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: Damien Stack Page 3 of 4

Horse Fair, A Feale flood in the 1850s and a school crest

By

On January 8, 2016

In Uncategorized

 January Horsefair 2016



The first horsefair of the year took place on Market Street yesterday, January 7 2016. The weather was very cold and frosty.

Easy known there is an election in the offing. Michael Healy Rae was on hand to meet and greet.

He and his friends posed for me with some men who were selling and buying poultry.

The scene outside Spar

Nanny and Billy were sheltering in a van.

Michael Healy Rae networking.

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Rough Justice in Limerick in 1914




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A Great Flood Remembered


Irish Examiner 1841-1999, Saturday, 25 January, 1941; Page: 10

MRS. M. STACK, M0YNSHA. ABBEYFEALE.

The most destructive flood in the Feale for a century was recalled by
the death of Mrs. Nano Stack, of Moynsha, Abbeyfeale, which took place
in her 90th year, after some weeks illness. About the middle of the
fifties of the last century. Mrs. Stack, when a child of about six
years old, was save  by her brother, the late Dl. O’Connor , Church
Street, Abbeyfeale, who took her in his arms, and climbing a wall of
their house at Islandanny, which the big Feale flood had isolated,
remained  so until the flood subsided. This flood, which occurred in
August, broke down the Feale Valley with tremendous depth and force,
and swept to their death eleven persons.

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60 is the new 40


This lovely photo of Damien and Joan Stack of The Arcade in William Street was taken by Denis Carroll at a party in John B. Keane’s to celebrate a milestone birthday for Damien recently.



Denis’ photo shows stacks of Stacks who were helping Damien to celebrate. 

Go maire tú an céad agus bliain breise chun aithrí.

(May you live to be 100, with a year extra for repentance)

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Santa in Listowel in the 1950s


People loved Noel Roche’s Santa photo. Nobody has yet positively identified the boy on the left. Liam Enright did however spot something very interesting in the photo. On the cap of the boy on the left there is a badge. liam told me that these badges were either sold or distributed in Scoil Realt na Maidine. He remembers having one himself. If you zoom in to the photo you will see a star for Realt na Maidine and the letters R na M. Liam thinks that there were no instructions where one should wear this school crest. Liam’s was sewn to the sleeve of his jacket.

Some recent local photos

By

On February 27, 2015

In Uncategorized

Signs of Spring spotted on Market St.


 Seed potatoes


Lawn mowers lined up outside McKenna’s

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Three local Historians




Snapped on the street on Ash Wednesday 2015, Jer. Kennelly, Denis Carroll and Damien Stack, my fellow keepers of the flame of Listowel memories.

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Then and Now

Below are the three most recent locations of Listowel post office in chronological order

Upper William Street is very quiet these days. Getting a parking space to visit the shops here is no bother at all these days.

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At Craftshop na Méar



If you would like a novelty tea cosy, these beautiful creations, all hand made, including the rosary beads are available in the craftshop in Church St. Lots of other beautiful things on offer as well.

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Parking in Super Valu


These signs have appeared recently. I don’t know what the punishment is for exceeding the 2 hours.

There car park was very busy on the day I visited, with big lorries delivering and cars everywhere.



This is a new one on me. Again I don’t know what the penalty is for exceeding the time.

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Emigrant Girls From Killarney

Thirty five Killarney girls were meant to sail on the Elgin from
Plymouth to Adelaide, (Southern Australia) on 31 May 1849.   Finding
the identity of these thirty five girls has been a major problem for me, since
starting the research on the book The Kerry Girls:  Emigration &
the Earl Grey Scheme. 


Thus begins another great essay on the fate of some Kerry girls during The Great Hunger. 

Read Kay Caball’s blog post here;

   My Kerry Ancestors 

Writers Week chairs, Fr. O’Connor of Knockanure and a few holiday snaps

By

On April 30, 2014

In Uncategorized

Some past chairpeople of Listowel Writers Week who attended the Writers Week 2014 programme launch; David Browne, Michael Lynch, Seán Lyons, Nora Relihan and Madeleine O’Sullivan.

