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: Listowel Garden Centre Page 1 of 5

Listowel Food Fair Food Trail 2024

William Street Lower in November 2024

Listowel Food Fair Food Trail 2024

Take a look at this array in John R.’s Foodhall and you will know why the 20 places on the food trail are pounced on as soon as they go on sale.

I felt like a youngster nabbing a concert ticket when I bagged mine as soon as they hit the internet.

But back to the trail…

We started our tasting journey in the lovely welcoming Listowel Garden Centre and Cafe.

Like all 5 stops on the trail, Thyme Out Cafe and the garden centre, boutique and gift shop are businesses run by a Listowel family. Nick and Liz, Mairead and Feidhlim Roberts are the power behind Listowel Garden Centre.

The café converted a special corner of the shop into a crepe tasting zone for us. We sampled lots of different filled crepes and we gave feedback on the ones we liked.

Local born but world travelled chef, John Relihan, and his lovely wife, Thalita joined Jimmy Deenihan and Anne Marie O’Riordan to get us started on our food journey.

Jimmy met up with the wife of an old football buddy.

On we went to stop number 2, John R.’s

Again, this is a well established old family business. Joseph and Hannah (above) inherited the business and then passed it on to Pierce and Marian, who expanded it and grew it into the beautiful delicatessen, bakery, winery and accommodation that it is today.

We got delicious savoury and sweet snacks and some wine.

John Relihan who has tasted focaccia in eateries all over the world said that John R.’s focaccia is the best he has tasted. He has been looking forward to it since last year’s trail.

Here is the team behind the feast.

Nicole, was standing in for Pierce who is recovering well from surgery. She is actually on maternity leave but she brought the family along to be part of the occasion.

(more tomorrow)

Something Old….

Do you remember the headline copy? This was the bane of so many lives. The skill of handwriting took care, precision and attention to detail. God help you if you were left-handed. Thank God for computers, autocorrect and the ability to scratch out and rewrite whole sentences and even whole paragraphs.

Rock On

The Stick Of Sweet Rock

Maide Carraige Milis

( Mick O’Callaghan takes a trip down Memory Lane.) 

When I see sticks of rock nowadays, I am immediately transported back into a long-lost part of my life. My taste buds are instantly activated, and the memory section of my cranial department goes into overdrive with thoughts and memories of rock.

 I remember images of holiday times of my youth, day trips to Ballybunion and relations coming home from England and America. The English folk always seemed to come with Blackpool Rock while the American cousins brought candy cane to us when they visited. I can clearly remember the unbridled excitement of tearing off the wrapping and revealing the glorious spearmint flavoured stick of boiled sugar. I recall the dire warnings from my mother about damaging my teeth as we busily tried to bury our molars into the rock-hard piece of confectionery.

My memory tape plays on and I am now at Puck Fair in Killorglin in the glorious month of August. We crossed over the Laune Bridge and parked our bikes in Foleys yard where they were chained and padlocked and safe for the day. As we were emerging our nostrils picked up the scent of fish and chips and crubeens or pig’s feet. It was traditional to eat them and who was I to break the custom. We gorged on the greasy messy fat laden pigs’ trotters and having devoured them we plodded on to the first chip wagon where we ate round two of greasy lunch, all washed down with a bottle of Nash’s red lemonade followed by the bar of Cadbury’s chocolate for dessert. Then we left it to our overworked digestive system to look after that mixture.

Now that the gourmet dining was finished and appetites were satisfied, we headed up the hill to view King Puck who was crowned king and safely ensconced in his regal perch above the citizens of Killorglin, where he reigned for three days. There were hurdy gurdies, hucksters de gach sort, three card trick people, horse dealers, manure, and smells everywhere. You never in all your days saw such an array of loose sweets, rocks, loose biscuits on sale everywhere. They were filled into paper tóisíns [cone shaped paper containers]and handled by people who had never sanitised or washed their hands or wore plastic gloves in their lives. We ate them all and survived to tell the tale. On the way home we had to buy the souvenir rock from puck.

And then there was the annual pilgrimage to Knock Shrine. Pilgrims travelled by bus and train from all over the country to the shrine. I remember my father coming home exhausted after the trip. They recited constant rosaries, with each decade interspersed by an exhortation to Mary followed by passionate singing of hymns in praise of Mary e.g. Queen of the May. Then there was the mass in the shrine followed by the Stations of the Cross and benediction. The day wasn’t complete without a trip to the stalls, purchasing miraculous medals, scapulars, small bottles of holy water, rosary beads and the stick of rock from Knock for the children. All the religious paraphernalia were blessed, but I am not too sure about the blessed rock from Knock.

