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: Deborah Cronin

Hands across the Ocean

Market Street in March 2025

A few More Old Postcards from Máire MacMahon

William Street looks so busy on that day with ladders, horses, Model Ts and people all over the place.

An Irish American Poet with a strong Listowel Connection

Sean Carlson no linger lives in Listowel but he maintains a strong link with us.

Sean has been in touch. Here is his news…

Hi Mary,

Three new recent write-ups for you to know about:

Home and/or Home,” my interview following our 2024 Listowel Writers’ Week panel with Erin Fornoff and Gustav Parker Hibbett on their respective poetry and experiences also growing up in the U.S. and writing in Ireland, was published in The Common, a U.S. literary journal.

Bus to Ballybunion,” my short dispatch from the Tralee to Ballybunion afternoon route was featured in the winter/spring 2025 issue of Trasna, a journal on Ireland and its diasporas.

Every time a fly went by,” written in and about Listowel and first published last year in the Honest Ulsterman, was recently selected for Verse Daily‘s poem-a-day anthology.

Best wishes from here!

– Sean

St Patrick got his very own Executive Order

Here is an exchange from the Oval Office as reported by The National Desk.

(On March 7 2025)

“Lindsey Halligan then presented Trump with the Irish American Heritage Month proclamation. She told Trump it was a “proclamation proclaiming March 2025 as Irish American Heritage month in honor of, to commemorate our amazing friendship between America and Ireland and to just honor all of the Irish Americans and I’m a little bit biased, because I am American and Irish.”

Trump said, “They’re great people, great people.”

Halligan reminded the president, “St. Patrick’s Day is coming up as well.”

Trump noted that Irish Americans voted for him in “heavy numbers.”

Holding up the signed document, Trump told reporters, “So for the Irish American people, proclamation.”

Irish Americans have played a crucial role in our great American story — courageously overcoming adversity and hardship to embolden our culture, enliven our spirit, and fortify our way of life. This Irish-American Heritage Month, we commemorate the special bond of friendship between the United States and Ireland — and we honor the extraordinary contributions of Irish-American citizens past and present, Trump wrote.”

Trump obviously loves our American cousins and they love him as shown by their voting for him in “heavy numbers’. Let’s hope he remembers that when it comes to slapping his beloved tariffs on Big Pharma and Tech companies with their European bases in Ireland.

“If You’re Irish, come into the parlour….”

What a welcome from Donald Trump and JD Vance yesterday?

Remember

Deborah’s Lixnaw ancestors

Deborah Cronin wrote

“…I am also related to Tony McCarthy from Lixnaw. His charming wife gave me information to help me. 

I will send you a photo of a map from 1850 that Nora McCarthy sent me. This depicts the McCarthy & McAuliffe properties. We visited the McCarthys a few years. My children have also visited. When we were there we met some relatives, Delia McAuliffe O’Sullivan and Mickey Heapy.”

A Fact

Our national colour used to be blue. It’s only been changed to green in popular, but not official, culture in the last 100 years.

<<<<<<<

A World full of Change

Charming door in Courthouse Road in March 2025

Lovely Ladies in Vincent’s Listowel

Nancie, Hannah, Mary and Liz volunteering in my favourite charity shop on Friday March 7 2025. It is always a pleasure to meet these ladies and they are always so helpful and hard working.

Listowel and Curraghcroneen

Deborah Cronin has been in touch with pictures of her Irish ancestors. These McAuliffe and Fitzmaurice people are the Chicago branch of a very Kerry family.

McAuliffe sisters; the child standing is Deborah’s grandmother, Maude Fitzmaurice

These two people are Deborah McAuliffe Fitzmaurice and
John J Fitzmaurice 

Deborah gave us a full list of the family;

John J. Fitzmaurice was born in Listowel in 1861. His parents were James Fitzmaurice (1833-1898) and Mary Dee (1840-1905.)  John arrived in Chicago in 1879 and ultimately became a Police Sgt.
Deborah McAuliffe was John’s second wife. She was born to Thomas McAuliffe & Margaret McCarthy in Curraghcroneen in 1870. She died in Chicago in 1896. John & Deborah were parents of my grandmother, Margaret (Maud) Fitzmaurice born in 1892 in Chicago. 
Deborah died when Maud was 3 so she (standing child) was raised by her Aunts (Deborah’s sisters.) All the Aunts moved to Chicago, their brothers stayed in Ireland.


The McAuliffes:
Johanna 1861-1945
John 1862-1926
Bridget 1864-1944
Nell 1867-1914
Margaret 1868-1958
Deborah
Ellenor(1872-1915)
Michael (1874-1933)
Catherine (1876-1954)
Daniel (1879-1912)
Thomas McAuliffe’s children from a prior marriage to Honora Fitzgerald.
Hannah (1856-?)
Patrick (1858-1948)
Mary (1858-1917)

Just because

A horse is a horse, of course, of course

And no one can talk to a horse, of course…

Not true. This fellow was out to the door posing for the camera with his ears cocked as soon as he heard my voice.

End of an Era

Postboxes in Copenhagen…(picture from the internet)

The Danish post office has been collecting and delivering letters since 1624. After December 2025 that service will be no more and the postboxes will be removed from the streets. 1,500 jobs will be lost. Parcel post will still be handled and I think you will still be able to send or receive a letter through the post office mail room.

A Fact

The first Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place in Dublin in 1931.

<<<<<<<<

Moloney’s. A Letter from Listowel in 1897, Gurtinard Wood and Art in The Square for Listowel Visual Arts Week 2018

Baby deer photo by Chris Grayson

<<<<<<<<<

Moloney’s Garage, Market Street

Moloney’s of Listowel had the Ford dealership when many Irish people and particularly Munster people drove a Ford. Ford had an assembly plant in Cork.

Same building today

<<<<<<<<



A Letter from Kerry



This story is brought to us by Deborah Cronin. This is what she wrote;

My great grandfather, John J. Fitzmaurice, was from Listowel.  He was born in 1861 to James Fitzmaurice and Mary Dee.  John J. went to Chicago where he became a police officer and Detective. Eventually John married Deborah McAuliffe of Croughcroneen.   I am attaching a letter from James to son John written in 1897 that I thought you might find interesting.  Also attached are photos of John J. & Deborah.



It tells of a reliance on tillage farming, oats and potato harvest are of concern and there is also that blind faith in God to provide despite the evidence that there are hard times ahead. There seems to be a bit of trouble with a Mrs. Stack but it’s not too clear what that is.



<<<<<<<<



Gurtinard Wood


The walk through the woods is leafy and inviting these days.

<<<<<<



Listowel Visual Arts Week 2018


Listowel Visual Arts Week is a great addition to the plethora of festivals now taking place in Listowel. For one week, everywhere we looked there was Art on display. The festival was blessed with glorious sunshine and doubly blessed with generous artists and art collectors who shared their talents and treasures with us.

Readers of this blog will be familiar with the work of Athea based artist, Jim Dunn. He is responsible for the two enviable murals depicting Athea people and Athea life that adorn the village.

During Listowel Visual Arts Week, not only did we get to see Jim’s work, we also saw Jim at work. We saw how he does it and we even got an opportunity to “help” him create a masterpiece.

Jim paints with his right hand and in his left he holds a maul stick as an aid to keeping his hand steady.

You may recognise the local amateur artist painting a piece of the artwork.




I took these photos on day one. The painting went on for three days. So I’ll bring you more tomorrow.



Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén