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: Listowel Page 15 of 33

Book Launch in The National Library, Apprenticeship, Auschwitz Remembered and another great Healy photograph

By

On January 18, 2016

In Uncategorized

Building at Ballybunion


Photo; Ballybunion Prints

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Sometimes a Book can be declared a Treasure








When Vincent Carmody launched his great book, (pictured above)  in the National Library a few years ago, he was surrounded on the night by his family and by some illustrious North Kerry people who now live in Dublin.

The book is still available from Vincent and should be in every home with a Listowel connection.

Standing are Kevin Carmody, Vincent’s son, who returned from the U.S. for the event and Sr. Maura, Vincent’s sister who, sadly, passed away before Christmas 2015.

In front are Vincent and his wife, Kathleen

Back L to R ; Eamon OMurchú, Katie Hannon, Maurice Hayes, John Coolahan and Cyril Kelly

Front; Vincent Carmody and Jimmy Deenihan

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An Apprentice’s Lot was not a easy one


Jackie Lenihan of Charles St. Listowel, grandfather of Donal Linehan, rugby player was a carpenter. He took apprentices to train in to the trade. One of these apprentices was James Enright, father of Mike Enright of Ballybunion. Mike has his father’s apprenticeship contract. It makes interesting reading.

It reads more like a monk’s contract to me. Apparently it was the standard agreement for all apprenticeships back in the day.

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Do you Remember when Mill Lane looked like this?


(photo: John Kelliher)

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 Bob Geldof’s wedding to Paula Yates in 1986




Photo: Rare Irish Stuff

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Seventy Years ago this week


Photo: Alien West

This image, taken at the liberation of Auschwitz, is just as shocking today as it was then.

We need to remind ourselves often of this enormous inhumanity.  Our ancestors who fought in WW11 fought to put an end to this.

We will get a chance to remember all the victims of war everywhere at Listowel Military Tattoo 

April 29 to May 1 2016

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Wow,Wow,Wow




What a snap!

There are three heroes here;

A great horse, Killultagh Vic, who recovered from this mishap  at the last to go on to win his race at Leopardstown yesterday, January 17 2016,

A great jockey, Ruby Walsh, who employed all of his considerable skills to stay on board and steer his mount to victory once again,

AND

 Listowel’s great racing photographer, Pat Healy of Healyracing who captured the moment for all time.

Well done all.

Laser Lights in the U.S, the Square at Christmas and Bord na Mona in the 1940s

By

On December 21, 2015

In Uncategorized

A Long Way From Lyreacrompane


(photos; Liam Murphy)

As he enjoys his laser light display in the US, I wonder if Liam ever thinks back to paper decorations and a candle in a jam jar in Lyre.

Happy Christmas, Liam Murphy and family.

Viveca Amato saw this house in Orlando, Florida

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In  Listowel


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Duagh people in Cork



(photo; Doreen Buckley)

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The Most Stylish Christmas Door



Last week I gave my vote for the best Christmas window display to Finesse.

Today I award my vote for the most stylish Christmas door to Griffins in Charles St.

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Listowel, December 2015



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Béal Strand in December 2015……..photos by Ita Hannon




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Bord na Mona

Bord na Mona was a huge success story in the Ireland of the 1940s. It gave employment to men from all over the country. The work was hard manual outdoor work but there was great camaraderie among the workers. Some of these men lived in camps near the bog for long periods at a time. There are photos extant of men having their Christmas dinner in one of these camps which were often too far from the man’s home for him to travel there and back for Christmas.

De Valera was a great supporter of the turf industry. The above photo shows him trying his hand at water diving in a bog sometime in the 1940s.

A lot of the machinery used on the bog was purpose built for this terrain and this work. Apprentices were trained to maintain and service these huge machines. An apprenticeship with B na M was a great job in the 1940s and 50s.

Above is a photo of a machine loading milled peat onto a wagon on a train which ran along a track in the bog which was especially laid for that purpose.

This huge beast is a milling machine. You can gauge its size by the mechanic carrying out a maintenance job in a shed.

 This photo was taken at a training camp for apprentices and older employees. These sessions were called when a new machine was being introduced and men had to learn how to operate and maintain it.

It wasn’t all work and no play in the camps. Here a group of young men are being given instruction in how to play the mouth organ.

(All information and photos from Bord na Mona Heartland;  great source for  Bord na Mona history and human interest stuff)

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Were You in the FCA/ Army Reserve?



Message for you below:



“A reunion of the 15th Batallion FCA, RDF, and PDF which was made up of A, B, C, D, E and F coy is planned. 

The get together will be held at the Listowel Arms Hotel on Saturday 30th April 2016 at 20.00 hrs. 

There will be a mass at 18.30 in St. Marys Church The Square Listowel for those of the 15th Battalion no longer with us. 

We will have a display of memorabilia/photographs etc. with some finger food/wine. Partners welcome. 

Please get the word out and share this event.”

(photos: Jim Halpin)

Listowel,Ballybunion and Banteer and a memory of neighbours long ago

By

On December 15, 2015

In Uncategorized



(photo; T.J. Mac Sweeney)

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Rainy morning in Listowel Town Square , December 2015

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Banteer, Co Cork


It’s not just a train station you pass through on the way to Kerry.

Banteer is a lovely little cross roads village in North Cork. It’s most striking feature is it’s picturesque church .

There is a big car dealership at the crossroads and beside it is this ingenious mural made from decorated car hub caps.

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Happy Times 


photo: Ita Hannon

This looks like partytime in Ballybunion. Ita is not sure of the occasion. These are the people she can identify. On the far left nearest the camera is Kit Ahern. Jackie Hourigan is the man in the grey suit. Molly Miller is sitting in the front right and behind her is Jackies wife.

