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: Christy Walsh

Blennerville, Tomb of the 12th Knight of Kerry, A Timebomb in Tralee and a Pilgrimage to Knock in 2019

This stunning image of Blennerville comes to us from Eamon ÓMurchú

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Burial Place of The Knight of Kerry


(Photo and text from Lixnaw Heritage and Historical Society)

This is the grave of John Fitzgerald, 12th Knight of Kerry.

The knight is buried in Dysert graveyard outside Lixnaw.

The yew trees in the background and the beautiful countryside around it create a very fitting atmosphere.

The Knights of Kerry were also known as the ‘Green Knights’, and it was a hereditary feudal knighthood, established by the Norman lords who invaded Ireland in the 12th century.

Katherine Fitzgerald (nee Fitzmaurice), the 12th Knight’s wife, the 13th Knight and his two brothers, are also buried in this peaceful crypt.

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Ah, Sweet!




Christy Walsh and his lovely daughter, Olivia, having a cuppa and a natter in Main Street last week.

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Believe it or Believe it Not


A story from The Kerryman of August 2011 and shared on Facebook


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ONE of the Crimean War cannons outside the Courthouse was a timebomb until the Army defused it this week.

People walked past the cannon, one of a pair standing outside the Tralee Courthouse in Ashe Street, unaware the five sticks of gelignite, a detonator and a fusewire were hidden inside the barrel.

The explosives had lain hidden there for about 20 years following an abortive attempt to destroy the cannons.

Following a tip-off, an Army disposal team, with Garda back-up, moved in last Thursday and removed the explosives, later destroying them.

It is understood that the gelignite could have exploded; especially as the condition of it deteriorated over the years.

A Garda spokesman told The Kerryman: “Any gelignite found after a numbers of years would almost certainly be in a dangerous condition. And dampness would increase this danger.”

He said he believed the gelignite found in the cannons would be damp, making the situation more dangerous.

The two cannons at the Courthouse serve as memorials to Kerryman who died in the Crimean War of 1854-56, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and the Chinese War of 185860.

Tralee Courthouse, except for the outer circular limestone walls, has been reconstructed at a cost of £0.5m.

It is due for re-opening within weeks and the stonework was being sandblasted in the cleansing processs. This work included the plinths upon which the cannons are placed.

It is believed that people who became aware of the presence of the gelignite decided to notify the authorities for safety reasons.<<<<<<<<
In Knock


Knockanure, Tarbert and Moyvane pilgrims on their recent trip to Knock.

Listowel Soldier who fell at Passchendaele, West Limerick Singing Club

Congratulations


Photo of Christy and Sheila Walsh on their wedding day from 



https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Listowel-Arms-Hotel/142707065775292

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Listowel Tidy Towns Award Ceremony

Photos and an account of the awards

HERE

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A Soldier of WW1 with a Listowel connection

The following story and photographs were sent to me by Mark Hewitt whose wife, Siobhán is a Listowel Hannon. Mark and Siobhán are frequent visitors to Listowel. The Maurice of the story was Siobhán’s grandad’s brother.

Maurice Hannon was born in Listowel on 1894 and was killed in action in Belgium in 1917.

Part of the current commemorations of the war includes the planting of 888,246 ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London, one for each British soldier lost in the war.  Work on planting these started last month and will continue until November, when it will eventually fill the whole moat with a sea of red, representing the blood of the fallen.

Each night a Roll Call of names of 180 fallen soldiers is read out in a ceremony ending with a bugler playing the Last Post.  The public have been invited to submit names to be read out, and I have done this with Maurice Hannon.  His name is to be amongst those read out on Sunday 7 September at 7.25pm.

During the First World War Maurice decided to join the 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers (RMF) and by 1917 found himself at the Second Battle of Passchendaele.  From the War Diaries made by each Battalion at the time, now made available at the National Archives, I have put together the following account of the battle.  I have also seen the maps used by the troops at the time, and all the farms and cottages mentioned in the War Diaries are still there.

Two Battalions attacked the enemy lines at 6am on Saturday 10 November 1917, one of which was the RMFs.  The ground was a quagmire full of water-logged shell-holes after four months of battle. It was to be the last British effort of the Passchendaele campaign.  Weighed down with equipment, they waded waist deep through mud and water, initially taking all objectives within 45 minutes.

They advanced a further 400 yards, without orders, half way up a ridge. Here they were caught by the German attack, with the British counter barrage falling on them as well as the enemy.  They withdrew to a farm where, being pressed by the enemy, they threw balls of mud at the Germans who, thinking they were grenades, fell back momentarily. This farm fell at 8.30am with the RMFs ending up back where they started.

