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

An Old Song by a Listowel Man

By

On May 29, 2024

In Festivals, Listowel, Poem

Fitzpatrick’s, Church Street

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A Listowel Balladeer

Tim McCrohan’s grandfather kept faith with his literary roots and penned this ballad.

MyTrueIrishMaiden-1904-draggedDownload

Tim wrote;

Thought I’d pass along this Irish Ballad which was written by my grandfather, James McCrohan, in 1904. He was born in Coolkeragh township in 1865 to Edmund and Mary (Buckley) McCrohan. The family later lived in Listowel.

We’re not sure if there was a young woman at the time who was his inspiration for the song (because he didn’t marry for the first time until many years later.)

Timothy McCrohan

Tim sent me the sheet music and Dave O’Sullivan extracted the lyrics for us.

My true Irish Maiden

1

In a lovely thatched cot lives a sweet Irish maid.

In far away Ireland which wide branches shade.

Where the robin sings gaily and mad waters roar

The fond spot I met you my darling, ‘astore’

Oh Kathleen Mavourneen

My own ‘Coleen Rhu’

Your sweet sunny smiles love and bright eyes of blue.

And your golden ringlets I fondled with care

My true Irish maiden there’s none half as fair.

Chorus:

For she is my own Irish maid

With smiles so charming and rare

And bright eyes of blue so faithful and true

I love you my own

My own, I love you.

2

In the mossy green dell where the woodbines entwine

I looked in your eyes love so true and divine.

And I kissed your fond lips like dew drops so bright

My true Irish maiden my fond heart’s delight.

Oh Cushla mavourneen, my sweet Irish bride

Sure happy I’ll be love with you by my side.

And true as the stars love in heaven’s fair sky

My true Irish maiden I will love till I die.

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Róisín Meaney in the library

Make a window in your packed schedule to bring the smallies to the library for this popular local writer’s event.

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A Lament

I took this from Maurice O’Mahony’s great book, A History of Coolard National School.

The poem is addressed to Dolly Dowling, who died in the US and whose remains were brought home by air. She is buried in Galey Cemetery. Dolly, whose real name was Nora, was a pupil of Coolard in 1904. Her grandfather, John Neligan, was a principal of the school.

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A Kerry Journalist

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A Poem

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Opening Night

Tonight is opening night of Listowel Writers’ Week 2024. I’ll be there. I read in the programme that there is ban on recording, but I’ll see if I can grab a few pictures for you.

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A Fact

There is a satirical publication called The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. I picked up a copy in the swap box in the library. It is hilarious.

Here is an example of a definition;

Clairvoyant; A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron – namely, that he is a blockhead.

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Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

By

On May 28, 2024

In Listowel, Personal, Poem, Schools

Horse chestnut tree at the entrance to Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail

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I Love Brendan O’Connor’s Writing

From last Sunday’s Independent

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Maytime

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Crazy Hair Parade

Presentation Primary School marched through town last Thursday with their hair in every kind of crazy style. It was a great laugh and raised a few euros for the school.

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Graduation Day

Sometimes I feel very old….. My boyeens who featured here so often on their many trips to the Kingdom are all grown up. Here they are with their emotional parents as they finish secondary school and prepare to head out on a new adventure.

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McCrohan’s of 15 Main Street

This is the Kennedy home today. It was here that the last of the Listowel McCrohan’s spent his last days in the care of Dr. Johnny Walsh.

This is how it looked in 1983 when Tim and Karen visited Listowel.

No. 15 Main Street is where the McCrohan family lived.

This is how No 15 looks today.

It was Larkin’s in 1983

Look at how much more beautiful it is now, embellished by the superb paintwork of Martin Chute.

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Changes afoot

This premises, the former ESB office, has had this enormous window installed. I don’t know what is going in there but I’ll tell you as soon as I know.

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A Fact

All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found in a litter of 12 in Syria in 1930.

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Vote for Ard Chúram

By

On May 27, 2024

In Listowel, Listowel Writers Week, Personal

David Kissane’s picture of The Hill in Lacca, Lisselton in May 2024

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Tim McCrohan’s Visit

Tim McCrohan visited Listowel on his honeymoon in 1983 and he got a Céad Mile Fáilte from Dr. Johnny Walsh.

