Listowel Connection

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

Tralee in the sixties, Rebel Abbey, 2 Day Revival 2019 and Listowel, A Printer’s Legacy

By

On December 13, 2018

In Uncategorized

The Gap of Dunloe


Photo: Chris Grayson





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Christmas Shopping in Tralee in the sixties


Photo: Historical Tralee and surrounding areas



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Maureen Flavin of Knocknagoshel and Black Sod



Remember Billy McSweeney’s great story of the Kerry lady who married the son of the Blacksod Lighthouse keeper and found herself playing a vital role in the timing of the DDay landings. Well didn’t a loyal blog follower know all about Maureen and he sent us this.

This is Maureen in a wedding photo from 1946

Maureen’s mother was a Mulvihill . The Mulvihill family was also famous. Ned Mulvihill bred a greyhound called Rebel Abbey who won all round him.





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Listowel, Get Ready to Rock in 2019




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Leonard, Listowel Mill Owner; Villain or Saint



The next instalment in the debate;

Hi, Mary,

 Interesting debate opening up. I don’t think any heavy work was done by inmates in the workhouses- they were in poor shape, weakened and poorly fed- certainly not enough work to enrich anyone.  More importantly, able-bodied persons were liable to the rigours of the law if they attempted to get into the workhouses! Auxiliary Workhouses in premises privately owned were  rented by the Board of Guardians and they ran the show after that. I have never come across a privately owned and operated workhouse. I don’t see many certain ‘facts’ on either side of the current debate.  TF Culhane  wrote about Maurice Leonard being ‘remembered’ as having given the barrels of flour; he was not recalling that as his own personal memory. The Folklore Commission relied on stories and memories also. Using ‘recalls’ is no worse that using ‘Keane reported…’ as ‘reported’ has the following meaning:  “give a spoken or written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated.”  ‘Folklore’ hardy meets this qualification. The reference to TF Culhane’s thoughts are included in the North Kerry Literary Trust, Listowel, excellent 2007 edition of  the book, “Kerry Memories”- this is steeped in Listowel Connections spanning generations. This book is painstakingly thorough in relation to what it includes. Pádraig de Brún and Jimmy Deenihan were instrumental in this publication. It is well-worth a read by anyone connected with Listowel. Bets or speculation and political points are not of much use at this remove. I was a bit doubtful of the number,  ‘six thousand barrels’ as that would be an enormous amount of wheat for the Listowel area in those pestilential days. Perhaps the local memory  was a bit defective in both cases in debate? And there are those who would claim that all such wheat would have been exported in any case to England, while the local people starved. I agree that a factual and disinterested  assessment of the ‘Listowel wheat or barrels of flour’ conundrum is required.  I am sure there will be many well-qualified and  willing to take in on.

Regards,

Nicholas.

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People at a Book Launch


Seán Kelly, Nora Sheahan, Peggy Hilliard, Lilly Nolan and Vincent Carmody in The Listowel Arms on December 9 2018 at the launch of Listowel , A Printer’s Legacy.

Vincent Carmody with Jimmy Deenihan

Historians and politicians at the launch.



Maurice O’Mahoney gets in a quick read before the crowd gathers.

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Christmas 2018 in Listowel


Another great idea from Christmas in Listowel 

The Listowel Treasure Train

Join us on a magical trail around Listowel’s beautiful shop window displays on the Listowel Treasure Train.

Each of the 14 participating shops have a Little Green Train displayed somewhere in their window. Can you find them all? 

The Runaway Red Train
Our Runaway Red Train has a mind of its own and moves from window to window.

Each day we will post a photo of the Runaway Red Train’s new location, as well as the day’s prize on the Christmas in Listowel Facebook Page. Simply tell us where the Red Train is, to be in with a chance of winning one of our amazing prizes every day.

The prizes will be displayed in Galvin’s Window and available for collection at the end of the competition after Saturday 22nd December.

Follow us at “Christmas in Listowel” on Facebook to take part in this fun game.

Ballybunion, Christmas Candles and An Gleann 1978 and Maurice Leonard in Famine time Listowel

By

On December 12, 2018

In Uncategorized

The Barrack Corner, Ballybunion




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Pres. Listowel girls who represented Ireland in the World Schools’ Basketball Championships



( Someone might tell us the year)








Top left is Louise Galvin who is now more famous as a rugby player. She recently scored a try in Dubai in the Sevens’ World Series which ended in defeat for Ireland at the quarter final stage.





