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: Kerry Crusaders Page 2 of 3

Tena and Rochelle Griffin and their marathon adventures, Christy Moore and a few from Ard Churam Official opening

By

On April 14, 2016

In Uncategorized

Photo: Jim MacSweeney

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Griffin Sisters: Runners


This is Tena and Rochelle Griffin of Listowel with their proud parents, Martin and Carmel. The photo was taken at the finish of the recent marathon in Listowel. I asked Rochelle where this love of running came from and here is what she said,

“My running journey began with joining the local
running group, Kerry Crusaders.

In January 2013 myself and my sister, Tena
started running from lamp post to lamp post on the John B Keane road,  eventually building up to running the length
of it.

We had run a mile and we wanted to tell the
world

We  entered lots of races to build up the miles
and we set our sights on the Dublin Marathon in October 2013.

The Kerry Crusaders offer a fantastic training
schedule for this marathon so our summer involved very early mornings and very
long runs. That marathon was the start of a journey I didn’t expect. Along the
way we have made lots of fantastic memories.

The family I ran with Saturday, Team Kerr,  have really worked hard to promote inclusion
so that children with special needs can get involved in activities like anyone
else.

Myself and Tena have ran a lot of races lately
with them to help them and keep them company on the 26.2 miles of a marathon.

Absolutely anything is possible if you try it.

As the Crusader motto goes, Inch by Inch.

Team Kerr after completing the Listowel marathon  ( more on this bunch tomorrow)

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John Halkett’s retirement party in John B.’s


Photo; Neil Brosnan on Facebook




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The Man of the Moment

photo: Irish independent

Christy Moore, the Kildare singer songwriter is basking in a wave of adulation at the moment. He has a TV programme made about him and in the papers he is described as “a national treasure”.

It was not always thus. The below photo from Rabble shows Christy being searched by a British Secret Serviceman at the height of the Northern Irish conflict.


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Ard Churam Official opening (photos by John Kelliher)


Two of the people who have been with this project from the start are Micheál OSuilleabháin and Joan Walsh.

Jimmy Deenihan is a great supporter of the venture. He helped with the funding and it was he who made the contact with The Ring of Kerry Cycle which became the main plank of the fundraising. He cycled The Ring himself and intends doing it again this year. He quipped at the opening that he has a little more time for training this time round.



Ard Churam committee at the official opening on Friday April 8 2016

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Sixty Five Roses




Cystic Fibrosis is a hard term to pronounce when you are very young, so some genius came up with the idea of telling the newly diagnosed children to say 65 roses instead and people would know what they were trying to say.

This is CF Awareness week and if you want to help raise funds for this very worthy charity you can pop along to Christy’s on Friday

“On April 15th we will hold a Coffee morning in Christy’s Bar “The Well”listowel, fundraising for CF 

CF ireland have to rely alot on fundraising 

We will be selling rose pins and there will also be a raffle. Come in for tea coffee and lots of goodies to be had.



Raffle tickets on sale 2xeuro a strip or 3x strips for 5euro “

WW1 Dead Remembered, Pride of Place, Kerry Crusaders, a Listowel born veteran and The Field in St. Johns

By

On November 16, 2015

In Uncategorized

Nothing about War is Glorious


Yesterday, in the aftermath of Friday November 13th’s atrocities in Paris, was a good day to remind ourselves of all that was has taken from North Kerry by war. The good people atListowel Military Tattoo organized a moving ceremony to commemorate all the local soldiers who had lost their lives in WW1 and also to remember all those who had lost their lives in any conflict. We remembered too the civilians who died because they were caught up in conflict.


The flag at the memorial stone flew at half mast.

Inside St. John’s the stage and auditorium were decorated with the flags of many nations. The ceremony was a non denominational religious one. We prayed and observed silence for all those idealistic people who had given their lives for a cause they believed in.

 This young lady read the poem, In Flanders Fields, in memory of her ancestor who died in WW1 and whose remains were only recovered in 2002.

Then a procession of people read the names of people from their locality who had died. Some of the young people struggled with names like Gallipoli, Salonica, Ypres and The Somme.

These theatres of war were once household names.

The names of the dead were the familiar names of our neighbours and fellow townsfolk.


Jimmy Deenihan reminded us that war is not too far away in today’s world.

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Pride of Place 2015


We didn’t win. Castlemartyr did. But there was a small consolation in an award which went Kerry’s way.

 It went to to Kerry Traveller  Health and Community Development Project.

Listowel people take great pride in their own place. We don’t need an award to tell the world that.

A huge vote of thanks is due toListowel Tidy Towns and everyone who put in such a massive effort to win us this accolade.

Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.

Photo from Listowel Tidy Towns shows the Listowel contingent at the awards ceremony in Ennis on Saturday.

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Kerry Crusaders Big Day, Saturday November 14 2015

These are some of the dry Crusaders who were helping with the registration on Saturday. Months of hard work went into the organization of Kerry Crusaders first competitive run in Listowel. Despite the truly dreadful weather the event was a huge success. 

You will find all the details and some more photos on their Facebook page (link above).

Vincent Carmody was one of the many participants in the 10k walk on Saturday.

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Another treasured photo from Paul Murphy

Bill Kearney at the mike.

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Listowel born U.S. Army veteran


This is Jimmy O’Connor,  who was born in Tannavalla, Listowel in 1935. Jimmy served in the US army . On his return home from Chicago he married Eileen from Greenville.

Jimmy’s son, Brian sent me the photo.

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The Field in St. John’s


St. John’s was full to the rafters every night last week.  Such was the demand for tickets that they had to put on an extra performance of John B.’s powerful and disturbing play.


