Listowel Fire station in March 2025
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Remembering
St. Patrick’s Day 2023 in Listowel
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Old Friends
The Sheehy family of Main Street remained proud of their Listowel roots to the end.
I wish someone would write the life stories of all these people who are commemorated on benches in town. All of them contributed to Listowel, and Listowel is justly proud of them. Their stories, as well as their names, deserve preservation.
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Different Times
Jer Kennelly found this one.
I did a bit of research and it seems that the dance in question may have beein in 1940.
Here are extracts from an article I found online. The interview awas with a Bray saxophonist in The Irish Independent in 2003.
“…One piece of memorabilia Charlie keeps is a diary in which he recorded all the gigs he played and what he was owed for each. The entry for March 1940, when playing with the dance band, was £2 and 16 pence! ‘That’s what I earned that month,’ laughs Charlie.
In 1942 Charlie joined the Phil Murtagh band, who had a residency in the Metropole on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
This was the biggest gig in the country and the band was the best in the business. They played all around the country and had a summertime residency in Tramore.
Bandleader Phil Murtagh abhorred alcohol and had a strict rule ‘Whether you were driving to the top of Donegal or the bottom of Kerry, you didn’t stop for a bottle of stout. We drove in two cars – I drove and Phil drove and he always drove behind me to make sure I couldn’t stop at a pub!’ recalls Charlie.
‘In 1946, we were driving to Tramore and on a straight stretch of road I flew on ahead of Phil, went around a corner and he sailed on past. So me and the three I had with me went in for a few drinks, but when we came out I had a puncture. Because it was just after the war and cars weren’t long back on the road, we had no wheel brace to change the wheel. So we went back in for another few drinks!’ Someone eventually came who could help them, but by the time they got to Tramore there it was 10.30pm and the dance started at 8pm!
Given their status as top band in the country, any notions Charlie and his bandmates might have had about themselves were shot down at an enormous dance run by the army in the RDS, also in 1946.
Arriving with their instruments they were stopped by an army officer as they had no tickets. After over an hour waiting around outside they were eventually marched a quarter of a mile down the road to an entrance normally used for horses! ‘That ended any thoughts we had of ourselves as big shots,’ laughs Charlie.
Again he recalls also how little they were payed compared to today – on St. Stephen’s night in 1939 he played from 9pm until 5am and was payed one pound! In 1940 they drove to Listowel, earned two pounds each and crashed the car on the way back!
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Deltiology
According to the internet, deltiology is the third most common collector hobby, after money and stamps. This is surprising since so few people send postcards any more. I once had a huge collection and I used to display them on my kitchen wall., where they eventally got grubby and had to be thrown out.
Máire MacMahon is a deltiologist and she has sent us pictures of a few of her cards.
William St.
St. Michael’s College
Presentation Convent
You can see why postcards were so popular. They were ideal for holiday correspondence with a very favourable picture of your location and just enough room to tell everyone (including the postman) that you were having a good time.
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Reunion
Me, Geraldine, Mary, Breda and Bridget in Lizzie’s Little Kitchen in March 2025.
I was dining in Lizzy’s last week with some old teacher friends when we met a lovely past pupils out to lunch with her family.
By the way the lunch, in my opinion, was better than The Carriage House of last week’s fame.
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Update
The market in the boys’ school yard is now planned to be held on Sundays, not Saturdays as previously advertised. The first market will be held on Sunday May 4 2025 and from then until October, markets will be held from 11.00a.m. until 3.00p.m. every Sunday.
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A Fact
The reason we have a feast day to commemorate Saint Patrick is down to Fr. Luke Wadding. This Waterford missionary petitioned the Vatican in the 1600s to grant St. Patrick a dedicated feast day. Apparently the choice of March 17th was a bit arbitrary. It is believed to be the date of his death but that’s not too certain, like many otherm things about St. Patrick.
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