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

Dolores and Shane, Knockanure farmers and Scribes

Farming in Ireland

Sam Hendy brings in-calf cows in for the night in Ballymorris, Portarlington, Co Laois.  

Picture:  Irish Farmers Journal.

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Who’d have thought?


 Two world renowned Irish singers, Shane McGowan and Dolores O’Riordan reached personal milestones  in January 2018. Who would have thought that in Shane’s case it would be a big birthday and in Dolores’ case it would be the end of the line.

Sméar Mhullaigh in Irish literally means the top berry, figuratively it means the cream of the crop. Dineen Dictionary on Twitter paid that tribute to Dolores, the top cranberry.

Cinnte b’í an sméar mhullaigh. Braithfimid uainn í.

 Dolores O’Riordan R.I.P. Jan 15 2018

 Shane MacGowan with Victoria Mary Clarke, Johnny Depp and President Michael D. Higgins at his 60th birthday party in January 2018.

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Ah, will you look?

This photo is from The Irish Farmers’ Journal. Farmer Maeve Murphy is using the age old method of heating up a weak new born lamb during this cold weather.

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 Jack Leahy with his prizewinning bull at a show in the 1960s.

Tom Kenelly of Knockanure accepting his prize at a show in the 1960s.

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Scribes


Her name is Brigita so maybe she was destined to settle in Ireland. The new proprietor of Scribes is already making a name for herself for her delicious baking and friendly ambience in her revamped café. I look forward to telling you something more about this lovely lady next week.


Knitwits in Scribes


Homemade scones and confectionery in Scribes

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Listowel Lady on Board of the Charities Regulator Authority




Máire McMahon (in the above photo, which I sourced on Facebook, Máire is on the left of her siblings, Brian and Aoife) has been appointed to the board of the Charities Regulator.

Máire is an excellent choice for this role.

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Nearly There!




This is the Kanturk hurling team who are heading to Newbridge on Sunday to play in the AiB All Ireland Intermediate hurling semi final.

If they win on Sunday they will book their place in Croke Park on St. Patrick’s Day.

I wish the very best of luck to everyone involved with this great team, especially my cousins, the three Fitzgerald brothers, and more especially my niece, Elizabeth, club vice chair and assistant PRO, and all her band of loyal supporters.

Ceann Toirc abú


Shortis’ Ballybunion, Vietnam and coursing in the 1960s

Blennerville in 2017

Photo: Chris Grayson


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Shortis’ Bunker Bar, Ballybunion


An Anglican priest, lecturer and writer called Patrick Comerford writes a great  blog here 

Patrick Comerford’s Blog

The below photo and story is from his January 8 2018 post.

William Shortis was born in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, in 1869, and came to Ballybunion around 1888 and worked for about a decade as the Ballybunion station manager on the Listowel & Ballybunion Railway (L&BR). This unique, nine-mile monorail ran between the two Kerry towns from 1888 to 1924, and was known affectionately as the Lartigue, after its French inventor, Charles Lartigue.



Shortis was a founding member of the nearby Ballybunion Golf Club in 1893, and he built Shortis’s bar and lounge around this time. Like many pubs of the day, the premises included a general shop, selling everything from groceries and hardware to shoes and clothing, as well as coal, iron and oil, and William Shortis also exported salmon to Harrod’s in London.



William Shortis married Annie Brown, but life took a sad turn for the family in 1905. Annie, died in childbirth on 7 June 1905, and William died five months later on 12 November 1905. Local lore suggests he died of a broken heart, leaving five children with no parents.



Annie’s sisters, Norah and Mary Brown, moved in to take care of the Shortis children.



By 1911, the eldest son Patrick Shortis, aged 18, was a theology student at All Hallows’ College in Drumcondra, Dublin, studying for ordination to the priesthood.



But five years later, Patrick Shortis died in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. He fought at the GPO in 1916 and was killed with the O’Rahilly in an assault on the Rotunda. His brother, Liam Shortis, was a Republican prisoner during the Irish Civil War, but was released in 1924 and became an eye specialist. Dr Liam Shortis died in the 1950s.



The pub on the corner of Main Street and Cliff Road in Ballybunion was renovated around 1930, and a render pilaster pub-front was inserted at the ground floor. The pub was extended to the rear to north in late 20th century, with the addition of a single-bay, single-storey flat-roofed return that has a dormer attic added. The shopfront has pilasters, decorative consoles and modillion cornice, and the painted rendered walls have decorative panels at the east gable end.



Today, the bar is also known as the Bunker Lounge, which is appropriate considering the role of William Shortis in founding the Ballybunion Golf Club around the same time as he was building his pub and shop.



A cut-stone plaque on the corner of this building reads: ‘To the memory of Lt Patrick Shortis born here in 1895, killed in action in the Easter Rising, Dublin 1916, erected by the No 7 Kerry Republican Soldiers Memorial Committee, 1966.’ 

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Crossword Poems



I love poems and I love crosswords so, when I recently saw a book entitled Crossword Poems in one of my favourite shops, Second Time Around, Upper William St., Listowel I was intrigued.

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

Old Time is still a flying

And that same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow may be dying.

This is an example of a crossword poem. 

Apparently in the years before WW2 British schoolchildren all followed a common course in English, so there was a corpus of poetry known to every child. The compiler of The Times crossword always had one clue that was a line from one of these well known poems with a word omitted.

People had a kind of sentimental attachment to these poems and in 2000, the people at Parsimony Press published an anthology of the well loved poems under the title

 Crossword Poems.

Here is another one;

The Lady Mary Villiers lies

Under this stone with weeping eyes.

The parents that first gave her birth,

And their sad friends laid her in earth,

If any of them, Reader, were

Known unto thee, shed a tear;

Or if thyself possess a gem

As dear to thee, as this to them,

Though a stranger to this place,

Bewail in theirs thine own hard case;

For thou perhaps at thy return

May’st find they darling in an urn.

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Mike and Marie Moriarty were in Vietnam





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Coursing Photo from the 1960s




You’ll have to help me with the names

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Storm Fionn at Skellig



Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan on Twitter

Athea in the time of Cromwell and Now


Godwits at Blennerville in November 2017


Photo by Chris Grayson

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Knitwits in Scribes


Brigita Formaliene, the new proprietor of Scribes in Church Street, did not forget her friends when she reconfigured the seating in her new café. She put Knitwits centre stage in a cozy intimate location.

Our numbers were down on Saturday January 13 when i took my photo but there will be plenty of room for us all when we are all back from our holidays and winter breaks.

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A New Book of Newcastlewest History


My friend, Vincent Carmody, gave me a present of a lovely book last week.

Newcastlewest in close up is a sister publication to Vincent’s splendid, Listowel, Snapshots of a Market Town. It is full of old photos, billheads, posters and history…another collector’s item.

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Athea in the 17th Century  (Continued)


as described in an account in The Kerry Reporter in 1933

.……During all this time (Penal Times in Ireland) the people were obliged to hear Mass secretly and by stealth, for if anybody was discovered openly exercising his religion, they were ruthlessly slaughtered on the spot. After some time, however, when the rigours of the penal laws abated somewhat. Bishop De Lacy managed to have a modest church put on that piece of ground where the national schools were afterwards erected. Up to this period, and ever since the burning down of the old church in Temple Athea, many years before, Mass was usually celebrated in the cave or hollow in Colbert’s Hill, where a Mission cross now stands. Particular place was selected for the celebration of Divine Service, this sheltered position protected the Mass candles, and its elevation prevented the priest hunter from stealing unawares on the congregation. The church which Bishop De Lacy put up on the site lately occupied by the old schoolhouse continued to serve the people as a place of worship until the present very fine structure was put up in 1864. Bishop De Lacy’s remains were interred in a tomb in the churchyard at Ardagh. Portion of the slab which guards the entrance to the tomb has been broken for many years, and through the aperture thus formed it is possible to see the coffin which encloses all that Is mortal of this, sainted and patriotic churchman.

Athea’s fairy trail is in a wooded area beside Con Colbert Memorial Hall. The signs are all first as Gaeilge and then in English

In Bishop De Lacy’s time, the people of Athea spoke only Irish, and it was this language that prevailed amongst them nearly right up to the middle of the last century. The village at the time was a very different place to what it is now, consisting as it did for the most part of a number of isolated thatched buildings, and shops, as we understand them at the present time, did not exist in the place. In the Gaelic tongue the name of Athea signifies the “ford of the mountains.” As already stated, in former days the Gale must have been a much larger stream than it is today, and this appellation means that people were able to get across it at Athea without undergoing the risk of being swept away by the current.

