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
Kanturk always looks well. It has a very hard working Tidy Town Group, a Men’s Shed and a very involved local community.
The grotto at Greenane is always beautifully maintained.
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A Few More from My Brehon Law Book
“The laws were a civil rather than a criminal code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts; the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland’s early jurists. They show Ireland in the early medieval period to have been a hierarchical society, taking great care to define social status, and the rights and duties that went with it, according to property, and the relationships between lords and their clients and serfs.” Wikipedia
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Some People at the Hospice Coffee Morning
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Things Fall Apart !
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St. Patrick’s Hall’s New Sign
This is how it used to look with the old white sign
This is how St. Patrick’s Hall looks today with its glamorous new gold sign.
I spotted Martin Chute erecting this one. He did a beautiful job, as usual.
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A Fact
Even though the first newspaper crossword appeared in a US newspaper in 1913, it took until November 2 1924 before a crossword was published in an English paper, The Sunday Express.
Text: Listowel Pitch and Putt Club on March 2 2024
Last night, the Listowel Municipal District honored our three All Ireland Champions at their annual awards night in Listowel. Honored were Jake Shine (All Ireland Junior Strokeplay Champion, 2020 (played in 2021)), Killian O’Gorman (All Ireland Intermediate Strokeplay Champion, 2022), and Ajay Barrett (All Ireland Boys Strokeplay Champion, 2022). It was a lovely night for the boys to be honored by their hometown for their amazing achievements on the Pitch and Putt course. Thank you to the Listowel Municipal District for acknowledging their achievements. Well done, boys.
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A Poem
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1986 in the Newspaper Archives
Kerryman, Friday, October 03, 1986
BARE SERVICE FOR THE BLIND
SERVICES for nearly 250 blind people throughout Kerry ¦ are “barely surviving” according to the Chairperson of the Kerry branch of the (National Council, for the Blind, Mary Jo McDonnell.
Last week nearly 100 bind people from around the county gathered in Ballybunion for the NCs Kerry Branch lunch. The organisation, in Kerry is finding it, increasingly difficult: to .run its services on, its present Health ‘Board grant,’ and voluntary subscriptions.
Next year the Kerry Branch, will be without a permanent headquarters when it: will have to vacate its present premises at the Social Services Centre in Tralee.
Moira finds that the attitude to the blind has changed with the general greater understanding of the disabled. Some bind people still have barriers, about using a white cane and, the attitude of sighted people can help in overcoming these.
Meanwhile the fund raising by the Kerry Branch continues. One recent example of it was a marathon walk by Bernie O’Connor of Moyvane who works in Rehab in Tralee and who raised, £600 by walking from, Killarney, through Tralee and Listowel and, on to Ballybunion.
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Irish American Heritage Month..The Listowel Connection
Tonight, March 6 2024, is a big night for our own Vincent Carmody.
The Irish American Historical Society will bring the extraordinary story of Kathy Buckley to a New York audience.
“Born in Upper William Street in Listowel, Co. Kerry in 1885, immigrant Kathy Buckley had unprecedented access to the highest corridors of power of the 20th Century, not to mention some of the era’ best kitchens. She was once heard to remark, “If my sandwiches came back from the Oval Office uneaten, I knew then there was a world crisis.”
In 1900, Kathy was employed as a kitchen help at the Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville Co. Kerry. In 1906, some American guests dined there and one asked to meet the cook. He was none other than the famous banker, JP Morgan, and in a pivotal moment in her young life, Morgan offered Kathy a job as an assistant cook at his home in New York. She was eventually hired by Mrs. Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin Coolidge, to head the White House kitchen.
The author of the book is Vincent Carmody, a proud Listowel man, who has published a number of books starting with North Kerry Camera: Photographic Memories of Listowel and its Surroundings 1860-1960, in 1989. He followed that book with Listowel – Snapshots of an Irish Market Town, 1850- 1950, in 2012.
The book will be launched by culinary journalist and historian Laura Shapiro. Her essays, reviews and features have also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet, Gastronomica, Slate and many other publications. Her first book was Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century (1986), which the University of California Press has reissued with a new Afterword. She is also the author of Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America (Viking, 2004), and Julia Child (Penguin Lives, 2007), which won the award for Literary Food Writing from the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2008″
Text and photo from the page of The American Irish Historical Society
Jimmy Deenihan lead us from café to restaurant to take away on Saturday as he showcased one of his pet passions, Listowel food.
My friend, John Relihan, internationally renowned chef and meat expert was also on the trail. I was documenting it for you.
John brought his womenfolk, Mary Ann, proud mother, and Talitha, proud wife.
At each stop (there were 5 ) a member of staff told us a bit about what they do. My friend, Anne Marie ORiordan told us all about Thyme Out Café at Listowel Garden Centre.
It was a super start to the trail. we got a cuppa while we were waiting and then we got samples of all their wares, savoury and sweet. I heeded the lesson of former years and held back at the first stop. The food was lovely and the staff are so efficient and welcoming.
Here I made the first of my new friends. This couple travelled from Dromid to enjoy the delights of Listowel eating.
We drank the coffee and things got better and better.
On to John R.’s tomorrow.
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A Listowel Legend Remembered
I took this photo of the late Toddy Buckley and Noreen a few years ago.
