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: montbretia

Church Street, 1916 Manhole Cover, Listowel Courthouse and Brendan of Ireland.



Montbretia at John B. Keane Road

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Upper Church Street then and now

Photo; John Hannon

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An interesting Manhole Cover

Most manhole covers in Listowel look something like this.

This one in Childers’ Park looks a bit different.

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Listowel’s Civic Plaza

In the centre of town, between the John B Keane Road and Charles St. are three buildings arranged around a plaza. These buildings have recently been done up.

As you stand with Charles St at your back, Áras an Phiarsaigh is on your left. This is the home of Listowel’s civic offices.

On your right is Listowel branch of Kerry County Library.

Facing you is Listowel Court house, looking very spruce after it’s recent painting.

If you turn round and look towards the town, this is the view.

The path is lined with flowers right down to the corner with Charles street.

Listowel is never too far away from its rural hinterland.

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Brendan of Ireland



Aileen Skimson sent us this Bryan MacMahon book she kept as a souvenir of her visit to Ireland, when she was a child. The story is illustrated with photographs of Brendan ( Michael Greaney) in some  North Kerry locations. Here are a few.

The book tells the story of a typical young boy growing up in Kerry in the 1950s and 60s. It was a life of saving hay and turf, card playing, cooking potatoes and making brown bread.

I hope to soon be able to bring you more details about this extraordinary book, it’s characters and locations.

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Revival in The Square on Saturday August 11 2018




Denis Carroll’s photo of some of the capacity crowd in town for the very successful Revival Music Festival 2018

The Morning After the Night Before



I was in the Square at 9.30 the morning after the music festival and it was pristine.

They even thought to protect the trees.

A Bronx Garden, Football Fans in 1963 and Deidre Lyons goes to Gleninchaquin

Montbretia on the John B. Keane Rd. Listowel July 2017

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An Emigrant photographer


Robert O’Shea grew up in Charles Street, Listowel. He has lived in New York for 34 years but he still loves Listowel and gets back often. He enjoys keeping in touch with what’s happening at home through Listowel Connection. Recently, in response to my request to tell me more about his Listowel connection,  he wrote;

“I am not just a listowel man more importantly I’m a Boro man (Charles St ) where I grew up and started my first job after leaving school I worked for 3 years in Jerome  Murphy’ Bargain Store and 5 years in Jack Mackenna’s before coming to American. Growing up in Charles St the fire station was our soccer,football rugby pitch & handball ally as we got older it was replaced by the Astor cinema, St Patrick’s hall and the FCA hall and of course the Arms Hotel dance hall,we’ll I hope that gives you some insight sorry I don’t have any old pictures but I would love to know if anyone has any pictures of the FCA during the mid 1970 I do remember sitting for them. I will email you some pictures I took lately at the Bronx Botanical Garden it features works by the artist Daley Chihuly.”



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Kerry Football Fans in 1963

This photograph from This is Kerry shows passengers at Tralee Station waiting to board a train to Dublin for the Kerry Galway All Ireland Football Final. The year was 1963.

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Gleninchaquin by Deirdre Lyons



These stunning photos of a very beautiful corner of The Kingdom were taken by Deidre Lyons as she trekked with a group led by John Lenihan.

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Classical Musician with a Listowel Connection



Paul Carasco is making a name for himself as a classical pianist

Listen to him HERE

Who is Paul Carasco?

Vincent Carmody has the answer.

Paul Carasco,  from Sydney and is my first cousin, Roselyn Carmody’s son. 


Her father was my uncle Vincent, my dad’s brother. A good number of years ago, Peter was doing the Australian thing, seeing  the world.  He stayed with us for a weekend, during which he told me that his mother had warned him if he came to Listowel, I would have to take him back to see the Presentation Nuns as his grandfather had served as an altar boy back in the Convent as a schoolboy. 

So I took him back and, during his visit, hearing that he could tickle the ivories, the nuns invited him to play a tune or two, thinking, Danny Boy or the Rose of Tralee. Paul, unaware of the good nuns’ tastes  launched into, it was pointed out to me, a most serious piece by Rachmaninov, I would say, even any nun with hearing difficulties, that night must have thought that their hearing had been cured.


Vincent.

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