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
The people of Ballincollig are very lucky to have the magnificent Cork Regional Park on their doorstep. This beautiful spot is even more beautiful these days.
This man, chainsaw artist, Will Fogarty has been transforming the stumps of dead trees into art installations.
These are the two sculptures on the day after they were finished. That’s why there is all that sawdust about.
Here are few details of the carvings;
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Glenflesk’s St. Agatha’s Catholic Chapel
A welcoming church in a picturesque location.
St. Agatha’s church in Glenflesk.
A few details from the NHBS site
Full-height interior open into roof with central aisle between timber pews, pointed-arch arcade (north) on cut-limestone pillars, exposed scissor truss timber roof construction on cut-limestone beaded corbels with timber boarded ceiling on carved timber cornice, and pointed-arch chancel arch framing stepped dais to sanctuary (east) reordered, 1974, with replacement mosaic tiled reredos below stained glass “East Window” in glazed ceramic tiled surround. Set back from line of road in relandscaped grounds. NOTE: Designed by James Joseph McCarthy (1817-82) of Great Brunswick Street [Pearse Street], Dublin (The Dublin Builder 1st April 1862, 85). Stained glass (1932) by Richard King (1907-74) reclaimed (1974) from Collis-Sandes House (see 21302907).
Because the blue windows are very dark, they have placed them side by side with panes that allow the light in. The church interior is still dark and cool, a welcome sanctuary on a sunny day.
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My Verdict on Dubai Chocolate
This is one version of the chocolate everyone in raving about. In my opinion and as someone who for health reasons should not be eating chocolate at all, it’s nice but over rated.
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An Old Favourite
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A Fact
President Millard Fillmore of the U.S. in 1850 was the first president to take a bath in the White House.
The first reported sighting of a Cuckoo in Ireland for 2025 was made in Co. Waterford, arriving a week earlier than last year, according to WeathÉire.
The early return is likely due to favourable weather aiding its long migration from Africa.
One tagged Cuckoo in 2024 completed a remarkable 9,000 km journey from the Congo Basin back to Kerry.
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Brian Bilston’s Prayer
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More from my Trip to Ballincollig Library
Jimmy Crowley and me in Ballincollig library on Wednesday April 2 2025
Jimmy is a lovely warm man. He is not hugging me just because I bought his 2 cds and his book.
These eyecatching murals adorn the walls of the entrance hallway to the library.
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Scotia’s Glen
Borrowed from Martin Moore on Facebook…
‘Scotia’s Glen’,
Queen Scotia, was said to be a daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh, who arrived in Ireland in 1695 B.C. with her husband, Milesius, from Corunna. Milesius was the son of the King of Spain, and they were accompanied by their eight sons. She was supposedly killed in a great battle here.
According to Jeremiah King, this story has no historical foundation and was a later invention of genealogists!!
‘County Kerry, Past and Present’ (1931)
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One for the Diary
Laois Fourth Wall Theatre Group presents Bernard Farrell’s situational comedy I Do Not Like Thee, Doctor Fell directed by David Corri.
A group therapy session is led by the enigmatic and manipulative Suzy (Mary Dermody).
The participants Joe Fell (John Kavanagh), Roger (Kevin Lalor-Fitzpatrick), Peter (Joe Murphy), Maureen (Alex O’Neal), and Rita (Maeve Heneghan) reveal more about themselves than they intended, leading to hilariously awkward situations. Paddy (Michael Brennan) the Group Attendant, provides the “normal” balance to the proceedings.
Clashing egos and misunderstandings devolve into absurd confrontations creating tension between Susy’s calm demeanour and the chaos of the group members. As Suzy applies increasing pressure, the cracks begin to show, and buried conflicts, resentments, and fears erupt.
The play balances absurdity with authenticity, keeping the audience laughing while reflecting on human nature’s vulnerabilities and contradictions.Themes of control and human vulnerability are explored, exposing a thin line between therapy and coercion. Set in the 1980s, the play is a satire of the self-help culture and a hilarious commentary on power dynamics within supposed safe spaces.
Among the cast of this play is a lady whose famous Kerry ancestor has featured on this blog.
Maeve Heneghan is a great granddaughter of John J Foley of Tralee who wrote the infamous ballad of Thade Kelly’s hen.
You may remember that, when he recited this poem in Listowel in 1901, he was the subject of a pile on in the media because a critic did not like the stage Irish interpretation on the night.
Maybe we owe it to Maeve to make up for the ill treatment her famous ancestor received in our usually hospitable town.
Answer; They are Jerry and Marie Holland and Jimmy Crowley.
Here’s’ the story;
Cork libraries are doing a lovely thing. They are bringing musicians into the libraries for free daytime.concerts.
We got two singer songwriters and song collectors in Ballincollig on Wednesday April 2 2025. Jimmy Crowley is a living legend in folk music circles. He has just launched his 15th album. He is a superb writer of songs and an incomparable interpreter of songs. He is very knowledgeable about Cork’s history as recorded in old songs and he has written a marvellous book detailing the history and stories behind many of the old songs. He wrote a column in The Echo full of snippets of history and lore for over 20 years. I was so smitten I bought all the merch so I’ll be telling you in future about the book.
