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: St. John’s Page 3 of 10

St. John’s. School photos, A Covid 19 card, a Covid 19 poem and Easter Ceremonies in Listowel 2020

St. John’s in Lockdown


I took these photos a day or two before  I was locked up.

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Newspaper photo of the opening of Tarbert Comprehensive School

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Senior Infants 1986

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Being a Nana during Lockdown


An Post has given us free postcards to send to people to cheer them up. I haven’t sent mine because I’m not allowed to leave the house. I was delighted to receive one last week.

To explain, Róisín doesn’t have a phone and you need a phone number to associate with  a Tik Tok account. She can text and use the account from her iPod. 

Sometimes its easy to make someone happy.

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A Poem from Róisín Meaney

To Venice the fish are returning,

Down under, the bush has stopped burning.

When humans stay home,

And leave nature alone,

The world gets the break it’s been yearning. 

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Jill Freedman Subject identified


“That’s Mikey Faulkner , a much loved traveler in North Kerry in the 1940s and 1950s”

 Jim MacMahon.

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St. Mary’s , Listowel, Holy Week 2020




Thank you Canon Declan and Denise

Launch of Mary Lavery Carrig’s Haiga , Listowel St. V.de P. shop and some folklore

Dogs in Banna; Bridget O’Connor

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People at a Launch


Here are a few photos I took at the launch of Mary Lavery Carrig’s exhibition which is currently hanging in St. John’s, Listowel

Childhood friend, Declan Downey launched the exhibition.

Jim and Susan are artists and came to lend their support.

John McGrath was Mary’s teacher back in the day.

Art lovers and artist, Mary, Matt and Maeve Mooney

Family, friends and neighbours were in St. John’s to support.

Máire Logue was our hostess and Mary provided us with a sumptuous feast. There was food for the body and soul in St. John’s on Feb. 1 2020.

I have never before got a chocolate covered strawberry at a launch! Thank you, Mary

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A Charm, a Cure and Unhappy Priest


A Tale from a Rathea child in the Schools’ Folklore Collection

Mickey Hussey was a native of Banemore. He was a charm setter. He was a small man with a hump. He used to be going round with an ass and car. He was well liked by everybody.

He always obliged his neighbours as far as he could. One night there was a woman living in Gleannaléime and she was very bad. A varicose vein bursted in her leg. The priest was sent for and he only gave her a few hours to live. After the priest was gone her son made for Banemore to Mickey. 

Mickey was not inside he was at Jerr Finnerty’s house. The son had only such a limit of time and he told his story to Mickey. Mickey went out and brought in two dog-briars. He split them into two and set them apart in the table. As he was saying the words the briars were drawing close to each other. And at that moment the cock flew out through the coope and crew three times up in the table in front of Mikey. There was neigbours inside and they got in dread when they saw the cock. And Mickey said you amadán if he didn’t do that sure my work would be no good. 

Before the son arrived home the Mother was alright. Next morning the priest came and he was surpised when he saw her. So they told him their story and he became very angry. He said he would excommunicate him from the Church if he would not give up this work. All Mikey said was “I saved her life and let you save her soul”. When the Fennertys went out the cock was dead outside the door.

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Vincent de Paul Shop Makeover



Listowel’s St. Vincent de Paul shop looks twice the size since its recent revamp. It still has all the same lovely smiling faces to greet you when you shop there. It’s open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Above are just some of the friendly hard working volunteers. I’ll have to call in again to catch the rest of them.

Christmas in Kerry, Hospice Tree and Muddy Paws relocated

St. John’s Listowel on Dec 1 2019

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Christmas Customs


From The Dúchas Schools collection

Christmas Night
In the district the preparation for Christmas began with cleaning and decoration of the house. Sprays of holly, ivy, and mistletoe are used for decorating the walls and windows. Christmas is usually a busy time for the shopkeepers for every housekeeper goes to the nearest town for a supply of provisions and dainties and Christmas candles.

Christmas Eve, one or perhaps two large candles are placed on each window. At nightfall the candles are lighted and the supper is prepared. The table is laid with all sorts of cakes and jams and fruits. Then a big fire is made and a log of bog deal placed in the centre of it – (yule-log). Then all sit down to a delicious meal.

When it is all over and everything in order each person is treated to whatever they wish, whiskey, wine or porter while the children have their own refreshment – lemonade, lemon-soda etc. Then where there are musical instruments in the house a few hours of enjoyment follow.
About ten o’clock the rosary is said and all are in bed for midnight.

Collector Nora M. Stack- Address, Lahardane, Co. Kerry

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Muddy Paws has Moved


Muddy Paws Dog Grooming is now across the road beside Betty McGrath’s.

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Blessing Ceremony at the Remembrance Tree



Keeping the flame, we gathered outside St. John’s on Sunday December 1 2019 to remember those we had lost to cancer. 

People braved the cold to gather in The Square.

People bought commemorative yellow ribbons and attached them to the tree.

Stalwarts of Listowel Hospice committee, Jenny Tarrant and John Croghan were there early.

 Local people who came out to remember

Helen Moylan ties on her ribbon

Elaine Lyons, one of the chief organisers of the project attaching a ribbon

Lovely to see children there too.

Máire Logue was offering tea and a biscuit.

Members of the local Hospice Committee in St. John’s Listowel on Dec 1 2019

Marie and Judith were remembering too.

Sr. Margaret and Canon Declan O’Connor, both of whom have lost family members in 2019.

Batt O’Keeffe explained what the tree was about and spoke a bit about the hospice.

Canon Declan blessed the tree.

We all looked skywards, remembering.



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Teachers



I printed the below list of rules last week and it reminded Nicholas of a fictional scene in a Bryan MacMahon play.


Mary, very interesting list of contract conditions and rules for U.S. female teachers in 1923. 

The ‘at least two petticoat’ rule reminded me of Listowel’s Bryan McMahon’s  quote in, I think, his book, The Honey Spike: ‘Two legs in the one stocking!’ The so-and-sos are coming.’ This chastity warning was said to have  been called out by Travellers to their  women when a Traveller from a certain Kerry family approached them. 

St. John’s Windows, Garden of Europe and a book photo from Facebook

November, Month of The Holy Souls

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Windows at St. John’s Listowel




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Charles Street, Listowel, November 2019



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In The Garden of Europe in November 2019

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In Good Company



Im still processing the photos from the weekend. In the meantime I’ll leave you with this one posted on Facebook by a lovely lady I met in Philip’s Bookshop on Saturday. She is clearly a lady with good taste in reading material.

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R.I.P.  Gay Byrne



New Director at St. John’s, Church Street girls, Owen Family of Ballyhorgan Cycling and the Crown Jewels



Wildflower meadow at Ballincollig Regional Park


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They’re Changing the Guard at St. John’s




Máire Logue is the new artistic director of St. John’s Arts and Heritage Centre, Listowel. I photographed her in St. John’s with Joe Murphy, the retiring director.


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Church Street Girls


Eileen Sheridan shared a photo memory


Clementine Crowley Ann McSweeney, Gertie Kennelly, Mary OSullivan, Eileen Scanlon, Ann Ryan

Mary Fitzmaurice Mary Walsh , Eileen McSweeney,  Alice Gleeson.


Sadly three of the girls have passed away.

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Owens of Ballyhorgan

Harriet Owen with Tom Fitzgerald and Jimmy Deenihan in The Listowel Arms on one of Harriet’s frequent trips to Kerry to reconnect with her family home in Lixnaw.

Harriet sent me a short version of her family history which I published in Listowel Connection. John Stack of Kildare and formerly of Duagh was interested to see that an Owen had married into the Ellis family of Abbeyfeale. Ellis was a family John had encountered when researching his own family as these Ellises were his mother’s people’s landlords.

He sent us a newspaper cutting

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Resurgence of Cycling

In our cities nowadays you have to be struck by the numbers of people cycling to and from work. I took these photos on Cork’s Grand Parade recently. There seems to be bicycles everywhere.

The bike scheme stand was almost empty.

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The Theft of The Irish Crown Jewels

A friend lent me this book. The story of the disappearance of the Irish Crown Jewels and its disastrous consequences for North Kerry is a fascinating one.


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In Dublin Yesterday



Kerry has survived to fight another day. I don’t know if the supporters nerves will survive another one, though.

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