At 9.30am they attacked again and captured another farm.  By this time their ranks numbered 7 officers and 240 men, having started the day with 20 officers and 630 men.  Private Maurice Hannon was one of these casualties.

He is one of many war dead with no known grave.  His name, though, is recorded on the memorial wall at the huge Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Belgium.  This wall alone has the names of nearly 34,000 soldiers killed in the area towards the end of the war but have no known graves.

The Battle of Passchendaele officially ended that day.  Estimates at the total numbers of casualties vary.  It is said the Allies had lost almost 275,000 men, killed and wounded in the four months of the campaign.  The Germans lost 260,000.  42,000 of the Allied dead were never recovered from the battlefield. The Great War lasted for another year and a day.

On 9 April 1918, five months after the Battle of Passchendaele ended, the Germans launched the Lys Offensive and in three days recaptured all the ground they had lost in the battle.

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Some good old ones… photos by J.F. Nolan, Moyvane

Up for the match in the 1940’s

Moyvane cups at their social in 1979

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Abair Amhrán



Michael Collins took some great photos at The Garry McMahon 6th Annual Singing Weekend Launch Night, held in The Ramble Inn bar Abbeyfeale. The Singing weekend takes place on the 17th, 18th and 19th of October, 2014.


More photos and information about the club 

HERE




Lartigue Museum photos, Mums and babies and a potential Rose

Official opening of The Lartigue Museum

McKennas with the French ambassador and Minister Deenihan

Noelle Hegarty, Bert Griffin and Paula

Norella Moriarty and Bridget Curtin

Oliver O’Neill and Mr. Brodbin.

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From The Irish Independent May 6 2013

Members of the Listowel Family Resource Centre Mums and Babies Group at their Wednesday meeting. Front from left: Aisling and Aoibhinn Stack, Stacey and Tommy Murphy, Michelle and Sive Nolan, Marguerite and Seán Wixted-Nolan and Treasa and Ria…

The names of the back row are not printed. Sorry girls!

LISA SALMON– 06
MAY 2013

New research suggests having a baby can
widen your social circle. So why are ‘baby mates’ so important – and do such
friendships last?

If you’re finding it hard looking after a
new baby, seek comfort from your new ‘baby mates’ – chances are you’ll have a
lot of them.

Research has found that new mums make an
average of nine new friends in the year after giving birth, with those new
chums usually living nearby and having a new baby themselves.

The study, by organic cotton children’s
products company Natures Purest, showed strong bonds are created almost
instantly amid exchanges of views and tips on subjects such as childcare plans,
illness and how to get baby sleeping through the night.

Indeed, half of the 2,000 women questioned
said its easier to bond with other women after having a baby.

Nearly half of the new mums made friends
with other women at mother and toddler groups, 31% in antenatal classes, and a
fifth through other friends.

And almost a third of mums in the survey
said they were worried about boring old friends with constant baby talk, which
was one of the reasons they formed new friendships with women going through the
same experience.

As well as antenatal classes, many
mothers-to-be or new mums meet at social gatherings such as Bumps and Babies
groups.

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the NCT
parenting charity, says: “What often happens is that when women get
pregnant and their old friends aren’t going through the same life change, they
may find they move apart.

“Women who haven’t been through a
pregnancy can find it very hard to understand what it’s like – they might not
be able to share your world, so it’s easier to talk to people who’ve got that
shared experience with you.”

The survey found that sharing birth
experiences was by far the most popular topic of conversation for new mums –
73% would happily regale new friends with stories about their labour.

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Some unexpected visitors to Saturday’s opening were this year’s Kerry contestants in the Kerry Rose of Tralee competition.

We ran into one of the girls again as we made our way to the Square. Our friend, Lorraine Kennedy will be representing Perfect Pairs.

Two of the chief engineers of Saturday’s entertainment were Damien Stack and Christy Walshe.

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Dublin port on Wednesday night

Christmas in Listowel

Ah lads, it wasn’t that hard. Christy Walsh is hard to disguise, even in a Santa mask.

Yesterday I went to the hairdresser. This is how Changes looks for Christmas 2011.

Danny had news for me. He is going to play the dame in the panto. The panto is Snow White and Danny is going to be the queen’s (played by the brilliant Tina Enright) assistant. He will be hilarious. And… he is going to sing a few songs.

I have heard Danny’s singing and I don’t think he should give up the day job anytime soon.

Don’t forget the Christmas market in The Seanchaí tomorrow. The motto in Listowel this year is:

 “Keep your business local and keep your locals in business”

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