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Switching on the Christmas Lights 2015




The Square was thronged.

Billy Keane introduced Santa and Mrs Claus.

Denis Carroll recorded it all.

This duo kept us all well entertained.

Kelly O’Sullivan, one of the organizers of it all with Billy Keane M.C.

Jennifer Scanlon, another of the organizers took a moment to pose with her family.

Elizabeth Lyons of Lizzie’s Little Kitchen brought her family to enjoy the fun.

Spar Express sponsored treats and balloons for all the children.

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Ancient tree in Bridge Road




I often wonder, as I pass this tree, just when was it planted. Isn’t it magnificent? If only he who planted it could see it now.

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Photo evokes a Response in South Carolina



Last week I posted this photo on Listowel Connection.

As they say on Facebook…..”and then this happened”

From Maeve Moloney Koch in Columbia, South Carolina came this email;

“Dear Mary,  I was surprised and happy to see Christy on today’s Listowel Connection. I am attaching a picture I found of that same Christy drawing home the turf from the bog sometime during the 1950s. Christy is on the left driving. Dennis Horrigan, R.I.P., is on the right. We lived a few houses over the road towards Bolton’s Cross.”


From far away and long ago Maeve Moloney says Hi to her former neighbour, Christy Brennan.

Glenroe, Orlagh Winters and Christmas in Listowel

By

On December 3, 2015

In Uncategorized

Photo:Janusz Trzsesicki


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Sunday Nights Have Never been the same

photo; Irish Abroad

This is the late Joe Lynch in his best known role, Dinny Byrne in the Irish soap, Glenroe. When the closing credits rolled and the lovely theme tune, Cuaichín Gleann Neifin struck up, you knew the weekend was over and it was time to gird your loins for the week ahead.

There wouldn’t be “anything’ stirrin” until next Sunday night.

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Orlagh Winters on Tralee Today; What Lies Beneath

Tralee Today is a great resource for us North Kerry people. One of the contributors to this online news site is Orlagh Winters.

You might remember Orlagh as the M.C. at Listowel Tidy Towns recycled fashion event at Listowel Races. She is really affable, bubbly and engaging. This is why I was taken aback when I read her article in Tralee Today a few weeks ago. I’m sharing it with you below. 

I saved it for nearer to Christmas when its message might strike a chord.

Orlagh Winters  

APOLOGIES for not having a column last week, but
I was in CUH having tests.

I can now finally say that I am cancer free and
boy what a feeling it is. For the last five years I have contemplated life and
how it has changed completely for me.

Pre-cancer I had my dream job, jetting all over
the world and visiting new and exciting places.  I love meeting new people
and my job afforded me that luxury.

Of course there were times that I missed
important happenings in the lives of friends and family but I always made up
for it when I returned.

Pre-cancer I dreamt of being a mother but that
dream was taken from me when I was deemed infertile due to chemotherapy. I
could get angry, I could get upset but what is the point of that?

Harbouring ill thoughts, I truly believe, can
damage your peace of mind. Sure I do get  teary-eyed when I get the news that
one of my friends is expecting a baby, but I always do that alone and never let
it be known to the excited mum-to-be.

Social media is a wonderful tool to stay
connected with friends that you don’t see on a regular basis, but it is also a
means to feel a little nostalgic  when you see the beautiful babies that
they have.

Back to school photos and last week’s Halloween
photos were everywhere of children enjoying the trick or treating. Sometimes I
find it very hard to think of what might have been.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel contempt or
jealousy when I see the offsprings of my friends and family. What I do feel
anger towards, are the idiots who think that it is completely acceptable to
assume that my not having a child was a choice I made for selfish reasons.

Recently I met a guy I had not seen in years and he
commented that me having children would have gotten in the way of my “fabulous
life”.

To say I was mad would be an understatement and
to be frank if I was a violent person, he would be missing a testicle right
now. In fact he would probably be missing two.

Absolutely there are women in the world who make
the decision not to have children and that is their business. I admire them for
the stance they take and make no apologies for it and rightly so.

Christmas is around the corner and once again
there will be photos of children visiting Santa or opening presents all over
social media. I will shed a little tear, no doubt, but I will also see the good
in it and laugh at the terrified faces of the toddlers placed on the knee of a
scary looking man with a white beard.

Spare a thought for those of us who would have
loved the opportunity to be a parent and don’t presume that it was a choice we
made not to be one.

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Some Festive Shop Windows


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My Family on their first trip of 2015 to the skating rink




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Casette Tapes, Fishing in Béal, Cinderella and some festive shop windows

By

On December 2, 2015

In Uncategorized

What a shot!    photo by Thomas Healy

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Today’s Blast from the Part



photo;Irish Abroad

Do you know the relationship?

You used the pencil to rewind the tape when it got pulled out or snaggled in the cassette tape player. These were great recorders. You could mix your own music and record messages for friends. There was a little stopper that you could pull out and your recording would last forever…or until technology overtook it and there was no longer any machine to play it on.

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That was Then: This is Now


Both these photographs were taken by Ita Hannon of Beal. The first shows Michael Hannon fishing in Beal, using a naomhóg and a small net. He was carrying on a fishing tradition that has been in his family for generations.

The second photo was taken by Ita recently. It shows two trawlers with big nets fishing the same waters.

The irony is that the small fisherman was stopped from fishing here some years back, allegedly out of fears for the depletion of fish stock.

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Panto Time

The lines are learned, the costume making is complete, now it’s time to book your tickets. They are on sale now from the charities listed in the poster below.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas



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