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

Tag: Ballincollig Page 7 of 8

Pride of Place 2015, Ballincollig and Fleadh na Gael in Listowel in 1974

By

On September 8, 2015

In Uncategorized

Pride of Place


On Sept 1st. 2015 the judging for this year’s Pride of Place competition took place in Listowel.

The sun shone, Listowel put on its best dress, and the place never looked so good.

The business community, the volunteer community and clubs and associations went the extra mile to show the judges a taste of what happens in Listowel and how the local people engage with their town. I think the judges left impressed and, if Listowel does not win, it will be a travesty. I took photos in The Lartigue Museum and in the Seanchaí and I’m told that the display in The Family Resource Centre was excellent and showed the town in the very best light.

The judges were a husband and wife team. They took their job very seriously. They chatted to everyone, looked and admired everything on display and seemed genuinely impressed by everything that was going on in the town.

This is the judge alighting from one of Fitzpatrick’s coaches which brought them from venue to venue.

 Jimmy Moloney and Mary Hanlon of Listowel Tidy Towns were bursting with pride in their place.

Jimmy Deenihan was on hand to welcome them to the Lartigue and to explain to them a bit about the project, its origins and how it runs today. 

Click on the link below to see the video Denis Carroll made of the event at The Lartigue.

Pride of Place 2015 by Fealegood

Tim O’Leary and Martin Griffin were ready to welcome the visitors.

 Two other visitors were watching the video prior to their trip on the train.

The Tuesday crew, driver, John MacAulliffe and guard, Junior Griffin, were on a tea break and chatting to Paddy Keane and John O’Connor.

The museum, as always. was looking in tip top shape and was of great interest to the two “ordinary” visitors who had travelled from Canada and were on a trip around the world looking at railways. They were very interested in all the doings of the railway and brought a knowledgeable eye to view the workings of the engine and the complicated changing of the rail so that the train could be turned.

<<<<<<


Music in the Community


Music in the Community is a great initiative to bring music into the lives of as many people as possible. I attended a great free open air concert in Ballincollig Regional Park  on Sunday August 30th 2015. The sun shone. The setting was ideal and we all had a great day. A bit like a free Electric Pixnic!

 This is a section of the crowd in the Regional Park for the free concert.

My family, plus newly acquired dog, Cappi, were there in force.

The marvelously energetic Jerry Fish was the headline act.

This is the queue for a crepe! The queue for coffee was longer.

<<<<<<,

Fleadh na Gael in Listowel



A brochure from Betty Stack’s collection of Comhaltas memorabilia.



This is a flavor of the brochure for Fleadh na Gael in Listowel in 1974

Snow, Ballincollig and The Brian Boru Crown

By

On December 8, 2014

In Uncategorized

The Shape of Things to Come

John Kelliher’s photo from 2010 is a timely reminder that, at this time of year, we can expect the worst. Predictors of a white Christmas this year are thick on the ground. Odds are shortening as the temperatures drop.

<<<<<<

And in Ballybunion……


(photo;Ballybunion Angling and Coastal Views)


Looking very wintery and cold yesterday.

<<<<<<

Ballincollig Regional Park

Photos taken on a recent walk in this lovely Cork park

<<<<<<

The Future is in their hands


Teenagers check their smartphones in front of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch

(photo; So Bad So Good on Twitter)

<<<<<<<

Sadness beyond all telling



Jonathan Corrie was a homeless junkie when he died within sight of Leinster House last week. His sad lonely death brought the country to a standstill.

Read this piece by his childhood friend and get a better idea of who he was;

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/jonathan-corrie-was-one-of-my-best-friends-when-i-was-a-boy-1.2027133

<<<<<<

Brian Boru Replica Crown…the Listowel Connection




Six Listowel ladies donated old or broken gold jewellery to the Jewels for Cures project. Pictured above are four of these ladies with the crown in The Seanchaí, Listowel on December 5 2014

Madeleine O’Sullivan, Máire Logue, Mary Cogan and Bernie Carmody.

<<<<<<

Kerry has lost an Icon

R.I.P. Jackie Healy Rae

<<<<<

Community spirit in Ballincollig and Athea

By

On October 29, 2014

In Uncategorized

Up The Village



This is Ballincollig, Co. Cork and it is where  many people I love now live. The Village is what native people have always called this massive dormer town. It must be the biggest village in Ireland.

Ballincollig is still en féte in celebration of a momentous victory in The County Senior Football Championship. This might seem like a bit of overkill to places in Kerry, well used to club victories but you might understand better the appreciation of this victory when I tell you that Ballincollig GAA club was set up in 1886, just two years after the founding the GAA. This makes Ballincollig GAA one of the oldest clubs in the country and this is the very first time ever they have won a senior club county football  championship. 

The place has gone bananas.

The church is bedecked in bunting. You would be forgiven for thinking that the bishop or some other church dignitary was due a visit.

This is Scoil Eoin. It and all the other Ballincollig schools were temporarily uniformed in Green and White. The visiting team members included many past pupils. They wangled a whole week off homework for the delighted young supporters.

Dunnes Stores showed its support.

So if you are passing through Ballincollig, be sure to congratulate them. They are still on a high.

<<<<<<

Athea Victory




This is  Athea Tidy Town Committee celebrating their victory in the 2014 Limerick in Bloom competition.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity, do drop into Athea, one of Ireland’s loveliest villages, in my opinion.

