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

Sacred Heart Confraternity, The Galtymore and more from Stage 3 of the Rás

The Confraternity

When I was growing up in Co. Cork all the local men of standing in the parish belonged to the Sacred Heart Confraternity.  It was a kind of Freemasons for Catholics, all male, secretive and dedicated to “doing good works”. Once a month they had their meeting/prayer service/retreat on a Sunday evening. the church was divided into sections with a banner at the end of the seat where that section sat. I dont know what went on at these services but if it was anything like the sister society for women, The Sodality of Our Lady, it was just praying. The Sodality had a bit of a uniform…a blue cape which we made ourselves and we wore a veil.

The below photographs come from a Limerick website :

 Jubilee of The Confraternity 1928

Confraternity procession 1930

Confraternity banners on display in the Limerick City Museum

Fr. Connolly’s address to the confraternity in Limerick in 1951

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Remember this?

Photo by Patrick Casey, London

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In conjunction with the Rás there is a charity cycle taking place ahead of the actual race. These men and women are raising money for research into Breast Cancer. They hit town before the racing cyclists and they got a great reception.

Everywhere you looked there were cyclists, bicycles or cycling paraphenalia.

It warmed my heart to see Listowel cycling families out in force. I met the McCarron family, so many of whom have spent many happy hours on bikes.

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Jer took a video of the race going through Athea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNEs-FeDAU&feature=youtu.be

(more tomorrow)

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Charlotte  Greaney has just been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Nano Nagle Award at Presentation Secondary School ; an honour well deserved by this model teenager.

Ballybunion sunset: An Post Rás 2013

Who needs Las Vegas when we can see sunsets like this in Ballybunion?

All photos taken by Ballybunion Sea Angling on Friday last, May 17 2013

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Emigration is a topic that is never too far away from this blog. The Irish Times have a great blog called Generation Emigration. The following is a comment from Mari Fleming.

“Successful migrants integrate with the society in which they find themselves; they do not, these days, cluster together in ghettos maintaining a semblance of the culture of their original homeland. Witness the unsuccessful ‘multiculturalism’ in the UK, where communities of South Asians apply the cultural norms of India, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and never assimilate to the host culture. 7/7 was the result. 

Irish culture is not different enough from UK, Continental European, North American, Australian or New Zealand culture for any Irish person to have any difficulty assimilating – seeking out other members of the so-called ‘diaspora’ in these places is really not necessary or helpful at all. In fact, in the US, I went out of my way to avoid the descendants of previous Irish diasporas, who had stuck together in Irish ghettos and transmitted a romanticised, nationalistic image of Ireland through the generations. One of these ‘Irish’ once commented to me that I was ‘not really Irish’ as I didn’t speak with a sing-song accent and I worked in IT!  

Moving to another country for work in this globalised, connected world should be looked at as an opportunity for personal and professional development – not as an unfortunate wrench from an ideal way of life in the homeland – as the Irish Times seems to insist it is. The myth of the Irish Diaspora is about as relevant these days as the myth of the wandering Tribes of Israel.”

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For all of those people who love cycling, here is a great post from an Australian cycling blog.


The Beauty of cycling


Every so often, I’ll ride a recreational group ride. I love the camaraderie of cyclists, the talk, the last minute pumps of air, the clicking in, and the easy drifting out as a peloton. “I miss riding in a group,” I’ll think to myself.

The magic ends by mile 10. The group will surge, gap, and separate, only to regroup at every stop sign. I’ll hear fifteen repeated screams of “HOLE!” for every minor road imperfection. And then no mention of the actual hole. Some guy in front will set a PB for his 30 second pull. Wheels overlap, brakes are tapped, and some guy in the back will go across the yellow line and speed past the peloton for no apparent reason. A breakaway?!

I curse under my breath, remembering why I always ride with only a few friends. Doesn’t anyone else realize how dangerous this ride is? How bad it is for our reputation on the road? There are clear rules of ride etiquette, safety, and common sense. Does anyone here know the rules? Who is in charge?

But no one is in charge, and the chaotic group has no idea of how to ride together. As a bike lawyer, I get the complaints from irritated drivers, concerned police, controversy-seeking journalists, and injured cyclists. It needs to get better, but the obstacles are real:

First, everyone is an expert these days. The internet and a power meter do not replace 50,000 miles of experience, but try telling that to a fit forty year-old, new to cycling, on a $5000 bike. Or, god forbid, a triathlete. No one wants to be told what to do.