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Yes we can!

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Knockanure church commemoration April 25 2014








Bishop Browne and Fr. Lucid

Bishop Browne planted 2 yew trees watched by Fr. Moore


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A Better Class of holiday snap!

John Stack took these stunningly beautiful photos on his recent trip to Italy and Switzerland.

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Below is an extract from a school folklore project:

Fr O’Connor was my granduncle. He was a powerful strong man. Lord Adare was building a castle one time the gave the contract to a Englishman, but he told him the Irish were to get work. The contractor brought a great big strong man from England with him, and any one that could bar stones with him got work .  Labour men brought a letter from FR. O Connor of Shanagolden looking for work but they could not bar stones with the English man so they were sent away. Fr. O Connor gave a letter to a poor man and he went to Lord Adare to get work. He was barring stones with the strong man and he was sent away because he couldn`t  keep up with him .

 ” For Fr. O Connor’s sake give me work” said the poor man. 

“If Fr. O Connor were here himself  I’d give him work” said the foreman. 

When Fr. O Connor heard it, he got an old suit of clothes and he put them on and carried his letter to Adare looking for work. He started working with the strong man. When the bar was full Fr. O Connor said ” Is that all you`re going to carry?” 

The strong man said “The load maybe be too heavy when you get to the top with it.” 

With that Fr. O Connor put on a few more stones on the load. When they were going to start he gave a little shake and broke the Englishman’s back. Everyone got work after that. 

He died in Shanagolden and some friends were there when he dying and he said to them “If the parishioners want to keep me don`t go against them. 

The parishioners buried him in Knockanure graveyard beside the wall.

 (This story was told by C. Shine a Carpenter at Newtownsands)

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Cheeky robin….great photo from Timothy John MacSweeney.

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The Diaspora


I met Graham and Terence Healey in the parish office. They were searching for Healey relatives. They had come all the way from New South Wales in Australia to visit the home of their Healy and Linnane ancestors. They had a great story to tell. More later……


Keith and Chris Stack from New Zealand were in The Horseshoe with Damien tracing their North Kerry Stack roots.

Zentangled Art. Jim Stynes and Stack Clan win Gathering Award

By

On February 28, 2014

In Uncategorized

This is Zentangled Art. I took a class on this in Craftshop na Méar on Saturday and found it positively addictive.

Maria was our very patient teacher. She managed to bring out artistic talent in everyone. This art form is most accessible even to to an artistic klutz like me. I’d recommend it.

Here are a few photos I took of some of the other participants in the class;

Patsy O’Connell
Bernie Carmody
Ruth O’Quigley
Eileen Fitzgerald
Anne Moloney
Carine Schweitzer

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Jim Stynes R.I.P.


(Photo by Paul Rovere)

Dublin-born Australian Rules player Jim Stynes, who died in 2012 after a long battle with cancer, is to be commemorated with a bronze statue outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

When he died, the 45-year-old was honoured with a state funeral in Victoria, where he spent his life after leaving Ireland aged 18 in 1984.

In a statement, MCC president Paul Sheahan said: “It is fitting that 30 years after the Gaelic footballer was recruited from Dublin, we announce Jim Stynes’ induction into the Australia Post Avenue of Legends series.

“A true gentleman of the game, Stynes is an exceptional individual whose achievements as a non-Australian born player remain unmatched.

“There is no doubt that he is one of the most extraordinary and inspiring figures in the history of Australian sport.” 

Before he left Ireland, Stynes won an All-Ireland minor football winners’ medal with his native county in 1984.

The captain of that team, Paul Clarke, attended the funeral, along with GAA President Christy Cooney.

Stynes holds the AFL record for the greatest number of consecutive games at 244 – over 11 years.