Nora Relihan and Joe Murphy serving refreshments at the interval, in St. John’s on Thursday November 12 2015.

Co. Cork countryside, in The Lartigue Museum and Crusaders in Dingle

By

On September 11, 2015

In Uncategorized

Life in the Country 2015


These great photos of tillage farming in Liscarroll, Co. Cork were taken last week by local photographer, Denis MacSweeney.

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More from The Lartigue Museum at Pride of Place Judging



Jimmy Deenihan with Martin Griffin welcome the visitors to the museum where a great crowd of local business people had gathered to meet them.

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Crusade to Dingle

A group of Kerry Crusaders who ran marathons and half marathons in Dingle on Saturday.

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The Good Old Days




(Photo: Facebook)



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Christy Browne Remembered

Christy Browne, artist and his mother are remembered at this time. Christy passed away in Sept 1981 after a life spent painting with his left foot.

Christy Browne was the youngest of 13 children born to a Crumlin family. Christy’s mother never let his cerebral palsy stop Christy doing anything he wanted. She encouraged his art and his writing. He celebrated her in his autobiography My Left Foot which was later to be made into a film. Brenda Fricker won an Oscar for her portrayal of Christy’s mother.

Christy married and lived out his final years in Co. Kerry.

(Photos; Rare Irish Stuff)

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Kearney’s Bar , Moyvane


The late Dan Kearney of Moyvane with some of his customers and with some of his grandchildren

(photos: Moyvane Village)

Listowel Tidy Towns and an unusual Cork Workshop

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On June 26, 2015

In Uncategorized

Listowel Tidy Towns

Listowel Tidy Towns are a great organization, well embedded in the community. They do excellent work and support every effort that contributes to Listowel’s looking and feeling better.

Listowel Girls Primary school community at the raising of their 5th green flag.

Kerry Crusaders help Listowel Tidy Towns with a clean up.





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A really unusual Café


During my Cork holiday, I was taken to a really quirky and quaint café. it is located not too far from the airport. If you want to visit, you will have to look up the directions on their website; 

The Workshop Tearooms


One of the first things to caught my eye as we parked the car was the tree hung with old chipped and cracked cups.

The family who run the venture also keep prizewinning hens and poultry. My photo does not do justice to this lady as I caught her when the wind had ruffled her feathers.

 A tabletop made from an old road sign

A rail of turf at the door

As you can see, its not your usual café entrance. The business is run by two brothers and it is housed in what was once their father’s workshop.

 Once inside, you will see that the place is full of curios, antiques and bric a brac. Everything is for sale, even the chair you are sitting on.

 An old record player was playing swing music on the day I was there.

In the bathroom, the washhandbasin is inside an old gramophone cabinet.

This is a photograph of a man in Fermoy standing beside a door from his shop which is now a feature of The Workshop.

Pinning their colours to the mast, in pride of place is a framed signed Cork jersey.

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Remember these?


I took the above photographs in The River Island Hotel in Castle Island

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Pastoral scene near Glenflesk

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This is a photo (from the internet) of a cyclist in the Tour de France in the early 1900’s

Writers’ Week, Athea, Sporting people, old Listowel photos and Cycle against Suicide in town

By

On May 12, 2015

In Uncategorized

Listowel Writers’ Week 2015



I was in Bank of Ireland on Friday with Liz Dunn, Margaret Broderick and David Browne on an awareness raising mission for this year’s brilliant programme.

In my picture, Liz and Margaret are holding the poster for the Children’s programme. This year your baby can boogie with Jo Jordan or your older designer can make a headpiece with Aoife Hannon. If your offspring are not into dancing or millinery, they can sit and listen to fabulous authors like Shane Hegarty (Darkmouth) or Sarah Webb  who has a marvelous website Sarah Webb with tips for aspiring writers and study notes for the teacher who wants to use her books in the classroom.

And that’s only a small taste of what will be happening in Listowel Community Centre for

National Children’s Literary Festival 2015

There really is something for everyone and again this year Easons Listowel are sponsoring some of the prizes.



That’s the June weekend’s entertainment sorted for you!



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Athea Revisited


On the May holiday weekend I had visitors. Visitors are always my perfect excuse to visit Athea. 

Such is Jim Dunn’s skill as an artist that I think his man and horse in the mural look as real as Tony and Mary who were  enthralled by them.

Jim’s work is progressing on the other side of The Forge. I am fascinated to see the scene come to life.

My visitors live in the Heartland of Bord na Mona so I showed them the other mural as well and they were particularly taken with the turf cutting scene.

As we walked over the bridge on our way to Fairy Mountain, we came upon this lovely man feeding the wild ducks.

Bugs proved a little elusive.

Leaving her worries behind.

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Crusaders




These people are out and about and doing us proud. They are a great ad for a healthy lifestyle. I think this photo was taken before The Great Limerick Run. Respect!

Another troop rocking the healthy outdoor lifestyle, Finuge Freewhelers.

Listowel Tae Kwon Do start them young in this very disciplined and athletic sport.

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Listowel in The Rare Ould Times




These two photos have appeared recently on Facebook posted by Knocknaheeny Hollyhill

The ladies in the top photo are identified by Noreen Brennan as Mrs Lawlee from Shrone and Mrs. Hayes from Bedford.

The lower photo is of Convent Street

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Cycle against Suicide



On Sunday May 3 the cycle came through Listowel.

These girls came from Tralee to join the cycle.

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Great footage from the military weekend here:

Listowel on Forces TV

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