Toddy was remembered by the Pitch and Putt Club in a post lately.
Photos and text: Listowel Pitch and Putt Club
Brilliant photo by Brendan Landy shared by the club.
This month marks the fourth anniversary of the passing of Toddy Buckley. Toddy Buckley shot a course record of -13 (41) in June 1982, a record that holds to the present day. Toddy was more than just the course record holder at Listowel Pitch and Putt Club. He was part of the fabric of the place and worked hard on and off the course to further the cause of the club. He took a particular interest in juvenile pitch and putt and acted as a mentor to many juveniles in the 1980s/90s. A big thank you to Mary Buckley, daughter of Toddy, for presenting the club with this lovely memento of Toddy’s remarkable achievement.
PS: for the eagle-eyed of you, the card was signed by Willie Enright. The course of time has meant that Willie’s signature is now barely visible.
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Kanturk’s Newest Success Story
On my recent visit home I called in to Catch Up Café. You may have read the story or heard Jack on radio. But for those who don’t know this great story here it is.
In my photo are Jack Tobin and his mother, Sonia, who run Catch up café in The Square.
This quirky little café has grown in popularity since its opening in April.
Above are some of the jokey signs that set the tone for the place. The decor is black and it looks like a city café.
Now the reason Catch up Café is in the news is because Jack launched his very own Coffee there on Friday evening, November 10 2023.
Jack is 24 . He has lost 10 years of that 24 to drug addiction. He was born in Cobh where he started smoking cannabis at a young age. He spiralled downwards into addiction until a day in 2021 when he knew it was make or break.
His family had relocated to Kanturk hoping to take him away from his drug taking suppliers and companions. He found new contacts and new suppliers and he was worse than ever.
He had been introduced to catering at the Cork Life Centre where he completed his education. His mother gave up her job as a Home Ec teacher, Jack went through rehab. and together they opened Catch up Café under Jack’s management.
A landmark event in the story of Jack and the café was the launch of “The Recovery Blend” of coffee blended especially for the cafe by Soma in Cork.
An exemplary young man from an exceptionally supportive family. I hope Kanturk continues to be good to them.
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A Fact
Roy C. Sullivan of Virginia USA was struck by lightning seven times in his life.He suffered a burnt left shoulder, legs, chest and stomach, burnt hair (twice) and lost a toenail and both eyebrows.
My photo of The Dandy Lodge and Gable of Pitch and Putt Clubhouse in March 2023
Toddy Buckley R.I.P., Tom O’Halloran R.I.P, Eileen Worts R.I.P. and Pat Walshe
Tom O’Halooran R.I. P. and Anne Hartnett
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Tony O’Callaghan , Artist in Copper
The Sculpture in Listowel Town Square is the design work of the late Tony O’Callaghan, a man better known for his copper plaques which are now proudly displayed in houses in Listowel and beyond.
I’m going to tell you more about Tony O’Callaghan and his work next week . Today I’m going to share with you a beautiful piece he made to be presented to Éamon ÓMurchú.
The story in Éamon’s words;
St Ciarán
Bronze plaque is of St Ciarán. I got a present of it when Principal of Scoil Chiaráin, Glasnevin (1970-2000). St Ciarán was born in 512 and was a pupil of Mobhi who had a monastery in Glasnevin – hence the connection with the locality.
His feast day is on September 9th and he was the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is renowned for his learning and production of books.
The impact of education and the natural world occur again and again in the stories about Ciarán. It is written that a stag wandered up to Ciarán to hold his books in his antlers and retired daily without getting his books wet – hence the depiction on plaque.
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That “Comely Maidens” Speech Remembered
(from The Irish Times)
The maiden referred to in the final paragraph is the unfortunate girl caught kissing her beau in public. She never served her sentence because she returned home to Scotland but it was left hanging over her should she ever return to these shores.
Stewarding, policing and commentating are important jobs on the day of the parade.
Some of the participants in the 2023 parade
Convent marching band
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Card Game in the Pitch and Putt Clubhouse
(Photos by Tom O’Halloran R.I.P.)
Card playing was enjoyed by members of Listowel Pitch and putt club.
In Tom O’Halloran’s photo Denis O’Donovan R.I.P., Con Whelan, Jerry Brick, Brendan Kenny, Bill Hartnett R.I.P. and Peggy Brick.
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Reggie’s Guide to Social Climbing
I enjoy Reggie from The Blackrock Road on Facebook so my family knew I’d enjoy him live. We saw him in his one man show in The Everyman in Cork. It was a great laugh, a snob’s guide to “bettering yourself”.
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Cork Murals
I was early for the show in The Everyman so I explored a bit nearby. These lovely murals were done during the pandemic.
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Upper William Street
Bernard O’Connell once shared this old photo on his Facebook page. Bernard grew up on this street in the house with the TV aerial. The two donkeys on the way home from the creamery are probably waiting for their owners to pick up a few messages in the nearby shops. The railings and wall lead to the railway bridge that used to be over that part of the street.
It is interesting to note that the houses in this historic part of town are still very much the same today as they were back in the 1970s.
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Ten Years Ago
The late great Mary Keane officially opened Craftshop na Méar ten years ago. The lovely little craft shop traded on Church Street for seven happy years thanks to Namir Karim.
