The last of the 2018 butterflies
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The Day after Listowel’s Big Tidy Town Win
The sun was shining so I took the camera and off I went. Here are a few of today’s snaps from Ireland’s tidiest town
In the Square I met some tourists and I dragooned them into posing on the Tidy Town seat. They knew about our win and they had just arrived in town and were beginning to explore.
Our community fruit and nut garden was looking smashing.
Nearly warm enough for a picnic, if one had a picnic.
This is a tad worrying. This apple tree is in bud…in September!
This man who had come to pick up the branches of a fallen tree posed for me with these lovely roses.
He helped out this granny on a mission to collect conkers for her Cork grandchildren.
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Jack McKenna at 100
Family, friends, McKenna’s retired and present staff, historians and admirers came to the Kerry Writers’ Centre in Listowel Town Square on Sept 19 for the launch of Spoil Rotten, the memoir of a local business man, pioneer and philanthropist who has reached the age of 100.
Did you know that this man gave the site for the restored Lartigue railway AND he gave €250,000 to set up the Lartigue Museum? In keeping with this spirit of generosity to his native town, his family took on themselves all the publishing costs of his memoir with all the profits from the sale of the book going to Áras Mhuire, the local retirement home.
On the night of the launch Jack McKenna signed copies of the book and even took the microphone to thank us all for coming and to wonder what he had done to deserve such a turn out.
At the top table were Jimmy Deenihan whose Kerry Literary Trust published the book and who is a friend and admirer of Jack McKenna, Jack’s daughter, Louise, who brought the whole project to fruition, continuing on a labour of love set in train by her late mother, and Fr. Anthony Gaughan who was the guest of honour who launched the book.
This book is an important piece of the jigsaw of Listowel’s history.
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Learning from A Master
This photo was shared on Facebook by Scoil Realta na Maidine. These little boys are taking their first lessons in Irish dancing from Jimmy Hickey.
Among them maybe there is a Justin Walsh or a Patrick O’Mahoney. Both these men are former pupils of Jimmy’s and both have gone on to dance on the world stage.
As part of an ongoing project to produce a film documenting Jimmy Hickey’s life in dancing, Jimmy went to the INEC to see his former pupil, Patrick O’Mahoney dance the lead role in Riverdance.
Before the show, Jimmy got to show Patrick and some of the troupe a step or two and both Patrick and Jimmy were delighted to dance together on the INEC stage.
Jimmy and Patrick dance together on the INEC stage, Killarney in September 2018
Jimmy teaches Patrick a few steps.
Members of the troupe, who were watching in the wings, join in for a lesson as well.
Patrick thanks his former teacher for dropping in to see him. There is a mutual respect between these two men, both masters of the dance .
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The Colour and the Winners at Ladies Day 2018
Waiting for the results of the best dressed competition
The judges, Aoibhinn Garrihy and Marietta Doran, interviewed one another for a bit first.
Then it rained.
David Moran, Kerry footballer, picked the best dressed grooms. This lovely lad came second and the groom below won. He wore a suit he had bought for a wedding and very smart he looked too.
This lady came second in a dress her family didn’t like but the judges loved. Her hat is by Aoife Hannon. I thought I was being a very clever photographer by photographing her face and keeping the full shot in someone’s mobile phone in the picture. Didn’t quite work.
I was too far away from the stage to get a full length shot of this second runner up but her hat was gorgeous .
And the winner is…..
And her prize is …€3000 and this car for a year.
This is the winner from the back. I didn’t actually get a good photo of her because I didn’t think she would win. That’s all I know about fashion!
Meanwhile the business of racing went on, Presentations were made in the parade ring, People watched the horses and the men had a chat.
