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

Church St., Poverty in Kerry in 1898 and The Manly Barber on Charles Street

Church St. Listowel Sunday August 14 2016

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Now and Then




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When Times were Hard



Kerry Sentinel  Wednesday, February 16, 1898

FLAVIN, M.P.

Speaking on the distress in Kerry on Friday night, Mr. Flavin said he did not desire to needlessly prolong the debate, but at the same time he might say that he had little hope of obtaining anything like generous treatment or anything in the nature of a remedy from the Chief Secretary (hear, hear). 

He had made complaints before about the condition of the poor people, and he received no response from the Chief Secretary. He appealed to the right hon. gentleman last year at a time when most of the labouring population in the Listowel Union were in want of work, but nothing came of it. They were told to fall back upon the union for relief. But the fact was that the poor rates now in the Listowel Union were as much as 15s. in the pound, and the ratepayers could not bear any additional burden. 

Unless the Government stepped in to prevent it, there would be great distress in Kerry. There were no seed potatoes and no seed oats, and what seed there was in Kerry and Munster had come from the North of Ireland and from Scotland. So long as the Chief Secretary preferred the statements of his own inspectors to even those of the landlords in Kerry, and the representatives of the people, there was little hope of anything of a beneficial character being done for the people of the poorer districts (hear, hear)

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I Met him on William St.



Pat Walsh favours pedal power. Pat was cycling before it became a fashionable means of transport.

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Manctuary is now The Manly Barber


This shop has pinned its colours to the mast. In case there was any doubt; It is now clearly men only.

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Strange Things in the Sea off Kerry this year


First it was jellyfish, now this is reported in Afloat Magazine

A miniature unmanned
sailing boat has been reported off the Kerry coast after nearly three years in
the North Atlantic.

The boat, named
West, is part of the Educational Passages project
by the Middle
School of Westbrook in Maine, USA and is one of five boats the Sebago School
Alliance sent out in the autumn and winter of 2013-14.

West was launched off
Georges Bank along with one other boat by Bro Cote, a lobsterman out of
Hyannis, Massachusetts. Several others were launched about the same time off
the Mid-East coast of the United States and off the Canary Islands for the marine science
project.

“We had hoped the boat
would make the complete circle of the Atlantic Ocean. It has and then some,”
say the project organsiers about West, which has been spotted 32 nautical miles
from the Kerry coastline.

West could arrive in
the Kerry area over the next few days or, depending upon weather conditions,
may go further northwards towards the Galway coast.

Previously West made
landfall in November 2014 when it crashed on rocks in rough seas off Portugal,
where it was recovered by local authorities and repaired with the help of local
companies and relaunched from Lisbon in June last year.

Four months later, it
was recovered entering the Mediterranean, refurbished again and put on a cargo
ship to Madeira and relaunched from there on 28 January this year.

The project
co-ordinators have asked for assistance to help rescue the boat when it arrives
in the coming days

“It would be great if
the boat could be recovered at sea or shortly after landing to avoid
damage.”

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Coming Soon to a small screen in your living room

Gerard Barrett’s Smalltown promises to be one of those close to the bone series. It will be the rural equivalent of Love Hate, holding the mirror up to  aspects of today’s Ireland we may all recognise.

I heard about Smalltown first from Fr. Pat Moore who wrote about it in his very thought provoking blog. Read it here:  Strength within, Support without

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Knockanure Vintage Day 2016


Knockanure Local went to the vintage day and here are his photos

https://youtu.be/VMO4E7ig-Vg

Charles St., gymnastics and a few changes in town

Picture Perfect on Charles Street

Winter or summer, always one of the most picturesque houses in Listowel.

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You’d Miss the Olympics




The Olympics is that time every four years when we all become experts on sports we know little or nothing about. My granddaughters are gymnastics mad and Aisling (above) has it as her ambition to represent Ireland in the future. After all, the Olympic dream came true for Gary and Paul O’Donovan.

Just remember, you heard it here first.

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Then and Now




 Today

2005

This premises has undergone many changes of ownership. Today it is Lizzy’s little Kitchen.


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Still Going Strong


This is the United Beach Mission. They are a feature of summers in Ballybunion for years. There cheerful, happy clappy presence has brightened up many a dull day on the beach.

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Heritage Week 2016…A Highlight


The role of Kerry women in the 1916 Rising

Lecture by Dr. Mary McAuliffe on the role of Kerry Women in the Rising 100 years ago.

Venue: Seanchai Centre, Seanchai Listowel

Cost: Free

Organiser: OPW & Seanchai CentreEmail: listowelcastle@opw.ie
Telephone: 0863857201
Booking Required: No
Dates: 23rd August 19:30 PM to 21:00 PM

All Welcome

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New stamps to feature some Beautiful Irish Shopfronts



Photo: an Post


Sonny Bill – An update from his new home; August 20 2016

The Road to the Horse of the Year Show


My birth surname is Ahern. In Irish it is Eachtigheirn, from each + tiarna which translates literally as “Lord of the Horse”. This family association with horses is definitely manifest in my brother, Pat, and his daughter, my niece, Elizabeth. They are at their happiest in the company of horses.