He writes;

Hello Mary, 

Yes…so THANKFUL you were able to forward my message on to her (Eleanor). As I previously wrote, when we visited Listowel to search for some family gravesites during our honeymoon back in 1983, we met with Dr. Walsh (who had cared for my uncle when he resided at a local nursing home in 1955.) Because we were in the U.S. and had no other family there to bury him when he passed, my dad had sent Dr. Walsh monies to bury his uncle after he passed away in 1955. My dad had never been able to visit the town where his own father was born, so when we honeymooned in Ireland, we took a day trip to see if we could locate the gravesite or even the Dr who took care of my uncle.  It was a long shot, as the last contact our family had with the Dr was almost 30 years previous. To our surprise, we did locate Dr. Walsh’s office who, when we introduced ourselves, closed his practice and took us around the town. (I share my uncle’s (who he cared for and buried) same name (Timothy McCrohan), so he immediately recognized it when I introduced myself.)  During the visit throughout the town, he said our family home was at 15 Main Street. They would have lived there in the late 1850s/1870s. At the time of our visit, it was then the DJ Larkin Building, next to the Spinning Wheel Restaurant.  He also took us by the Kennedy Nursing Home (or what was formerly known as, “Greenlawn” Nursing home back in the late 1940’s/1950’s.) which was owned/operated by Dr. Walsh. According to his daughter, Eleanor (Walsh) Belcher, (who we subsequently connected with via your site) he set up the nursing home in 1948.  She would, on occasion, visit there with him when she was a young girl, so she felt it was likely she may have even met my uncle during one of those visits when he resided there in 1955. I’ve attached a few pics of our visit back then of the Kennedy Nursing Home (Church Street), Dr. John Walsh’s office (26, The Square) and the DJ Larkin Building (15 Main Street) (upper loft would have been our family’s residence back in the 1850/60’s). As I previously relayed to you, Dr. Walsh knew exactly where my uncle had been laid to rest (because he took care of the entire burial for our family) so he took us to see it.  What a wonderful surprise it was to meet Dr. Walsh, visit my Uncle’s gravesite, and to see and learn about the town of Listowel.  We were so grateful! 

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying reading all the various blogs from your site, which gives me great insight to the town my family was from. 

Thank you again!

(Another McCrohan story tomorrow)

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Forget Bilocation. You’ll need Trilocation

There is so much on in Listowel on the June Holiday Weekend 2024 that visitors will be spoilt for choice.

Of course there is The Races.

Then this;

St. John’s has a packed programme of events for young and old.

And, of course, Writers’ Week

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Your Vital Vote

AIB is giving away big money to local charities all over Ireland. Charities get a one off chance to apply so it is important that we pull out all the stops to get them as much as we can on the first (and only) time of asking.

Ard Churam is a vital local service, keeping our valued older people cared for. Because many of the older people who use the service were born before the digital age, it is really important that we, who are more tech savvy, get them this sorely needed cash.

The charity number is really important. The name of the charity, Ard Churam is in Irish so be careful auto correct doesn’t change it to Are Charm.

Registered Charity Number| 20068417

Here is the link:

Ard Churam

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Very Proud Nana

This is Cora in her Munster kit for her trip to The Aviva in Dublin for the All Ireland final of the schools’ soccer 5’s on Wednesday.

Last week she won Sciath na Scol camogie with her school, Gaelscoil Uí Riordáin.

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A Fact

Mount Everest sank one inch due to the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

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Emigrants and Descendants of Emigrants

By

On May 24, 2024

In Ballybunion, Listowel, Schools

Bill Clinton statue in Ballybunion, May 2024.

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A Returned Emigrant and friends

Many of Nora Griffin’s classmates are scattered around the globe. She probably meets more of them in New York, where she lives, than in Listowel, when she returns home. But she took the opportunity on this visit to have meal out with her lovely, mom, Mary, and her old school friends, Siobhán Brassil and Linda Grimes.

Nora caught up with Sheila Scanlon as well.

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North Kerry Themed Schools’ Show

The curtain call for a the talented young people who entertained us on Monday. I was at the first of their two shows. It was an honour to be part of this project.

Below are some of the visual art works created during the project. We saw paintings, drawings, pottery and sculpture.

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A Man with a Listowel Connection

Tim McCrohan send us this email from Florida;

Hello Mary, 

I came across your website, while I was searching for some history of my grandfather, James J. McCrohan Sr., whose family grew up in Listowel.  