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Christmas Candles

Last week I posted this;

In olden days the Christmas candle was the big white one pounder. Anything smaller was regarded with something bordering on contempt., unworthy of the title “Christmas” candle. They were unfavourably described as “little traithníns of things”. Tháithnín being the Irish for a wisp of straw or a blade of grass. When the electric candle arrived in the mid sixties the newcomer was dismissed as being nothing like a rale candle at all.” I vividly remember all those “rale candles” shining in the windows of the farmhouses as we made our way to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the nip of frost in the air and the sky “alive with stars.”

And then I read about candlemakers in the Irish Independent. Let me share a few things I learned with you.

Rathbornes of Dublin is the oldest candle making firm in the world. It was founded in in 1488.

In 1488 only the wealthy could do anything after dark for there was no public lighting and only the rich could afford a supply of candles to keep the dark at bay.

Before candles there were smelly oil lamps which often fell over with disastrous consequences.

The first candles made from animal fats were made at home or in monasteries.

The first street lighting was candle light until it was replaced by oil and gas in the 18th century.

Candles were used as devices to keep the time. A timekeeping candle has 12 marked divisions and could burn for 24 hours. These were used to mark the length of work shifts in industry.  Timekeeping candles were used in some coalmines until 50 years ago.

The phrase ‘burning the candle at both ends” has its origins in the days when candles were valuable and used sparingly. Burning the candle at both ends would be wasteful and an inefficient use of energy.


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Slander in Kerry


From Patrick O’Sullivan’s A Year in Kerry


A learned professor with an address in Kensington, London, believed that there was enough gossip in Kerry in the year 1935 to make it a proposition for him to publish the following advertisement in The Kerryman: ‘If those suffering as a result of scandal or slander care to send me a postal order for 2s.6d I will give them sound advice to assist them in defeating same with the utmost dignity and prudence.” The professor’s advice did not come cheap; 2s.6d, the old half crown was a considerable amount of money in those days.

Victims might have been better advised to seek out a trusty solicitor. Though, according to an old story, when Daniel O’Connell was asked by a woman to direct her to an honest lawyer, he replied, “I fear your request is beyond me, Madam.”

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Those were the Days….Probably 1978



Photo and names from Denis Carroll on Facebook

Back row L-R Gigs Nolan,?, Pa Kennedy, Miley Fitz, Jerry Kelliher, Bob O Brien, Buster Lynch, PJ Kelliher, Jimmy Griffin, Manager Roche.

Front L-R, Denny Carroll, Peter Sugrue, Kempes Kelliher, Kevin Sheehy, Liam Kelliher & Noel Roche.

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A Clarification of a Clarification


Just a quick bringing you up to speed on this story. A little boy in the folklore collection in Dúchas recorded a story in his family of how the local mill owner, whom we now know was Maurice Leonard, allowed  people to starve during the Famine while his mill was full of flour.


A blog follower who had read Home Thoughts from Abroad   wrote to “correct” the folk memory and to say that Mr. Leonard was in fact extraordinarily generous to the starving people of Listowel.


Not so according to today’s email;



Hello, Mary.

Always enjoy Listowel Connection — and appreciate the effort and detective work you put into it.

In your latest post, the person who was “happy to put the record straight” about Litstowel mill owner Maurice Leonard actually raises more questions.

On the one hand, W. Keane reported that Leonard had soldiers posted outside his mill during the potato famine to keep the hungry away from the grain. And that the mill owner was willing to let grain that he couldn’t sell go rotten.

On the other hand, the person who wants to set the record straight notes that a T. F. Culhane (in his book Home Thoughts From Abroad) recalls that same mill owner getting “six thousand barrels of flour” to the starving.

‘Recalls’ is the wrong word, as T. F. Culhane was born fifty years after the famine.

W. Keane’s version, which painted quite a different picture of that mill owner, was recorded in the late 1930’s — so that wasn’t a first-hand account either.

There are a couple hard facts in John Pierse’s excellent book Teampall Bán relating to Mr. Leonard’s mill and to the man himself.