Second, the more experienced riders just want to drop the others and not be bothered. It is all about the workout, the ego boost, or riding with a subset of friends. But a group ride is neither a race nor cycling Darwinism. As riders get better, they seek to distinguish themselves by riding faster on more trendy bikes; but as riders get better they need to realize two things: 1) there is always someone faster, and 2) they have obligations as leaders. Cycling is not a never ending ladder, each step aspiring upwards, casting aspersions down. It is a club, and we should want to expand and improve our membership.

Third, different rides are advertised by average speed, but speed is only one part of the equation. This approach makes speed the sole metric for judging a cyclist, and creates the false impression that a fit rider is a good one. Almost anyone can be somewhat fast on a bike, but few learn to be elegant, graceful cyclists.

Fourth, riding a bike well requires technique training. Good swimmers, for example, constantly work on form and drills; so should cyclists. Anyone remember the C.O.N.I. Manual or Eddie Borysewich’s book? They are out-of-print, but their traditional approach to bike technique should not be lost. More emphasis was given on fluid pedaling and bike handling.

Before the internet, before custom bikes, and before Lance, it was done better. Learning to ride was an apprenticeship. The goal was to become a member of the peloton, not merely a guy who is sort of fast on a bike. Membership was the point, not to be the local Cat. 5 champ. You were invited to go on group ride if you showed a interest and a willingness to learn. You were uninvited if you did not. You learned the skills from directly from the leader, who took an interest in riding next to you on your first rides (and not next to his friends, like better riders do today). Here is some of what you learned:

– To ride for months each year in the small ring.

– To take your cycling shorts off immediately after a ride.

– To start with a humble bike, probably used.

– To pull without surging.

– To run rotating pace line drills and flick others through.

– To form an echelon.

– To ride through the top of a climb.

– To hold your line in a corner.

– To stand up smoothly and not throw your bike back.

– To give the person ahead of you on a climb a little more room to stand up.

– To respect the yellow line rule.

– To point out significant road problems.

– To brake less, especially in a pace line.

– To follow the wheel in front and not overlap.

The ride leader and his lieutenants were serious about their roles, because the safety of the group depended on you, the weakest link. If you did not follow the rules, you were chastised. Harshly. If you did, you became a member of something spectacular. The Peloton.

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The sad reality of summer 2013 so far

Farmers queue for hay at the creamery. The line of farmers waiting to buy hay from France stretched all the way down The avenue on one day last week.

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Remember this?

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Yesterday May 21 2013 we all shut up shop for a couple of hours.

The band played on

And we all became green clad cycling groupies.

I was there with my camera and  I will bring you the whole story in the next few days. But for today I  will just share the local story as shot by a real photographer, John Kelliher.

Eugene Moriarty and his dad  and our own local postmistress on the podium with the yellow jersey winner.

An Post Rás 2013 in Listowel and an appeal for information on Browns

A friend took this lovely photo of the cherry tree lined drive near Killarney House.

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Eily Walshe from Ballybunion is looking for help with this branch of her family tree. She thinks that one of this family was a state solicitor or judge.

1.    Ellen Walshwas born
1855 in Meenanare, Duagh (twin sister of Sean Rua Walsh of Knockaclare) She
marriedDaniel Brown, son ofJohn Brown, in 1879
in Lixnaw her parish church as the family had moved to Knckaclare.  She lived in Listowel with Daniel her
husband. Daniel also had a brother Robert and I believe they were from
Listowel.

Children ofEllen Brown [Walsh]andDaniel Brown

i.

2.

Johanna Brownwas born
in 1880 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

ii.

3.

Ann Brownwas born
in 1882 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

iii.

4.

John Brownwas born
in 1884 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

iv.

5.

Margaret Matilda
Brown
was born in 1886 in Listowel, Co
Kerry and died on an unknown date.

v.

6.

Ellen Brownwas born
in 1887 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

vi.

7.

Edward Brownwas born
in 1889 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

vii.

8.

Mary Gertrude
Brown
was born in 1890 in Listowel, Co
Kerry and died on an unknown date.

viii.

9.

Christina Brownwas born
in 1893 in Listowel, Co Kerry and died on an unknown date.

ix.

10.

Daniel Joseph
Brown
was born in 1895 in Listowel, Co
Kerry and died on an unknown date.

x.

11.