This is Eve Telford, a great singer and interpreter of a folk song. She has collected songs from all over and she has an especial interest in old anti war songs and Traveller songs.
I was fascinated to hear her sing in English a song I learned in Irish college many moons ago;
“A mhic mo chroí, ars’ an sairsint ghroí.
Ar mhaith leat bheith in airm is in éide an rí?
I do Royal Dragoon thar farraige anall
is gan aon ró mhoill bheith id’ oifigeach mór….
In the song the Cork mother is horrified to have her soldier son returned to her minus his two legs. The song explores the son’s good intentions, defending small nations and all the clap trap the recruiting sargeant sold him. The mother is more practical and realises that there was no glamour, just pain and foolishness.
Now who is this up there with Jimmy Crowley? Marie Kelliher, now Holland knew Jimmy years ago when she was only a little girl.
Jimmy wasn’t always a professional singer. He had many jobs that he told us about. His first job was on Marie’s family farm in Castletreasure. Marie says her father, Con Kelliher, was ‘mad about ‘ Jimmy. Marie came with her husband from their home in Bandon to listen to Jimmy in the library.
Reminiscing
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A Miller’s Tale
While I was waiting for the concert to begin, I picked up a nearby took. This tome lists all the mills in Ireland.
If you thought mills only milled wool and grain crops you’d be wrong. Take a look at this list of stuff that was milled once upon a time.
Do you know what a tucking mill did?
Tucking Mills, also known as fulling or walking mills. How a tucking mill worked. In the middle ages woollen cloth was woven with an open weave much like modern sack cloth.. This was ‘tucked’ or ‘fulled’ by pounding the cloth with large wooden mallets or sometimes by treading it.
The oldest tucking mill in Ireland was in Avoca.
This is a picture from the book of a mill in Knocknagoshel. The best known Kerry mill is Kerry Woolen Mills.
“Kerry Woollen Mills are one of the last remaining traditional wool mills still manufacturing in County Kerry. The company was founded over 300 years ago. The mill’s machinery was originally driven by the River Gweestin, and its water was also used for washing and dying the wool. The mill was run by the Sealy family for many generations since its inception in 1760, and brought into the capable hands of the Eadie family in 1904, who had gained experience in the wool manufacturing business for many years in Fermanagh and Scotland and are now successfully managing the mill in the fourth generation.[1] Wool is spun, dyed and woven on the premises at the back of a well-stocked showroom, where yarns and the finished products are displayed.” (Wikipedia)
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Where They stand
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News from Kerry Writers’ Museum
I read in KWM’s Facebook page that there are plans afoot to celebrate Kerry women writers. This has to be good news.
The first writer to be featured is Sonja Broderick.
sonja broderick was born in listowel, county kerry, in ireland. she has been involved with the creative arts for much of her life . she trained as an actor with the gaiety school of acting in dublin. she is also a graduate of psychology at trinity college, dublin and a master of international relations at dublin city university.
sonja began writing poetry and prose more than twenty years ago. she has won acclaim for her work at the samhlaiocht chiarrai festival. her first book of poetry, The Things You Left Me With was published by Lapwing, 2004.
I found the above on the internet. Sonja sadly passed away before she had achieved full maturity as a writer. The poetry book referred to was her only published anthology. I located it in the library where it is available to read in the reference section.
I’m going to bring you some of Sonja’s poems so that when you visit the exhibition in KWM in June you will be acquainted with her work.
This is a very historical piece…the original post box dates between 1911 and 1921…and Saorstát Éireann dates from 1922 to 1937….unusual in that original door was taken off and replaced…. but retained the original logo’s…. Knocksedan Ireland….. no longer in use….
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That Edward VII postbox dates from 1901 to 1905; after 1905 the royal cypher was used.
This wallbox has been removed..I believe stolen a couple of years ago….
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Shops and Shopping Memories
by Mick O’Callaghan
I remember Woolworths shop coming to Tralee in the early fifties. There was great excitement at the arrival of this new shopping experience for the people of Tralee. It had a special significance for me because I was starting school, and I was not happy to be held in captivity within the confines of a classroom with a locked door. Sr Immaculata told me that my mother was gone to Woolworths to buy me a present, whereupon I told her that she was a liar because Woolworths shop was not yet open. I lashed out and kicked her. That incident gave me the title for my published memoir ‘The boy who kicked the nun”.
Yes, Woolworths opened a whole new shopping experience for the people of the Tralee catchment area with its array of sweets, chocolates and a wide range of goods. I remember buying my first fishing rod there.
Woolworths was a bright star in the middle of the more traditional shops and institutions around it.
We had Revington’s store selling high class drapery and household goods. It was our Harrods of Tralee. People flocked in there and loved it
There were traditional butchers shops a plenty. I remember Mr Mulcahy in Wilsons Shop slicing rashers to perfection on the slicing machine. Mr Harmon sold loose sweets in paper tósíns, his wine gums were to die for. Yes, and we had Healy’s dairy selling ice cream and dairy products. Oh memories, memories of Havercrofts bakery, of Benners that sold every conceivable household gadget imaginable. There was Kelliher’s, McCowen’s and Latchford’s stores and yards with their hardware, fuel and building supplies. Yes, there is a rich memory bank from our early shopping days, but all is changed now with less local ownership and a huge diversity in suppliers and supplies.
We also had the Munster and Leinster bank with Bank of Ireland close by. They were revered national institutions where all shopkeepers queued up on Monday mornings to lodge the weekend takings. Young people aspired to getting a position there because it was regarded as a safe secure pensionable job for life. The local bank managers were well respected figures in the community. Little did they think that such noble institutions would crash and cause such inestimable damage and stress to the lives of ordinary people. They would also bring long serving businesspeople to their knees and cause national economies to collapse. Irish life was changed for ever by the collapse of the banks.
Apart from these we had a few grocers’ shops, and they had their regular clients. Our grocer of choice was O Connors and Mikey, the owner, was a relation of the family, on my mother’s side. He was a Fianna Fail Politician and that did not sit too easily with my father who was opposed to him politically, but practicality had to prevail because the choice of grocer’s shops was limited, and we shopped with Mikey.
More tomorrow
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Sunday in Ballincollig
I was in Ballincollig yesterday, Sunday February 22 2025.
I was there to support my granddaughter and her team, Lakewood, in The National Cup U14 soccer tournament. They beat Drogheda 5/1 and are now into the quarter finals.
Cora is on the far left, with the headband in Carine’s photo.
While I was in Ballincollig I called to the shopping centre for my newspaper.
This was the scene 10 minutes before New Look opened to begin its closing down sale.
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A Fact
For every human on earth there are approximately one million ants.
Photo: Chris Grayson in Killarney National Park…2024 rut
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Where I was Yesterday
Volunteers were everywhere, Selling tickets, baking and serving, playing the piano, finding chairs for the huge crowd who came to support and generally ensuring that the annual Kerry Hospice coffee morning was an outstanding success.
I took lots of photos, so you will be seeing lots of the lovely people who attended in upcoming posts.
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The Sales
In the days before online shopping, shops used to hold much anticipated end of season sales. A few hot ticket items would be greatly reduced and these would be available to shoppers on a first come first served basis. This led to competitive queueing and a mad scramble once the doors opened.
The queue at Roches Stores, Cork for one such sale. The queues and, in this case, the shop is no more.
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My Weekend in Ballincollig
Last weekend found me in this little theatre for a festival of one act plays. The calibre of play and of acting was very varied but it was a worthwhile exercise and I enjoyed a return to live theatre which I had missed for a while.
Saturday saw me in Belgooley where hundreds of underage lady footballers from local clubs were trying out for mid Kerry teams. It is heartwarming to see so many young girls actively involved in Gaelic games. The turn out was a great credit to the mentors who coach and encourage these young ladies week in week out.
Sunday and I was in Lakewood tennis club supporting my daughter in the first round of the winter league tennis. Cora joined us after victory with her soccer team in their first round national championship soccer game.
Sunday lunch in Kanturk with my Kanturk besties.
The book tour is due in Kanturk on Friday, October 25th at 7.30 in the Linn gorm Community Hall (P51 YC57). Stuart, the bull, who is one of the stars of Moments of Reflection, won’t be in attendance but his family will. If you are reading this in North Cork, do join us. We won’t have any music this time but we will have a party, hosted by my star baker sister-in-law.
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Sad story from the Internet
Did you sing this as a child? .
Explanation below, where this song came from..
This old man he played one
He played nick nack on my drum
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played two
He played nick nack on my shoe
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played three
He played nick nack on my tree
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played four
He played nick nack on my door
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played five
He played nick nack on my hive
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played six
He played nick nack on my stick
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played seven
He played nick nack on my deven
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played eight
He played nick nack on my gate
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played nine
He played nick nack on my vine
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This old man he played ten
He played nick nack on my hen
With a nick nack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This old man came rolling home
This rhyme is thought to relate to Irish beggars who arrived in England during the British genocide which lasted between 1845 to 1852 and resulted in millions of deaths. Paddies’ as they were known would sell ‘knick knacks’ door to door, also playing a rhythm of ‘nick nack’ using spoons, in the hope of receiving some pennies. According to the tale, they’d be given a ‘whack’ and sent on their way, while their dog would be given a bone.
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Last few photos from Listowel Harvest Festival of Racing 2024
John tries to get back to his native Listowel every year during race week.
I met Eileen at the parade ring spotting form.
Bridget and John always enjoy a day at the races.
Niamh and friends with their inventive headgear.
These Ballyduff sisters were reunited for Listowel Races.