First of all, during that time Leonard’s mill functioned as an auxiliary workhouse, which means Leonard benefited from free labour from those reeling from the famine. That was, of course, perfectly in line with the UK government’s quaint economic/moral philosophy at the time.

And as far as any contemporaneous record of Mr. Leonard’s charitable largesse, Teampall Bán notes his donation to the 1846 Listowel Relief Fund. It was two pounds.

It’s only implied through the T. F. Culhane quote that Mr. Leonard freely gave those six thousand barrels of flour to the starving.

Without other evidence, it’s a safer bet that Leonard in fact sold that flour to workhouse officials.

I think six-thousand-barrels worth of charity would have left a far greater imprint in local lore.

I’m interested if any fellow blog readers and any historians out there have any info about whether our local mill owner was indeed a saint, or just a man of his times.

Best regards.

— Dan Murphy


Dan raises some very interesting points. What a pity John Pierse is n’t online! I’ll have to leave it to a few more local  historians to unravel this one.

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Listowel, A Printer’s Legacy


This is Vincent Carmody’s latest addition to the history of Listowel in print. This book is a tribute to the late printer, Bob Cuthbertson and to the people who worked with him and the printers who came after him until 1970. 



These are a few examples of the material that is in the book. Anyone interested in social history will have a great time feasting on the nuggets in this impressive book. I dont think any other town has such a record. It also has a brilliant introductory essay from Cyril Kelly and an afterword from Fergal Keane.

A Christmas Poem, Ballybunion Mythology and a Writers’ Week Success Story and St. Senan’s win

By

On December 11, 2018

In Uncategorized


Ballybunion Cliff Walk in Winter


It is a great pleasure to walk along the cliff edge by the wild Atlantic in winter. Above is the Nine Daughters Hole.

It was around the year 800 AD when a fleet of invading Viking Long-ships sailed along the coast of North Kerry and disembarked at Inis Labrinde, at the mouth of the Cashen river, beside Ballybunion. According to local legend a raiding party reached the old jail of Doon called Pookeenee Castle, where they came upon the nine daughters of the local Chieftain O’ Connor.



There are two versions to the next part of the story; the first is that these daughters fell in love with the Viking warriors, and planned to elope with them and marry them. The second version sounds more plausible, and that is that the Vikings plotted to kidnap the daughters as their brides.



Whatever version is to be believed, the outcome was the same. O ‘Connor found out about these plans, and one by one he lured each of his nine daughters to the chasm. Once there, he told them that a valuable torc (old celtic neck-band, usually made of precious metal) of his had fallen in, and wished them to retrieve it. As they went searching for this missing torc, O’ Connor had them tossed into the chasm. O’ Connor then beheaded all nine Viking warriors and had their remains thrown in with his daughters. The rest of this evil deed is history. To this day, this deep chasm is known as the Nine Daughters’ Hole.  (Source; Ballybunion.ie)


In the distance is the former Convent of Mercy, now a retirement complex.

The Nuns’ Beach is an inaccessible strand just below the old convent.

I used to think that this was some kind of shepherds’ shelter. Not so. It was a kind of battery or arsenal.

 Druid’s Lair is located on the Cliff Path Walk north of the town, overlooking a sheer drop to the rocks below. This area is steeped in folklore and legend, with magnificent views of the Wild Atlantic Way in the distance. Deep in the pages of Ballybunion’s history is a story of Druid worship, when this turbulent epoch saw human sacrifices made to the Celtic god Mananann.



It is said that centuries ago, on May mornings as the dawn broke, sacrificial offerings were made to honour the Celtic god. This involved placing a victim at the abyss near the Scolt facing the Shannon Estuary. Specially-chosen executioners commenced the gruesome ceremony by striking blows to the victim’s head; a garrote was then used to complete the sacrifice, and the body was cast over the cliffs into the raging tide below.



Today the area is quiet and peaceful, allowing visitors to enjoy the walk along the cliffs, blissfully unaware of the blood-thirsty history behind the name Scoilt Na Dhrida! 

( Ballybunion.ie)

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A Poem from San Diego


Firstly I’m going to tell you a bit about the poet, Richard Moriarty. This biography was supplied by his wife.