He played a total of 264 matches for the Melbourne Demons after making his senior debut in 1987.

But his stature went beyond his on-field deeds as he took over as Melbourne chairman in mid-2008 when the oldest AFL club was in dire financial straits and steered them to financial stability.

He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2007 and was Victorian of the Year in 2003.

Stynes is the fifth sportsperson, after cricketers Shane Warne and Neil Harvey, and footballers Norm Smith and John Coleman, to feature in the Australia Post Avenue of Legends.

(Source; Rte News)

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Congratulations to Damien and everyone involved in organizing The Stack Clan Gathering 2013. They won in the category of Best Family Gathering at the recent Gathering Awards ceremony. Another great Stack festival is planned for 2014. There is no stopping them now.

Summer 2013

By

On September 6, 2013

In Uncategorized

One of the very successful Gathering events of 2013 was the Stack clan gathering. Stacks of stacks and half stacks returned to their roots in Listowel for  short week of fun, entertainment and learning.

I attended their barbeque in The Square with my 2 grandsons.

We ate a pig that had been cooked on a spit.

Stuart Stack provided the musical entertainment. Here he is with his dad, Damien. Damien is the brains behind the clan gathering and he is already working on next year’s event.

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A sign of the times in 21st. Century Ireland

(from Irish
Central)

The first
ever celebration ofPolishheritage, history and culture inCounty Clarewill be held later this month.

The
three-week long Polish Festival will take place at Clare Museum in Ennis from
20th September to 12th October and is being targeted at the region’s
significant Polish population.

There are
more than 2,500 Polish people living in County Clare with an estimated 19,000
other Poles living in the surrounding counties of Galway,Limerickand Tipperary.

Amongst
the free public events being hosted at Clare Museum will be lectures on
Poland’s World War Two experience, Polish film screenings, an exhibition of
Polish modern art, and a lecture by a Polish descendant of two Clare men who
were shipwrecked in the Baltic Sea coast during the 17th century. The Festival
is being supported by Clare Local Authorities and the Department of Arts,
Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Jakub
Kacprzak, Organiser of the Polish Festival, said: “We are very excited about
hosting the upcoming festival, the first of its kind ever to be held in Clare,
a County that has been home to hundreds of Polish people for a number of years
during which they have become active and valued members of the local community.
The upcoming series of events will not only celebrate Poland’s rich culture and
heritage but also will showcase some of the many connections and similarities
between the people of Ireland and Poland. We look forward to welcoming all
members of the local community to Clare Museum during the festival.

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Some Listowel premises that got a facelift during summer 2013


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I spent a week in Dublin in August. I became a culture vulture for the duration. I saw Cats in the Bord Gáis theatre.  I enjoyed the singing and dancing but I would have liked a storyline as well. I saw Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince in Bewleys at lunchtime. It was brilliant. I hope Joe gets to bring it to Listowel during Writers’ Week. It is as good as you’ll get for lunchtime entertainment.

I spent a very enjoyable morning in The National Gallery. You can borrow this phonelike gadget from the desk and if you see a picture with a number beside it, you enter the number in your gadget and you will hear a short guide to the picture; brilliant for people like me who are not too well up on art.

I saw an great exhibition of photographs on the subject of life in Pearse Street in The National Gallery of photography.

Below are a few photos I took to bring you a taste of summer in Dublin.

First up is the Listowel connection. I called to The Kilkenny shop to view Eileen Moylan’s http://www.claddaghdesign.com

jewellery up there with all the best in Irish design. This very talented Listowel silversmith goes from strength to strength.

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This gimmick was proving popular with tourists. There was no set charge. You were expected to give a donation. You take the photo with your own camera.

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This leprechaun had a whole new take on the Irish myth. In his version of the story, you filled his pot of gold rather than the other way round.

The statue of Phil Linnott was back in place. Below are two tableaux of human statues on Grafton Street. These never fail to amaze me.


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