Athea continued to be merely a collection of thatched houses until about the middle of the last century, when better and more pretentious buildings began to make their appearance, and gradually the place began to assume its present neat and somewhat picturesque appearance. The village is situated, as it were, in the lap of the mountains and lies at the base of a range of low, purple hued hills. During the past quarter of a century It has grown considerably in size and is now a place of considerable business importance in the district. Athea possesses concreted streets and asphalted footwalks, and has in addition, an abundant water supply. The houses and shops are well built, and there Is a plentiful growth of timber about the village, which imparts to it a very pleasing and picturesque aspect.

 People who visit the Fairy Trail may leave their worries behind with Cróga, the brave fairy who takes on board everyone’s troubles.

 This footbridge runs beside the river and offers a great view of the native ducks and wild birds.

 To this day , the remains of the dense woodland of old can be seen around Athea.

One of Athea’s most famous families, the Ahern brothers is commemorated in this sculpture.

One of today’s most famous residents is Jim Dunn, whose stunning artwork is one of the main attractions in Athea today.

Christmas in Maine, Athea in the 17th Century and Library in Bridge Road

Rossbeigh, January 2018


Photo: Chris Grayson

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Christmas in Arizona and Maine




Patty Faley who is very proud of her Irish roots and is a frequent visitor to Listowel answered my call for news of how some blog followers spent Christmas 2017.

Here is what she wrote…

“John and I spent a wonderful Christmas in Mesa, Arizona with our son and his family. We took an evening walk around the neighborhood and took some pictures. A few day after the holiday, we flew home to Maine. We had to dig the car out of the snow around the parking spot and we have had over a foot of snow since then. It has been very cold since we returned with a temperature last night of -20°C. “


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Athea in the 17th. century



(Yesterday we learned that during the Cromwellian period in Ireland, Athea was relatively safe because its people were poor and its terrain virtually impenetrable.)


That English soldiery did pay occasional visits to the place, however, is certain. One summer day a body of troopers, under the command of a renegade Irishman, rode westwards from Rathkeale to Athea. At that time a church stood where the graveyard at Temple Athea is now situated, and it was in this building that the people for miles around used to attend divine worship. As can be seen from the ruins, the walls of this structure were of stone, but it appears the roof was of thatch. On seeing the approach of the troopers, a number of people fled for safety to the shelter of the sacred edifice, and perceiving this, the officer ordered the door to be fastened on the outside and the building put on fire.

The crucifix at the graveyard at Temple Athea as it is today

This appalling and barbarous crime, the commission of which is regarded as authentic, was of frequent occurrence in those evil days throughout the land, and it serves to furnish us with a sad illustration of the savage methods adopted in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The people were without a church for a long period after this, for during the penal laws the celebration of Holy Mass, or attendance thereat, was regarded as a crime, punishable by death. In the Iong years that ensued after the death of Cromwell, when priests were hunted like wolves and had a price put on their heads, the people of Athea heard Mass in glens and woods.

The affable Fr. Bohan whom I met with my granddaughters in 2016 when i visited the church at Athea.

During this woeful period of our country’s history, it is known that nunbers of youths were quietly sent abroad to be educated for the priesthood. When these were ordained, they returned secretly to Ireland to minister to the spiritual needs of the poor people at home. Among them was the son of a lady named de Lacy, who resided near Bruff. This lady, who was a widow, owned considerable property in Eastern County Limerick, but on account of her faith she was obliged to abandon everything and flee with her life to Athea, where she found refuge in an humble hut in Coole or Knocknaboul.

Eventually, this lady’s only son was ordained priest abroad, and after the lapse of some time, owing to his great sanctity and talents, he was created Bishop. Bishop de Lacy then returned to Ireland, where he took up his residence in the humble home of his mother, from whence he looked after the spiritual interests of his scattered flock and discharged the duties appertaining to his sacred office.

(Continued tomorrow)



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Saturday, January 13 2018



This group of fair ladies were gathered at Garveys for their Saturday morning walk.

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Correction



Last week when I posted Barry O’Halloran’s photo of The Dandy Lodge I said that it had once been a library.  

Not so according to Vincent Carmody’s Snapshots of Listowel in he 1850 to the 1950s

The library was further up the street where the Tyre Centre is now.


