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Wishing and Hoping

Tana would love to see normal service resumed for amateur equestrian sports. People who know tell me that the horses are really missing the camaraderie, the thrill and competitiveness of their hobbies.

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Aspects of Ballybunion

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It’s Never too Cold to Snow

Distilled wisdom from

It snows in Alaska at minus 40 degrees. Snow once fell at The South Pole at minus 50. 

So where did we get this too cold to snow idea?

In Northern Europe very cold weather is very often associated with high pressure. When the pressure is high there is little air movement, so the cold air sinks, warming as it falls. This means that there is little water left in the air to form clouds. 

Although it is bitterly cold there is no cloud to produce snow.

There’s a Bridle Hanging on the Wall

Horse in Kanturk patiently waits for a  spot of outdoor exercise.

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River Walk, Easter Sunday 2021

I met Derry Buckley and his fishing club friends  as I set out on the river bank walk.

The Guerin family and doggie were picnicking by The Feale.

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Easter Greetings

Listowel Business and Community Alliance had a great idea to have some of the diaspora reminisce for a while about growing up in Listowel. The result is this lovely nostalgic video.

Easter Greetings from Abroad

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Into the Woods

In Gurtenard Wood

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Believe  it or not

In these days of Covid 19 we are very aware of contagion and the necessity for social distancing to prevent the spread of communicable disease.

Those of us who dont subscribe to the conspiracy theories, are not waiting for The Rapture. We wear our masks, stay home and wait for a vaccine. We have placed our trust in science. I hope it will eventually free us.

Since time immemorial the most dreaded communicable disease was leprosy. Lepers were once forbidden to marry or to appear in court. They were only allowed to speak to a non leper if they stood downwind  of him.

Leprosy was very much a biblical disease, an outward punishment caused by inward sin. It was a priest not a doctor who diagnosed you a leper.

All that changed when many returning crusaders were afflicted with leprosy. Attitudes changed  and now leprosy was rebranded as a holy disease. Many European monarchs set up leper colonies. Lepers were allowed to  mix freely, although they still lived separately. They were allowed to beg and it was considered to be a holy act to give to a leper. This is why lepers took to wearing bells, not, as it was wrongly assumed, to warn people of their proximity but to alert them to the opportunity to make a donation to a good cause.

The plague of 1348 to 1350 put an end to leprosy.  The bubonic plague and tuberculosis attacked the already weakened immune systems of lepers. They succumbed to the disease in huge numbers and eventually there were not enough of them left to spread leprosy and the disease died out.

I learned all this from the Second Book of General Ignorance.

 

His Father’s  Son

Photo: Paddy Fitzgibbon 

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New Ballybunion Parody

Ballybunion in the Rare Auld Times by Ger Walsh

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From Saturday’s Irish Times (March 27 2021)

(Jenny, I think you’ll love this)

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An Old Postcard

Ten Thousand saw I at a glance

Picture of Athea in spring 2021 from Athea Tidy Towns Facebook page

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Be Kind Always

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I Remember my first state exam

Before free secondary school education and before school transport many Irish children finished school after 6th class in primary school. Secondary education was fee paying and often unavailable if you lived in the country and couldn’t afford boarding school fees.

So that pupils didn’t leave school without any certification of their education the state gave them this exam called the Primary School Certificate.

Primary School education was very thorough and pupils got a good grounding in the three Rs.

Look at the Arithmetic paper from 1962 and see how you would fare.

The exam was finally scrapped in 1967

Photo shared with Vanishing Ireland on Facebook

Remember this is a test for 6th class children. How would today’s youngsters fare?

Photo of Helen Moylan’s Primary Certificate.

 

Still at a Distance

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Onwards and Upwards

On the left of my picture is Elaine Kinsella. I took her picture with Catherine Moylan at Listowel’ Writers’ Week Young Adult Bookfest back in the day when we could have bookfests.

Why is Elaine in the news?

Because she is to be one of three guest co presenters of the Today show on RTE 1, for the month of April 2021. Elaine is well  used to appearing on the show as a panellist but now she’ll get a stint in Sinead’s seat beside Dáithí ÓSé.

We are familiar with Elaine on Radio Kerry’s Full Breakfast where her easy rapport with co presenter, Corkman, Andrew Morrissey makes the show required breakfast listening in households in Kerry and beyond.

I was honoured to have Elaine launch my little book, A Minute of Your Time, in the days when we could have book launches. She prepared meticulously for the gig and she did an excellent job on the night.

Elaine is a great choice for the new role as co anchor. I join with everyone in Kerry and particularly her native Listowel in wishing her the very best of luck. 

Look out for her first show on April 19th.

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 Two From the School’s Archives

TY girls on an outing to The Garden of Europe.

Joanne Kissane and her family at the presentation of her prize for essay writing in the An Post competition.

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From the School’s Folklore Collection

(Tullamore school, Informant Bríd Relihan, Coolkeragh)

This story happened in Coolkeragh. About sixty years ago, there lived a man named John Kelly, who was very fond of playing the harp. Every tune he heard he was able to play it immediately. Every night he used go rambling to a cottage about a mile away. On his way home he used have to pass an old fort. This night as he was passing he heard the most beautiful music he ever heard. Of course he was able to play it immediately and he started. A little man came out of the fort and told him he could play it two more times. John played it two more times going home. Next day there was a fair in Listowel and the bards said they would beat him playing. John thought of the fairy song and played it. All the people ran round him to rise him on their shoulders but he was a corpse.

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Today’s Oddity

(From Foster’s Irish Oddities)

Ireland is the only country in the world that has a musical instrument (the harp) as its national symbol.