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: Presentation Secondary School Listowel Page 4 of 10

1956 Advertisement, The Land and an Old Pres. Photo

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On August 2, 2021

In Listowel, Schools

Photo: Breda Ferris

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From Shannonside Annual of 1956

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Once a Tidy Towner……

Breda McGrath is not fond of having her photo taken. So she didn’t pose but I snapped her doing her level best to make sure we win that gold medal again. Breda is just one of the many volunteers who work round the clock keeping Listowel looking beautiful.

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A Very Strange Happening in 1842

Boston Pilot 9 July 1842

The Wandering Quakers. These silly fanatics arrived in Listowel from this town on Tuesday evening last, and formed their encampment in the extensive area in the rear of one of the houses in the square, under the shelter of which they sat in pious silence the greater part of the next day in expectation of obtaining followers, or at least hearers, and of being internally moved by the spirit to preach, sing or pray. Finding, however, after a great trial of their patience that, all their expectations were in vain, they rose and retired to Adam’s Hotel where they did justice to the good things of this carnal world, making atonement in the flesh for all that was wanting in the spirit. The next day the holy’ tribe set out on their peregrinations, after having excited the surprise and laughter of the good folks of Listowel. — Kerry Examiner.

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Photo by Éamon ÓMurchú of farm implements at Newbridge House

The Land

John McGrath

I stand in fields where my forefathers stood once

And feel the dreams of those who’ve gone before me.

I tramp through damp and half-remembered pastures,

The folds and features of the land that bore me

All around.  Above the sound of lark’s song,

Below the spring of earth beneath my feet,

The green and gold of April in the hedgerow,

The purple haze where sky and heather meet.

Where mighty men have thought to mark their passing

The furze creeps back to mock the spade and plough,

Those futile epitaphs of generations

In Folk Museums condemned to moulder now.

Where men have raised a fence or tilled a furrow

The land, as if to scorn their simple gains,

Erases each proud trace until tomorrow.

The men have gone; the land alone remains.

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A Passover Meal in Pres. Listowel

I could guess a few names but I’d probably be wrong so I’m hoping someone will help us out.

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West Side Story 1990 and A Poignant Poem

By

On July 21, 2021

In Listowel, Schools

What a Shot!

Leaping fish by Criostóir Grayson

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Beautiful Church Street Home

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West Side Story 1990

The operetta undertaken by Presentation Secondary School Listowel in 1990 was West Side Story.

As well as excellent actors, dancers and singers, some of the principals were also excellent writers. Dave O’Sullivan found the following essays by some of the cast published in The Kerryman.

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A Poem for You

Spade      

By John McGrath

I broke my father’s spade today.

Bent the blade against a sullen stone

and felt the final fracture. 

Saw the gaping wound and knew

that wood and steel no longer bound

his hand to mine, this line

between us lost beyond recall.

Caressed the silken shaft

of polished ash, where

fingers’ grip and hip

and sinewed thigh combined

with wit and skill

to break reluctant soil.

I broke my father’s spade and thought on Time,

the sullen stone that one day breaks us all.

From…

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Stop Press, Stop Press…..Listowel is going to be Gorgeous

I just got the most marvellous email from Maeve Queally.

Listowel Characters

Listowel Characters is a project that was conceived when we were developing the Listowel.ie brand.
We wanted to leverage what we are known for as a town and bring it together in one creative project. Colourful Unique Shopfronts / Signwriting / Literary HeritageTo create a Literary & Visual Treasure Trail
The objective of this project is to work with local and national talent to create a visual narrative of the literary heritage of Listowel. We want to make it accessible to the public and to reinvigorate the streets of the town with bold, colourful and thought-provoking artwork.
Each artist/sign-writer is assigned a wall to work on. The Artist/Signwriter would then choose a quote or excerpt from the works of a North Kerry writer to create a bold, colourful, typographic mural in their chosen style. We worked with Writers’ Week to come up with a shortlist of quotes.
We have secured 3 walls so far and have engaged the following Artists/Signwriters:Martin Chute – Listowel – (He will be commencing his wall in the early Autumn)Garreth Joyce  – http://gwjoyce.com/ from Cork has been assigned the old ESB Wall and it is in progress. His work is experimental and modernCormac Dillion – https://macksigns.ie/ from Dublin is starting his work on Kays Wall on Charles St next week. His work is in a more traditional style of sign writing.
The project is lead by The Listowel Business & Community Alliance and is being supported by Kerry County Arts and Creative Ireland.
It’s a really exciting project and hopefully will bring tourists into town when the greenway is open next year. If you want to know any more please feel free to get in touch.
Best Regards,Meave

Lads, I’ve looked at the work of all these signwriters and we are so lucky to have them agree to work on the town. The place will be transformed, I tell you. We’ll be the envy of the country. Let’s hope we don’t get notions.

A Song, a Story and a Few Shops

By

On July 16, 2021

In Duagh, History, Listowel, Schools

Photo; Chris Grayson somewhere in Cork

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From the Pres. Scrapbook

Winner of An Post writing competition

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Colourful Listowel

Some Listowel traders have chosen really strong bright colours for their recently painted shopfronts.

This is Betty McGrath’s Listowel Florist on Courthouse Road

Lizzy’s Little Kitchen on Church Street

Sheahan’s Grocery on Upper William Street

Daisy Boo Barista on Church Street

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One Hundred Years Ago

As it appears from Duagh School in the schools folklore collection:

The following is a version of a song composed by Timothy Mc Govern in the year 1922, lamenting our betrayal by Mulcahy, Griffith and Collins and also the murder of Jerry Leary and Johnny Linnane by the Black – and – Tans.

The Banks of the Feale

I.

Through the green hills of Kerry my ballads are ringing,

Sinn Féin is my motto and my land “Gránuaile”

The lads and fair lassies my songs will be singing

When I’m laid down to rest on the banks of the Feale.

II.

When I think of the tyrants

the landlords and grabbers

My heart it feels cold and my courage runs down.

Kerry stood first in the red gap of danger

While Murphy encamped on the banks of the Laune.

III

When Mulcahy and Griffith and Collins betrayed us 

And battered the four courts be 

sure ’twas no fun.

The sassenachs helped them with no one to aid us.

While sharp rang the crack of an Englishman’s gun.

IV

Brave Jerry Leary and Linnane 

from North Kerry

And Buckley, that hero of fame and renown,

With bombs and grenades they were killed in a hurry

While Murphy encamped on the banks of the Laune.

V

Sad was my heart at the death  of brave Rory

And Buckley and Traynor and Foley likewise

With bombs and grenades we invaded their stronghold,

Our boys were victorious in country and town.

 VI

Though we laid down our arms we did not surrender

We’re ready to die for old Ireland again

The gallant Republic has men to defend it

Regardless of prison torture and pain.

VII

Here’s to the man who stood first in the ambush

God bless those brave men whom

the traitors shot down

My curse to the traitors who fought for the strangers

While Murphy encamped on the banks of the Laune.

COLLECTOR

Éamonn Ó Corradáin

INFORMANT

Éamonn Ó Corradáin

Relation

parent

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Ploughing the Cows Lawn

The man on the right of this picture is the Thomas J. Murphy, victualler who arrived home to Listowel 100 years ago, having spent none months in Ballykinlar Internment Camp. Thomas was known locally as The Colonel.

The picture was sent to us by Tomas’ grandson, Paul Murphy. Paul would love to know who the other men are or what was the occasion of the photograph. Can you help him?

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A Heatwave a century ago and a Look at Listowel Primary Care Centre today

By

On July 15, 2021

In Listowel, Schools

Grotto at O’Connell’s Avenue

O’Connell’s Avenue Grotto

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From Sr. Consolata’s Scrapbook

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One Hundred Years Ago

Listowel was basking in sunshine on June 16 1921 according to this old newspaper unearthed by Dave O’Sullivan.

Could History be about to repeat itself?

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Listowel Primary Care Centre

Listowel Primary Care Centre is a purpose built medical services facility in Greenville.

I have never been to the primary care centre. My friend was visiting the dietician and I asked her to take a few photos.

In this photo you can see a section of the old stone wall that divides the centre from the community hospital.

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Living Her Best Life

This is Delia O’Sullivan in David Morrison’s picture. This image was used by The Jack and Jill Foundation as part of their fundraising Art sale.

You can still buy the cards as part of a pack on the Jack and Jill website.

Delia chose another picture from the same session for the cover of her new book of creative pieces. The book includes some of Delia’s prizewinning essays as well as new work.

Why the onion? I discovered on reading Delia’s book that her mother called this vegetable an ingin. I thought my mother was the only one who pronounced onion thus. Anyone else encounter this weird pronunciation of this everyday word?

John McGrath was responsible for introducing me to the work of this heartwarming and amusing writer. John has done invaluable work in encouraging and mentoring local writing talent.

I’ll be bringing you a few of John’s own poems soon.

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Young Scientists in 1983, landlords and Tenants and Extension planned fro Pres. Secondary School

By

On January 20, 2020

In Uncategorized



January with the ladies in Ballincollig Regional Park



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From the Archives



Young Scientists in Listowel in 1983 pictured in The Kerryman


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Some Facts Stranger than Fiction


The oldest bridge in Paris is Pont Neuf meaning new bridge.

The first woman to play golf was Mary Queen of Scots.

Agatha Christie was a keen surfer.

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Landlord and Agent



Kay Caball is the acknowledged expert in the area of Kerry ancestors. Her book, Finding Your Kerry Ancestors and her website, My Kerry Ancestors and her blog

Kerry Ancestors blog

are required reading for anyone researching their Kerry roots.

Here is a small section of a series of blogs on Landords and Tenants;

“In Ireland we are very much aware of the importance of ‘the land’.  Who owned the land? Who rented the land? How  did the system work ? These are just some of the questions that my colleague Jim Ryan of Flyleaf Press and Ancestor Network has answered in his definitive article on Irish land records or Rentals in his recent blog.   

Jim has kindly given me permission to reproduce his blog in sections. I will publish these over the next few weeks, finishing with a list of surviving Kerry land records and where to access them as in my book Finding Your Ancestors in Kerry.

Agents.  The practical day-to-day management of estates was usually the work of land agents,  also known as estate agents.  These could be hired by large estates as members of staff, or contracted as  external estate managers.    There were several large land or estate management companies that  could be hired to perform this role.  Some of these external companies managed hundreds of small estates on behalf of their owners.  Agents provided the estate owners with regular rental reports detailing rental income due and received.  These reports were particularly important for ‘absentee landlords’ who did not reside in Ireland.   These were entirely reliant on their agent to manage their estate business and to keep them informed of issues that might affect their income.  Land stewards, sometimes referred to in documents,  were staff who worked under land agents.

Agents were generally reviled by tenants.  A popular contemporary quote was that ‘Landlords were sometimes decent men,  but agents were devils one and all’.   This is not entirely fair as there were many agents who were respected by their tenants,  but a larger proportion performed their function through coercion and threat of eviction.  In their defence, the historical evidence suggests that most were not provided with the funding or authority which might have allowed them to assist their tenants to improve their farming methods or land,  or to facilitate access to markets etc. Further background to the complex roles and circumstances of the land agent can be found in 2 books:    Landlords, tenants, famine:  the business of an Irish land agency in the 1840s.  Desmond Norton. UCD Press 2006. ISBN 978-1-904558-55-2;  and  The Irish Land Agent 1830-60:  the case of Kings County.    Ciaran Reilly, Four Courts Press 2014.  ISBN 978-1-84682-510-1

Observations.   Most rentals have an ‘observations’ column which is variable in its use.  Some rentals contain no observations,  others are used by the agent or landlord for their own accounting notes, while others are used by agents to provide information to their landlord on the circumstances of a particular tenant.   These include brief comments such as ‘good tenant’,   ‘lazy tenant’,  ‘promises to pay’, ‘pauper‘ etc,  but may also contain more valuable family history information  such as  ‘died in August‘,  ‘emigrated in December‘,  ‘a son of Luke Murphy of Ballinamore’ etc. ”

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Good News for Pres. Secondary School



Chairperson of the Board of Management, Shay Downes with Principal, Eileen Kennelly following the announcement this week of Department approval for two state of the art science labs, specialist rooms and classrooms. Exciting times ahead!

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