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: Branches that Connect Us

Turf

By

On February 17, 2025

In Listowel, Poem

The Square, February 2025

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Harvesting the Turf

In his memoir, O’Carroll remembers the importance of turf.

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The Crow family

Apropos my inclusion of the One for Sorrow rhyme last week, I was reminded that it refers to magpies and not to crows. So here is the crow and all his first cousins, including the magpie.

Now I can’t make out if the ones I see so many of around here are common ravens or rooks.

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Upfront

These three ladies are familiar to us from their work with Listowel Races.

This story and picture is from Tralee Today online

From left; Zoe O’Connor, Orla Diffily and Sydney Sargent at Upfront Model Management. Photo: Cian Copeland

KERRY-BASED Commercial and Fashion Agency, Upfront Model Management, has announced the appointment of Talent Development Manager and new partner, Sydney Sargent and Creative Lead and Casting Director, Zoe O’Connor to continue to grow the agency’s presence in the Irish market and to develop overseas markets.

Upfront was established in Kerry as a PR consultancy in 1995. Upfront Model Management was launched in 2008 and today represents commercial and fashion talents in Cork, Dublin, and Kerry. The Agency specialises in representing diversity and many of the talents also have acting experience.

Scouted in her native Texas, Sydney has modelled internationally in the US, Australia, and London before moving to Ireland 10 years ago.

Agency founder and owner, Orla Diffily began her PR career at Murray Consultants Dublin and then spent 4 years working on consumer and fashion accounts with Setanta Communications Dublin, before moving to the Corporate Affairs Department of Kerry Group PLC.

In 1995, she left to establish Upfront. With over 30 years of experience in the fashion and lifestyle industry, she is a respected industry voice, girl boss and proud owner of Upfront.

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A Fact

A bat flies but cannot walk. Its leg bones are so thin his legs could not support him.

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Soldiers’ Houses

By

On February 13, 2025

In History, Listowel, Poem

Market Street, February 2025

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A Kerry Castle

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The Big Wind in Family History

Lauren Davis wrote the following letter to us in October 2020:

Hi Mary ~
I wanted to let you know how much we’ve been enjoying your blog lately. Even with little “new”news to report on, you are keeping our interest here in America! My ancestors left Listowel around 1870 so even “news” from the 19th century in County Kerry is fascinating for me. For instance, when a piece you posted a few days ago said,
 “For three quarters of a century afterwards the people in this district and in North Kerry generally recorded events from the year the boat was drowned” or from the night of the big wind”.”I got so excited! Our family’s stories mention that my 2x great grandmother was born “the night of the big wind.” (She actually was born a few days before but everybody remembered her birth in connection with the storm.) My own granddaughter was just born a month ago here in Oregon. I’m sure we will be remembering her birth as “the time of the big wild fires.” Just knowing that other people from Co. Kerry remembered events the way my family did makes me feel so much more connected to our ancestral home.

Thank you for all that you do! Please keep it up!

Lauren Carroll Davis

Sisters, Oregon

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Hens and Eggs

Photo; Chris Grayson

Egg prices in the US have risen by 20% due to the many outbreaks of bird flu.

Did you read about the egg heist in Pennsylvania when 100,000 eggs were stolen? I must admit that with the CEO’s name given as Flocco and references to scrambling to improve security and cracking down on theft I think maybe the story was a wind up.

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Soldiers’ Houses

Since Carmel Hanrahan raised the subject, I have been fascinated by the story of the soldiers’ houses in Cahirdown.

A helpful blog follower told me that the late Gerry O’Carroll had written about them in his memoir. I borrowed it from the library.

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So True

So, grief walked up to love, 
and asked if it would dance. 
Love blamed grief for everything
and rudely answered “no chance.”

Grief stood there watching love. 
Knowing there was nothing it could do. 
It shared in every teardrop 
and felt the heartache too. 

Love hated grief so fiercely,
and prayed for it to go away. 
Grief could never leave though
and it was here to stay. 

Every day it asked the same question, 
“Love, please dance with me.”
Everyday was met with the answer
“Please just leave me be.”

Grief and love shared every moment.
Every thought was just the same. 
Every day they fought a battle,
Of love along with blame. 

Grief finally stopped asking, 
and pulled love to its chest. 
Together they swayed to memories,
and shared their empty nest. 

Grief never let go of love again. 
They made better music as one. 
After all if there was no love, 
then grief wouldn’t belong…

Joanne Boyle ~ Heartfelt 

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A Fact

In 1978 the song Mull of Kintyre by Wings went to No. 1 in January.

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Remembering Tolka Row

By

On February 10, 2025

In Listowel, Personal, Poem

Market Street, February 2025

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A Charity Shop Find

One of the great joys of shopping in charity shops is finding treasures like this.

There are thousands of Irish books published each year. They are often short print runs and when they are gone they’re gone. Every now and again a great one turns up in a charity shop. This is one such.

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Cora, My Little Footballer

This is Cora Darby, my granddaughter. She loves football, both Gaelic and Soccer.

When her team, Lakewood Under 14s, played Ballyouster of Kildare in the National Cup, Cora was captain for the game.

Lakewood girls Under 14

They won. Now their next game is against a Drogheda club and they have home advantage. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile in Dublin…

Sean is in tennis action with his intervarsity team.

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Tolka Row

Tolka Row is an Irish television drama serial that aired on RTE One from 1964 to 1968, set in a fictional housing estate on the northsideof Dublin.[1] Based on Maura Laverty‘s play of the same name, Tolka Row was first broadcast on 3 January 1964 and aired weekly for five series until it ended on 31 May 1968.[2 Wikipedia

These two pictures were published in Ireland’s Own. The late Maura Laverty is also the same Maura who wrote Full and Plenty.

This scene from the soap depicts the the Nolans and their neighbours in the sitting room of the Nolan house. The Nolans and their neighbours, the Feeneys, were working- class Dublin families living in the North side of the city.

It was a very regrettable practice in the early days of Telefís Eireann, to wipe the videotape after an episode was broadcast and reuse the tape. So, only the final episode of the four year series is extant.

I loved the show and like me many others loved the glimpse inside a part of Ireland we never saw in real life. Before television, there was huge urban rural disconnect. Tolka Row and its successor, The Riordans, introduced city folk and country folk to one another. It was a great learning experience.

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If you have Money Problems

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Exciting Opportunity for “Mid- Career Artists’

St. John’s in February 2025

St. John’s Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry, and the Irish Arts Center, New York, are inviting applications for the County Exchange international residency for mid-career artists. 

Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Kerry County Arts Office, the County Exchange residency aims to connect artists from the experimental theatre, dance, and performance sectors in Ireland and New York. 

Seven selected artists (four from Ireland, three from New York) will spend two weeks in Listowel (19 May–2 June 2025) and one week in New York (January 2026, dates TBC). The residency provides accommodation, travel, a daily subsistence allowance, and a €1,000 fee. 

Interested applicants should submit a 100-word statement of purpose, contact details, a brief bio, and links to previous work by email to newyorklistowel@gmail.com by Monday, February 24th, 2025, at midnight.

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A Fact

The first Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix in 1924.

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