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: Seamus Wilmot

Historic Listowel, Maid of Erin and a Beauty with a Listowel Connection

Ballybunion Kayaking Tours

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Armel Whyte spotted this one on Facebook

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Two Historic Listowel Buildings Changing Hands

This house on Church Street was once the home the Wilmot family. Séamus Wilmot went on to become registrar of The National University of Ireland. This house was also the home of the legendary Babe Joe Wilmot.

Correction: Martin Moore tells me that this was not the Wilmot home. It was further down the street. This was the home of sisters, Aggie and Peg Mulvihill. Apologies for misleading you.

The Central Hotel/ Maid of Erin was sold recently. The facade of this premises is one of the most iconic in Listowel. It features one of the best known and loved examples of the stucco work of Pat McAuliffe.

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Living the Champagne Lifestyle

Caitlin Carmody is the daughter of Kevin and Christina and granddaughter of Vincent and Kathleen.

Caitlin is studying Physical Therapy in the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.

Caitlin is also a part time model and her recent photoshoot with photographer Roland Lim is featured in Imirage magazine.

Caitlin is the cover girl.

Here are just a few of the photos of this stunning beauty with a very strong Listowel connection.

Cover, Imirage October 2021

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Killarney Story with a Kanturk Connection

Killarney Today had this story about father and son, Pat and Luke O’Neill who each scored a goal for Killarney Celtic in a recent match.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and the tree once grew in Kanturk.

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Hay and Tae in Bromore in Summer 2018, Ballybunion and Smores

Life’s a Beach…Ballybunion July 2018

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Hay and Tae in Bromore


Every year Michael Flahive organises a unique event at his farm near Ballybunion. This year in ideal weather his meitheal saved the hay the old fashioned way. A man who posts on Facebook as Salva Tore took these priceless photos.

This is the meitheal gathered for the photo when the work was done.

This is how they took the photo from that angle. No drone here.

Here the men are piking the gathered hay on to the wynn and Michael is spreading it and shaping the cock. There is a special skill in that job. You do not want to peak too soon. My poor dead mother would have a heart attack if she saw that man in bare feet with so many pikes about.

This haymaking was done to musical accompaniment.

You’ve heard of piping the captain on board his ship or piping the bride into the wedding breakfast but this is a new one, piping the farmer on to the wynn.

 What a lovely picture as Michael holds the next farmer who may make hay in a different way.

Sliding off the wynn can take a bit of skill too. Dried hay can be very slippery.

All the loose hay is combed down from the wynn and the whole lot is secured with a súgán. A súgán is a rope made from twisted hay.

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Late Evening Ballybunion July 2018


 My young visitors were playing in the sea until late evening every evening.

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Sunny’s Hair and Beauty, Church Street

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Please sir, may I have s’more


Here are my grandchildren and friend roasting marshmallows over a disposable barbecue to make smores.

I never heard of this delicacy until last week but its amazing what you can learn from children.

s’more is a traditional nighttime campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a fire-roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.[1] National S’mores Day is celebrated annually on August 10.[2] The Guinness World Record for number of people making s’mores at one time was 423, set April 21, 2016, in Huntington Beach, California.[3  



That last is not from the children. It’s from Wikipaedia. We didn’t have Graham crackers so we 

improvised with digestive biscuits.


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John B. Keane Festival



As part of the festival to celebrate John B. Keane on July 19 to 21 2018, there will be an 

exhibition of photographs at

The Seanchaí. Here is one from the Seanchaí’s collection


Some of the founders of Listowel Writers’ Week with Marie Keane of RTE.


Seamus Wilmot, John B. Keane, Bryan MacMahon, Marie Kean and Tim Danaher

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