RICHARD MORIARTY was born in Lisselton, Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, where much of his family still resides.  He emigrated in the early ‘80’s to San Diego, California, USA.

Richard has a rich tapestry of memories of his childhood growing up In Kerry, although he has put in a lot of distance since those days. The bonds are still strong: The constant TUG to come HOME, if only in verse.

Richard has travelled extensively throughout the USA and Mexico, holding various jobs, including construction worker and truck driver, but his favorite gig was as a horse carriage driver, where he regaled tourists and residents alike with his stories as they viewed the sights in San Diego. This has left him with many experiences and people to write about.

Richard has written several poems and short stories, much of which has been published.  Most notable is a Letter of Recognition and Appreciation from President George Bush.

I KNOW SANTA’S ON HIS WAY

Grandpaw, will you tell me the story, of how Christmas came to be

About the baby Jesus, the presents, and the tree

Why the stars all seem to sparkle, up yonder in the sky

And why there’s so much laughter, amongst every girl and boy

Can you tell me why the candles, seem to have a beacon light

Will it be like this forever, or is this a special night

Come to me my little sweetheart, and climb up on my knee

And I’ll tell you the story, just the way ‘twas told to me

It started back many years ago, in a land far, far away

In a little town called Bethlehem, or so the people say

By a manger in a stable, so cold and all forlorn

There on the hay, that December day, Jesus Christ was born

You ask me of the presents, and what meaning they behold

I guess it’s called affection, should the truth be ever told

They’re little gifts that are bestowed, and we all understand

On that special day we just want to say, God bless the giving hand

Now, I know what you are thinking, by the way you look at me

You want to hear the story, about the Christmas tree

Well, every day in his own way, God sends us from above

Some hurt, some joy, some strength and pain, but he does it all with love

He gave us gifts, like mountains, the deserts, and the sea

And mankind enhanced this beauty in the form of a tree

My little girl, with golden curl about the candle glow

Should we get lost, by day or night, as on through life we go

When we’re in doubt, as we sometimes are, as on and on we roam

It’s the twinkling stars and candlelight that will lead us safely home

Well, now I believe I’ve come to the end and I have no more to say

So go to sleep, my sweetheart

I KNOW SANTA’S ON HIS WAY

        Richard G. Moriarty

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Welcome Visitors


The two ladies pictured with me recently in The Listowel Arms are great friends of Listowel and love to holiday here. In the centre is Harriet Owen whose Owen, McCarthy, Berry and Goodman Gentleman relatives all hail from around here. She was in town to liaise with local historians and to learn more about her Kerry family.

On the left is Ann Murtagh from Kilkenny. Ann came to Listowel Writers’ Week to do a writing workshop. She was already in the process of writing her first book of children’s historical fiction. When we met she had just received the great news that O’Brien Press have accepted her book for publication.

As any of you who has any knowledge of children’s fiction will know, it is a very crowded market, full of ” big” names, i.e. people who are famous for something else entirely and are now turning their hand to writing for children, people like David Walliams, Ryan Tubridy and Kathleen Watkins. I was thrilled to hear of an unknown author whose book will have to stand on its own merits being taken on by the giant of Irish publishing, O’Brien Press. I can’t wait to read the book. Watch this space!

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Our Very Own Giant Killers’ Story


The papers are full this week of stories from little Mullinalachta’s St. Columba’s who beat the mighty Kilmacud Crokes to win their county’s first ever Leinster title.

North Kerry Football had a triumph of the underdog story of its own as St. Senan’s beat Ballydonoghue in the North Kerry final.

Photo: North Kerry Football on Facebook

Pandora, Class of 78 reunion, the tea chest and Manchester Martyrs Memorial

By

On December 10, 2018

In Uncategorized

Early Evening in Ballybunion




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Manchester Martyrs Memorial in St. Michael’s Graveyard, Listowel



I posted these photographs a while ago and wondered why these men were being commemorated in Listowel.

Dave O’Sullivan found the answer in the papers. Apparently these men were widely commemorated in Ireland on the anniversary of their deaths. The unveiling of the monument in Listowel was banned.

Here are a few accounts from the papers of the time.