Years later when I was teaching in Arklow town there was one Tommy from Knock teaching there, and we shared digs. Tommy left school every Friday evening when there was a major pilgrimage group in Knock because he had a stall there. He travelled back early Monday morning and always looked very tired and dishevelled after his weekend of selling religious objects to the throngs of people who flocked from north, south, east, and west looking for some miraculous cure. I remember getting a lift down to school on one wet Monday morning from Tommy. He told me to clear the front seat. It was full of rosary beads, scapulars, medals and on the floor were two boxes of Knock Rock which he said were his best sellers as they had a special dental blessing. I believed him but thousands would not.

So, whether its spearmint, Neapolitan, peppermint, or green and gold sticks of boiled sugar stickiness you’re into, let’s all move on and eat our rock, if you can still buy them.

Rock on.

A Fact

The Procrastinators’ Club of America sends a newsletter to its members under the masthead Last Month’s Newsletter.

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Stags, Horses and Style

Waiting in the long grass…Chris Grayson’s image of stags in The National Park before the commencement of the rut.

Tackling a Horse

This photo of a workhorse in Jim Dunn’s great Athea mural led me to boast that I once could name every piece of tack on that horse. Mattie Lennon helped me out.

There is a winkers on the horses head and a bit in his mouth. The reins is attached to the bit.

Around the horse’s neck is the collar and hames. The reins goes through this.

On his back is the straddle and britchen.

If the horse was attached to a cart, a bellyband under the horse and attached to the shafts prevented the cart from tipping up.

The brass attached to the winkers was an optional piece of horse jewellery.

Gortaglanna Memorial

Gortaglanna
Gortaglanna Celtic Cross

I thought that the white commemorative steps on the roadside were the memorial to those who fell at Gortaglanna, but I was wrong. Kathleen Griffin sent us these pictures which she took on a rainy day in 2016 of the bigger monument. This memorial is in the field where the men died.

There’s Always Hope

Some of the local Style on Ladies Day at Listowel Races 2024

A gravity defying creating from milliner, Cathy Troth

One for the Diary

Signwriter at Work

Martin Chute was on his scaffold painting Listowel Garden Centre sign as I was going to Thyme Out for a cuppa and a chat.

Martin is used to immersing himself in his work and ignoring distractions.

But when he spots me, he is always willing to chat.

On this occasion he descended the ladder to pose with Barry McAuliffe and his son who are home on a visit from the U.S. Barry is one of my oldest internet friends, from the days when we were all on Boards.ie. He reminded me that he won Vincent’s nearly impossible quiz and he has the placemats to prove it.

A Fact

Albert Einstein’s brain had a parietal lobe that was 15% larger than the average human brain

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Remembering and Celebrating

Charles Street, April 6 2024

Forty Years of Gardening

Radio Kerry’s lovely new wagon was the first indication that today was a big day at Listowel Garden Centre.

Forty years in business for the MacAuliffe Roberts family

There were raffles every hour on the hour in aid of Listowel Hospice.

A great day of celebration and fun.

Remembering Michelle

It is always unbelievably sad when a yearbook contains an obituary. Michelle had only just left Pres. and her memory was still very much alive in the school when she died. She made a mark. May she rest in peace

Just a Thought

Here is the link to my reflections in the Just a Thought slot on Radio Kerry last week.

Just a Thought

Immigrant Communities in Britain

This is Rook Street in London in 1912. There was a large Irish community in the Poplar area in the East end of London in the early 1900s. This photograph shows local residents preparing for their Corpus Christi procession.

The photograph is part of a collection in the National Archives in Britain. The postcard was sent to me by Ethel Corduff (formerly Walsh of Tralee). Ethel has a great interest in immigration and immigrant communities. It was she who studied and documented the story of Irish girls training as nurses in British hospitals. Her important book, Ireland’s Loss, England’s Gain tells their story.

A Poem

John McAuliffe doesn’t find an empty house creepy at all.

Today’s Fact

During the 1950s atomic bomb tests were a popular tourist attraction in Las Vegas.

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A Garden Centre, a Forge and a Food Fair

Small Square, Monday October 30 2023

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Listowel Garden Centre

Listowel Garden Centre is a very interesting place to be at any time of year but at Christmas time it’s required visiting.

I was in the lovely café last week to meet up with friends.

Some of my old friends were just finishing up their regular meet-up. They are just back from their trip to Belfast to visit the Titanic Museum.

