In Naas

The Small Square, Listowel in April 2025

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In Glenflesk

On my way to and from Cork I like to make a pit stop at the lovely little village of Glenflesk.

St. Agatha’s roadside church is an oasis of calm where you can escape the noisy hub bub of the very busy Kerry Cork thoroughfare.

As I enjoyed my first 99 of summer 2025, I took a wander around.

The mountain behind the church was ablaze with yellow furze.

This old building has all the appearance of an old mill.

Back to reality…beside the defibrilator is a plaque jolting us back to the dangers of life on our busy roads.

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George Fitzmaurice

This is the plaque, commemorating the North Kerry playwright in Harcourt Street, Dublin.

The new owners of the premises have removed the plaque. I contacted the person who was responsible for erecting the plaque, Jimmy Deenihan. He is going to look into what can be done to have it restored.

Jimmy told me that, at the unveiling of the plaque, he organised a great Kerry night in the capital. I wonder does any photograph exist of that occasion. Jimmy has none.

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In Naas

If your travels take you anywhere near Naas in Co. Kildare, be sure to call in here.

Aoife is in the garden of McAuley Place, waiting for our morning snack. McAuley Place is a beautiful and sensitively planned use of the old Mercy convent. The complex incorporates age friendly apartments, a community centre, a craft shop and gardens. It is located beside the church, right in the heart of Naas.

This is one of the photographs that says it all about McAuley Place.

The community space in the old convent chapel still retains the organ and gallery, making it ideal for concerts and other choral occasions.

The beautiful stained glass windows, part of Naas’ heritage are a welcome preservation of the building’s history.

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Kerry Novel of the Year Finalists

Image and text from The Kerryman

Listowel Writers’ Week is proud to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award, one of the most esteemed prizes in Irish literature.

Now celebrating its 31st year, the award continues to honour exceptional fiction from Irish writers and remains a standout moment in the country’s literary calendar.

Sponsored by Kerry Group, the award carries a total prize fund of €22,000, with €20,000 awarded to the winner and €500 for each shortlisted author.

This year’s adjudicators are acclaimed authors, Carol Drinkwater and Paul McVeigh. They reviewed over 48 submitted novels and carefully selected five outstanding titles that reflect the strength, imagination, and storytelling brilliance of contemporary Irish fiction.

The shortlist for the 2025 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is: Christine Dwyer Hickey – Our London Lives (Atlantic Books, 2024); Joseph O’Connor – The Ghosts of Rome (Harvill Secker, 2025); Colm Tóibín – Long Island (Picador and Pan Macmillan, 2024); Niall Williams – Time of the Child (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024), and Donal Ryan – Heart, Be At Peace (Penguin Random House, 2024).

Catherine Keogh is Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Kerry Group. She said the company’s 31-year partnership with Listowel Writers’ Week stands as a testament to its enduring belief in the power of storytelling to inspire and connect.

(Regular readers of Listowel Connection will know my favourite. I loved Donal Ryan’s Heart, Be at Peace as well.)

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A fact

In 1950, a study found that only 46% of British homes had a bathroom.

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