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: Brendan Kennelly Page 3 of 5

More from The Green Guide., Living Literature, Dublin Kerry Association

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On August 6, 2018

In Uncategorized

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More from the Little Green Guide of 1965


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Living Literature  at The Seanchaí


This is Angeline, the actress, with Jerry, the John B. Keane fan before the start of our Living Literature Tour on Saturday July 21 2018

We were in The Seanchaí for a tour of the rooms dedicated to North Kerry Writers. If you get a chance to take this guided tour, I’d highly recommend it. Angeline, our guide, was full of enthusiasm for the work of the featured writers. She sang, played, recited and acted to bring to life the work of the various writers. She was brilliant and we all greatly enjoyed the tour.

 In the room dedicated to Bryan MacMahon she told us the story, recounted in The Master, of Bryan getting a young mahout to bring a baby elephant to the school. This seems really extraordinary to today’s young people but a photo in the John Hannon archive shows a parade of elephants through the town to advertise the arrival of a circus.

Elephants on Market Street photographed by Johnny Hannon.


Paddy stepped up to the plate to play Byrne to Angeline’s Big Maggie in the excerpt from the John B. Keane Play.

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Dublin Kerry Association


I missed this one earlier in the summer when Fr. Anthony Gaughan was presented with an award and the Kerry gang in the capital came out in force

Fr. Gaughan with Miriam O’Callaghan and Keelin Kissane

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Seán Keane in Finuge


The highlight of the Seán Maccarthy Memorial Weekend was Seán Keane in concert Neil Brosnan was there and he met Brendan Kennelly with his sister and niece.

Photo; Neil Brosnan

 This photo and caption are also from Neil Brosnan on Facebook.

Sean McCarthy ballad competition sponsors, Mike and Sue Nilsson, with prizewinners: Joe Harrington, 1st, Caroline O’Callaghan, 2nd, and myself in 3rd place 


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Yesterday, August 5 2018 in Listowel






Images of Listowel and Maidhc Dainín ÓSé remembered

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On October 23, 2017

In Uncategorized

A Listowel Sign

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Brendan Kennelly’s verse in Listowel Town Square

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Our Fish Shop

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Charles Street

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Maidhc Dainín ÓSé R.I.P.; the Listowel Connection


Maidhc Dainín ÓSé was the father of Daithí ÓSé. Ever before Daithí found fame, Maidhc Dainín was a well known author of several books in the Irish language. He was also an accomplished musician.

Maidhc’s day job was as a lorry driver for Kerry Ingredients in Listowel.

Maidhc was tickled pink when his autobiography, A Thig ná Tit Orm (Oh house, don’t fall on me) was chosen as a text for the Leaving Cert. Every year during a period in around the turn of the millennium Maidhc used to come to The Seanchaí during Seachtain na Gaeilge to read from his book and to play for the students.




I hope I have uploaded the little clip properly. Maidhc was describing the deal he made with the director of the Cúrsa Samhraidh. He would play for the small weekday ceilí in exchange for free admission to the Ceilí Mór. Money was scarce and the céilithe móra were where the girls were so he was anxious to try his luck there.

Maidhc was a breath of fresh air after Peig. He told his story with humour and much self deprecation. My pupils loved him.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

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Micheál Flavin R.I.P.


(Photo shared by Noreen Keane Brennan on Facebook)

Micheál lived in Church Street, Listowel. He was Bryan MacMahon’s friend and preferred bookseller. His shop is still in the Flavin family. Long may it continue to trade in his memory.

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Storm Damage in The National Park, Killarney



Kathleen Griffin braved it to work during Hurricane Ophelia. She took these photographs in Muckross on the day after, October 17 1017




Last of my Photos from Listowel Writers’ Week Opening Night 2017

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On June 9, 2017

In Uncategorized

May 31 2017 was a lovely evening in Listowel Town Square. St. John’s presided over The Square as it has done for hundreds of years and the best Writers Week ever was about to get underway in The Listowel Arms.  And I was there……

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People at Opening Night


“If I picked out one highlight though, one moment that’s opened a new door in my mind, it was Richard Ford on Second Acts. Richard opened the celebrations and my heart soared as he spoke about the very issue that is playing constantly on my mind right now – and one I had only minutes before been discussing in the bar with Richard Skinner, Director of the Faber Academy, the second novel. I had only just been saying to Richard that the first novel is like the love of your life, a grand passion but with the second, you get 50,000 words in and start to feel queasy as you wonder should you even be going out with this one – in today’s Tinder world, should you have swiped left perhaps?”   Rose McGinty

I don’t agree with Rose on this one. Rose is a writer and here for a literary festival. I am a local and here to share the enjoyment of local people in rubbing shoulders with the greats of Irish literature and also the up and coming writers and future stars. 

Actress turned author, Ruth Gilligan came with a posse of friends.