Elizabeth breakfasting with her beloved horses

They love all animals and there are always some cats and dogs about the place.

Everyone’s favourite….Freddy Ahern

Dinny

The late Rosie

Screech’s kitten

But it is horses who are their first and last love.

Elizabeth hunting with the Duhallows.

Whenever I visit home there is often a horse peering over some door, or a farrier, vet or horse physio visiting.

The farrier is a regular visitor. Above he is shoeing Sonny Bill in summer 2014.

 Pat leading a horse to pasture

Another fellow peeps out, curious to see what is going on.

An early picture of Pat, on the left, on horseback

Pat and Elizabeth, under their brand EPA have had some moderate success buying and selling horses. They are a good partnership at training horses in the early stages of their careers in the ring.

Far and away their greatest success so far has come with their show horse, Sonny Bill.

Sonny Bill learning to follow without a lead rein

Getting him used to traffic noise he will encounter on the road

From day one Sonny Bill loved to work and learn new skills.

Elizabeth and Pat bought this horse as a foal from Breda Stud where both his mother and father live. Pat and Elizabeth spotted his potential from an early age and put  a lot of work into him to bring him to a certain stage. He now needed  expert help to get him ready for showing.

Enter Matt and Joanna Jones. 

On one of the wettest days of summer 2015 Sonny Bill, ridden by Joanna Jones, began his showing career at The Kingdom County Fair in Tralee. He didn’t win on his first day out but it was to be the only day showing in 2015 when he didn’t come home with a rosette.

Due to ill health, Joanna couldn’t ride him for the rest of 2015.

He formed a new partnership with Felicity Ward.

 Winning in New Castle West

Felicity and Sonny Bill at the RDS

Second in the RDS, Summer 2015

It’s 2016 and Joanna is well again. She and Sonny Bill win all round them.

The only stop to his gallop was the Dublin Horse Show, where he had a Michael Conlon moment when the judges overlooked his obvious merits  for a prize.

 By then he was already sold to his new forever home in the U.K.

Now comes the 21st century fairytale part. This is a story of social media and internet dating as Sonny Bill finds a new lady who loves him as much as (or maybe a teensy bit more than) Elizabeth does.

Before Sonny Bill,  EPA had a successful horse, Mr. Riordan, whom they sold to a U.K buyer. He was sold again, this time to Sue Walker. Another avid horse woman, Jane Collins, who has her horses in Walker’s yard,  was looking for a horse and Sue put her touch with Elizabeth.  Sue had seen Sonny Bill on the internet and she thought he would be just the one for Jane. .Jane Collins and Elizabeth Ahern became cyber friends on Facebook and there she followed the exploits of Sonny Bill  and all his winning ways. She fell in  love with Sonny Bill and determined to buy him. Nigel, Sue Walker’s husband came to Ireland to make sure Sonny was everything he appeared to be on line. The deal was done.

In true internet dating fashion, Jane never met Sonny Bill in the flesh until he was bought and in the U.K. Then it was love at first sight.

Long story short;  Sonny Bill travelled to his new home in the U.K. immediately after the RDS.

On Saturday last, August 20 2016, at Ashbourne Show in Derbyshire, on only his second outing since settling in Britain, Sonny Bill won his class and was declared Standing Hunter Champion of the show. This qualifies him for The Horse of the Year Show in October of this year.

In this competition Sonny Bill will be ridden by Katie Jerram. She is one of Britain’s top riders. The picture of her above is from the June issue of Woman and Home illustrating an article about the three riders who ride the queen’s horses.

Katie Jerram on Sonny Bill at Ashbourne Show

Everyone in the family is delighted for everyone involved in this success story.

We’re all on our way to Birmingham for The Horse of the Year Show 2016 and who knows………..?

My grandniece, Jessica, on Sonny Bill

Horseshoes are thought to bring good luck, aren’t they?

(photo credits: Jim MacSweeney, Willie Nunan, Tony Quinlivan, Rebecca Collins, Elizabeth Ahern and myself)

Ballybunion, Old postcards, Liam Healy R.I.P. and Poetry and Roses

Ballybunion at Night              Photo by Bridget O’Connor

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A Wife or a Goat



Do you remember this old photo from last week?

An eagle eyed blog follower thought the cargo did not really look like a goat, so he did a bit of internet research. He found a colour version of the same postcard with the cargo identified not as livestock but as the farmer’s wife.

So Pat was in fact buying and not selling at all. He has his side rails on to transport home whatever farmyard animals he might purchase…quite likely pigs.

While he was researching this old postcard, Nicholas came across another interesting one.

This is what he says of this one:

“I also attach a postcard of a single? man going to the fair, but I fear that he is  only interested in the faction fight- he has his ‘dúidín’ in his gob and his  ‘Cleith ailpín’ under his oxter, well-seasoned in the chimney and in skull-cracking form!

