solve a difficult Maths problem. Humiliation was too quick to follow any mistake.
The heart of the matter was captured by Tim Danaher, who once offered up “Hard Times” to Fr. Danny when he inquired what we were reading outside of school books. I think our knowing laughter was not lost on him either! Hard times indeed, but it formed us into a bunch of fellas that would stick together and you’d be happy to meet again.
We were imbued with a sense of justice and fair play from our experiences. Neilius reminded us of a week’s strike that we took once to make our point about a grave injustice to one of our own – a good sign of fellowship.
Donagh’s Boys went on to make a worthy contribution to Irish life, in Education, Construction, Business, Agriculture and Miscellaneous Professions. It is worth noting that our year of 72 produced 10 teachers. The basic education was no burden – I gained my own further education during 3rd Arts in UCG, when I shared room with Padraic Breathnach!
It’s the fine fellas that you meet along the way that lighten the world’s load – I can count those I met at Christy’s on our 50th Re-Union as fine a cross-section as you’d like to meet ….. a fine “Set” indeed. Thanks Rocky!
Footnote : A few little anecdotes of our times at St. Michael’s
WE learned hand-stands at P.E. ……. we held each other up …….. time to do it again surely, Lads!
My first concussion ….. it wasn’t the Horse giving me a mighty shoulder ….. t’was the bringing down the full weight of a hard-back anthology on my noggin…..”Alliteration, young Hussey is things sounding alike”, oblivious to the effects of the bounce of the book on my head!
Junior was putting up a rough chalk map of Ireland and throwing in mountains that were fish bones, for some odd reason. “The Comeraghs”, I offered as he pointed towards Tipperary. “You’re too small Hussey to be moving mountains!” says he. The Galtees me boy.
Fr. Danny coming around once a month to collect for his propagation of the faith and checking for long hair and the trade-mark yellow-stained cigarette fingers – Frank got caught on both counts. Down to Quigleys for the hair, with Danny paying the bill, while Frank rubbed his fingers at the front school pillars to remove the yellow stains. Maggie Stack had his measure though by putting the haircut money in his pocket and never returning. I hear he still has a fine head of hair!
Free spirits, we had a few, and our reunion noted the missing souls: John Scully, Tim Kennelly, Vincent Donegan, Eamonn Carroll, Tim Danaher. Rest easy boys!
Our final leavetaking had Fr. Danny giving us the profound declaration “Ye’re going out into the world as rare birds with ye’re classical training” ….. while Brendan Keane whispered “extinct birds more likely”. Wit, the great leveller !
“ All life was there”, John B said of McKenna’s corner …… well, so too it was at Christy’s – a well-rounded crew and not a chip in sight,…. except those paired with the goujons!
