Covid 19 Announcement
When there was a phone box on every corner
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Tom Takes up a new post
Ennismore native, Tom Dillon is a passionate historian. He is an expert on North Kerry men who fought in two world wars. He has recently been appointed as Historian in Residence by Kerry County Council.
Tom has always been a busy man and now he is about to become even busier. I heard him recently with Frank Lewis on Radio Kerry’s Saturday Supplement telling the fascinating story of one of Kerry’s most notorious faction fights between the Cooleens and the Lawlors at Ballyeigh.
Tom is on the far right with Jim Dunn, Mike Lynch and Rose Wall Volunteering at a Graham Norton event at Listowel Writers’ Week.
Tom is among North Kerry history lovers, Martin Moore, Declan Downey, Michael Guerin and myself in Ashe Hall where Tom gave an excellent lecture on the Fitzgeralds, Knights of Kerry.
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A Duagh Philatropist
William Maloney was born in Duagh County Kerry, Ireland, in 1828, and died in Pittsburgh, Dec. 28, 1870.
All affairs bearing on the public good interested Mr. Maloney, and the weight of his influence and his moral and financial support were always forthcoming in aid of such activities. Charitable cause made and unfailing appeal to his warmly, generous and sincere nature, and he was especially friendly to St. Paul’s Orphan Asylum. He was a member of St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, then at Fifth and Grant streets, and there was no branch of its work that did not owe a large part of its comfortable ease in financial relations to his never-failing donations. He was known for his ever-courteous manner and was a musician of accomplishment. His religious convictions were strong, and, practical man of affairs the he was, he believed that they were worthy of the best of his means.
William Maloney married Mary B. Mullin, daughter of Thomas and Mary Mullin, her father a linen manufacturer of note at Carrickmacross, a famous linen center of Ireland. Her mother, Mary Mullin, came to the United States a short time after her son John, Mr. Maloney’s partner, had made Pittsburgh his home. Mrs. Maloney, a devoted mother, and active charity worker, an accomplished home maker, died Aug. 25, 1914.
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Listowel Convent Windows in their new home
A Corkman, Eddie Hyland has been studying stained glass windows from the Harry Clarke studios in Dublin. His research brought him to two windows in Presentation Convent chapel in Listowel.
The chapel was deconsecrated and the windows dispersed. Eddie started a search that brought him to sources like Listowel Connection as well as the Presentation archive.
Here is his latest letter bringing the news that his search iOS over and has been successful
Dear Mary
I’ve located the Saint Patrick window; it is in the parish church [named Saint Patrick’s]
in the tiny village of Knockavilla near Upton in Co Cork.
I’m sending to you as attachments photos of both windows. As you can see the Saint Michael
window has been reworked somewhat to make it fit into the opening in Blackrock Church, Cork.
The Saint Patrick is however unaltered. It is not however fitted into a wall opening but instead
is located in a custom made wooden frame and artificially back lit
Again thank you for all of your help and encouragement
Regards
Ed Hyland
All Changed
Upper Church Street, Listowel July 2007
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Looking for Old Photos
Can you help, please?
Hi there,
I am in search of some old photos of a public house that used to reside at 35 William St, Listowel. The Pub was called mulvihills and i cannot find any evidence of it online.
The pub was sold in the 80’s.
If you can shed any light on this bar will you tell me and I’ll pass on the information.
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A Dementia Poem
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From the Schools’ Folklore Collection
Fr Harnett
Long ago there lived in the Parish of Newtownsandes and old woman. One morning she went to her dairy for a pan of milk. When she was returning from the dairy she slipped with the pan of milk and fell. Just as she was falling the pan struck her in the side, and injured her, and the milk was spilled. When she went in home she had a very bad pain in her side, and she had to go to bed.
She spent three weeks in bed, but after the three weeks she was as bad as ever, and her side was greatly swollen. When she saw no improvement coming on her she sent for the doctor. But when the doctor saw her he said that he could find nothing wrong with her. At last she sent for one of the neighbours.
The neighbour was an old woman who was supposed to be with the good people. When the old woman looked at her she shook her head and said, “When you were coming in from your dairy that morning a woman from a fort asked you for a cup of milk. Now you did not hear her and she threw the cup at you, and it went in through your side. So it is not in the power of any doctor to cure you”.
She spent about another week in bed. At that time she heard that there was a priest in Duagh named Father Harnett who used to cure a lot of sick people. Her friends took her to the priest soon after that. When the priest saw her he took a book from his pocket and he kept reading over her for about ten minutes. Then he told her to go home and that she would be better. The woman went home, and the pain was as bad as ever. The next day her side broke out and glass began coming out of it. The glass was coming out of it for about a week. After a week all the glass of a cup had come out of it. Then her side healed up as good as ever.
Joe Walsh
Told by
Mrs Mary Walsh, Leitrim East, Newtownsandes, 54 years
Collector- Joe Walsh. Informant- Mrs Mary Walsh, Age 54, Address, Leitrim East, Co. Kerry
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The Lartigue Drama Group
I dont have a date for this happy gathering but at a guess it’s the 1980s
Mike Moriarty gave me the names.
FRONT ROW; Denis O’Mahony, Gertie O’Keefe, Sean Moriarty, Peggy Brick, Danny Hannon, Noreen O’Connell, Damian Stack, Joan Stack, Donie Finucane (R.I.P.), Mairead O’Carroll.