Sarasota, Athea and a Listowel player who nearly made the Kerry team

Rossbeigh, Co. Kerry


Photo: Chris Grayson

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Christmas in Sarasota


If you remember, before Christmas I asked people to tell me where they were spending Christmas. Well!!!! the response was poor. So I am really grateful to the people who took the time to send me photos or greetings from far or near. The rest of you are on the naughty list.

Pat del Savio lives in Sarasota in Florida. She sent me these photos of Christmas in her part of the world, complete with ice skating rink, Santa’s sleigh  and light shows.

Sarasota is where the international rowing  competitions were held last year so the place will be familiar to the O’Donovan brothers. I dont think they follow the blog though.

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Athea- the origins of the village


 This is how this lovely little Co. Limerick village looks nowadays. I make a point of taking all of my visitors to see it. I assure you it is worth travelling to see. It has the best public art of any small town in Ireland. It has a great fairy trail, some lovely garden centres, one with a pet farm, lots of history, great music, floral displays to rival any tidy town winner, a quiet river with ducks which are fed regularly, a lovely church and best of all, friendly welcoming people.


This mural in Athea tells much of the recent history and mythology of the village in graphic form.

It was not always such a peaceful place.

Recently the North Kerry blog outlined some of Athea’s troubled past. 

This account comes from The Kerry Reporter, August 12 1933

During the 17th and 18th centuries, and also
throughout the earlier part of the 19th, the district around Athea was very
different to what it is to-day. In these days many places that are now green fields were then
covered by treacherous bogs or marshes, while the roadways were for the most
part, beaten paths, that usually became more or less impassable in winter.

The prevailing desolation was somewhat
relieved by stretches of woodland here and there, where fir, spruce and oak
grew profusely. There exists authentic records that at an earlier period still,
these woods extended in one unbroken chain as far as Adare, and there is ample
evidence to be found today in the plentiful growth of timber which exists
around Ardagh, Rathkeale and Ballingran, that there is good grounds for this
belief.  The river Gale, which rises in
the Rooska hills and flows westwards through Athea, must have been a
considerably larger stream in those days, owing to the surrounding country not
being then drained, and it can be easily imagined that devastating floods must
have been of frequent occurrence.

When Cromwell marched through Ireland in
1649-50, with fire and sword, ruthlessly slaughtering men, women and children, numbers
of fugitives found refuge from his barbarity in the Athea district! Owing to
the absence of roadways proper, the country about Athea was isolated to a great
extent during this period, and for a long time afterwards, so that it was only
with considerable difficulty the heavily armed and accoutred troopers could
manage to reach the place. For these reasons many of the inhabitants of the
place, as well as those who found refuge therein, succeeded in escaping the
general slaughter. Another factor which, no doubt, contributed to the safety of
the people living in that area at the time, was that the surrounding country
was too wild and unproductive, and the people themselves too poor, to tempt the
cupidity or rapacity of any of the regicide’s followers.

More tomorrow…..

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Micko….the Listowel Connection



After last week’s great TV documentary on the legend that is Micko O’Dwyer, loads of other Micko stories are surfacing on the internet.



My favourite is this one which appeared on Joe.ie and it  concerns our own Pat Healy as told in his own words:



Healy:


Listowel were playing in a Northleague final in Ballylongford back in the 80s and I had a stormer from wing-back.

Got about 3-3, and we won, beat Duagh. On the Monday we were down in Tim Kennelly’s pub, well on it, and Horse [Tim Kennelly] beckoned me over and said ‘You should be in with Kerry, someone should ring Dwyer about you’.

Of course, I was enthralled and before I gathered myself I was shoving 20 pence into the phone box out the back of the pub, ringing Waterville.

‘Mr O’Dwyer, it’s Pat Healy here from Listowel. We won a North Kerry final yesterday and Tim Kennelly suggested I give you a ring’. ‘About what?’, says Micko.

‘About myself, and maybe I should be on the Kerry team at this stage?’

‘And how did you get on?’, queries Dwyer.

‘Ah very good Micko. I got 3-3 storming forward from wingback, the lads here reckon I could do a job for Kerry’.

‘And who were ye playing?’

‘Duagh, Micko’.

‘Well I’ll tell you what’, growls Dwyer, ‘the next time Kerry are playing Duagh I’ll give you a call’, and the phone dies.

‘I went back into the bar and of course the whole lot of them were falling around the counter, bursting their holes laughing’.

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