This memorial in Rath cemetery, Tralee, came later



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Reunion Planned

Conor Keane has been in touch . Here is what he has to say;

A reunion of the victorious St Michael’s senior football teams of 1978 will take place jointly with the St Michael’s Class of 1978 Reunion. 
In 1978 St Michael’s College Listowel won the Kerry College’s Senior Football Championship, securing the coveted O’Sullivan Cup for only the second time in the school’s history. The team also won Munster College’s Senior Football Championship Corn an Rúnaí for smaller schools. 
We have arranged the reunion night on Thursday 27th Dec 2018commencing at 7 pm in St Michaels College, Listowel where we will be welcomed by the current principal John Mulvihill and his deputy principal Liam Hassett. This will be an opportunity to revisit our old classrooms, browse through some old photographs and bring us through the new extension.
After this, we will adjourn to the Listowel Arms Hotel at approximately 8 pm for a friendly get together, a catch-up, a buffet and a few beverages. The charge for the event in the Listowel Arms will be €25 a head. There are some rooms available in the hotel for those who
wish to stay over.

 Front row from left: John O’Flaherty, Gerard Buckley, Gerard Enright, Mike McGuire, Conor Keane, Chris Larkin, John Bambury, Fr Patrick Horgan.

Middle : John Kennelly, Thomas Mulvihill, Johnny Horgan, Kevin O’Donovan, Eddie Relihan, Johnny Stack, Martin Stack, Denis Kennelly.

Back : Pat Shanahan, Kevin Lucey, John Lyons, Edward Kissane, John Favier, Thomas McElligott, John Keane.

St Michael’s College Listowel: Kerry College’s Senior Football Champions 1978 and Munster College’s Senior Football Champions Corn an Rúnaí 1978

Class of 78

Front row: Gerard Somers, Joseph Tarrant, Gerard Daughton, Patsy Ryan, Johnny Stack, Dan Sheehan, Fr Horgan ( RIP), Pat Flavin, Thomas Horgan ( RIP), John O’Sullivan, Conor Keane, Mike McGuire.

2nd row: Mike Callanan, George O’Connell, Thomas Stack, Seamus Given, Bernard O’Connell, Thomas McElligott, Declan O’Connor, John Kennelly, Jim Furlong, Barry McAuliffe, Jimmy Ryan, Tony Carroll, Bernard O Keeffe, Denis Carroll
3rd row: Michael Byrne, Tom Molyneaux, Richard O’Shea,Pat O’Brien, David Dillon, Denis Brosnan, Michael Curtin, Seán Healy, Mick Lynch, John Beary
At back: Joseph Carmody, PJ Larkin, Richard Cantillon, Thomas Mulvihill, Pius Horgan, John Lyons, John Horgan, Eoin Rochford, Kevin O’Donovan.

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The Tea Chest

I remember the tea chest well. In fact I still have one in which I store logs. The following account of varied and popular uses of tea chests I found in Patrick O’Sullivan’s great book, A Year in Kerry

There was a time when the tea came not in bags but in foil lined tea-chests- the delicious aroma from those large chests is one of the most enduring memories of childhood Christmasses. An added bonus was the tea chests versatility as a storage unit when empty.  It could be used to store turf, logs, clothes, or china and, in not a few instances it served the function of a playpen, restraining an adventurous infant and keeping it out of danger’s way when not in the cradle. There’s many a grand lady and gentleman walking the roads this day and but for their memories being so short, they’d remember that they were reared in a tay-chest,” observed an old relative on the matter.

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Pandora

(The pre Christian Eve)

The following photo and account are from Raymond O’Sullivan on Facebook

Pandora was the first human woman in the world, according to Greek mythology. She was created by the god Zeus as a ‘punishment’ for men who had stolen fire from Hephaestos, the blacksmith of the gods. Zeus gave her a sealed jar as a wedding present with strict instructions that it was not to be opened, knowing well that she would not be able to resist the temptation.. To his delight her curiosity eventually got the better of her and she opened the jar, releasing on the world all the evils imaginable: sickness, death, poverty, pain, misery, sadness, …….
The comparison with Eve in the Judeo-Christian tradition is compelling. She takes the blame for leading Adam astray, the expulsion from paradise in the Garden of Eden and all the trouble and strife in the world ever since.
So misogyny is nothing new, it goes back a long, long way. Very much in focus these days with the #me too movement, the need for gender quotas in universities (of all places), and the waving of a young girl’s underwear around the courtroom in a rape trial. How to counteract something so deeply ingrained in the human psyche is a vexed question. It is an uphill battle, but, when all the evils had escaped, the last thing out of Pandora’s jar was Hope.