SECOND ROW; Martin Griffin, Jackie Carmody (R.I.P.), Miriam Carey (R.I.P.), P.J. Broderick, Helen Walsh, Maurice O’Sullivan, Louise O’Shea, Jack Joyce, Jackie McGillicuddy, Kay Ryan, Anthony McAuliffe.
THIRD ROW; Cathal FitzGerald, Jerome Murphy (R.I.P.), Batt O’Keefe, Ursula O’Connor, Michael O’Neill (R.I.P.), Anne FitzGerald, Louis O’Connell, Oonagh Harnett, Cliff Gore, Danny Moriarty.
BACK ROW; Mike Moriarty, Gillian Hilliard, Jed Chute, Paddy Walsh, Noreen O’Mahony, Pat Scully, Toddy Buckley (R.I.P.), Bernie Dalton, Johnny McElligott, Angela Hayes.
Molly at Home
I haven’t given an update on Molly for a while. Here she is in her happy place with her Christmas toy. She has been to the groomers since and is looking even more handsome these days.
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I was in Macroom, Co Cork
Last week I met a friend in Macroom for lunch. We ate in Granville’s and it was lovely, good food, friendly staff and cozy dining room.
I parked in the square just opposite this well named premises. It is truly a golden treasure, a throwback to the days of my childhood.
Once upon a time many shops had bars like these fitted outside their windows. This was in the days when fairs were held on the streets and shopkeepers needed to protect their very expensive plate glass. It’s lovely to see this one still in place.
Further down the street in this blue and yellow shop there was another of these fair day protectors. This one was removable but seems to be being left up permanently here.
Back to Golden’s and it’s old advertising hoardings… This one exhorts us to smoke a brand of cigarettes no longer available.
This place was certainly a general store, a virtual cornucopia judging by the goods displayed in the windows.
Among the mirrors and jugs was a jewish menorah and some various christian imagery.
It was not clear to me if these items were for sale or merely for decoration.
I was fascinated to see an old fashioned ring board and a skipping rope.
The sign inviting musicians to the monthly sessions had been updated since I was last here.
The Guinness toucan was on the wall and in the window was the old Guinness advertising slogan; Guinness is Good for You. Are we allowed to make unsubstantiated claims like that nowadays?
Is that cctv I see beside the golden finial? The plasterwork depicts the oak leaves and acorns below some sheaves of corn, a rich harvest image for a lovely lovely old bar.
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From the Schools’ Folklore Collection
A Hidden Treasure
There was a very old woman who lived in a small little house close to the village of Newtownsandes. She seemed to be very poor and the village people used to give her food. One day the priest said to her, “You seem to be always looking for charity”, and the old woman said, “Sure what else could I do. I haven’t a pig, a goat, or a man”. In a short time after, the old woman grew sick and was ordered to hospital. The neighbours went to her little house. As the ambulance came they were preparing her for the journey, and on no account would she allow them to take off a flannel skirt. So when she got to the hospital the nuns ordered the skirt to be removed, but the old lady screamed aloud and thought to hold on to the skirt. However they succeeded in removing the skirt. The nuns got suspicious and stood by after giving orders to two wardswomen to get a scissors and open up the skirt. To their surprise, there were nineteen sovereigns sewed in a tuck to the skirt. She lived for one week after, and during that time the other patients in the ward could not sleep as the old woman was all the time shouting for the flannel skirt.
Collector- Pat Stack- Informant- Nurse Stack- Age 62 Address, Newtownsandes, Co. Kerry
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Listowel Drama Group
The curtain has come down for the last time on A Daughter from over the Water. This 2020 production by Listowel Drama Group entertained audiences in the dreary evenings of early March 2020….great cast and excellent set, as usual.
Cast of Listowel Drama Groups production of A Daughter from over the Water
Another shop Closure
Early 2020 has seen the closure of several businesses in Listowel. Zingyzest is added to Flavin’s, Kerry Wool and One Stop Sweet Shop. I hope this trend is reversed soon.
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Revival 2020
This festival gets bigger and bigger every year. This year’s line up guarantees that the tickets will sell out fast. Don’t be disappointed.
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1945 Handover of the Childers’ Park
Kerry Champion Saturday, November 17, 1945; Section: Front page, Page: 1
LAND AS PUBLIC PARK
PROPOSED SCHEME
Public Park.
Mr. R. A. Macaulay, solicitor to the Council wrote to the Acting Town Clerk under date November 12th enclosing map and letter received from Messrs. M. J. Byrne and Co. Solicitors, relative to the gift to the Council of a tract- of land at Gurtinard, donated by the Listowel estate.
Messrs. M. J. Byrnes’ letter explained that the property transferred is to be held in trust for the use of the inhabitants of the town of Listowel as a public park and no buildings of any kind are to be erected thereon without the consent in writing of the transferors.
Gifts Act.
Mr. Macaulay, the Council’s Solicitor, also wrote enclosing copy of the Local Authorities (Acceptance of Gifts) Act 1945. Mr. Macaulay’s .letter stated that he had not yet had an opportunity of preparing a draft scheme for submission to the Council but that he thought it would be of great assistance and would make for economy in time if the enclosures he sent therewith were submitted to the Council to obtain their views on the broad outlines of the undertaking. The Council may have definite views affecting the management of the gift property and also affecting the provisions of the proposed scheme and when such views were submitted to him he, Mr. Macaulay would prepare a draft of the scheme which could be submitted to the Council in due course. Having discussed the matter the Council unanimously approved as far as possible the provisions of the scheme but they requested the Council’s Solicitor to draft a scheme which would be considered at next meeting.
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Just a Thought
Last week’s Thoughts are at the link below