Olden Times in Listowel and Kanturk

Listowel Garda Station in May 2025

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One of the Greats

Text from Mad for Trad on Facebook

Séamus Ennis (1919–1982) was a master uilleann piper, singer, and one of Ireland’s most important collectors of traditional music. Born in Finglas, Dublin, and taught by his father, he began playing the pipes at 13 and later worked for the Irish Folklore Commission, where he collected nearly 2,000 songs, tunes, and stories from across Ireland, often traveling by bicycle with only pen and paper. His meticulous fieldwork preserved a vast repertoire that might otherwise have been lost.

Ennis was also a pioneering broadcaster, recording and promoting traditional musicians for Radio Éireann and the BBC, and he played a key role in legitimizing Irish music on radio and television. In 1968, he co-founded Na Píobairí Uilleann, the society dedicated to the promotion of the uilleann pipes, and was renowned for his generosity in sharing his knowledge with younger musicians His playing style, noted for its elegance and mastery of slow airs, set a benchmark for future generations.

His legacy endures in the thousands of tunes he preserved, the standards he set for piping, and the influence he had on Irish music’s revival and transmission. Ennis is commemorated by the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre in Naul lrish cultural life.

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St. John’s

St. John’s in May 2025

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An Emigrant’s Descendants Return

Email from Gina;

I was excited to find your Listowell blog as I have a connection to this beautiful town.  My mother’s grandfather migrated to Australia in 1863 from Listowell, Kerry. His name was Martin Collins. I found your blog through a postcard that was sent to my Gx3 Grandfather from Mount Rivers, dated 1906.tI was from Nell? C MacElligott. I have attached photos.

I am hoping to find some more information about my  Great x3 Grandfather’s background. I know his parent’s names were Thomas Collins and Mary Lynch.

Hope you are able to  help or lead me in the right direction.

Kind regards,

Gina Wheeler

If anyone reading this knows anything of Martin Collins or Mary Lynch, Gina would love to hear from you.

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Carmody’s of Sráid an Phiarsaigh

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American Wealth in Kanturk in the 1960s

This is the late Danny O’Sullivan of Kanturk. He returned from the USA just before the Great Depression. His father, also called Dan, had emigrated like so many Duhallow people to Oregon.

Dan Sr. amassed a huge fortune. It is said that he owned a Street in Boston by the time he liquidated his assetts and returned with his family to live in Kanturk. He opened a bar in The Square. As his sons matured and married they each opened a business in town. The businesses names acknowledged the source of their wealth. They were the USA Café, the USA Bar and the USA Stores. Dan also bought a farm.

As well as running the café, Danny, who was an excellent photographer, had a part time business photographing first Communions and other occasions. He had his own dark room.

This is just one of several cameras he owned.

Danny was out with his camera on every big occasion in town. This is the Corpus Christi procession. This was a huge event in the Kanturk of my childhood and Danny’s archive of pictures has many processions over the years.

This is years later when Danny added colour film to his offering.

Fancy Dress parades were also a favourite subject. In those days adults took part in these parades and they were a great source of fun and entertainment.

Danny left us a huge archive of precious mementos of a different era in Kanturk.

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A Fact

The phrase ‘to turn a blind eye” comes from Admiral Nelson’s time. A message was sent to Nelson to cease fighting. He put his telescope up to his blind eye, claimed he never saw the message and continued to fight.

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