Kerryman 1994, Christmas candles, a Christmas poem and a Generous Mill owner in Famine time Listowel

By

On December 7, 2018

In Uncategorized

Canon’s Height

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Kerryman  Christmas 1994

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Christmas candles


From Patrick O’Sullivan’s A Year in Kerry

In olden days the Christmas candle was the big white one pounder. Anything smaller was regarded with something bordering on contempt., unworthy of the title “Christmas” candle. They were unfavourably described as “little traithníns of things”. Tháithnín being the Irish for a wisp of straw or a blade of grass. When the electric candle arrived in the mid sixties the newcomer was dismissed as being nothing like a rale candle at all.” I vividly remember all those “rale candles” shining in the windows of the farmhouses as we made our way to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, the nip of frost in the air and the sky “alive with stars.”

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A Christmastime Thought


Maura Brennan Esmonde is one of the faithful blog followers we lost during 2018. Maura was always one to send a joke or a quote or an uplifting or thoughtful poem.

Here is the first poem she sent me for Christmas 2013. In her memory I’m posting it today

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A CANADIAN or U S SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I’D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN’T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
“SANTA DON’T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON’T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.”

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN’T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT’S CHILL.

I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, “CARRY ON SANTA,
IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.”

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.”

The poem was written by a marine

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Folklore and Truth



Every so soften I include in a blog post an item from the Dúchas collection of folklore. This lore was collected by school children from their elders. Much of it is old wives tales, superstitions and gossip and really needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I posted this item last week;

This account of the Famine in Listowel was contributed by a W. Keane to the schools’ Folklore collection and is now in the Dúchas collection.

 The old mill by the river in Listowel (once N.K.M. factory) was built out of the stones of the part of Listowel knocked by Sir Charles [?] in 1600. The time of the famine the mill was full of corn and soldiers were placed on guard to mind it. Leonard was the man in charge of the mill. They used the bags of wheat inside and there were soldiers outside the door and the people used to go down to get the wheat and they used be fighting the soldiers. Finally the wheat went bad and had to be thrown out in the River Feale. 
Cars used go out every day from the workhouse in Listowel to collect dead bodies & they used be carried to Gale Churchyard. But as Gale church was too far from Listowel they got a field near the town on the road to Ballybunion now known as Teampulleenbawn where they buried the bodies in pits or else with coffins with sliding bottoms, & used the coffins all over again. There were auxiliary workhouses: St.Michael’s College, Listowel, was an hospital; Stalls in Clieveragh known now as “The Barn” was a workhouse & “The Model Farm” on the Ballybunion Rd. “The Model Farm” is so green amid a stretch of poor land. The people say that it was the sweat of the paupers carrying manure on their backs that made it green. You’d get £33 for a pig.


And then I got this via email.

With regard to the Leonard man at Listowel mentioned above  (Maurice Leonard was the mill-owner) and the wheat denied to the starving people in Famine times, TF Culhane wrote on Page 111 of his book, ‘Home Thoughts from Abroad,’ that the Listowel mill-owner, Maurice Leonard, was remembered as having given ‘six thousand barrels of flour’ to the starving during the Famine years.

I’m happy to put the record straight.

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Thoughts



My most recent week of thoughts for the day is at the link below

Just a Thought; Radio Kerry

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Book launch



On Sunday Dec. 9 2018 at 7.00p.m. in The Listowel Arms, Vincent Carmody will launch another title to add to Listowel’s canon.

Listowel , a Printer’s Legacy is the story of printing in North Kerry from 1870 to 1970

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries printed posters and pamphlets brought us news of auctions, plays and other entertainments, upcoming fairs and markets and a host of other information.

This book is an important part of our social history. Sunday evening promises to be a great evening with Billy Keane as MC and Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Seán Kelly, Bryan MacMahon and Kay Caball speaking.

I photographed Vincent at his door on Thursday December 6 2018, chatting to a fellow local chronicler, Michael Guerin.


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