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Lyreacrompane Forge

Remember my visit to Canty’s Forge mural? Karen Trench of Lyreacrompane Heritage Group pointed me in the right direction for the full story.

This is the photo of the official opening from the heritage group’s page.

Here is what they have to say about the photo and the forge;

The gable of the old forge building on the main road through the area now carries a mural depicting a forge scene from the past. The Lyreacrompane Heritage Group commissioned Mike O’Donnell from Tralee to do the artwork and it is now catching the eye all those passing by. 

“People immediately recognise the image of the ‘Bull McCabe’, a character in John B Keane’s play, The Field”, Kay O’Leary from the Heritage Group told The Kerryman. She went on, “There is much debate as to which murder in the area ‘The Field’ is based on but the character of the Bull McCabe does point in one direction and John B knew the Lyreacrompane area and its happenings and secrets from a young age!”

The other image on the mural that has people asking questions is of a young girl watching the horse being shod.  Joe Harrington from the Heritage group explains that this image represents Amelia Canty (1874-1955), who played an important role in the War of independence in North Kerry. He credits Kerry historian, Mary McAuliffe with unearthing the story.   Amelia was born in the original Canty homestead near the forge which had been set up by her father.  In her forties she worked undercover in RIC barracks in Abbeydorney and Listowel and in a witness statement to the Bureau Military History in 1955, Patrick McElligott, Commander of the Volunteers in North Kerry during the War of Independence, said that; “It would have been nearly impossible to carry on in such a hotbed of spies and informers without her aid”.  

Some of the older people still remember the Forge in Lyreacrompane and the mural brings back many childhood memories.  It seems that the wet day was always the busiest at the forge as farmers, unable to work in the wet weather, used the time to get horses shod, gates and farm machinery fixed and catch up with the local news. Those gatherings at the forge were an important opportunity for social gatherings back then.  Canty’s Forge closed in 1951 and on Sunday last, the extended Canty family gathered to view the mural, remember olden times and pass on the story to the younger generation.

In the photo.  On the left; Jeremiah and Shay O’Connor, Cathy and Evelyn Canty, Donagh and Rian Horgan, Mike Horgan, Donal Canty and Leah and Ava Canty.  On the right; Finnán and Daire Canty, John, Betty and Patsy Canty, Catherine Canty Horgan and Sean Horgan, Margaret Canty Kerins, Heather O’Connor and Padraig Canty.

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Looking forward to Listowel Food Fair

We don’t have long to wait now for our annual festival of all things food related.

Listowel Food Fair Nov. 9 to Nov. 19 2023

This picture shared by the food fair committee is from the very first festival

Darina Allen will be back again as guest of honour at the banquet and award ceremony. Darina has a new book out. This one is all about bread making.

Be sure to check out this year’s programme (link above). It’s the best yet.

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Walkabout

The way we were according to this 1990s guide

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A Fact

Mosquitoes prefer to bite children. They also prefer blondes to brunettes. eating bananas increases your chances of being bitten by a mosquito.

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In Lyreacrompane

Presentation Convent bell in the grounds of St. Mary’s, Listowel

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New Business in The Square

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Lyreacrompane

My son in law, Seán, works for Bord na Móna. His father is retired from Bord na Móna and his mother still works in Bord na Móna head office in Newbridge.

When my Kildare family visited recently we headed to Lyreacrompane to see the latest in the local Bórd na Móna connection.

This Mike O’Donnell mural stands on the spot where the bog and works once stood.

On the hill behind the mural is today’s source of power, wind turbines.

Looking right as you face the mural, you can see the remains of a tippler.

Archive photo of a tippler in use

Lyreacrompane Bord na Móna workers had a hard life. During the turf harvest, workers (all male) came from far and near. They lived in Nissan huts in fairly primitive conditions for months on end. Everyday they toiled in wet bogs doing backbreaking work as they harvested the turf for household fires, for industry and for power. The good old days!

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A Poem in Praise of Abbeyfeale

from Dan Keane’s The Heather is Purple

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Garden Centre Christmas Shop

It’s open!

More photos next week.

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Be Halloween Safe

Two friendly gardaí were working in Garvey’s helping to make Halloween a safe enjoyable holiday.

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A Fact

There were four funnels on the ill fated Titanic. Only three of them were functional. The fourth fake one was added to make the ship look more powerful and symmetrical.

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P.S. A big thank you to everyone who contacted Listowel Connection to help Tom Gould help his wife to find her Listowel Connection. Tom and Noreen are delighted with all the information.

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