(I hope the fair wasn’t too far away as that poor donkey looks very small to be carrying that big man any distance.)


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Liam Healy R.I.P.

While I was ill I missed lots of happenings in Listowel. I never got to pay my respects to a man I greatly admired, Liam Healy, gentleman photographer who passed away in July.


I took this photo of Liam in one of the places he loved best, The Island a.ka.a. Listowel Racecourse. Meeting Liam at the Races was always one of the highlights. Even though he was working, he always took time to chat to the punters on the wheelchair stand.

Here he is chatting to Jim Cogan and I can tell you one thing he is not doing. He is not giving him a tip.

Jim loved to meet Liam on the street. He was always good for a chat. He always had something interesting to say. I would love to think that they have met up above and are having a good natter.

Here Liam and his friend, Pat Walsh are reading my book. Liam was supremely complimentary, ignoring all the photographical mistakes and poorly composed shots.

When Liam did something, he did it to the best of his ability. His first and greatest achievement is his family. He was immensely proud of all of them and he revelled in the joy of having them all around him. He looked after them well all his life and they took great care of him when care was needed.

Liam took the photographs but he always saw the person he was photographing. It wasn’t just a job to him. His subjects became his friends. When I saw photographs of Liam Junior shouldering the coffin of J.T. McNamara just a few short weeks after his own father’s funeral, I knew that Liam had passed on the qualities of compassion and loyalty to the next generation.

Liam Healy did nothing by halves. When he grew roses he grew every possible variety in his garden in Ballygologue. When he collected souvenir pens he had hundreds in his collection. He loved old things and I often met him in a charity shop. One day I told him that I was in search of a child’s abacus. I had this great idea that it would be useful as a row counter when I was knitting. I had searched a few shops without success. Two days later Liam arrived at my door with an abacus that he had picked up in some shop or other in Tralee. This kindly act, so typical of Liam, brought the words of Wordsworth to mind; “the best portion of a good man’s life, his little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”

Liam Healy was one of Listowel’s most successful business men. He founded a business empire that other less humble men would be boasting about to anyone who would listen. Liam carried his success lightly. I feel honoured to have known him and it is with pride I call him friend.

May the sod rest lightly on his gentle soul.



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In Listowel’s Garden of Europe






Patrick Tarrant’s innovative sculpture of John B. Keane is looking really well now that all the green foliage has filled in the outline.

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Moses supposes his toeses are roses

But Moses supposes erroneously.



Do you remember this piece of doggerel from your childhood? Well, the organisers of The Rose of Tralee competition, have decided that poetry is old fashioned and not suitable as a party piece so the girls have been told that they are not allowed to recite this year.  “Bah humbug,” say I. Poetry is timeless. The good people in Listowel Writers’ Week are doing their best to promote poetry. To this end they have entered into a partnership with Irish Book Awards and this year Listowel Writers’ Week will be sponsoring a prize in a new category….poetry. Read all about it here 

Meanwhile the aforementioned Roses rolled into town on Thursday August 18 2016

They visited the Seanchaí, John B.s and The Lartigue. They had their lunch at The Horseshoe.


Rose of Tralee, Lisselton Cross, The Changing Face of Listowel and Glin Castle

Rattoo at Night





Photo: Bridget O’Connor



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Rose of Tralee 2016…a Listowel Connection

The place to be is Tralee this week.

My Aisling and Róisín posed outside the beautifully refurbished Rose Hotel on a recent visit to Tralee. This will be the centre of much of the action this week.

Strolling through the beautiful town park and speculating what it would be like to be a Rose. For the time being, the playground is more in their line

This is the the statue of William Mulchinock, who wrote the song, and his beloved, Mary O’Connor, the Rose who inspired the competition.

Now for the Listowel connection. The New York Rose is a Stack. Kristin Stack called to see Damien last week to establish her Stack credentials.

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Memories of Lisselton



The hard workers on the Ballydonoghue parish magazine committee posted this picture on Facebook in the hope that it would stir fond memories of Lisselton Cross long ago. One man remembered going to the cross to make a phone call . Do you remember when you had to some armed with an ass load of change and then hope that the recipient of your call was in? If not you could press button B to get your money back.  Happy days!

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Then and Now




Lower Church Street




Market Street

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Glin Castle


Photos; Forur Genealogy

The fate of Glin Castle has been the subject of a bit of speculation recently with reports that the new generation of Fitzgeralds were to take over and run the Castle as a boutique hotel.

Not to be, apparently, so the castle will be sold.

Ger Greaney of Forur Genealogy attended the recent open day at the castle and he posted these photos on Facebook.

AND

The same Ger. who took the above photos has just been named Person of the Month in the Limerick Leader. Earlier this year Ger. organised a 1916 commemorative event which involved a reenactment of a march to Glenquin Castle. It was a great success. Well done, Ger.

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