Michael Francis
Brown
was born in 1897 in Listowel, Co
Kerry and died on an unknown date.

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Today is THE day

Here are some more of the children’s posters

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Digging up the streets again.

Road works in Charles St. and Upper William St.

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The Listowel Military Tattoo organisers travelled to The Curragh to do a bit of research.

newborn chicks, Bromore now and Ireland long ago,

The Ballyduff chicks are getting big. The 7 chicks are of 3 different breeds. Isn’t mother hen lovely too?

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Bromore

One of the beautiful North Kerry walks at any time of year is that along by Bromore Cliffs in Ballybunion. My Facebook friend in Ballybunion Sea Angling took these lovely photos of primroses, daisies, seapinks and vetch last week. We, in North Kerry are so, so blessed.

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19th century travel writers write about  Ireland

” A hundred beggars gathered as usual around the carriage. What was new to me were the small wooden bowls on long sticks which they passed into the carriage like collection bags to reach the solicited pennies more comfortably.”

Listowel 1828 as described by Hermann Von Puckler-Muskau.

I read this in an article by Manchán Magan who is descended from the O’Rahilly family of The Square Listowel. Manchán is himself a travel writer and was warning any keyboard warriors who might be tempted to post a bad review on Tripadviser to consider how it might look in 200 years time.

Philip Nemnich wrote this about The Liberties area of Dublin in1806

“The condition of the houses and streets is indescribably revolting; both assail the nostrils and the eye in the most obnoxious manner by their filth. But what exceeds all this are the people who inhabit them. More hideous creatures are hardly imaginable either in phsyiognomy or dress, which I do not dare to describe.”‘

Manchán says that these accounts were “not meant to belittle us, but to express outrage at what the English had done to us.” They make for difficult reading even from a distance of 200 years.

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The very poignant cover of Harpers Weekly 1850; Mother Ireland sheltering her hungry children as she waves a banner that says “Help us, we are starving.” The coffin ships carrying the “lucky” ones are steaming away from the shore and in the background we can see the ghostly figure of death hovering over the hoards of misfortunate souls waiting for rescue. I notice that the harp is cast aside. It is said that during The Famine “even the birds were silent.”

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In the Limerick Workhouse
in 1906, the weekly diet for an Infirm Male was:

For breakfast each day:

8oz Bread and 1 pint Tea.

For dinner on a Sunday,
Tuesday, Thursday:

8oz Bread, 4oz Meat &
Soup.

For dinner on Monday,
Wednesday, Saturday:

3lb potatoes, 1 pint of
milk.

For dinner on Friday:

8oz Bread and 1 pint of
milk.

For supper each day:

8oz Bread, 1pint of
coffee.

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NKRO posted this recent photo of Mary Keane with friends, Joan Stack, Maura McConnell, Myra O’Shea and Frank McNerney enjoying a cuppa in John B.’s

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Tomorrow is a big day in town as An Rás finishes in Market Street around 2.00p.m. In preparation for the event, shopkeepers and school children have been decorating the town.

The bunting is up all over town

The above are on the window of Sean Moriarty’s house in Charles Street.

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Queen of the May Sunday in Knockanure from Jer.

http://youtu.be/9h8uS3E4p2k

More from Vintage Monday 2013 and An Post Rás in Listowel

These cute little chicks hatched out in Ballyduff yesterday.

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Some more photos of local people enjoying Vintage Monday 2013.

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Turf cutting in the war years

Turf was a very valuable commodity during the war. Lorry loads of turf were transported from rural bogs to fuel fires in Dublin. This photo from Bord na Mona Heartland shows some of the scores  of men saving turf by hand in a midland bog.

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Out of this world in Ballybunion, Co.Kerry

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Eugene Moriarty

The countdown has begun. An Post Rás, Stage 3 will finish in Listowel on Tuesday next May 21st. 2013. There are 2 local riders taking part in this years tour, Eugene Moriarty and John McCarthy. They compete against 180 riders from 9 countries.

The finish will be in Market Street, outside Spar. The Convent School band will play and there will be a festive atmosphere.
The weather forecast is not great but mura fearr, nára measa  (if it gets no better, may it get no worse)

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Jer Kennelly took his camera to the County Fair in Tralee on Sunday May 12 2013 and he sent us this lovely series of photos

http://youtu.be/rXg7HItgahw

 Jer also sent us this video of Donal Walsh’s funeral.

http://youtu.be/pRu6BODkOGQ

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