My wife and I visited there in June 1983.  For a bit of history, my father, James J. McCrohan, Jr was an only child (born in Syracuse, NY) after his father emigrated to the US sometime in the late 1800s.  My grandfather came from a family of 8 children (who lived in Listowel), one of which was Timothy F. McCrohan ( who I am named after).  

I wanted to share a story with you about Dr. John Walsh. For some history, we know that my uncle (Timothy McCrohan) was cared for Dr. Walsh during his last year of life.  He was cared for at a nursing home back in 1955, which was called the Kennedy Private Nursing Home, I believe. When he died in 1955, my father sent some money for his burial. With that information, we set out to visit Listowel for the day, (while on a tour of Ireland for our honeymoon in June, 1983). 

Upon arriving in Listowel via bus, we searched for and found Dr. Walsh’s office. We knocked on the door and when I introduced myself as ‘Timothy McCrohan”, his jaw dropped as if he’d seen a ghost.  He immediately told me he knew my Uncle well and explained how he had cared for him during the last year of his life. The sweet man then closed his practice and insisted upon taking us around Listowel to share where our family lived and then to where my uncle was buried. He shared with us a story about when his own time was to to come, he wanted to be buried on a hill under a tree in the same cemetery.  Not sure if this ever happened, but I wanted to tell you that we were so comforted and appreciative that he took the time to share with us the history of our family who grew up in Listowel.  Every time we talk about our Ireland adventure to people, we always focus on how nice the people there are/were, and especially we relay the story of Dr. Walsh who closed his practice the day we visited there.  We hope that he ultimately received his wish to be buried in the place he discussed, because he was certainly a gentleman. Here is a picture from June 1983, we have of him. 

Thanks for sharing your website with us

Tim and Karen McCrohan

Jacksonville, Florida

I forwarded the email and the photo to Eleanor, Dr. Johnny Walsh’s daughter and she shared it with the family and she wrote back to Tim.

Here is Eleanor’s reply;

Mary, 

Thank you so much. Brought tears to my eyes! Dad’s nursing home was called ‘Greenlawn’. He didn’t sell it until 1961 when it became the Kennedy. I used to go with Dad as a child and it had this extraordinary Nissan hut  out the back where there were patients! 

I will email Tim McCrohan 

Your blog is amazing at keeping people in touch, keep up the good work! 

Eleanor x

( more on this story next week)

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A Fact

Denmark’s current flag design was first used in 1219. No other modern country has used the same flag design for so long.

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Signs and Wonders

By

On May 23, 2024

In Listowel, Listowel Writers Week, Schools

Red Sky at Night, taken from my front door

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Wrong in so many Ways

This is Mick Wallace’s lone poster in a town where every other candidate has respected the agreement to keep Listowel free of posters.

The poster is big and the image is sinister looking. It arrogantly presumes that everyone will recognise the surname.

This particular corner of town has a lovely little wildflower bed.

There amidst the poppies, the daisies and the marsh marigolds is this.

I have recently visited Ballincollig where they don’t have a no postering agreement and every possible vantage point is polluted with images of candidates.

Cora under one of the poles on Carriganarra Road. Every pole has two, three or even four posters.

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An Old Sign

This old sign was shared on a Newmarket Memories Group on Facebook. The distances measured in miles and half miles are a throwback to another era.

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Local People lead Great Free Walking Tours at Writers’ Week 2024

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More from Monday’s Schools’ Show

The talent on the stage at the two Listowel themed concerts on Monday, May 20 2024 was exceptional and heart warming.

Here are just a few of the talented artists from the participating schools.

These girls introduced the show and set the tone for a spectacular variety of entertainment.

It was lovely to hear the young people singing all the local songs. This young girl gave us a superb rendition of Bryan MacMahon’s My Silver River Feale.

These are just a few of the many talented singers who regaled us.

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A Fact

“Lucy Lockett lost her pocket

Kitty Fisher found it….”

How could someone lose her pocket?

Answer; In the 17th and 18th century, a pocket was actually a piece of material fashioned into a pouch that ladies wore tied with cords around their waists. These ‘pockets’ were accessed through slits in skirts and petticoats. Because they carried everything in them, the strings sometimes came undone and the pocket was mislaid.

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