Gabriel  Fitzmaurice

Catherine and Con Kirby

Jim and Dónal Daly

Eamon OHargáin

Maria McGrath with Sarah Webb and Óisín McGann

Norella Moriarty, Liz Dunn, Bernie Carmody and David Browne

In Killarney this morning a proud mother is opening Listowel Connection and seeing her lovely son at work at Listowel Writers’ Week.

This is a photo of two John Griffins. The older of the two is John Junior Griffin and the lovely young man on his left is John Griffin of Killarney. This John’s mother is a Hannon from Listowel and a follower of this blog.

John was in Listowel working as a sound engineer during the festival. I kept running into to him as he lugged his big amplifier from location to location on morning walks. He was invariably polite, pleasant and professional – a credit to his Listowel family.

Catherine Moylan was first on stage.

She urged us to make friends with our neighbour. No better woman than Norella for befriending people.

Next up John Spillane

Then Liz Dunn

 Colm Tóibín

 Richard Ford

The silver award sat on the table awaiting presentation to Brendan Kennelly

This was my highlight. Brendan sat down and regaled us in his mellifluous tones with stories and songs. He recited his most famous poem, Begin, which he told us came to him in a moment of inspiration after major heart surgery. He sang John B. Keane songs and he held the audience in the palm of his hand as of old. He was where he clearly loves to be, holding court among his own people and fellow writers and lovers of literature. It was a special moment in time.   And I was there…..

Looking westward I beheld an unmistakable forehead among the crowd near the door. Alan Cumming had entered the room. What a lovely man. He posed for photos and chatted like one of our own.

I forgot to mention that among all of this there was prize giving. Kit de Waal won the big one with her novel, My Name is Leon and Vona Groarke won the poetry prize. Lots of other people also won prizes. You can see the full list on the Writers’ Week website.  And Laura Enright sang…heavenly voice!

What a night! And I was there…

More from Opening Night LWW 2017

By

On June 8, 2017

In Uncategorized

Rare old Photo

This photo was shared recently by The National Library of Ireland. It shows DeValera with Countess Markievitz.

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Brendan Kennelly is Honoured in Listowel


Every year at Listowel Writers’ Week someone is honoured for a lifetime of achievement. This year the very popular choice for this award was Brendan Kennelly. Eileen Moylan, a local silversmith was commissioned to make the one- off piece to present to the great man on opening night. This year she made an absolutely magnificent piece, pictured below. The two sides of the piece depict symbols of two places very close to the poet’s heart, the window at Lislaughtin Abbey in his native Ballylongford, and the arch at Trinity College where he spent so many happy years teaching and living. The twin strands of his life are intertwined.




Here is Eileen, the artist with Brendan Kennelly on the night of the presentation.

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More people, local, famous and otherwise at opening night 2017


Catherine Moylan, Vice Chairperson of Listowel Writers’ Week snd Aisling Wren

Singer, songwriter John Spillane makes his way to the hotel for his gig.

Out of focus picture of Hilda Doody and Mary McElligott

Great friends of the festival, Canon Declan O’Connor P.P. Listowel and Fr. Anthony Gaughan

Tony Guerin

Seamus Hosey and Mattie Lennon

Billy Keane and Roibeard Pierse

Jimmy Deenihan and Noel O’Grady

Jennifer and Mirelle Murphy

Playwright, Tony Guerin greets his old friend Fr. Antony Gaughan

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Schiller in all his Summer Glory, June 7 2017





The Garden of Europe is just awakening into life these days. The heavy rains have brought up abundant vegetation. All we need now is some sunshine to enjoy it.

Listowel Writers Week, Opening Night 2017

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On June 7, 2017

In Uncategorized

People at Opening Night, Writers’ Week 2017

Rose McGinty is a writer who attended Writers’ Week. Her wonderful blog is Here

Here is what Rose writes about opening night

“All of Listowel was out last night for the opening ceremony of the Writer’s Week. No other literary festival that I have attended over the years feels as loved by its own town as this. It’s family, pure and simple.”


If you had any doubt of the truth of her statement look at my photos, taken on Opening Night 2017.  I stood outside the Listowel Arms as people filed across The Square to partake in the great night.

From the door of the hotel Maire Logue one of the two brilliant festival managers emerged accompanied by Elizabeth Dunn, Chairperson of Listowel Writers’ Week, and Colm Tóibín, president  and the V.I.P. guest Richard Ford who was due to officially open the 2017 festival. As they reacted to the music, they broke into an impromptu waltz .

But they reined in the giddiness and composed themselves to greet the night’s special guest who was to receive this year’s lifetime achievement award.

Local people were continuing to arrive in droves as the great man’s car pulled up and Liz greeted her guest.

Richard Ford and Colm Tóibín shared a joke as they waited to greet Brendan.

Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose….Brendan Kennelly is waylaid by a lady.

The four are now in place and ready to pose for the “real” photographer.

Brendan’s daughter, Doodle arrives.

Stars of opening night, two giants of Irish literature, right here among us in lovely Listowel.

We stood back in awe and gaped and photographed.

Brendan headed indoors to his big gig as family arrived in numbers to support him.

( I have more photos from opening night for you tomorrow.)

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