<<<<<<

Still preserved and loved in Athea


butter churn
wash board

These artifacts can be viewed at  Blueberry Home Bakery in Athea

Fishing flies, Family, New shop in town and Women in Media

By

On April 14, 2014

In Uncategorized

Family visit to Cork

My grandsons enjoy some screen time. The boys are children of a digital age. They like TV but not as much as interactive computer games.

…………………..

Boys will be boys

My lovely boys also love to read comics and they collect and swap football cards. They also play tennis and soccer and they love appearing on Nana’s blog.

<<<<<<<

While I was at juvenile tennis training in Lakewood on Sunday morning I met this lady. She was helping to run their annual tournament and also attending to the nurturing of young talent by training the juveniles. She is Siobhán O’Riordan and she is soon to represent Ireland in Miami at an international seniors competition.

<<<<<<

Another new Crafter in Craftshop na Méar

This is Listowel man, Tim O’Loughlin

These are Tim’s hand tied fishing flies. He is carrying on a Listowel tradition of tying flies. Ned Sweeney and Mike Barry have hand tied flies for years and now these skills are being practiced by a new generation. Tim employed new technologies like Youtube to help him perfect his technique.

<<<<<<

Sue Townsend R.I.P.

 So sad to hear of the death of this wonderfully entertaining witty writer. If you haven’t read the first Adrien Mole book, you have missed a gem.

<<<<<<

New tenant in 25 Church St.

These controversial e cigarette shops are popping up everywhere these days as vaping takes over from smoking. I still can’t get used to the sight of people puffing on these indoors.

<<<<<<<

Women in Media

This is me in Kilcooleys in Ballybunion on Saturday April 12 2014. I was rubbing shoulders with some of the top women in Irish media at the annual Women in Media weekend. With me in the photo are Joan O’Connor, newly elected Mayor of Ballybunion and organizer of WIM, Róisín Ingle of the Irish Times and Katie Hannon of RTE.

I had a great 2 days and I was totally starstruck so you’ll be hearing more of this during the week.

Graveyards, Craftshop na Méar , The Buds of Ballybunion and Michael D.

By

On April 11, 2014

In Uncategorized

I took this photo in Ballincollig on Saturday last as I indulged with my family in a long standing tradition of picking horses in The Aintree Grand National. I had no luck but there was a little money returned to the Cork branch of the family.

<<<<<<<<

While in Ballincollig I visited the grave of rock legend, Rory Gallagher.

Rory is buried in a lawn cemetery, where there is a cap on the height of the grave memorials. Good idea.

<<<<<<<

I also visited another older churchyard on the Ovens side of town.

This beautiful old graveyard is full of character but almost impossible to maintain.

<<<<<<<

This is how Craftshop na Méar looked on opening day,  Dec 10 2013. Much has happened since then and we are about to have a makeover. Painting will begin shortly and our Summer programme will be launched.

It was all systems go when I called into the shop yesterday.

New crafter in the shop, Eileen Moylan was in store assembling her glass cabinet.

Namir called in to help with the set up.

Máire Logue of Writers’ Week gets a sneak preview of Eileen’s Listowel range, which is still at the planning stage.

Crafters, Maureen, Mary and Isobel welcomed Eileen to shop.

<<<<<

Cough Syrup or night cap?

This cough syrup was once  on sale in Limerick according to the Limerick 1912 website.

<<<<<<

Buds


I went to see John B.’s The Buds of Ballybunion on Wednesday night. It was great to see St. John’s packed for this dated romping Listowel performance.

The word Buds comes from “budaire”. This was a kind of tourist we see no more. Na budairí, or buds as they called them in Ballybunion were country people who came to Ballybunion in September. They rented a room in a boarding house. They brought with them their own potatoes and other vegetables, bacon, eggs, butter, jam etc. and the landlady cooked these for them.

The tradition is coming to an end in John B’s play and this motley crew who come to the O’Dea house for their final summer as buds are depicted as backward, sexually repressed, frustrated but lovable characters. They are played to perfection in St. John’s by some of the best character actors in North Kerry and West Limerick.

There is poetry, dancing, storytelling, song and ribaldry in this performance. The audience on Wednesday gave them a standing ovation. What more tribute can an actor or playwright ask?

<<<<<<<

The state banquet for President Michael D. Higgins  (Getty Images)

So far I haven’t mentioned the triumph of the first ever state visit by an Irish president to Britain. Aren’t we glad now we elected a speechmaker. I am so proud of Michael D. Higgins. He can sure talk posh and he has few equals in delivery of the bon mot. If I were to single out one speech it would be the “Ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid” bit where he explained that scáth in Irish means shadow and shade. We have emerged from the shadow and now the queen is offering us shade. Isn’t the queen some lady. She is playing a blinder. We have taken a giant leap this week in terms of our nationhood and good relations with our nearest neighbours.

I think that Ireland and Britain are a bit like Cork and Kerry, the rebels and the kingdom, sworn enemies until after the Munster Final and then whichever one is out will cheer for the other. There are so many families with dual  citizenship that we are far closer than we admit. Michael D. put it well when he said that because Ireland is not going to Brazil he will raise a glass to the English soccer team. I know the feeling.

Our two are also coping very well with the pomp and ceremony of it all. They are doing us proud. I think I’ll send them a card when they get home.

Our president, Michael D. Higgins with Seán Lyons, Chair of Listowel Writers Week in The Square, Listowel on May 30th. 2012.

Page 7 of 8

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén